Manga Review: Gangsta: Cursed. Ep_Marco Adriano, Volume 5, by Kohske and Syuhei Kamo

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: VIZ Signature (VIZ Media)

Release Date: June 2019

Volumes: 5.

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 4.

Goodreads Synopsis:

A spin-off series from the hit manga Gangsta that tells the backstory of Marco Adriano.

The man named Marco Adriano is a loyal and beloved member of the Cristiano Family, helping them protect the persecuted Twilight population in the city of Ergastulum. But he was once a boy code-named “Spas,” raised as a Hunter and assigned to the Destroyers Second Group for a single purpose: to track down and kill Twilights.

Spas has lost the sense of justice that gave his life meaning. Striker still lives only for the thrill of the hunt. The rift between their moral stances forces Spas to break the promise they’d once made to each other, initiating a bloody parting that will scar them both forever.

The final volume of Marco Adriano’s hidden history of savagery and redemption.

Review:

The fight between the hunters comes to a head in the first half of this volume. Spas has turned on the other hunters, and despite his grief and his wanting to stay with his friends, he has to be honest and do what he believes is right.

It gets real bloody there for a bit. It's a bad stand-off, a bad fight. But thankfully it proves, at least to one person, that Spas isn't a hunter anymore and he wants out. This leads to some more hardships for him, as he knows he's done terrible things, and no one wants to accept him.

I haven't read any of Gangsta, so I don't know where that series starts up after this prequel. I'm not sure where Spas/Marco's story goes from here. This history was definitely dark and bloody and awful, and there's hints of more underlying issues aside from the major ones. But I actually found this to be an interesting spin-off series nonetheless, and I did like Marco's character and the way it was done, how he realized they were doing awful things and yet we still saw that they were his makeshift family with happy memories.

 A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Gangsta.: Cursed. Ep_Marco Adriano, Volume 4, by Kohske and Syuhei Kamo

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: VIZ Signature (VIZ Media)

Release Date: May 2018

Volumes: 5.

Spoilers?: Light.

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

Volume: 1. 2. 5.

Goodreads Synopsis:

A spin-off series from the hit manga Gangsta that tells the backstory of Marco Adriano.

The man named Marco Adriano is a loyal and beloved member of the Cristiano Family, helping them protect the persecuted Twilight population in the city of Ergastulum. But he was once a boy code-named “Spas,” raised as a Hunter and assigned to the Destroyers Second Group for a single purpose: to track down and kill Twilights.

No longer able to ignore what his conscience is telling him, Spas finally tracks down Maverick and confronts her. With time running out and deaths piling up, can he convince her to turn away from her twisted ideology of salvation?

Review:

There's just utter chaos in this volume. They're killing twilights and everyone involved with them, and it's bloody and brutal. But then, as Spas realizes what they're doing is wrong and tries to stop it, they end up fighting each other, as well.

Everyone is fighting everyone, and there's blood everywhere, and arguing, and attempts at saving people, and it's hard to tell who's winning, if anyone is.

Marie and Spas have it out in this volume, and it's not good. With the cliffhanger, it looks like more bad things are in store for Spas, as he stands up for what he believes in.

This series is a bit hard to take. I definitely wouldn't follow it, or have picked it up, on my own, but it does intrigue me. I kind of want to know who comes out of this massacre alive.

 A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Gangsta.: Cursed. Ep_Marco Adriano, Volume 2, by Kohske and Syuhei Kamo

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: VIZ Signature (VIZ Media)

Release Date: May 2017

Volumes: 5.

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 3.

Goodreads Synopsis:

A spin-off series from the hit manga Gangsta that tells the backstory of Marco Adriano.

The man named “Marco Adriano” is a loyal and beloved member of the Cristiano Family, helping them protect the persecuted Twilight population in the city of Ergastulum. But he was once a boy codenamed “Spas,” raised as a Hunter and assigned to the Destroyers Second Group for a single purpose: to track down and kill Twilights.

Ever since he was a young child, Spas has been indoctrinated to believe that eliminating all Twilights is the only way to guarantee the safety of the Normal population. But as he and the rest of the Hunters carry out their gruesome duty, the foundations of that belief begin to erode. Unable to reconcile the high-minded teachings of his past with the brutal realities of his present, Spas stands on the brink of a decision that will change his life—and the lives of those he loves—forever.

Review:

The story just jumps right in as the volume starts. I haven't read anything else in this series, so I really had no idea what was going on at first.

It became apparent that there are two types of people, and some extreme prejudice against the Twilights. They all appear human, but Twilights are different, and they wear tags to show what they are. Our group of protagonists are Hunters, and they're brutally killing off the Twilights. They believe they're doing the right thing, and have no mercy and no second thoughts. Aside from Spas, who suddenly realizes that the other humans in this village are trying to protect the Twilights.

I appreciated that it didn't take long for him to decide to do something about these new thoughts. He tries to reason with his friends, and then even puts himself on the line to stop what's happening. It doesn't look like good things will happen from it, but I respect that.

This is definitely brutal, and filled with death even in this one volume. It's awful, honestly.

This isn't something I would normally read, for sure, but it's intriguing. And the artwork looked a lot like Setona Mizushiro's, a style that is very particular.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!