Ranked #88

Black & White (Manga)

After watching the anime there was no way that I would pass up the chance to read the manga. The result was something that was great but was completely different from anything that I expected.

Story: The story has several components. The first and main story follows Kuro and Shiro (Black and White) as they struggle to defend their territory and adapt to a changing city. Another follows the Rat as he also tries to fit in with adapting times. There's Kimura, who tries to find his own way and make his own path. Add in a few cops who realize that the city is going to hell and alien assassins and those are the storylines. Events force the characters into their situations and they struggle to adapt to them. The manga, however, is not structured around the plot, it's based on the characters and how they react, so the story doesn't really have to be amazing.

Art: This is the biggest shock of the manga. I was really expecting a Japanese drawing style that was different from the other stuff I've read. However what I got was something that I didn't expect at all. Instead of getting something in the Japanese style Tekkon Kinkreet is done in the style of western independent comics. The art pays no attention to structure, the buildings are completely all over the place, distorted and wobbly. The characters are....interesting. I want to say that they're drawn really loosely...but that's not the word for it. The whole art-style is very loose and it really works well with the manga. There is little to no shading and there's almost no detail to anything. This is in contrast to the anime where everything is incredibly and painstakingly detailed. However the art really works and it's quite refreshing to look at.

Character: How the characters change and interact with each other is the best thing about this manga. Black's relationship with White is deep and complex, it's hard to figure out who's helping who. Most of the character's have positive relationships with each other even though they're on opposite sides of the law. It's a wonderful thing to view and it gives the manga a very familiar, cosy feel. Every character changes as the city changes and there's never a static moment between them.

Enjoyment: Even though it was something I didn't expect it to be, I still really enjoyed this manga. It's definitely something that a lot of people should read. It's different, it's well-written and drawn....there's no downside to it. Maybe the one thing about it that's hard to define is it's genre. It's not a light manga, there's no real comedic relief...so it's pretty heavy. But it's not.....really dark, there are definitely dark moments, but it's not....depressingly dark. Anway, it's an amazing manga that you should definitely check out. read more