Cipher 6
Posted: May 1, 2010 Filed under: Cipher 3 Comments »Minako Narita – CMX – 2007 – 11 volumes
Wow. And I thought I would be treated to the rough story of Cipher’s drug addiction in this volume. I was, and it was very good. Even better, I didn’t really think about it, but the story was told from Siva’s point of view, and judging by the author margins, there will be a retelling soon from Cipher’s point of view. It was an interesting version of events, because while it was Siva doing all the looking after, Cipher was the one that was having all the problems, and Siva mostly glossed over that in favor of highlighting his behavior problems. I liked how it eventually got to the part where they shared one identity, too.
But that was… hm. The second half blew that away. I don’t want to spoil it, because I didn’t see it coming, but something happens that completely blows apart everything that is happening in the story. The characters are scattering, and I’m guessing all the dynamics are changing next volume. I’ve also never seen such an event handled so well in a manga, too. The characters explain what happens, and you are left to draw your own conclusions about how they feel, for the most part, although they also speak through their actions. You are never told what any of them are thinking. I loved that, and it lent a lot more gravity to the situation. The situation was made even worse by having all sorts of regrets hanging around it, too.
Sad stuff. Unbelievably good, too. I’m out of volumes for the time being, but am definitely getting the rest of the series sometime very soon.
Also, I loved the side bars where the author talks about how obsessed she is with the Thompson Twins. She liked them. A lot. She talks about how (very) frequently she dreams about them, among other things. I was very amused.
This series sounds really good, gonna have to check it out soon ;)
[...] on vol. 2 of Beast Master (Manga Maniac Cafe) Oliver Ho on Black Blizzard (PopMatters) Connie on vol. 6 of Cipher (Slightly Biased Manga) Todd Douglass on vol. 1 of Dorohedoro (Anime Maki) Sean Gaffney on vol. 10 [...]
It’s great! Very romantic, and very character-driven. Also, due to its age, it reads a lot different from many current shoujo series, which is a very good thing if you’re looking for something off the beaten path.