Death Sin Asura Rising Part 1
Author:Jordan Troche
Artist: Paoni Lee
Cover Artist: Geoff Trebs
Publisher: Fallen Manga Studios
Rating: Mature/15+
Reviewed By: Sandra Scholes
Synopsis: 17 year old Connor is one of the only guys in school who wears an eye-patch, and there's a good reason for it too - he has an eye unlike anyone else, one that curses him to see scenes of horror and depravity that make him wonder why he has this curse and what he can do with it that is best for humanity.
Review: Like any teen in a manga like this, he has very little interest in the opposite sex as they will only complicate his already strange life. Saurin is one of the hottest girls in school and any guy would be happy getting to spend some quality time with her. Everyone else around him has a normal everyday life he envies, but what would anyone do if they had the ability to right wrongs?
Instead, he wants to get the answers to whether he is human, demon or maybe both. Saurin is one of the hottest girls in school and any guy would be happy getting to spend some quality time with her. Saying farewell to his friends, he goes to the school library to do some homework when he finds a book on the shelf only he can see. Once he has read it, he finds himself being in the centre of dire circumstances; a shop owner is faced with a gunman, while a young woman is at the mercy of a rapist. The entity in his eye can even tell the enemy's name, and has a desire to come out and face whatever evil it sees.
When readers seen Connor's eye, it isn't for the feint hearted, it comes with a strange orbed cross between two crescent moons - and with this eye, he can send evildoers to Hell itself. Connor knows he is the righteous one, but he can't get the evil images out of his head as once he sees them, he feels he can never be normal, but somehow he has to move on from what he has done. In the meantime, after he has encountered his foes and dealt with them, there is also a dark, shadowy figure that is haunting him, and it is very real indeed.
For me, Connor reminded me of Ciel Phantomhive, the unfortunate toymaker's son who has a cursed eye and wants revenge on the ones who killed his parents when he was a young child and Deathnote. I liked the overall story that seemed to focus on Connor having the urge to right wrongs and find out his true heritage, Paoni's manga is simplistic and done in a shonen style that is as bold as it is stark, with many shadowy, haunting pages I enjoyed. The subject matter isn't for kids as it deals with many adult themes, there is swearing and horror mixed with a cool plot designed to have you keep the lights on, even if some of the monsters look a bit laughable.
Are Lee and Troche the new manga star pairing? I do hope so.
Summary: Dark, dangerous and strange at times - but very readable.
