Customer Reviews

Buso Renkin, Vol. 10

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Kazuki Muto is gone, but not forgotten -- at the end of the previous volume, he blasted himself and the deadly Victor to the moon.

And the tenth and final volume of "Buso Renkin" is all about the aftereffects of that devastating choice, and what Kazuki's friends and girlfriend plan to do about it. Nobuhiro Watsuki uses the entire volume to wrap up various loose threads for the alchemist warriors and the homunculi, as well as to display a more gruesome brand of fantasy (involving Frankensteins).

Gouta, Ouka, Shusui and a devastated Tokiko all gather at the park for their final mission: the destruction of Papillion and the homunculi (turns out he cloned back all the ones that died before). Papillion is enraged by Kazuki's departure, and by Tokiko thinking that she can fulfill his promises. But it turns out that blowing up the world isn't his intention -- instead, he's created something exclusively for Kazuki.

And when a golden light shines on the moon's surface, Tokiko finds that the Alchemist Army is combining its myriad Buso Renkin for one last mission: getting Kazuki Muto back, and curing him of his condition -- not to mention dealing with Victor once and for all. And Papillion is waiting down on Earth for his one last battle with his archnemesis/friend.

Then Watsuki plops an unrelated horror-fantasy story into the volume, "Embalming: Corpse and Bride": the eerie, hulking Frankenstein John Doe and his attendant Rose are summoned by a young dying girl, who wants them to destroy the sadistic Lord Corpse. Then it's back to "Buso Renkin," two months later: Kazuki asks Tokiko a weird question that sends her running across town.

"Buso Renkin Volume 10" is basically all about wrapping up the loose threads, and Nobuhiro Watsuki does a pretty good job of gathering them together and tying them in a nice little bow. The alchemists, the homunculi, and all the assorted characters (the ones who haven't died, anyway) are all given a leisurely send-off -- the biggest flaw being that "Embalming" shouldn't have been smack in the middle of "Buso Renkin's" finale.

The first part is pretty intense -- lots of grief, action and gut-splattering, as well as Tokiko's emotional reunion with her beloved. But the second is a pretty lighthearted affair, with Kazuki and Tokiko encountering the various characters as they get on their lives, and showing us just how much the two teenagers adore one another (" I love everything about you... including that scar!"). It's just so cute... and the Papillion action figures don't hurt either (especially "Hypocrite Boy" and "Gut-Splatter Girl").

It's a sign of Watsuki's affection that he uses the final chapters to give a satisfactory send-off to the entire cast -- Victor and the homunculi get a satisfactory ending (including the endearingly loyal Washio), Papillion gets his final fight and a new outlook ("PUT MORE LOVE INTO IT!"), and the assorted alchemist warriors take new positions in life. And once more, we see that Kazuki's indomitable spirit never fails, no matter how ghastly his circumstances.

The one flaw with the characterizations? Well, while Tokiko's background is wonderfully gory and horrific, it seems a bit out of place at the very end of the series. Good story, though.

The tenth and final volume of "Buso Renkin" is a loving farewell to this endearing action series -- lots of gut-splattering, romance and comedy. Not to mention a pat on the head to every one of the characters.