Spiral: Suiri no Kizuna

Hi!

Ok, let me take a deep breath first...*inhales* huh..*exhales*...that's better~

So! This post, as always, are one of the things from the list here! To be frank, I'm glad that I'm (finally) fulfilling my oh-so-many promises regarding this blog...I'm slow, I know, but hey, at least I did something, right?

Just like the title, this post is all about me recommending this awesomesauce manga titled Spiral: Suiri no Kizuna. Why this story all of the sudden though? That's because...before I'm typing this I just finished reading the manga...meaning the last and final chapter of it! And OMG I feel like crying...I mean, I've been following the manga for a long time and crazily waiting for the continuation and suddenly it's already ending...there's a kind of..lonely feeling...perhaps? I'm also sooo crazy over it I bought the original DVD of the anime! Mind you, I'm quite picky when it comes to money but I bought it...and this series remain the first (and probably the last) anime I ever buy...most of the anime are either self-downloaded or copies from friends...this one is special..to me at least..ok enough rambling! (-_-")

Somehow the emoticons do not really appeal to me anymore...I wonder why?

Spiral: The Bonds of Reasoning (スパイラル〜推理の絆, Spiral: Suiri no Kizuna?) is a fifteen-volume shōnen mystery manga series written by Kyou Shirodaira and illustrated by Eita Mizuno. It was published by Enix and then Square Enix in Monthly Shōnen Gangan from February 2000 to October 2005 and collected in 15 bound volumes. The series focuses on Ayumu Narumi and his efforts to solve the mystery of the Blade Children, cursed geniuses with cat-like eyes lacking a seventh rib bone. A prequel series by Shirodaira and Mizuno, called Spiral: Alive, was published in Gangan Wing and Monthly Shōnen Gangan from April 2004 to June 2008 and collected in five bound volumes.

Two years ago, Ayumu Narumi's older brother Kiyotaka, a famous detective and pianist, disappears without a trace. Ayumu's only clue as to his brother's whereabouts is the phrase "Blade Children," the only words Ayumu could make out in Kiyotaka's final phone call. Now in high school, Ayumu becomes involved in solving in a series of murders and other incidents, all related to the Blade Children. Together with his school's journalist, Hiyono Yuizaki, and the unwilling assistance of his sister-in-law, Madoka, Ayumu tries to figure out who the Blade Children are and what are their goals.

The Blade Children are the central mystery of the series, known only as cursed children that few know about and are being pursued by so-called Hunters. They are distinguished by their cat-like eyes and by missing the seventh right rib bone. As Ayumu investigates them, he meets Blade Children Kousuke Asazuki, Rio Takeuchi, Eyes Rutherford, Ryoko Takamachi, and Kanone Hilbert, and is tested in various ways by them. Those who meet him eventually conclude, some more reluctantly than others, that Ayumu does have what it takes to "save" the Blade Children, as they say Kiyotaka claims.

The anime series, which adapts the story through the sixth volume of the manga, compares the Blade Children to cuckoo birds, having been deposited in human "nests" to be raised, and suggesting that cuckoos go violently crazy toward the end of their lives. The manga continues the story, depicting Ayumu's discoveries about the origin of the Blade Children, their relationship with Kiyotaka, and why his older brother thinks Ayumu might be their savior.

Some thirty years ago, a man called Yaiba Mizushiro was born with one rib missing from his right ribcage. Like Kiyotaka, he excelled at everything he chose to put his mind to. When he turned twenty-three, Yaiba started his own secret society, which swiftly grew powerful enough to manipulate world events. Citing boredom, Yaiba initiated the "Blade Children Project": using in vitro techniques and his DNA, he created eighty children, and had a rib removed from each of them at birth as a mark of their relationship to Yaiba. These Blade Children were cursed in the same way Yaiba was: they would grow up as geniuses in their own right, but one day their blood would awaken murderously and take over their self-will, becoming avatars of Yaiba. Yaiba's organization split into three parties over the Blade Children Project:

* The Savers supported Yaiba's goals and desire to create more Blade Children. With Yaiba's death, they sought to protect the fact the future had not been determined yet.
* The Watchers were neutral, wanting to observe the first batch of Children and gather results first.
* The Hunters were against Yaiba, and tried multiple times to assassinate him, but repeatedly failed. After Yaiba's death, they worked to eliminate the Blade Children because of their potentially dangerous natures.

When Yaiba was thirty-six, a Japanese man came out of nowhere and easily killed him: Kiyotaka Narumi, Yaiba's counterpart—if Yaiba had been a destroyer, Kiyotaka was a creator. Yaiba had intended to remake the world literally in his own image; with his death, the Blade Children project was halted. Kiyotaka had his hands full trying to stop the Hunters from killing the Blade Children, while trying to check the Savers at the same time.

Just as Kiyotaka and Yaiba were linked, Ayumu eventually meets his own counterpart: Hizumi Mizushiro, Yaiba's younger brother, and the one who will awaken the blood of the remaining Blade Children. As Ayumu comes to know and becomes friends with Hizumi, he comes to accept his own powers are as strong as Kiyotaka's and his role as the savior of the Blade Children, leading to a final confrontation that resolves things once and for all. (Credits to wikipedia as always~)


By heijihatsutori at 2009-12-04
Characters from Spiral: Suiri no Kizuna from left- Kanone Hilbert, Eyes Rutherford, Kousuke Asazuki, Ryoko Takamachi, Rio Takeuchi (sitting), Ayumu Narumi, and Hiyono Yuizaki.

I'm also reading/following the prequel, Spiral: Alive (which is in a damn long hiatus now...darn it!) but as the series is not finished yet so I'm not going to touch anything about that...

Basically, Spiral:Suiri no Kizuna (refers after this simply as Spiral) is a very suspense and full-of-mystery type of a story...while it may seem like a norm mystery-solving type at the beginning, the development of the plot in regrds to the deep mystery of the Blade Children holds the plot together and immediately separates this series from others...don't expect the stereotypes murder-solve the mystery-catch the culprit-next case kind of story for this is absolutely NOT that category...everything seems so blurry and connected to one another but slowly, as the story goes, layers of the mystery starts to unfold and that's when you'll never let go of the series...trust me, I'm speaking from experience here...

The artwork is extremely good and well done...though this may sounds exaggerating but really, I love the manga's artwork more than its anime...each panel is largely drawn and although this is a kind-of heavy story what with the mystery and all but the artwork might makes you mistaken it as a shoujo manga instead...no..they don't have imaginary flowers around the characters for God's sake but it's the smooth style of the art that may win you over...as an example here is Ayumu, the main character in manga and anime...I don't know what you might think...but somehow I think Ayumu is cooler in manga than anime...might jut be me though...


By heijihatsutori at 2009-12-04
Ayumu- Manga version


By heijihatsutori at 2009-12-04
Ayumu- Anime version

The characters in the series are distinguishable and each of them play an important in building up the plot...as there are a wide variety of them...unlike the usual series, who is good or bad is ambiguous in Spiral, there is no clear line for what is 'good' and what is 'bad'...which make things even more interesting...as the story flows you might end up liking the character you loathes and vice versa...for it all depends on what do you really holds on while reading...indeed, like me, you might end up liking them all! The mixture of personality is what makes them unforgettable and makes me realize that 'ah...they are humans after all~ ' and hopes they all will have a happy ending...which is quite unlikely of me actually...I'm quite a negative person to be frank...

Also, my favorite in the series must be the main character...Ayumu Narumi...he's too cool for words! hahaha~ Ayumu is very intelligent, but is very introverted and has a lot of self-doubt. He fears that he cannot surpass his own perfect older brother and doubts himself to the point where he no longer believes he can do anything anymore without acting like his brother. He is a talented pianist like Kiyotaka, an excellent cook, and cares a lot for his sister-in-law Madoka. (credits to Wikipedia~ ^^) I have to admit that perhaps I like the troubled (perhaps in their personality?) character in any series I loved...remembering Lt. Rei Fukai (extremely unsocial) in Yukikaze, Okazaki Tomoya (delinquent/family problem) -Clannad and Yoite (too much trouble for a human to handle) -Nabari no Ou...heh~

Spiral is indeed a series full of mystery and it never fails to make you go 'what??!'...and trust me, when a series manage to do that, that means it's a good one...for you'll not going to get bored...and to me, that generates the enjoyment in following the series! The mysteries might makes your head go blank for a few moments but you'll be satisfied once the layers of truth is peeled off one by one...believe me...this one is good!!

As I've mentioned above, this series also have an anime and...this might sound weird but to be honest the manga is a whole lot better than the anime...of course, the anime is enjoyable too but if I'm to choose, I'll pick the manga, hands down...the anime is good if you want some introduction to the story..most people gets some idea of the story from the anime...but really...the anime is quite a hang-over in terms of plot...(and I don't like the soundtrack much) which is quite dissapointing even to me and it might leaves you frustrated a bit...even so, I don't regret buying it so it might be good to you! Again, the manga is pure win...seriously...

This is my first time recommending a manga here and I really, really hope that it'll turn out ok and I do this series a justice...^^

To end this, I put some pictures (mostly from the manga and a lot of Ayumu -mind you I'm bias) from my oh-so-many collections and a quote from Ayumu:

"The melody of logic will always play out the truth"


By heijihatsutori at 2009-12-04


By HeijiHatsutori at 2009-12-04
Ayumu with his counterpart Hizumi Mizushiro.


By heijihatsutori at 2009-12-04
Hizumi.


By heijihatsutori at 2009-12-04
With Kanone Hilbert.


By HeijiHatsutori at 2009-12-04
With Eyes Rutherford.


By HeijiHatsutori at 2009-12-04
With Hiyono Yuizaki.


By HeijiHatsutori at 2009-12-04
Kanone Hilbert, Ayumu Narumi, Kousuke Asazuki, Eyes Rutherford.


By heijihatsutori at 2009-12-04


By HeijiHatsutori at 2009-12-04
The woman on the panel above Kousuke and Ryoko's is Madoka Narumi, Ayumu's sister-in-law.


By heijihatsutori at 2009-12-04

That's a lot~ Till then, ja ne~

Music of the day: Death Cab for Cutie -Meet Me on the Equinox

P/S: Heard this song for the fist time on MTV 2 days ago and now listens to it on repeat mode...already loving it! Apparently it's the soundtrack for the film New Moon, the second installment of the Twilight saga...I'm not a fan of it and nor did I watch film much at the first place but they really got good songs as their soundtrack...remember Twillight's 'Decode' from Paramore....love that one too...

Back to the song, I've just heard the name of the band before but don't really remember any of their songs...so when I first hear the song I was like 'hey, that sounds cool!' kind-of feeling...the guitar and the melody (apparently, the lyrics too) suits the mv and the overall mood of the story...I kind of have an idea what the Twilight story is all about so I have to say the song makes a good soundtrack...but even if it's not I'm sure this song will still rocks the charts! The arrangements of the song is soo cool and really, I love the guitar...the vocal of the main singer also suits the song perfectly...

Overall, this song is super cool (listens to it while reading the last chapter of Spiral does not help me much in controlling my emo self, really)...do check it out! Listen to it at my playlist below!

~The-emo-and-supposed-to-be-sleeping-now Heiji.

The wind blows softly, twirling on his hair, brushing past his cheeks, hugging his small frame. A hand reaches out to his and he understands.

That everything, everything ends.