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Reviewed by Dan Polley “Alive: The Final Evolution” is unlike any other science fiction story. However, the manga, written by Tadashi Kawashima with art by Adachitoka, starts out with a premise seen in many other science fiction works. The premise: A strange and mysterious virus is making its way around the world. Yet unlike previous works, this virus is different — it causes those who are infected with it to commit suicide. The book starts out ominously enough with a sequence of disembodied conversation saying that life has been found — on Earth. Taisuke and Hirose are the main characters, and they’re both high school-aged children. While Taisuke is sitting in class one day, his attention is diverted and he finds that he’s been a little bit, well, spacey. As he’s walking home from school, he sees a woman jump to her death and fall right in front of him. And while it, unsurprisingly, shakes him up, he does experience some other feelings that he just doesn’t know how to handle. Taisuke continues to experience feelings that he just cannot get a grip on. In turn, his older sister (their mother died when they were younger) grows worried for him and tries the best she can to keep him focused on school and on continuing his growth. But when the word starts to spread that these suicides aren’t just a regional oddity — after a week, there were more than 100,000 reported throughout the world — Taisuke and the rest of the human population start to see other oddities pop up and challenge their conventional thinking. It begins to culminate when Hirose is found alive on the school roof with a bunch of other students who had seemingly fallen to the suicide virus. The plot is fantastic and is a gem to read. It deviates from other science fiction but stays true to the core of what appeals to the broadest base of science fiction fans: A good story with some science as a twist. The plot is something that could easily be adapted as a big-screen movie that has a “Twilight Zone” feeling to it. Adachitoka’s art is a very good fit for the manga, at least this volume. While his artistic style isn’t very dark — and the plot seems to be heading in that direction in future volumes — it fits well with what feels like will be a lighter tone in this first volume, at least as compared to the volumes to come. “Alive” is a must-read for fans who enjoy a manga that isn’t afraid to experiment and try something different. Interested in writing for MangaLife? We're always looking for talented reviewers and columnists, so drop us a line! Charles Webb Editor-in-Chief, MangaLife.com |
1 November 2010
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