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A review by ketsueki_randi
Angels of Death, Vol. 1 by Kudan Naduka
5.0
TW: Animal death, suicide (I’m sure there’s more but these are the most obvious ones)
edit: There's bits of spoilers throughout this review but I can't figure out how to blur out just those lines, so sorry the review looks weird, trying to fix it.
I wanna preface this by saying I have already watched the anime so I might inadvertently give spoilers and I'm not sure how (or if) the stories differentiate.
But I love how unique the story is even though the premise feel like nothing more than a cheesy trope. A girl, in this case Rachel Gardener, wakes up in a mysterious building and has to escape, but wait there's a killer after her. I'm sure it's the premise for a handful of horror media; but wait, what if, like a cheesy commercial, we give you two killers for the price of one, chasing after our protagonist
remember if it's mentioned yet.
That all aside, the thing I love is now Rachel doesn't fall into the trope of most horror protagonist. She doesn't run around blindly and brashly, desperate to live, but is rather more calm, even when being chased by a scythe-wielding serial killer
can kill Rachel (an agreement Rachel offered.) Ahh. I love this twist because considering Zack seems like a more unorganized psychopath denying a willing victim the thing he loves doing most-killing.
Now, I am interested to see if, and how things are different from the anime. Also, I am a sucker for
a well-written villain (especially if they're voiced by certain voice actors), which made Zack one of my favorite characters from the show so I am intrigued whether Zack Foster remains a favorite or if his Japanese voice actor put him in that spot.
edit: There's bits of spoilers throughout this review but I can't figure out how to blur out just those lines, so sorry the review looks weird, trying to fix it.
I wanna preface this by saying I have already watched the anime so I might inadvertently give spoilers and I'm not sure how (or if) the stories differentiate.
But I love how unique the story is even though the premise feel like nothing more than a cheesy trope. A girl, in this case Rachel Gardener, wakes up in a mysterious building and has to escape, but wait there's a killer after her. I'm sure it's the premise for a handful of horror media; but wait, what if, like a cheesy commercial, we give you two killers for the price of one, chasing after our protagonist
Spoiler
okay, it's seven -one for every floor but I don'tremember if it's mentioned yet.
Spoiler
(I believe this is a spoiler for the series and not just the first book)That all aside, the thing I love is now Rachel doesn't fall into the trope of most horror protagonist. She doesn't run around blindly and brashly, desperate to live, but is rather more calm, even when being chased by a scythe-wielding serial killer
Spoiler
or an eye-obsessed doctorSpoiler
. The only time it seems she's not calm and collected is with the birdSpoiler
and I love this break of the facade. I'm not sure if they ever showed this in the anime, but this tiniest slip in the facade is absolutely geniusSpoiler
(Again another spoiler for the series, like I said I'm also viewing this manga knowing some of the context from the anime and I can't help but notice the more minute details that foreshadow)Spoiler
Now the most unique aspect to the story is absolute spoiler for this volume, but my god do I love the odd couple dynamic of Zack and Rachel because they work together to get out so Zack.can kill Rachel (an agreement Rachel offered.) Ahh. I love this twist because considering Zack seems like a more unorganized psychopath denying a willing victim the thing he loves doing most-killing.
Spoiler
(Just a spoiler for the first volume)Now, I am interested to see if, and how things are different from the anime. Also, I am a sucker for
a well-written villain (especially if they're voiced by certain voice actors), which made Zack one of my favorite characters from the show so I am intrigued whether Zack Foster remains a favorite or if his Japanese voice actor put him in that spot.