Title: Choujin X Vol. 7
Author: Sui Ishida
Publisher: Viz Media
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 231
Genre: Supernatural, Battle
Publication Date: September 17, 2024
The Story
We pick up with Tokio showing up “fresh” off of his training to battle the choujin that has encased Ely in ice. We learn that the name of this choujin is I.C. Ice (really?). Of course, in his “trained” state, Tokio is able to display some of his newly-honed powers; however, things go a bit south when one of his injuries jeopardizes his battle. Azuma shows up and evens the odds; however, in the end, I.C. Ice makes his escape.
We reconvene with the villains with Zora as Batista says that mistakes like this cannot be allowed to continue. He has an idea and later pays a visit to a certain choujin who is experimenting on the dead. He wanted her to help him with something that he had been working on for quite a while but wasn’t free until now to do what he wanted with it. This new choujin by the name of Palma agrees to help him but she requires a hefty, yet grim, stock of “supplies” to carry it out.
Back in Yamato Mori, Tokio gets assigned immediately to the task force set to take out Zora. They feel that with her in a weakened state, the time to strike back at her is now; however, when Tokio attends a meeting he wasn’t initially invited to, he shows a break in his character and does something no one expected him to do… he actually speaks up and offers an opinion… and that opinion is their plan is heavily flawed! He offers a brand-new plan which he manages to convince them to follow; however, because they feel he’s a bit full of himself and cannot grasp the situation properly, they give him a 2-week period to carry out his suggestion rather than the 1 month that he asked for.
His suggestion is to find the hidden opium fields that Zora is using. Why is opium important? The volume gives us a nice history lesson from eighty years ago to explain why this simple drug is at the center of everything they are fighting for. For this mission, he is assigned Mike (Michael Es), the Psychic Choujin, and Michaelangelo, the Insect Choujin. So… Mike and Mic… nice. Now we are off to execute Tokio’s plan! Let’s see how this goes…
Characters
The biggest development here was with Tokio. How rigorous was Ichiro’s training for Tokio to come back and be able to, not only, be confident in speaking up in front of authority but to have the ability to become stone-cold, callous, and fearless when searching for the opium? This is a dramatic character shift for him and while he still gets nervous and is unsure of himself, he has grown by leaps and bounds just simply by training with Ichiro; however, there is some explanation to it. There is a story that he tells after he gets back about one of his training missions. I believe the events in that story are what triggered his personality transformation. Still, I like this new Tokio… it’s nice to see him grow some sort of a spine for once!
I was to say that Azuma changed as well. He was serious with Tokio before but never liked this. It’s like he looks at Tokio with disgust now. This is even accented by the fact that Tokio admits that he had only spoken about 11 sentences with Azuma since he got back. Azuma’s facial expressions and his shortness with Tokio shows that something is going on in his mind. What it is remains to be seen.
Because of Batista’s experiments, I have a feeling that he is planning to go rogue. There are some subtle hints in this volume that his persona may be shifting in that direction and due to the fact that he has a personal stake in this “war” between Zora and Yamato Mori, the Calamity, and Choujin X, there is no doubt that he is now operating for his own selfish wishes while masquerading as a devout follower of Zora. We’ll see how that pans out in the future.
We get a new character in Palma. I won’t go into much detail as she’s a big part of the plot… especially with Batista; however, she seems like a sweet girl at first but then you come to realize that she and her choujin powers are anything but sweet. Still, she comes as someone who you can feel sympathetic to as she’s trying to be independent but her curiosity and her experiments lead her down a path that… either she didn’t want or didn’t expect. That’s where some of the sympathy comes in. I’m really loving her as one of the newer characters. We’re going to be getting a lot more with her soon, too which is a good thing!
Lastly, while we were given some background on Zora before, this time it was expanded during our little history lesson from 80 years ago. We get the complete story of how she became who she is today, what led to that, and how opium played a huge role in all of it, and while they agree with Tokio’s plan to find and destroy the opium first and foremost. It was really interesting and, like Palma, you feel a bit sympathetic towards Zora when you discover the entire truth.
Final Thoughts
An excellent volume of Choujin X! It was one of the best and most balanced volumes that we’ve had to date. It had action, story advancement, world-building, important character development, some comedy, and some definitely planted seeds for future storylines. I don’t think that there is anything more that you could ask from a volume of manga!
The history lesson involving Zora was great. It explains a lot about what she is trying to accomplish and the reasons behind it. Plus, with discovering how she came to be, it builds a connection with that character and makes you believe in them as a villain. The same goes for Batista. While we are not there yet pertaining to the same level of understanding as Zora, we’re getting there. He has been a fun character to watch grow and it’s pretty obvious that he is being saved as the main villain for this series. Can’t wait to see the lengths he will go to in order to achieve his personal goals.
Loved seeing Tokio grow as a character. I don’t think he is fully there yet but even if he were to remain as he is now… bolder, and more direct while maintaining some of his original personality traits, I would be happy. I’m against transforming characters completely. There are aspects to them that you end up admiring from the get-go and to erase them completely is a mistake. I think he could use a couple of small tweaks but, other than that, I think he’s in a fantastic spot to be the series’ main character and be taken completely seriously.
Again, all-around great volume! Can’t wait to see where everything leads next time around!
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This item was provided for review by VIZ Media
