[BOOK REVIEW] Black Cat: The Truth About the Tao Volume 16 by Kentaro Yabuki

Title:  Black Cat:  The Truth About the Tao Volume 16


Author:  Kentaro Yabuki

Genre: Action / Adventure / Comedy / Crime


Year Published: 2008


Year Read: 2014


Series: Black Cat #16


Publisher: VIZ Media


Source:  Library


Content Rating:  Ages 10+ (Violence)


Buy or Add on:  Amazon  //  Goodreads

 

Seriously, how am I still reading this series and never getting tired of it?  Well, folks, now we are starting to get closer to the final battle between Creed and Train in this volume of Kentaro Yabuki’s “Black Cat” series, “Black Cat Volume 16: The Truth about the Tao” and the revelations made in this story will make your hairs stand on end!

 

In this volume, Train and River meet up with Shiki, one of the most powerful members of Creed’s Apostles of the Stars.  Shiki is determined to prove to both Train and River that the power of Tao is the strongest power there is and also starts telling them about the tragic history behind Tao and his people.

Can Train and River beat Shiki?

Read this volume to find out!

 

Kentaro Yabuki’s writing and artwork continue to improve in each volume as we get closer to the final confrontation between Train and Creed!  I loved the way that Kentaro Yabuki developed each character in this volume, especially with Train and River as you see them getting along with each other much better in this volume than in the previous volumes.  It was great seeing Train and River work together towards a common cause which is to defeat Creed and I really enjoyed seeing their different fighting styles such as River using his boxing moves and Train using his gun to defeat their enemies.  Another positive thing about this volume was Eve’s own character development as she went from being a frightened little girl who feared her strong powers to being a determined and brave girl who is willing to use her powers to protect the people she cares about.  Sven was another character that I think has been progressed quite well, especially since now we see that he has become much more proactive to the team by defeating the enemies in his own special way (using a suitcase filled with weapons, pretty impressive)!  I also really enjoyed the fact that we finally get a backstory that involves the history of Tao and how it affected Shiki as a character since before this volume, we did not know much about Shiki’s character and why he joined Creed’s Apostles of the Stars.  Kentaro Yabuki’s artwork is as usual, gorgeous to look at, especially with the fight scenes between Train, River and Shiki as they look truly intense and dramatic!

     

Even though the violence is not as gory in this volume as the previous volumes, there are many scenes where characters get hurt or scratched up pretty badly during the battle scenes. So, readers who do not like seeing images of characters getting hurt be warned.

Overall, “Black Cat Volume 16: The Truth About the Tao” is a fantastic volume for fans who want to learn more about Shiki’s background story and who want to get ready for the final fight between Train and Creed!