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Darkside Blues
In the near future, almost the entire world lies in the iron grip of the power-hungry conglomerate, Persona Century Corporation. The city of Shinjuku has, until this point remained outside of the grasp of this greedy company, but in spite of this - or perhaps, because of it - it has become a dangerous and lawless town, teeming with rebels and terrorists. One day, a handsome, enigmatic young man by the name of Darkside mysteriously appears in Shinjuku. He, along with a small band of rebels, will attempt to break Persona's stronghold on the world, if it isn't too late...
347 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
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125 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 7, 2016
People have a right to live in peace.
Even when that peace is corrupt?
I first became obsessed with this story in anime form. It was one of those I was lucky enough to randomly pick up from the video store. Then I bought it on tape, and eventually on DVD.
This is both sci-fi and fantasy, with a bit of dystopia/apocalyptic thrown in. There is so much to this story, yet so much is left unexplained. I watched it and re-watched it, and eventually started developing theories. I even made a fansite for it with a section explaining all the open ends: Mai and Guren's connection, Enji, Sayo, and a bunch of other stuff I can't even remember because it was so long ago! Yet if you have a question I could probably answer it, because at this point it's not clear in my head what I've postulated about the story and what is actually fact.
Anyway, I love Mai. She's both tough and vulnerable. She can kick anybody or anything's ass, yet she picks flowers and has it bad for the mysterious Darkside (who stands around the anime looking all tubercular for some reason, but he's still cute). Her friendship with Kenzo is awesome, and I like how other members of their gang are always popping up and helping out when they're needed.
The Hozuki family is equally awesome. There's a sadistic one, a good one, a rebel one, and an evil one. Plus the dad. They all play a part in their family corporation. A family corporation with headquarters in space! They own almost the entire world and are willing to do whatever it takes to keep it that way. Even turn people into GOLD.
I like the old-style art of this manga and the fantastic storyline. It's quite lengthy, yet it reads quickly. Despite its flaws (which really amount to things not being explained in depth), this is a favorite of mine.
This is the place where illusion resides. A place where dreams lie dreaming of reality... and reality has made a pact with dreams.
Even when that peace is corrupt?
I first became obsessed with this story in anime form. It was one of those I was lucky enough to randomly pick up from the video store. Then I bought it on tape, and eventually on DVD.
This is both sci-fi and fantasy, with a bit of dystopia/apocalyptic thrown in. There is so much to this story, yet so much is left unexplained. I watched it and re-watched it, and eventually started developing theories. I even made a fansite for it with a section explaining all the open ends: Mai and Guren's connection, Enji, Sayo, and a bunch of other stuff I can't even remember because it was so long ago! Yet if you have a question I could probably answer it, because at this point it's not clear in my head what I've postulated about the story and what is actually fact.
Anyway, I love Mai. She's both tough and vulnerable. She can kick anybody or anything's ass, yet she picks flowers and has it bad for the mysterious Darkside (who stands around the anime looking all tubercular for some reason, but he's still cute). Her friendship with Kenzo is awesome, and I like how other members of their gang are always popping up and helping out when they're needed.
The Hozuki family is equally awesome. There's a sadistic one, a good one, a rebel one, and an evil one. Plus the dad. They all play a part in their family corporation. A family corporation with headquarters in space! They own almost the entire world and are willing to do whatever it takes to keep it that way. Even turn people into GOLD.
I like the old-style art of this manga and the fantastic storyline. It's quite lengthy, yet it reads quickly. Despite its flaws (which really amount to things not being explained in depth), this is a favorite of mine.
This is the place where illusion resides. A place where dreams lie dreaming of reality... and reality has made a pact with dreams.
August 11, 2010
This one, although a good storyline, I'm a bit more undecided re whether I'd recommend or not. It left a lot unexplained about characters, but there isn't anymore in the series, and there was one hell of a lot of graphic violence/torture in places. I enjoyed the read, but it wasn't one I felt I needed to have more of, or my own copy of. The latter, I think, is usually the gut reaction deciding factor on something for me.
The manga carries a horror tag but I didn't think it really strayed into that so much, more very dark almost apocolyptic SF with some fantasy elements thrown in.
The manga carries a horror tag but I didn't think it really strayed into that so much, more very dark almost apocolyptic SF with some fantasy elements thrown in.
August 2, 2017
This one-shot can be mighty confusing - it contains characters and plot worthy of a series in just a single volume. We have Kikuchi's trade-mark post-apocalyptic dystopian future where 90% of the world is ruled by the Persona Century Corporation who live on a floating island satellite above the Earth. Shinjuku is the last free zone and a band of rebels have attacked the corporation HQ. The one surviving rebel escaped and ended up in Shinjuku where he meets up with a delinquent street gang known as the messiah. A mysterious pretty boy known as Darkside.... remind you of D anyone? comes out of a magic mirror and rides his magical horse drawn carriage to Earth where he sets himself up as a Dream Doctor and helps the rebels.
The first thing to note is that Darkside Blues is an an amalgamation of ALL Kikuchi's other works and there are nods and winks all over the place. It's set in Shinjuku (Demon City Shinjuku) The hero is basically Vampire Hunter D - gothic carriage and all - even introduced as D before he takes the name Darkside with a heavy dose of Mephisto/Taimashin (dream doctor) thrown in for good measure. The floating island, Koma Stadium, the cage and barkeeper are all references to Demon Palace Babylon and there's quite a bit of Winds of Amnesia in here too - keep an eye on the backgrounds too - there's one panel of some derelict buildings with neon signs Amnesia and Vampire Hunter.... The female characters really have to man up - like Leda and sort of become warriors by the end. All these in-jokes actually help because without that kind of knowledge you really are at sea with this - this drops you right in the middle without any explanation and is like a wonderful glimpse into this world but never giving back story or exposition - Frustrating!
While this has most of Kikuchi's plot and character tropes what this bizarrely doesn't have are the freaky sex scenes and constant nudity - there's a tiny bit of topless torture at the beginning, but seriously for Kikuchi this is MILD - It's weird too - the woman gets a model factory music box shoved into her stomach.... and a reference to her turning to gold. In the anime version she's simply turned to gold which seems to make a lot more sense than the manga.
The anime adaptation of this is very faithful but does help to make sense of a couple of points... Although still not nearly enough is explained in either version.
Yuho Ashibe's artwork is great and fans of Kikuchi are definitely going to want to check this out - but if you're not familiar with his other work you really are going to be lost and find the mix of futuristic SF and Victorian Gothic very weird indeed, it just doesn't gel in the same way it does in Vampire Hunter D.... Perhaps it's simply not weird enough. This one is very restrained for Kikuchi.
The first thing to note is that Darkside Blues is an an amalgamation of ALL Kikuchi's other works and there are nods and winks all over the place. It's set in Shinjuku (Demon City Shinjuku) The hero is basically Vampire Hunter D - gothic carriage and all - even introduced as D before he takes the name Darkside with a heavy dose of Mephisto/Taimashin (dream doctor) thrown in for good measure. The floating island, Koma Stadium, the cage and barkeeper are all references to Demon Palace Babylon and there's quite a bit of Winds of Amnesia in here too - keep an eye on the backgrounds too - there's one panel of some derelict buildings with neon signs Amnesia and Vampire Hunter.... The female characters really have to man up - like Leda and sort of become warriors by the end. All these in-jokes actually help because without that kind of knowledge you really are at sea with this - this drops you right in the middle without any explanation and is like a wonderful glimpse into this world but never giving back story or exposition - Frustrating!
While this has most of Kikuchi's plot and character tropes what this bizarrely doesn't have are the freaky sex scenes and constant nudity - there's a tiny bit of topless torture at the beginning, but seriously for Kikuchi this is MILD - It's weird too - the woman gets a model factory music box shoved into her stomach.... and a reference to her turning to gold. In the anime version she's simply turned to gold which seems to make a lot more sense than the manga.
The anime adaptation of this is very faithful but does help to make sense of a couple of points... Although still not nearly enough is explained in either version.
Yuho Ashibe's artwork is great and fans of Kikuchi are definitely going to want to check this out - but if you're not familiar with his other work you really are going to be lost and find the mix of futuristic SF and Victorian Gothic very weird indeed, it just doesn't gel in the same way it does in Vampire Hunter D.... Perhaps it's simply not weird enough. This one is very restrained for Kikuchi.
January 26, 2011
While I'm not all too fond of the sci-fi genre, I found that I really enjoyed this manga. There was some blatant nudity in the beginning, and even more blood and gore throughout, but not so much that I would consider this as a horror. Everything's really futuristic, but the artwork has that classic, 90's feel. I almost felt like I was reading Dragon Ball Z (bad comparison, both great works).
Even though this volume is over 300 pages, I found it to be relatively short. It had nice bits of action scenes that made the pages flip quicker than I thought. There's still a whole lot of unexplained things, and it has a very open ending, that a second volume seems appropriate. But for a one shot, it was a great read. Definitely going on my favourites.
Even though this volume is over 300 pages, I found it to be relatively short. It had nice bits of action scenes that made the pages flip quicker than I thought. There's still a whole lot of unexplained things, and it has a very open ending, that a second volume seems appropriate. But for a one shot, it was a great read. Definitely going on my favourites.
April 24, 2011
Exceptional artwork! .. The story seemed very promising, it has lot more to offer than what can be accomplished with just one Volume. This manga deserves to be continued.
January 28, 2025
I loved this manga and the anime. The setting and characters are interesting. But both feel unfinished. I wish we got a sequel.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews