Manga Reviews (the 2000s): Abara: Complete Deluxe Edition – Story & Art by Nihei Tsutomu (a Neo-Tokyo 2099 Manga Review)

If “Abara” gave you a taste of Nihei Tsutomu’s work and you finding out that you really like his work, then definitely go out and check out “Blame!”, “Knights of Sidonia” and “Biomega”. And if you are a Nihei Tsutomu fan, then you’ll definitely want to add “Abara: Complete Deluxe Edition” to your collection!

MANGA TITLE: Abara: Complete Deluxe Edition

STORY AND ART BY: Tsutomu Nihei

FIRST PUBLISHED IN JAPAN: SHUEISHA, Inc.

PUBLISHED IN USA BY: VIZ Media, LLC/Viz Signature

RATED: T for Older Teen

RELEASE DATE: December 18, 2018

A visually stunning work of sci-fi horror from the creator of Biomega and BLAME!

Tsutomu Nihei’s dazzling, harrowing dystopian thriller is presented here in a single-volume hardcover edition featuring full-color pages and foldout illustrations. This volume also includes the early short story “Digimortal.”

A vast city lies under the shadow of colossal, ancient tombs, the identity of their builders lost to time. In the streets of the city, something is preying on the inhabitants, something that moves faster than the human eye can see and leaves unimaginable horror in its wake. Factory worker Denji Kudou just wants to keep his head down and continue his quiet existence, but he is the key to stopping forces that would bring about an apocalyptic transformation of the world.

Nihei Tsutomu is known for his cyberpunk-lnfluenced artwork, his art featuring large structures and his distinct style.

Having created popular titles such as “Blame!”, “Knights of Sidonia” and “Biomega”, his 2005-2006 two volume manga series originally published in “Ultra Jump” is collected in the hardback manga release “Abara: Complete Deluxe Edition” courtesy of Viz Signature.

“Abara” is set during a time when cities were decimated, the human population reduced and all that survived from the past are humans and mausoleums.

The story begins with a man trying to get medical help but the man mutates into a White Gauna and kills everyone around him.

The story then takes us to Tadahomi of the Observation Bureau coming to visit Kudou Denji for help against the White Gauna.

We then see Kudou on the rooftop turning into a Black Gauna (a human/Gauna hybrid) created to fight against the White Gaunas.

While Kudo as a Black Gauna fights against a White Gauna, Sakajima of the Ministry of Martial Justice shows up to arrest Tadahomi, but when they find out the woman they detained is a higher up Observation Agent, they are told they must release her.

Before he is to release her, Sakajima interrogates her and wants her to tell him about Itou Denji, a man suspected of murdering 128 civilians and 24 officers from the Ministry of Martial Justice. But now he has been sighted again and this time with Tadahomi and thy want to know why.

Who is Kudou Denji and what is his significance and his connection to the suspected murders of many people?

For those who are not familiar with Nihei Tsutomu’s works, one thing I noticed is that I often have to re-read the manga. Sometimes the storyline can get a little confusing, sometimes they are quick to read as Nihei’s books tend to feature a lot of artwork, action panels that you can go through pages quickly until you reach the next page with dialogue.

But the more you read, you can’t help but be amazed of how much he is able to cover.

My favorite work from Nihei has to be “Blame!”, while “Knights of Sidonia” was rather intriguing but I found myself re-reading and felt “am I missing something?”.

With “Abara”, it’s a story that is somewhat easy to follow, it took me about two-three read through and it didn’t take so long as a lot of pages were showcasing his artwork and action sequences.

For “Abara”, I noticed that Nihei gets to the action right away and as the pages progress, you learn a little by little of Kidou and Tadahomi’s connection and why he is so upset with her, what a White Gauna and Black Gauna is and what the 4th Chronicle Group and Kegan House is and the importance of the mausoleums.

In addition to the main storyline featured in “Abara: Complete Deluxe Edition”, also included is “Digimortal” which features Kidou of the future and showing us that even in the future, things have not gotten any better.

But as short manga series, “Abara” is an good storyline with awesome art. But you can’t help but feel that the series should have received a longer treatment because you feel that it’s a bit incomplete as characters are not fully fleshed out. One can look at it as a series almost like a popcorn action film, a lot of action and little into the overall storyline. But you still enjoy it nonetheless.

If anything, if “Abara” gave you a taste of Nihei Tsutomu’s work and you finding out that you really like his work, then definitely go out and check out “Blame!”, “Knights of Sidonia” and “Biomega”. And if you are a Nihei Tsutomu fan, then you’ll definitely want to add “Abara: Complete Deluxe Edition” to your collection!

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