Wolf's Rain volume 1
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(quoted from the back of Wolf's Rain volume 1)
Four Wolves on the Road To Paradise
From the creator of COWBOY BEBOP and ESCAFLOWNE comes this new manga take on the hit suspense anime Wolf's Rain.
Humans thought the wolves died off two centuries ago in this pleak post-apocalyptic wasteland. But some survivors lurk among the humans by mentally cloaking their animal bodies. One white wolf, Kiba, scours the land for the scent of the Lunar Flower that will lead them all to Paradise....
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Wolf's Rain volume 1 contains:
Grope 1: A Short Stay
Grope 2: The Key to Paradise
Grope 3: Escape from the Fortress
Grope 4: The Fortress of Solitude
Grope 5: The Flower That Dances in the Wind
Storyline:
If you have watched the anime I'm here to tell you that the manga and anime are completely different. The manga has a lot of material that the anime doesn't have and vice versa. Not only that, but there is one reason the manga managed to cover a 30 episode anime into two volumes: the manga progresses way too quickly. With a sci-fi type setting, the manga critiques society in almost everyway, but this is also its biggest downfall. The crammed storyline never gives the series enough time to progress so it is constantly jumping around time periods and making the story seem not as strong as it should be.
Artwork:
The artwork is what saves the series from its other two major weaknesses. Everywhere from the beautiful cover to the full color pages that start off the volume are probably the greatest drawings from any manga I have seen. After that, the series continues off with brilliantly drawn characters and backgrounds that accurately represent the characters themselves.
Characters:
Whenever a manga tries to cover too many scenes in such a short amount of pages the characters suffer severely. Right from the beginning of Wolf's Rain the characters are just there and they have absolutely no time to start developing. The pack of wolves just meet and head out by the end of Grope 3, and after that the author barely hints at the wolves' inner characteristics at all.
Summary (Warning: May Contain Spoilers)
In Grope 1, Tsume, a wolf leading a pack of thieves, finds a bleeding wolf under a tree. When one of Tsume's lackeys goes to check it out the white wolf attacks and Tsume chases after him. After confronting the wolf Tsume finds out there is more to this wolf then meets the eye and then the wolf is chased off by one of Tsume's followers. Still bleeding, the wolf is walking around the town trying to find a place to sleep when a man in a trench coat comes out of the blue and tries to kill him. After the wolf gets shot he falls asleep and wakes up in a cage in some laboratory. Hige, another wolf, finds the white wolf and helps him escape by disguising themselves as humans (yes they can do that). At the end of the chapter Tsume and his gang are getting ready for another heist.
In Grope 2, the white wolf finally reveals his name, Kiba, and Hige and him talk for a while. Switching scenes, Tsume's attempted robbery fails and one of his comrades die. Quickly after, his gang disbands and Tsume finds himself all alone. Then the scene switches over to the last wolf, Toboe, as he is digging through the garbage for some food. He meets a young girl who feeds him and then he runs into Tsume. After some talking, Toboe gets attacked by the man in the trench coat that had attack Kiba. Tsume saves him, and then at the end of the chapter the scene switches over to a young girl in a laboratory, Cheza, who is captured by a man in black.
In Grope 3, Kiba and Hige run into the man in black and after they helplessly watch him take Cheza away the scene switches over to Tsume and Toboe talking. After they argue for a bit Toboe runs off and gets attack by the trench coat man's dog (who is actually a wolf). Tsume comes just in time and saves Toboe and then they run into Kiba and Hige. After Kiba talks about a place called Paradise, they decide to all head there and get chased out of the town.
In Grope 4, the wolves have been on the running through endless snow for days and they finally come across another town. In the town, the villagers refuse to let the wolves (disguised as people) enter. After they split up while getting chased out of the town, Toboe runs into a young girl named Tia. He quickly becomes friends with her and learns the horrors of the town, after they talk for a bit more the scene switches over to Kiba. He is just relaxing in a lake and then has a vision and gets up suddenly.
In Grope 5, the wolves are trying to meet back up with each other. Toboe finally catches up with Hige and the Tia tries to lead them out of the town. Then, Tia asks Toboe if she could come along with him on the road to Paradise, but Toboe refuses because of how treacherous it is. After everyone meets back up Tia tells Toboe she's going to look for her own Paradise and then they leave. At the end of the volume, Darcia's (the man in black) ship gets attacked and Cheza jumps out the back of the ship. As she floats down from the sky she lands near the wolves, leaving them in awe.
Extras:
With two beautiful drawings and then some honorifics this volume manages to give the readers something to...ummm...read! The pictures were probably the greatest thing about the extras and they brought the series to a whole new level.
Content Warnings:
-Language: No
-Violence: Yes
-Nudity: No
-Sexual Situations: No
Overall:
Not a bad volume but it was very unbalanced. If it wasn't for the amazing artwork and extras this manga probably would have scored a 5.5 or lower. The storyline feels too rushed and the characters have almost no depth, but thankfully, it does manage to provide an experience that hardcore fans of drama, action, and adventure series will definitely love.
+ Excellent artwork and the two colored pages really bring the art to life.
- Everything else seems very rushed and crammed which severely damages the story and limits the character development.
Score: 7/10
