Type: Magna
Genre: Western, Supernatural, action
Plot Synopsis:
John Parker had it all. A decorated Civil War sharpshooter, he had a beautiful wife, a son, and his own land. He took one last job as a mercenary for the Bakerton Detective Agency, and lost it all. Reinventing himself as "No Man", a ruthless, heartless, gun for hire he travels the West. With Bunline Special, a custom-made Colt .45 with a 16-inch barrel, he hunts the demons he helped release.
Story: 8/10
Fairly good. A little corny, but one key element seperates it from every other manga in existence: the setting. The setting is the Old West (Waco, Texas and that area), which as far as I know is an untouched setting for anime/manga. That and the subtle tweakings of the traditional "tortured man on the run" make the story work well. Yeah, the story may be kind of simple, but the best things in life are, right?
Charecters: 8/10
Thank God, they're good. This ain't no trash spaghetti western. No Man comes across as a man who, while he hasn't lost his hears completely, but has been out of touch with it for so long it appears that way. All the other charecters play off of No Man well. You have Cherokee Bill, bandito turned demon slayer, who works quite well as No Man's foil. If you don't know, in literary terms a foil is the oppisite of a charecter and is often used in romances, but is not limited to them. All in all, they're not the most complex bunch in the world, but they're still pretty good.
Art/Animation: 9/10
In a word: Dark. The action scenes look like stills taken from an action movie. The demons are well drawn, and will give you some semblance of nightmares. This ain't Inuyasha and the demons don't look like they stepped off of the first Doom. Each demon's "tell" is drawn as such that you'll miss it the first time, then go back and think "Idiot. It was so obvious" And then you have the charecters themselves. All the charecters are easy on the eyes. And lets hear it for the anatomically correct maulings! Or wait, lets not.
Overall: 9/10
A must read. If you have any interest in the Old West, however fleeting, you have no reason not to pick this manga up. Unless you can't stand blood, guts, and gore. Trust me, its not your father's cowboy tale.
