Title: 7th Garden Vol. 4
Author: Mitsu Izumi
Publisher: Viz Media
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 200
Genre: Fantasy, Battle
Publication Date: April 4, 2017
The Story
The best way I can sum up this story is that this was an information dump chapter which gave us tremendous backstory on Awyn as well as Mariphiel (Marie). This was all triggered by Vyrde when she had a dream based off of one of Awyn’s memories. This was due to saving him in the previous volume and as a result of their pact. Awyn’s backstory seemed like your standard fare of tragedy, but it still tugged on the heartstrings a bit. It was also heartwarming when Mariphiel became intertwined with Awyn’s past and how the two of them became the friends that they are today. The ending to the volume picks back up before the flashback with a new development when Awyn’s childhood friend Isaac naively talks about meeting Awyn to the church. Now it seems that Vyrde and Awyn will be on the verge of trouble next volume.
You typically don’t see an entire volume dedicated to one character, but Volume 4 of 7th Garden did just that. It answered a LOT of questions about Awyn and developed him as a pretty solid character; however, it still left a couple of questions unanswered like any good info dump should. What readers should be able to take away from this volume is the fact that we know Awyn on a personal level so much that his actions from here on out should connect with us in more meaningful ways.
Characters
Awyn’s development got completely fleshed out. You had to feel bad for Awyn as so much affected him as a child. From his father being wrongly accused of mass murder to his mother falling ill, to working his tail off just to get her medicine, to the church robbing him of his money and more… it’s no wonder why Awyn had a bit of a lapse in judgment. To see Awyn at the start of this series and to see how he had fallen earlier in his life was like night and day. The introduction of Marie into his life and her being his counterbalance is a tad on the cliché side, but it worked rather well.
Marie herself didn’t really develop too much. We learned that she has had the same mentality her entire life so her personality hadn’t changed, but we now know that she was the one responsible for Awyn living and working at the manor. Because of her character, Marie doesn’t really need much in the way of development. She’s simple and straight-forward enough to where her personality speaks for itself.
Final Thoughts
I really enjoyed this volume of 7th Garden. The break from the action was refreshing and we got to learn almost everything about Awyn aside from his (seemingly) twin personality (or alter ego.. whichever you prefer.) Volume 5 looks to pick the action back up as Isaac kind of blew the whistle on Awyn’s presence. I’m sure Isaac didn’t know about Awyn’s past so it’ll be interesting how he reacts once he hears word of what the church is going to do once they find Awyn. It makes you wonder if Isaac will join them or protect his childhood friend. This presents another possible moral dilemma, which this series has been using as a pretty successful running theme. It fits, so why not?
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This item was provided for review by Viz Media