[BOOK REVIEW] Black Cat: A Carefree Tomorrow Volume 20 by Kentaro Yabuki

Title:  Black Cat:  A Carefree Tomorrow Volume 20


Author:  Kentaro Yabuki

Genre: Action / Adventure / Comedy / Crime


Year Published: 2006


Year Read: 2014


Series: Black Cat #20


Publisher: VIZ Media


Source:  Library


Content Rating:  Ages 8+ (Fight Scenes)


Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

FINALLY!  THIS IS IT!  We have finally come upon the final volume of Kentaro Yabuki’s “Black Cat” series and this is definitely one volume that you should check out whenever you can!

 In this volume, Creed and Train finally battle it out to the death and Train is having a hard time trying to break through Creed’s god like new powers.  Meanwhile, Eve and Sven started fighting a new powerful force from Creed’s Apostles of the Stars, the Demon Star Force and it seems that these new androids are much more powerful than Sven and Eve could ever imagine!

Can Train defeat Creed and finally bring an end to Creed’s reign of terror?

Read this volume to find out!

Whew! I thought that I would never get to the final volume of Kentaro Yabuki’s “Black Cat” series!  I have been enjoying this series ever since the first volume came out and it has been an honor to read through this series and appreciate the characters’ efforts in stopping Creed’s war against Chronos and the world, while also developing each character along the way.  I really loved the way that Kentaro Yabuki tied up everyone’s story lines in this volume as it is a perfect way to end a series and I really loved the fact that the characters came a long way (especially Eve and Train) from their original goals in the first few volumes to changing their goals as their characters progressed throughout the stories.  I really enjoyed the fighting sequences between the characters, especially between Train and Creed, as they were all intense and they really raised the stakes for the characters.  I was quite surprised that this is the most action-packed volume of the entire series as the series as a whole managed to balance both action and character development in the same panels, while the majority of this volume was focused on the fighting sequences.  Kentaro Yabuki’s artwork is as usual gorgeous to look at as the expressions shown on the characters’ faces whenever they are angry or frightened are extremely realistic and they made me feel so much emotion for the characters themselves.

The biggest problem I had with this volume was that I felt that the ending was a bit too anticlimactic, meaning that I wish that more was done with the characters after the big battle with Creed and how their lives had changed after that event.  I also felt that the ending was a bit rushed as we do not see much of what happens to the Apostles of the Stars and Chronos after Train’s battle with Creed and I would have liked it if they had explained more about how Chronos and the Apostles of the Stars had gotten on with their lives after the battle with Creed.

Overall, “Black Cat: A Carefree Tomorrow Volume 20” is a truly fantastic finale to the “Black Cat” series and anyone who is a huge fan of Kentaro Yabuki’s “Black Cat” series should definitely give this volume a whirl!

[BOOK REVIEW] Black Cat: As a Sweeper Volume 19 by Kentaro Yabuki

Title:  Black Cat:  As a Sweeper Volume 19

Author:  Kentaro Yabuki

Genre: Action / Adventure / Comedy / Crime


Year Published: 2006


Year Read: 2014


Series: Black Cat #19


Publisher: VIZ Media

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 9+ (Violence)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

Ladies and gentlemen, we are now at the volume that finally has Train fighting Creed which is called “Black Cat Volume 19: As A Sweeper” and it is one phenomenon after the next!

In this volume, after Train and Eve finally defeat the Doctor, they meet up with Sven and the three of them go off to confront Creed.  Unfortunately, the Chronos numbers seem to have beaten our heroes to the punch and they are looking forward to defeating Creed themselves.  But, it appears that Creed may have a special weapon that would turn the tides of the battle against Train and the Chronos Numbers!

Can Train defeat Creed now that Creed is invincible?

Read this volume to find out!

Wow!  Can these volumes be any better?  Kentaro Yabuki continues to weave so much drama, tension and excitement in Train’s battle with Creed as we are now nearing the end of the “Black Cat” series and everything is about to come to a dramatic conclusion!  I loved the fact that we are nearing the end of the “Black Cat” series, although at the same time, I am a little sad that this series is about to come to a close since I have been enjoying most of Train’s adventures throughout this series and his grudge against Creed.  It was also shocking seeing the secret weapon that Creed has that makes him invincible since I never would have thought that Creed would get to that level of power, just so he could take over the Chronos numbers and weave the world into his own vision.  I also loved the way that Train continues to mature throughout this series; even when he is fighting Creed, he still wants to take Creed in as a sweeper and let go of his vengeance for Creed to accomplish this.  I also loved the little side story towards the end of this volume that Kentaro Yabuki provided that explained about how Sven and Train met up with each other since I have been wondering throughout this series about how Train and Sven actually met each other.  Kentaro Yabuki’s artwork is gorgeous in this volume, especially during the battle sequences between Train and Creed as this is seriously the moment that fans have been waiting for and it has finally happened!

  

There are a couple of scenes in this volume that are pretty intense, especially with Train’s battle with Creed as the fights can get pretty brutal at times.  So, readers who do not like too much violence might want to trudge lightly through this volume.

Overall, “Black Cat Volume 19: As A Sweeper” is seriously one volume that fans should check out since it has intense battles and plot twists that will make anyone’s hairs stand up on end!