Manga Review: Juni Taisen: Zodiac War, Volume 4, by Akira Akatsuki, Nisiosin and Hikaru Nakamura

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: April 2019

Volumes: 4.

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 3.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Twelve fighters enter, one fighter leaves—who will win the 12th Zodiac War?

Every 12 years, 12 fighters take the form of the Chinese zodiac and engage in a battle royale. With their strength and mysterious powers, they fight to the death and the sole survivor is granted the ultimate prize—any wish.

With most of Rabbit’s zombie army out of the way, only one thing stands between Ox and Tiger and taking down Rabbit for good—Monkey. Her sheer strength and power, once disciplined in life, are completely unhinged in death, making her far and away the strongest fighter! With only four fighters and one zombie remaining, who will come out victorious? Don’t miss the thrilling, unexpected conclusion to the twelfth Zodiac War!

Review:

We reach the end of the zodiac war, and finally find out who is left at the end of this massacre. It is, of course, not quite what you would expect from the beginning of the series. Once you find out who it is and what their true power is, though, it makes sense, and it makes sense why it was kept secret this whole time.

There were a couple of interesting characters along the way of this series. The relationship between the Tiger and the Ox ended up being particularly odd in its sweetness, honestly. But there were a couple of others, too, that I almost wished hadn't died, like the twins.

After all of that build-up, though, I'm a bit disappointed that we don't find out what the winner wants his wish for. It seems like there was a lot of build up for that, especially the further the series went, and then we're left with an “I'll think about it”, basically. I guess there's a whole sequel novel about his decision, though? So I suppose, in that ideal, that it makes sense the fighting would take up the first story line.

This was an interesting story. Not something I would normally read, especially with so much gore, but I'm glad I stuck around. I wanted to know who won this crazy battle royale, and it was an interesting conclusion.