1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Pretty art and decent story, April 4, 2009
This review is from: Blank Slate, Vol. 2 (Paperback)
Kanno's artwork is beautiful, very much shojo - full of bishonen and cool clothes. However, there's a bit more violence than your average shojo, not to say there aren't a number of violent shojo series. She's also an excellent plotter. Things that you might think are unimportant details in an episodic series just might be what ties the chapters together.
Zen's a good lead character - witty, attractive, and as dangerous as people say he is. He lacks motivation aside from discovering his past and he mostly lacks empathy. I think the second chapter does work better as an introduction because what connection to people who does have is revealed in his interaction with Rian. He'd kill her if he needed to, but sees no reason to be cruel. Rian's a good foil to him because she is emotional and girly, but discovering a strength she was never allowed to need. It's a strange relationship but feels true.
The only part of the manga that really bothers me is the ending. It requires all of one character's actions to be an act. It's a bit abrupt and didn't seem to fit with the rest of the story even if it does allow all the pieces to fall into place. Other than that misstep, BLANK SLATE is a well-told, if familiar, story of an assassin and military intrigue.
From In Bed With Books
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
And the answer is..., March 13, 2009
This review is from: Blank Slate, Vol. 2 (Paperback)
It's a well known fact. People like questions, not answers. And I'm no different. Volume 1 of Blank Slate was great and I loved it. I still enjoyed Volume 2 just not as much. Volume 1 was interesting and new. It asked questions and introduced an intriguing character. But the answers are never as fun as the questions, are they?
Volume 2 of Blank Slate was still really good. It had a good story and it had great art. I love Aya Kanno's style and of course Zen and Hakka are always nice to look at. This book picks up right where we left off. Zen is searching for his past, the past that he lost 10 years ago with his memory. And he finds it along with some unexpected surprises.
Maybe Blank Slate would have worked better as a three book series because Volume 2 just seemed a little rushed. It had a lot of "this happened and then that happened" and not as much action to it. A lot of flashbacks and talking about the past, which to some extent I expected. Maybe I was hoping for a bigger taste of the reckless, senseless destruction of Zen in book 1. He's still ruthless here. He's still charismatic. But there just isn't enough for him to do with all of his considerable power and charm.
I still enjoyed the book immensely. I'm glad I bought it. But the ending didn't play out quite like I might have hoped. I even lost the action a few times. There was so much to sort out and it went a tad too fast for me to follow and appreciate properly. Even still I enjoyed volume 2. I'm sad that there are no more. Despite its faults I'm pretty satisfied.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The second and final volume of "Blank Slate" is here!, January 19, 2009
This review is from: Blank Slate, Vol. 2 (Paperback)
The story ends here.
The conclusion of the dark and violent manga series "BLANK SLATE" by Aya Kanno is finally here!
With the last volume, we were introduced to a killer named Zen. A man who cares about no one and all he cares about is simply killing. But Zen has an interesting history. He doesn't know much about his past. In fact, he just woke up one day with urges to destroy and kill. The only two words that had consumed him since he had woken and he has only done just that.
So in essence, the story's main character is a villain. But things change as someone seems to have beat him and maybe even come across his own personal nemesis who has the ability to control him.
Chapter 5: In this chapter, Zen and Hakka visit the village where Zen was found. They run into Zen's "Big Sis", the woman responsible for finding him and nursing him back to health. She gives him a little bit of details about what she discovered the day she found him. His ability to quickly heal and how he became part of their group. Meanwhile, Major Kyrie leaves the army with Miss rian to find Zen.
Chapter 6: Zen feels that the General's summer house where met Rian may have some answers to his past. He remembers that the tombstones made him remember something but the only way to find out is by returning to that cemetary. Major Kyrie and Zen return to that same area. Zen and Hakka try to piece together the information they learn from the tombstones and that Zen may have been part of a secret army unit as part of the Galay military. Major Kyrie overhears their conversation and can not believe anythign Zen and Hakka are talking about. But the question remains, why are all these soldiers dead?
Chapter 7: The colonel arrives and Zen remembers that he is the one that tried to kill him. But the Colonel reveals everything to Zen. That his name was not Zen, it's Zero and that he was part of the special forces twenty years ago. Approved by Rian's father, Colonel Gia. Babies he knew no love but were grown to be a killing machine with no families, no loving emotions, just to fight and kill. And the secret to who killed the special force unit was revealed.
Chapter 8: Zen was trying to find out the person who controlled him and everthing is revealed. Conspiracies in the government and more. A surprising chapter on who has been pulling Zen's strings.
Definitely an entertaining conclusion to the overall storyline and the artwork by Aya Kanno was just beautiful to look at. The men are drawn in bishounen, cool style and overall, the artwork was done quite well. In fact, the character designs for Zen and various pages featuring him in sinister mode or a withdrawn, everything is well captured. Especially in the eyes.
I have to admit that I was hoping that "BLANK SLATE" would be a longer manga series but overall, it started off with a bang (no pun intended) and ended with a bang! The whole series was quite entertaining from beginning to end and in the first volume, you really got a sense of how dark Zen was because he was a killing machine but by the second volume, it was a volume about a man trying to find himself. Despite being created for the sole purpose of being controlled by the military to be used to kill the opposition, Zen wanted to become his own person. Not Zero as he was known by but as Zen.
But I could have seen the series definitely going longer and I can definitely see a potential sequel but the conclusion of the "BLANK SLATE" manga series definitely ended in a tragic way for some of the key characters in the series but some opening for a sequel if Kanno decided to go that way.
Overall, Aya Kanno did a wonderful job in creating this dark and stylish world full of war (or post-war) and the violence and basing this series entirely on a bad guy. And where other series would have the bad guy eventually finding some compassion, because of the way Zen was raised, his life is just about destruction and survival. A fresh and unique storyline and Kanno is definitely a mangaka to keep your eyes on.
"BLANK SLATE" is a fantastic two-volume series that fans of darker tone series like "DEATH NOTE" can probably get into and enjoy! It's not a happy storyline by any means. It's dark, gritty but yet it's written well and the artwork manages to capture the storyline very well. Definitely check this manga out!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
