Ajin: Demi-Human, Vol. 5

亜人 [Ajin] #5

by Gamon Sakurai

It's all-out war. After demi-humans mobilize to overthrow the government of Japan -terror and immortality their prime tactics- young cynic Kei must decide if he's on anyone's side other than his own.

Genres: Manga, Horror, Fantasy, Comics, Seinen, Science Fiction, Supernatural

194 pages, Paperback

First published November 7, 2014

About the author

Also known as 桜井画門.

Gamon Sakurai is a Japanese comic book artist from Tokyo. Born in 1986, Sakurai was selected for the Afternoon Magazine Four Seasons Award for New Comic Artists. Upon being selected for the award his short story was published and he was selected for editorial review by manga publishing giant Kodansha. Sakurai would make his publishing debut with indie publisher Issuisha in 2010, releasing a short story anthology. He would then work with Kodansha to work on his first feature length series AJIN: Demi-human in 2012.

Reviews

[James DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whoa...

"We will start our wave. We will kill you all, bow to us."

If a dude broadcasted this to you, keep in mind a guy who can't die, what would you do? Shit your pants? Pee your pants? Both? Yep.

So Japan sends the best task force they have. I mean these dudes are heavily armed, not fucking around, put a bullet in your ass if you move a inch. The Demi-Human isn't expecting this and BAM this army fucking wrecks his shit. The leader of the Demi-human is down and even his snipers are having issues because guess what? The motherfucking task force is on that shit sucka. BOOM shoot the f'ing sniper.

This battle in this book, which takes up more than half, is fucking phenomenal. The way the two opposing forces keep upping the stakes, winning, losing, who got what, who's going to do what, is great! I really loved this portion of the book, got my blood flowing.

The second half slows it down and Kei is being a weirdo dude who has to deal with the towns people he lives with. Of course he leaves down, taking his kidnapped friend with him, in hopes of escaping and living a normal life. But no, they must team up with a certain someone, and leaves you very excited to continue despite it slowing down the momentum a bit much.

[Urbon Adamsson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Following Sato's declaration of open war against humanity, the aftermath of the plane crash sets the stage for an intense battle between the Demi-Humans loyal to Sato and Japan's elite police force. The clash is a chaotic spectacle, showcasing the ruthless power of the Demi-Humans and the tactical expertise of the police.

Meanwhile, Kei's hard-earned peace is shattered. Confronted with the escalating chaos, he is finally pushed to take action, realizing that he can no longer stand by while rogue Demi-Humans wreak havoc. Determined, Kei decides to step up and confront the growing threat.

[Gustavo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me está gustando mucho este manga, a pesar de que el protagonista no es un personaje con el que uno se encariñe, es interesante que básicamente es un sociópata (o quizá hasta un psicópata) bastante funcional. Me gusta el equipo que hacen con Koh, creo que Koh puede balancear un poco ese aspecto de Kei y llevarlo por un mejor camino.

Se nota mucho que el autor está recibiendo bastante ayuda en el aspecto gráfico porque el resultado es un poco desparejo, aunque no hay partes "malas", hay algunas mejores que otras. Nada que afecte a la narrativa, igual, quizá es ser un poco quisquilloso, este es un buen manga.

[Himanshu Karmacharya · Rating 3 out of 5]

So far, Ajin's greatness was impaired by its lack of character growth and depth, however it finally feels as though the book is going somewhere from this point on.

[Frédéric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sato outwits Tosaki’s plan- and it’s a carnage- while creepy Kei, under duress, contracts an unholy alliance.

The first part is awesome - and its translation in anime, like all battle scenes, is simply amazing. Sakurai obviously revels in those brutal action scenes where he can get loose on art and storytelling.

The second part slackens off a bit. Plans are made so talking heads take over. It’s never boring though.

Just a note about 2 weirdly inserted flashbacks (the black-framed pages). They kinda pop up out of the blue and disturb the pacing. The one about Tosaki should have been inserted elsewhere, before/after a more relevant sequence for instance.
But hey, that’s just me playing M. Finicky. This series is simply great, go read it already!

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual rating: 4.5 stars
CW: terrorism, mass casualty, suicide, blood, fire injury, violence, gun violence, confinement, kidnapping

I love Nakano, he's so dumb 😭💖

[Natalie H · Rating 4 out of 5]

November 2023
Kindle edition
KU manga

Finally some movement from Nagai. It’s a shame he couldn’t stay with granny but progress. His logic sucks given how messy the negotiations got. Thankfully the other one was there. So far they don’t stand a chance against Sato and the Demi-hate is worse than ever.

[Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5⭐

[Agnese Rosengren · Rating 5 out of 5]

L'alleanza tra Kei, Nakano e Tosaki 🔝
Comunque, per quanto spietato sia, devo dire che adoro vedere Sato in azione — sono una cattiva persona, sì.

[Zara · Rating 3 out of 5]

What the f is going on

“In order to survive, human beings have chosen the path of cooperation over gaining tough bodies. That is why we have empathy and love… (doesn’t look like it) In other words, it gave rise to what we might call our souls.
But death is a foreign concept to Demi-humans, (so?)
And thus they lack a soul. They are able to kill humans and not feel a thing”.
That doesn’t have to do with anything, having or not a “soul” doesn’t make you automatically a bad or good person, you are an mmñ and are a human so I don’t see your point here Mrs.

“We’ll act as your pawn and be your army of immortals”
What? :)

[Amir · Rating 3 out of 5]

همینه! حالا شد یه چیزی! خیلی روند منطقی و در عین حال هیجان‌انگیزی داشت. فایتش هم فوق‌العاده بود. من این جنس نبردها رو که طرفین درگیر کاملا هم‌سطح هستند رو خیلی دوست دارم. نبردهایی که داستان سعی نداره یک جناح رو قوی‌تر نشون بده و هردو طرف مدام حمله می‌کنن و حرکت‌های همدیگه رو پیشبینی. خیلی کیف داد. امیدوارم با این روند بره جلو. آنتاگونیستش هم چیز خوف و در عین حال چیلیه. جالبه کلا. هرچند هنوز این که شخصیت اصلی خیلی سریع از یه نرد درس‌خون به یه نابغه‌‌ی بد عس تبدیل شد رو مخمه.

[TSam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exhilarating. I love the battle scene between Japan's defence force and the Ajin. They're definitely not playing around, both have such high stakes if they were to lose. The tactics they used against each other to one up one another is just creative. Love this.

[Aleksandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I admit last chapter was cool and I'm curious to see what will come from that collaboration.

Also I don't think I've mentioned it before, I like the "physiology" of the aijins. They are immortal and they have ability to project a "ghost" to do their bidding. In terms of fighting against such skilled opponent, they present an interesting challenge and make the author come up with creative murderous scenes.

[Saphirablue · Rating 3 out of 5]

I still like it.

The fighting scene Sato and the police? Woha.

I like that there are hints that Kei cares about people despite everything that he says. :)

I'm curious how this working together with the authorities will play out.

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dios el uso del color me fascinaaaaaaaaa

[Lucy De Geyseleer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not the biggest seinen fan but I make an exception for this and Berserk, the fights between ajin are amazing, the story is very well written and the art is beautiful

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series continues to impress.

[Walindor · Rating 5 out of 5]

✔️5/17

[Książkowa Cisza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hmmm...czy on jeszcze wróci?

[cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Duh, yg jd sidekick si Kei ini, Nakano, sama sekali gak cerdas ya ;))

Ending volume ini menjanjikan keseruan chapter2 berikutnya. Plg gak, sekarang keadaan sdh sedikit berimbang antara Tosaki dan Satou. Mari kita lihat perkembangan selanjutnya....

[Furkan Topcu · Rating 4 out of 5]

7/10. Satou özel time karşı tek başına kazandı. Nagai ve diğer çocuk tosaki ile birlik oldular.

[Manami Yamaguchi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kei and Kou cooperate to stop an attack of Sato. Kei is a person who is calm, depression and cold personality on the other hand, Kou is a person who is friendly, considerately and kind. So they are diametrically opposite personality but they are good combinations.

[Nur · Rating 4 out of 5]

Her bölüm tempo artıyor, her an beklenmedik bir olayla karşılaşıyor insan. Nakano ve Nagai'nin müttefik olmasını zaten bekliyordum ama sonda oluşan cephe gerçekten de beklemediğim bir hamle oldu. Satou nasıl bir canavar olduğunu gösterdi, aynı zamanda da zeki bir canavar. Yeni cephelerle mücadelenin şekli ne hale gelecek merakla bekliyorum. Ayrıca geçen ciltlerden birinde görünen uçan IBM'ye sahip ajinin de ilerideki ciltlerde çıkmasını bekliyorum, gerçekten dikkat çekiciydi ve mangaka onu boşuna oraya koymuş olamaz. ;)

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sato declares war on humans after committing a hideous act of terrorism.

This series pushes the idea of immortality further with each issue and I love it. The government tries to take down Sato and does - again and again. And he keeps coming back. It leads to some dialogue lines such as "Keep killing him as we take him to the truck." Hate the character (as we're supposed to) but love that line!

[Michael Schmid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Es war einfach wieder nur genial und krank und ich will nicht schon wieder so lange warten müssen xD

[Sunread26 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chronique complète :
https://sunread26.wordpress.com/2023/...

Extrait :
Le déroulement de ce tome, c’est un peu « l’ennemi de mon ennemi est mon ami ». Kei ne va pas pouvoir rester neutre plus longtemps, surtout s’il souhaite mener une vie tranquille. Il n’a donc plus le choix, il doit prendre parti. Ce n’est évidemment pas celui de Hat qu’il va prendre, puisque c’est lui qui détruit sa tranquillité… Mais le résultat de son choix reste tout de même assez surprenant et inattendu.

Hat a mis son plan en exécution, comme prévu, il va réaliser un attentat, et comme toujours, sa victime sous-estimera grandement son panel d’action. Ne pouvant pas mourir, Hat prend possession d’un avion de ligne qu’il fait se cracher sur le bâtiment, réussissant ainsi son coup. D’une certaine manière, Kei, qui voit la scène depuis une TV, souligne l’ingéniosité de Hat, par un « bien joué ». Mais ce n’est pas pour autant qu’il cautionne son acte, car celui-ci va faire qu’il sera encore plus recherché. Même s’il n’est pas allié de Hat, le gouvernement ne fait pas de distinction, après tout, son but est de tous les capturer pour en faire des rats de laboratoire. Je n’arrive vraiment pas à saisir Kei, parfois il semble totalement insensible, et à d’autres moments pleins d’émotions. Je suppose que les préjugés sur les Ajin pèsent dans la balance, ou que pour moins souffrir il se dit qu’il ne doit pas être émotif…

En tout cas, il n’a pas le choix, s’il souhaite retrouver « une vie » banale et sans poursuite, il va devoir combattre et stopper Hat. Même si les Ajin sont impossible à tuer, il est possible de les neutraliser… en faisant en sorte qu’ils meurent en continue (genre dans une pièce sans oxygène). Loin d’être idiot, il se doute que son nouveau compagnon et lui-même ne suffira pas à stopper Hat et ses nouveaux alliés. Il est expérimenté et pleins de ressources, à deux, le stopper est impossible. Il faut donc qu’eux aussi trouvent de nouveaux alliés, Ajin… ou non. J’ai l’impression qu’ils ont réussi à faire une alliance, avec une personne assez inattendue, mais qui souhaite aussi la disparition de Hat. Maintenant, la question qui se pose, c’est si ce nouvel allié tiendra parole, car ils ont bien du passer un marché. Le gouvernement, via les informations, fait passer les Ajin pour des monstres dangereux, alors qu’au final, ils ne font que se défendre (après tout, ceux qui ignorent qu’ils sont des Ajin ne commettent pas de crimes, en fait).

[...]

[Drew Pyke · Rating 4 out of 5]

File 20: as dust settles from the plane downing there is a huge battle between Sato, some his followers (as snipers) and the government forces. They try capturing Sato by continuously killing him to disable him.

File 21: Sato surrounded by forces but he is helped by snipers from his side, which gives him time to shoot back and walk away. Black ghosts take their snipers.

File 22: A famous psychologist (Sho Fujisawa) explains to the people that Demi humans have no souls (as a consequence of never dying) and therefore no empathy. Separately, Kei Nagai is found out in his safe zone by the local people. He takes Nakana out of the disused lorry where he was hiding him and then runs away. Mr Kita is the one that outed him and is on vengeance for the plane attack on the pharmaceutical company he ploughed his pension into. Before he escape Kei goes back to kill him for for berating Mrs Yamaha, who It turns out knew about Kei Nagai all along.

File 23: Sato says he’s entered the second wave (assassinations) in a video message. Kei Nagai and Nakana slate in Tokyo and spotted several times in noodle bars but evade. They hatch the plan of on boarding Tosaki in their vengeance against Sato because he has much more to lose (his salary in paying medical bills for his fiancé- which is dependent on him catching Sato).

File 24: Three of the government on the hit list are now assassinated and all desperate to contain Sato. Kei Nagai and Nakana ring detective Tosaki as they go to the hospital where his fiancé is. They persuade him to join forces (and if they attack him he’ll send out his ghost to hurt her).

[Cami Piriz · Rating 5 out of 5]

ME ENCANTÓ, ME VOLÓ LA PELUCA... ¡WOW!
El viejo está loco, todo el mundo lo subestima porque es viejo, pero se olvidan que es un Ajin experto, sabe manejar a ese ser, y está dispuesto a todo por conseguir lo que quiere, y el mundo ya lo sabe, y temen a los Ajin.
En esa pelea que, desde mi punto de vista fue un diseño increíble, quedaron marcados los bandos. Los medios de comunicación jugaron un muy buen papel porque comenzaron a esparcir el pánico entre las calles. Todo aquel que encuentre a un Ajin debe llevarlo al gobierno por su "propia seguridad".
Ahora son los humanos contra los Ajin; Ajin contra los humanos. ¿Quién ganará?.
Como dije en mis otras reseñas, todos los personajes tienen moralidad gris. Tienen diferentes motivos por el cual hacen lo que hacen... y nunca me imagine que el prota se iba a aliar con el médico para derrotar al viejo. Ósea ¡¿QUÉ?! ¿Después de todo lo que te hizo? Pero me gustó que lo hayan amenazado con matar a su esposa. Encontraron su punto débil.
El viejo si tuviera una death note y los poderes de los titanes seguramente nos extermina. Sus argumentos son que quiere conseguir derechos para los Ajin, pero ¿es eso lo que realmente quiere? Esa es la pregunta que se hace el prota, donde la respuesta es un no. Por eso decide aliarse con el médico para acabarlo. Serán sus soldados Ajins.

Medios de comunicación: Los Ajin no pueden morir, por tanto no tienen alma y son muy peligrosos.

[Anindita · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's a lot of character-building in this volume. Sato declares war on the humans and we get to see how the SAT handles him. If tranquilizer guns are illegal they needed to keep killing Sato fast enough to not let him react. That doesn't, however, take into account other demi-humans being involved.

On the other hand, we get to see how Kai handles the news (which is pretty cold in my opinion). The kid that was saved by the firefighter is trapped in the truck which is mundane but we realize the biggest plot hole would have been him using an IBM (or Black Ghost). We later find out that he can't conjure one for some reason but he can see them.

The demi-humans (Sato) write up a hit list and soon after the targets realize that it's not in order. That any one of them can be next and it put Tosaki into a panic. Kai reaches out to Tosaki and proposes the idea of an immortal army in exchange for victory on their terms. The deal only goes through because of Nakano. He's earning a spot on the "best boy" title.

It's a good volume and it leaves me wanting to see more action again. It was a lot of violence at the start and then it simmers down with some hiding and finally a car ride with many questions hanging in the air.

[47Time · Rating 5 out of 5]

I should mention that' as far as I can tell, the way firearms are employed in this story is top-notch realistic. Action movies have a lot to learn from here. There is even an unexpected moment of genuine humor in a scene. Though the series started a bit too slow, I doubt I can put it down any time soon. It does everything right, it seems. I dare say it's become a favorite.

Sato's plane hijack went off without a hitch, but the police's special forces capture him. He has sniper team on his side, but the special forces have several teams too. They get taken out by Tanaka and his ghost. All the distractions allow Sato to take out more than a dozen armed men, with a total of 700 deaths if you count the plane and the building it targeted. Next he makes public a list of 11 people involved in the conspiracy around demi-humans - Tosaki is one of them.

The news features more and more reports on the demi-humans. Kei's safe place is gone, so he decides to join with Ko, the only other trustworthy demi-human he knows. Their only option is to join with Tosaki against Sato.