Ranked #2542

AR∀GO (Manga)

ARAGO combines the police/detective story with the classic undercover superhero story into an exciting manga by the creator of the "Darren Shan" manga series.

Twin brothers Arago and Ewan meet after many years apart. Since they were children, they had been planning revenge on the "Patchman," a serial killer with supernatural power, who attacked their home and killed their parents. Ewan decided to hunt down the Patchman by joining Scotland Yard. Arago was too impatient for that, and roamed London on his own, seeking to carry out vigilante justice on the monster.

Their reunion is all too brief. After their car crashes, the Patchman scrapes their bodies off the pavement and uses Ewan's body parts to repair Arago's. His diabolical plan is to use Arago's body as his new "vessel."

The brothers manage to escape, but Ewan soon dies. Arago survives, and joins the police force. But he finds he now has supernatural abilities, courtesy of the Patchman. He can see people's auras, as well as objects and creatures normally invisible to others. He also inherited the Patchman's less desirable abilities of being able to pull people's souls out, and having caustic skin that burns anyone who touches it.

Since the Patchman's death was never really confirmed, there are still detectives investigating the case. Arago keeps his abilities secret from everyone, hoping that he won't be suspected as the monster himself. The rest of the time, he carries out his special investigation duties, and takes care of the occasional supernatural baddie that comes his way.

Author Takahiro Arai uses his familiarity with British life and culture to make a European setting that's more realistic than you usually find in manga. The modern London setting is also unusual. The atmosphere is good, and believable. (It doesn't feel like a Japanese story with English names.) It also uses a lot of Celtic and British mythology and folklore (Brioniac, leprechauns, gremlins).

The art style is also similar to that in "Darren," just more free and loose. It fits well with the supernatural creatures and mild horror. The only drawback with the art is that the action scenes can be a bit confusing. It's sometimes hard to tell what's going on. And there were a few non-action panels where I also couldn't quite tell what was happening.

Arago and Ewan have a somewhat tragic relationship. Looking back, Arago can see that it was filled with misunderstanding. Each tried to protect the other through lies, but that only backfired and caused resentment. Each felt inferior to the other; felt weak and pitiful, and thought the other was braver. They'd been competing. And it's only after Ewan's death that Arago realizes that he was a really great guy, and tries to find out more about him. He also becomes an emotional support for Rio (their childhood friend and Ewan's fiancee).

There's something "Clark Kent-ish" about Arago. He uses his special skills a lot: as long as nobody's looking. And he tries desperately to keep his skills hidden. That's hard when he's in a crowd and needs to talk to an invisible creature. Or needs to save somebody's life with his super strength.

ARAGO is interesting enough. It's not the most brilliant, exciting, or thoughtful series out there. The characters don't have a whole lot of depth. But it's enjoyable nonetheless. If you don't mind the traditional American superhero genre, you'll probably like this series. I will say that there are a number of unexpected twists and turns as the series progresses, so if during chapter 2 or 3 you start getting a bit bored, you should hold in there for a bit longer. It DOES get more interesting.

For a manga that has a lot of horror themes, stuff is more implied than shown, so there is little gruesomeness or strong violence. We hear that the Patchman repairs his body by "borrowing" parts from other people, but we don't see the deed or aftermath. So if you like police/mystery/action, but don't like to see gory stuff, this would probably be good for you. Also, it avoids the ecchi themes which are almost a given for half the shounen genre. (Aside from Arago's fanny-pinching coworker, and an oogly spirit or two.)

Even though it's certainly a shounen, I think a lot of female readers will like it too.

Overall, definitely not a 10/10 series. But still pretty good, and had enough interest and excitement to keep it a page-turner. read more

This is my first review for a manga series. I just started really getting into manga and i really hope my review helps you out in some way!

ok, ill start out with the story.

story (9). The story may sound a little genaric when you first read the summery but it is so much more then it may seem. when I first read the summery i thought to myself, wow yet another ' person has a tragic childhood and somehow gets a great power and keeps it a secret while becoming a undercover superhero, at the same time trying to exact revenge on his parents killers! Well, after seeing the cover of the manga i just couldnt help picking it up after seeing how hot the main character is! XD but thats just me lol. Although the story may seem a little pradictable at times it always manages to add a twist where you least expect it! It combinds law enforcment with supernatural monsters and creatures (some are good) and a hero to balence it out. overall i think the story is great!

Art (10). The art in this manga is very good! is clear detailed and flowing. One thing i will say though is that sometimes there is soo much going on in a panel that it can be hard to tell what going on, but if you have more experience in manga it might be easier for you then for me lol. overall i thought the art was great and nerver lacked!

character (9). For the mot part the characters in arago are well developed. some of the characters how ever may be slightly lacking but overal its pretty well done. every character is uniqe and spercial. I cant really ay weather the characters are under-developed or not because the stary is still being published and i have only read 44 chapters. but so far so good as far as the characters go! =D

enjoyment (10). i am enjoying this manga very much and i anticapate the comming of each new chapter! the only complaint i have about thin manga is how darn short each chapter is!!! they are only around 20 pages each chapter and it bugs me sooo much!! >. read more