Opening:
Wow I havve got to stop taking these "brief" haitus'. Well moshi-moshi loyal readers (or not so loyal) It's me Luke back again to recommend another manga after a long while of putting of the blog in favor of Facebook. "Damn you Internet!!!". But either way, this time I'm reviewing a manga by the name of Alive: The Final Evolution.
Plot:
Young Taisuke Kanou has had a pretty difficult life. Between his parents dying in a car crash when he was very young leaving only himself and his older sister Youko and his constant fighting, he can't seem to find much relief. His only real support are his two best friends Megumi and Hirose. But, after a strange virus starts to spread causing most of its victims to commit a sort of smiling suicide. Men, women, children, no one is safe from the possibility of dying. What's worse is Taisuke' s jealousy when witnessing one of the suicides. Finally to make things worse, Hirose is suspected of brutally murdering a group of upperclassmen that would frequently pick on him. Things become even stranger when Taisuke finds that those who choose to live through the virus are gifted indcredible abilities. These people are referred to as "comrades" and have special ties to eachother allowing them to sense the presence of other "comrades", well at least everyone but Taisuke. Finally, in one horrible turn of events, Hirose reveals that he has gained supernatural powers and did in fact kill the students. After Hirose flees, kidnapping Megumi, Taisuke is left injured and confused. Now he must find his friends and master his power along the way but it won't be easy, there are alot of dangerous "comrades" out there.
Overall:
Alive is a rather interesting read with a very evolving (no pun intended) story. Every character seems to have a deep emotional scar linked to another person and stems from an otaku with an inferiority complex and the ability to kill you if you break a promise and a "comrade" who hates those with abilities and will do anything in her power to destroy them. The art is good but not perfect, the story is emmersive, and the writer enjoys talking about his pet rabbit (hard to explain). I'd say it's worth reading for now.