Customer Reviews

Dark Edge Volume 5 (v. 5)

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I re-read this volume today & I have to admit, I'm beginning to see why I collected the series as far as I have. It takes a REALLY long time for this series to get started- a REALLY long time that could honestly have been squished together into 3-4 volumes.

This volume opens with a story from 1985 & follows a mysterious young man who tracks down nosferatu with the intent of wiping them from the earth. He discovers a pair of young high school girls, one who has a seedy reputation & another who is absolutely infatuated with him. Could his nosferatu be one of these girls? Meanwhile in present day, Kurou is trapped in a coffin, having agreed to switch out to save a friend who had been previously imprisoned there. However the coffin has one catch- if you've been in there over 3 days, everyone forgets about you & you must have someone get into the coffin in your place!

Re-reading this volume reminds me why I liked the series, but it also reminds me of the series flaws. Initially the series was very gung-ho about showing almost all of the nosferatu as villains, so now that the series is starting to show the previous villains in a more flattering light, it just doesn't mesh well. It kind of makes me wonder how well the author planned this manga- was this all storyboarded ahead of time or was it all done in the heat of the moment? I can't help but think that if some of the water treading in the previous volumes had been better at the character development, this would all feel more natural instead of forced.

There are just so many plot holes in this series that really should have been filled & the author's attempts to jump between the various characters & make it humor, drama, & horror all at the same time just doesn't come across that well. Frankly put, the biggest flaw of the manga is that the author tries to do too much & as a result the story lost its focus.

I really recommend that if you are interested in this series that you purchase the Dark Edge Volume 1-6 Set. It is at a fantastic price & collects most of the first half of the series. (There are 15 volumes to the series.)