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Reviewed by Dan Polley Togari is the name of a stick, but it’s not just any stick. That stick is wielded by Tobei, a young man who died long ago in feudal Japan and was damned to hell for the past 300 years. But he has been given an opportunity to redeem himself by vanquishing sins that have taken the form of spirits called toga. To vanquish them, he must use the stick, Togari. In the third volume of Toshinori Natsume’s series named after the stick, Tobei is in a bank and the person who offered him sanctuary, a young girl named Itsuki, is in a hostage position with a gun held to her head. Yet Tobei says to the robber that he should shoot her since Tobei cares only about himself. Detective Sawazaki is also on the trail of Tobei, whom he suspects has had some kind of dealings or connections with recent violent activities. However, during their confrontations, Tobei always seems to get the best of luck. But when he and the detective engage in a fight when a pregnant woman is threatened, Tobei has some learning and understanding to do. One minor thing that was irritating in this volume was that when a spirit was close to Tobei one moment, he was able to sense it and find his way to it. Yet later Tobei attacks a man dressed in a costume thinking he is a spirit and he will get his sin. Tobei should have been able to sense the spirit or else know that if he couldn’t, that the encounter would be an extremely challenging one. But the attack does provide comic relief. And that’s a minor gripe for what is an otherwise very good story. The art has big, bold lines as action shonen should. But aside from that, it feels a bit rudimentary and it’s just there. It doesn’t add to the volume in a way that would make it feel like a cohesive unit. However, there were a few pages that were spectacularly thought out and executed — it just doesn’t extend to the entire volume. Togari is packed with action and it’s fun to be able to see Tobei begin to grow as a human, even as it costs him personal fulfillment. Comment on this review of Togari v3 on the Manga Life Forums. |
6 October 2009
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