Green Blood

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I've seen debates about the naming of this manga. I feel its worth mentioning that Green refers to Irish and Blood to gangs (I'd assume).

Now onto the relatively short tale of revenge.

Story- 6

The story takes place in the USA, during the industrial revolution. Immigrants are flooding into the country which has led to the 6th District of New York, known as the Five Points being considered the worlds worst slum and is an area which is completely under the control and the law of various Irish gangs.

There isn't much room for development with it being short, add 40-50 more chapters and I'd ... probably be giving it an 8.

Character- 8

Only two characters get real development. I'm pretty sure the author planned on making it longer but reasons unknown he seemingly had to cut it short (axed?).

The two main characters are Brad and Luke Burns. Left by their Father (an infamous outlaw) 14 years prior to the story after he murdered their Mother they eventually found themselves taken in by the founder of the Grave Diggers (an Irish Gang) and now live in the Five Points.

Brad is an infamous hitman, who works for and was trained by the Grave Diggers and goes by the name 'Grim Reaper'. Brad uses a gunknife to carry out assassinations and is constantly searching for information about his Father.
There are only two things on his mind - Keeping Luke safe and getting revenge on the man who killed his Mother.

Luke works at the ports and is innocent, kind and hardworking - an anomaly in a world of corruption. He dreams of him and Brad owning land of their own and being free from the poverty they suffer. Luke is oblivious to his brothers line of work and ambition for revenge. He is basically the opposite of Brad but has significant development during the course of the Manga.

The relationship between the two is one of the highlights of the Manga but there isn't much depth to anyone else sadly.

Art- 9
Not much to say, it's similar to Attack on Titans art but much more detailed.

Overall- 8

Even though it was short it was enjoyable. If you are looking for a Western setting then you wouldn't go wrong checking this out. I just wish it was longer :(

This work was like an amzing adaptation from a classic western movie to Japanese manga. Kakizaki Masasumi made such a wonderful piece of art.

The story was great, easy to understand without warped plots or difficult ideas that blow your mind. It was simple, a bad guy experienced in battle and murder has an insatiable blood thirst. He wants desperately to kill his father and avenge his mother, without his brother finding out that he's a gangster. What makes it a fantastic tale is the thrilling suspense that fills it. You never know what will happen. You expect something to happen or someone to die ... and then, in a realistc way another incredible thing occurs. During this outstanding manga you'll accompany the Burns brothers in their path towards revenge, a dream and their happiness. Besides the author uses some pages to tell us some historical facts as a context. These are well located in some chapters and they contain interesting info.

In regards to the draw art I only have one thing to say: Simply wonderful. Amazing battle scenes well done. It's easy to understand what happens in each panel. The scenery is awesome, delightful saloons, wonderful desert landscape, well painted animals, especially horses. All the images were drawn with plenty of details and the author used the shades in a spectacular way. The characters have an overwhelming figure. None of them looked like being drawn fast, otherwise with too much care, including those in the backgrounds.

There are only three main characters the Burns siblings, Brad and Luke and the bastard gang leader Edward King, their father. There are also some supporting characters well made. Regarding to the main characters they are well built, each of them has his background and development throughout the manga. However, the supporting characters have a little explanation, but it is must said that it's enough, otherwise I believe it will be too much. Although these secondary characters have no background they were infused with a realistic behaviour and neat goals or intentions.

I really enjoyed this story. It had one of the best draw arts I've ever seen, cool characters that fitted with this historical western work. The time I spent with this manga pretty worth it. I'm hoping to read another fantastic work of this author.

When it comes to historical settings in media (I won’t include in historical fantasy), I tend to divide them into three categories:

1.) Meticulous representation of societies and cultures and/or high historical nuance, the work almost blurs the line between historical fiction and a documentary. Mori Kaoru’s lifework comes to my mind.

2.) Setting as framework, the era’s context is quite relevant to the plot.

3.) Setting as eyecandy, it “devolves” to atmosphere going for rule of cool. Many wuxia movies and War of the Arrows come into my mind.

More on my point related to this categorization will be expressed on section [3.].First, let’s start with details on ... its characters, story and artwork.


[1. Opening with characters and story…]

The year is 1870 C.E, five years after the end of the American Civil War. Irish gangs dominated this infamous neighborhood, where harsh poverty, police corruption and rampant gang violence were simply put, daily reality.

[a. First describing the characters…]

Brad and Luke Burns are the mains. Their mother was killed when both were children and they were taken in by the founder of one of those gangs. Brad is the older sibling and earns a living as a hitman for that gang, and his goals boil down to safeguarding his brother and getting revenge on their mother’s murderer.

Luke is almost like a fish out of water within the Five Points, being an idealistic and innocent breadwinner in contrast with the jaded and bloodthirsty Brad, who puts on the façade of a lazy bum in order to preserve his brother’s innocence. Their chemistry is wholesome if somewhat cliché and both receive decent development.

The rest of the cast is functional, yet static. They serve straightforward roles, are not quite fleshed out and most villains are caricatures. Some were entertaining though whereas others contributed to siblings’ characterization. Be warned however: readers may be bothered by stereotypical presentations of western tropes; be it the Native American warriors, the railroad baron or the psychopathic gangsters.

[b. And second the story…]

(+) Green Blood is a rare sample among manga as a noir western, yet not original in the greater scope of storytelling, and definitely not an eye opener.

However, to say that it lacks any merit would be unfair. Highly cliché yes, but for a large part exciting if very violent, and its action-thriller twists are quite unpredictable.

Also, the mangaka has done fair amount of research and included context fitting the era depicted. The chapters don’t have too many pages, and the story isn’t too complicated, which makes for an easily digestible read if one can stomach its visceral violence.

(-) In the long run however, its story is rather unmemorable and leaves little lasting impact, this coming from a person who used to include it among their favorites.

5 volumes and 49 chapters were insufficient; parts showed lost potential and the ending felt anticlimactic. The story is largely carried by the siblings’ chemistry and the atmosphere.

In general, I believe the mangaka is more of a “virtuoso” rather than a creative writer (and drawing excessive influence from mainstream American media).


[2. And concluding with the artwork…]

Largely a visual experience, its atmosphere is one of its strongest cards and is aided by its powerful artwork.

Phenomenal care is put behind detailed backgrounds, whether depicting internal or external space, slums or rural areas. At other parts (such as in action scenes) backgrounds may be kept more minimal, but the mangaka displays craftiness in techniques such as shading and his trademark engraved linework.

Key details such as animals, characters and their clothing and weapons were also meticulously illustrated.

Character designs have mostly realistic proportions, but stepping into other people’s shoes, I feel some may find the more caricatural ones as a hit-or-miss element for they might diminish the dark feel of the story and setting.


[3. Would I recommend Green Blood as historical fiction?]

Let’s retrace my categorization. If one were to expect something akin to the 1st category, they would be disappointed. Detailed visuals and a unique setting do not suffice, for many historical elements are either framework or superficially relevant. A similar accusation can be made for many fantasy and sci-fi works, as mentioned in my Nausicaä review.

Green Blood somewhat blurs the line between the 2nd and 3rd category, but ultimately falls into the 3rd, and as such I would rather recommend it to readers wanting to be initiated into the era and real-life location and/or craving aesthetic and visceral action.

Hope you enjoyed my review! For other manga with the US as a setting, I recommend browsing for Rumspringa no Joukei and Benkei in New York.