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Reviewed by Dan Polley The bitter war between the Empire and the Republic of Frost has ended, but three years after the cease-fire, the Empire is still ravaged by starvation and disease, and bandits terrorize the populace. Can the Imperial Army State Section III, aka Pumpkin Scissors, stop a renegade force bent on wanton destruction? And who is the mysterious stranger helping Pumpkin Scissors? The first thing that’s good about Ryotaro Iwanaga’s Pumpkin Scissors debut volume is the way it tackles war and peace. The way the volume depicts citizens and the life of a country after a long and brutal war is faithful and saddening. Yet it’s that setting that allows the characters in the Imperial Army State Section III, whose job it is to help with the country’s reconstruction efforts, to be fresh and crisp in this first volume. Randel Oland, a tall and mysterious solider with unique abilities, is one of the main characters, along with Alice Malvin, a second lieutenant and commanding field officer for Section III. Section III is sent to a village near a couple of dams that desperately needs help starting its reconstruction effort. Yet a group of soldiers from a squad called Grey Wolf. And when Section III tries to take that squad out, they find they’ll need some help from unexpected places. The plot continues when Oland decides to enlist with Section III and help the unit with reconstruction of the country. Section III, with Oland, encounters a couple of other situations that force them to use their mind to overcome physical situations that look bleak. The art is full of deep black lines that bring a sense of darkness to the volume and the series. It’s well executed and also helps add to the mystery behind Oland’s character. The battle sequences stand out as some of the best in the volume. Pumpkin Scissors certainly has a focus on war, but it doesn’t maintain it only on that. It illuminates motivations behind characters and demonstrates the brutality war can have on a country on the mend. But most of all, it shows that even when war is over, there’s battles to be fought. Comment on this review of Pumpkin Scissors v1 on the Manga Life Forums. |
1 July 2009
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