Arm of Kannon, Volume 6

I like the series. The first book was too graphic. The rest are fine. Be warned that there is a lot of sex and violence. What makes it interesting is the religious and philosophical overtones. Power can be used for good or evil. The decision is up to the entity who controls the power. Which lead to the famous quote, power corrupts, absolute power corrupts completely.

Masayoshi Garama is the not only the head of Garama, a military contractor that has been doing some genetic tampering with human DNA to make super soldiers, he is also a powerful member of the Japanese yakuza. And, oh yeah, he holds of the other two arms of Kannon, the one called "Angel Fist" which he stole along with the Holy Grail from Rou and Shadow Bright-Ring. As Volume 6 opens, Rou is chained in one of Garama's dungeons and Shadow has arrived with his Christian symbol embossed sword. He's not supposed to use it against humans but most of Garama's minions have long ago ceased being that! Meanwhile, Shinjuro Kanagi, the magician who can manipulate space, is shown to the Angel-Fist den where he will face a power even he cannot bend. The thing that is great about Arm of Kannon is that it reminds me a lot of 1970's Marvel and DC comics when you had books that were a blend of traditional superheroes with a tinge of dark horror. Arm of Kannon pays homage to this long-gone (at least in American comics) genre of art and writing while also tipping its hat to many manga conventions. But it does so in a witty way which winks at cliche instead of using it. There is a lot of graphic gore and nudity as usual which easily warrants the "mature" rating Arm receives. Great plot and it also features some of the best manga art I have ever had the pleasure of perusing.