Black Cat, Vol. 3: What the Living Can Do

Black Cat [ブラックキャット] #3

by Kentaro Yabuki

Two years ago, Train, a high-level assassin known as Number XIII in Chronos, left the secret society to live by his own rules. Since then, Train has been a sweeper, a bounty hunter, catching criminals and bringing them in alive. But his main mission is to find a former Chronos member who killed his best friend.

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Comics, Action, Shonen, Comics Manga

192 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Also known as 矢吹 健太朗.
He is a Japanese manga artist. His mentor was Takeshi Obata, the illustrator of Death Note, Hikaru no Go and Bakuman.
Yabuki is best known for his series Black Cat which ran from 2000 to 2004 in Weekly Shōnen Jump and later adapted into an anime. Since 2004, he has only been working as illustrator to works written by other authors. Most notably on the series To Love-Ru alongside his former assistant Saki Hasemi.

Reviews

[Glasdow Teacosy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A friend gave this to me and I didn't think I would enjoy it. Secret organizations, psychic/magic powers, assassins trying to bump each other off… so much if it was cliché without even breaking the binding. Haven't I already read this story over and over again for the past thirty years?

Glad I was wrong. Strong character development, competent art, nice pacing, a good touch of humor here and there… This was a good read. I wouldn't mind reading more of it.

I'll give it an extra star just because I was a snob about not reading it for over a year.

[Shrek · Rating 3 out of 5]

i still think that train is really mary sue, but the more interesting characters like eve and kyoko are kind of carrying the story here. the plot is slowly picking up but this still isn't anything special. also, sven's eye is like. extremely similar to kakashi's sharingan in naruto ? also kyoko's 'super hot breath of fire' is much like a whole lot of the jutsus in naruto. hm :/

[kuristina- tabreez · Rating 3 out of 5]

As Train, Eve, and Sven venture to not another town, but a city, Train runs into an old 'friend' that desperately needs his help. This friend of Train's is from Chronos, but lucky for him and his group this guy isn't all so bad, and he's willing to hire Train as a sweeper, not an assassin. But will this villain with a bounty large enough to pay off all their debts be too powerful for even the infamous Black Cat, harbinger of bad luck?


Ahh, yes, for once I am in the mood for Black Cat the manga, I am even tempted to rate this volume 4 stars. XD But my feelings for the anime still get in the way! Also, I'm really starting to like Kyoko and Charden even more now. They're really cool villains! Now that I think about it, there really wasn't much of Creed in this volume. But oh well. I don't like him in the manga very much, he isn't even the awesome kind of crazy. He's just crazy! Ahh, and the battle scenes with Kyoko and Charden kept me on edge! I think those were my favorite parts! Squeeee!<3

[Francine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Black Cat was one of the first manga I started buying, when I got into manga about ten/fifteen years ago, and I still love it to pieces.
The paneling is really good, as are the pacing, the art style, the character designs and their motivations.
I've been reading a lot of subpar manga and comics lately, so it's really nice to read something this good again.

[Alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

very nice storyline. I really loved the flow and the hidden truth in it.

[I'mogén · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another really enjoyable volume to Black Cat, especially because we got a glimpse of both Train's and Sven's past... I'm really intrigued to see more of Train's back story and how he became Black Cat, as I am equally intrigued to learn more about Sven's eye. Because it's mystery wasn't pushed, it made me even more curious about it!

I found it really funny how Sven teaches Eve phrases that sounds funny coming from a child! The relationship growing with those 3 is like a little family and its so sweet. Totally nothing like I was expecting, especially under the circumstances of how Eve was introduced into the story.

Now seeing as I love my myths, I did wonder if the name Chronos would actually have any symbolism or if they just chose that as a cool, evil sounding name. After reading this volume, I can see how the threat of the Revolution could overthrow Chronos, like in the myth.

Things really came together in this volume and I'm super exited to see how the rest of the story unfolds.

Pick it up, give it a go and enjoy! >(^_^)<
Gén

[evofox · Rating 4 out of 5]

another fun volume

after volume two primarily focusing on setting up villains and bits of backstory volume three takes a nice step back with more story as well as less backstory. we did get some more details about one of the main characters which helped answer a few things from the previous volume but also got more information on the mysterious chronos organisation. as far as characters go all the main ones are fairly fun with some semi unique abilities and the villains though evil seem decent enough as well as having some kind of out there abilities. so far do not really have any complaints with the series.

overall another good volume which was a bit more story heavy but also helped show what a few major characters are capable of. will be interesting to see how the next few volumes play out

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

We get to explore more of Train's past as we meet his father-figure, we see more of the enemies and how their powers work, and add some more supporting characters! From Creed's apostles to Sven, we get to see how their powers work, which is neat. Mainly I just love Train Heartnet so much, he's such a goofball and really entertaining to read.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fighting someone who really gives him a run for his money, Train is having to really earn his cash. But it is also good to see he has strong morals for helping others. The other number that comes in shows one heck of a talent. Gives you a good idea of how well the Numbers work individually. I can only imagine if they worked as a team!

[Thomas Wickinghoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

It gets a little better and becomes more exciting but not nearly enough for me to continue this adventure. I don't see improvement in the art style and it seems like there isn't a clear line between being serious and being silly.

[Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve a soft spot for Black Cat. It does all the BS that I fall for. Villains who don numbered clothing denoting their ranks. Mercenaries out for hire. Villains fighting villains (er, kinda). Weird, esoteric powers. This is my kinda drink!

[Sedna Dragon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can not wait to read what happens next!

[Rosibel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Train Heartnet also known as "Black Cat" he was a assassin but now he is a bounty hunter.

[6530b · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is when the series really starts picking up steam.

[Therese · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still love Sven and Eve, Train's a cutie and Charden's ability is really creepy!

[Shin Donghae · Rating 4 out of 5]

STorylinenya mengarah dengan baik, runut dan cukup jelas dalam penyampaiannya.
Semakin menarik disimak.

[read.withlauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[Nanang Stiawan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Memang bener bgt yg paling ditunggu2 sih kemunculan dek Kyoko yg imut. Hue hue..

Trus si no 2 lumayan keren. Jd pnasaran chronos nomor2 selanjutnya sekeren apa.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Going to continue to read the series. It’s an interesting read with a bunch of action which I love

[Ace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Train left underground organization Chronos to live his life on his own terms - two years later, he's working with his partner Sven as a sweeper. The action scenes are well-choreographed, the art is good, and the plot is easy to follow and (mostly) believable. I love stories about assassins, and I like how Train's past with Saya is only hinted it; the readers are given enough info to keep them wondering -- a few tidbits here, a little more there. It's great suspense!

Downsides: the women are still pretty two dimensional, Kyoko included. Both Kyoko and Rinslet are hyper-sexualized, within the story and on the covers, and I'd really like to see more depth to their characters.

That aside, the plot is interesting and there's a good mix of action scenes and dialogue - not too much of one or the other. Train has shown a darker side of his personality; I like the juxtaposition of this darkness and his childishness. It's much more effective this way than it was in earlier volumes.

[Sevairi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, so volume three is the first volume I haven't read already (I think). Once again, we're thrown right into the action, which is awesome. I love that Eve is constantly growing as a character. Her, as well as Kyoko, are probably my two favourite female characters in this series.

I really like that there's a bit of Train's history included in this one. I'd love to see more of it. Younger Train looks like such a little cutie-patootie and I want to know how he got involved with Chronos. I also really like that we're starting to see an emergence of the Chrono numbers, but I'd like to see more. Hopefully I will in volume four.


Which leads me to my next point, which is that I'll probably have to put this series on hold for a while. The library doesn't seem to have volume four, but they have the entire rest of the series...


Ugh, what the fuck am I going to do?

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am really enjoying this series and it's only book three. That's actually a somewhat different experience for me. A lot of times manga has to hit it's stride before I'm hooked. I try to give at least three volumes before making my final decision about continuing, but this was a quick decision. I especially like how we don't have to go through a lot of "little" battles that postpone the main story arc and instead serve to give us a taste of the characters while avoiding any heavy stakes. Although this sweeper mission was not super intense, it deepened my understanding of the characters while ALSO advancing the main plot. I approve! Looking forward to more.

[Rena · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am slightly more impressed with the Taoists. That and I finally got to meet a new Chronos number. The tension is slowly growing as Creed's plans start coming into action and Chronos has to find a way to deal with him. Train would rather just see him dead, and I can perfectly understand why though it has not been made entirely clear in the manga, I know Train's past from the anime. Again these sequences are way out of order, but I have learned to accept the manga and anime has two separate entities. It is just easier that way.

[Yvensong · Rating 4 out of 5]

The characters of Train and Sven make an interesting team. With Eve recently added to the team, the dynamics of these three should take some interesting twists in future volumes. The characters are well-developed and have intriguing pasts, that get slowly revealed.

[Steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my all time favorite manga series. Not my first, but second or third at the least.

~~

Re-read for fun; still one of my favorite manga series.

[clara[iloveaaron:] · Rating 5 out of 5]

Second half of the book I didn't really care for, but the first part was very well done.

[The Third Place A Teen Library]

F YAB bc v.3

[Lola · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was Awesome.

[Samantha wickedshizuku Tolleson · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was a lull in the last volume, but it quickly picks back up in this one.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can't stop! Must keep reading.

Train calling Eve 'Princess' is just adorable.