Black Cat is the story of Train Heartnet, who used to work as an assassin for a powerful organization called Chronos. After an encounter with a female bounty hunter (a.k.a. sweeper) named Saya (whom we only glimpse near the end of volume two), his outlook changed and he gave up that life. Now it’s two years later and Train has become a sweeper himself, collecting bounties on criminals with his partner, Sven. Train’s motto is “more money, more danger… more fun!” and his pursuit of the latter two usually means the duo doesn’t get much of the former.

Though the idea of the “protagonist who used to be a killer but has now become more kind” is not new to shounen manga, it’s employed a little differently in Black Cat. While many such heroes have made it their pledge never to kill again, Train has no problem with offing the criminal element, though he’s scrupulous about not harming innocents. This allows for the potential of a deadly showdown with his former partner, Creed, who was responsible for Saya’s death and upon whom Train has sworn to exact revenge.

After going after a few minor targets, Train and Sven are approached with a proposition by Rinslet, a notorious female thief. She’s been hired to steal some research data from a criminal bigwig, and wants Train and Sven to help make her job easier by capturing the bigwig first. They get the reward; she gets the loot; everybody’s happy. Of course, things don’t exactly go as planned, since the bigwig invokes Creed’s name and makes Train go rather nuts. Ultimately, Train and Creed confront each other, inflicting enough wounds to prove they are well matched as opponents but living to fight another day.

These first two volumes skillfully introduce Train’s past, his current circumstances, and the lingering threat of Creed and his band of revolutionaries (who seek to overthrow Chronos and want Train to join them) without inundating the reader with information. One of the best things about this series is the nebulous notion of “pacing,” which to me means that when I read it, it feels like I am watching a television show, with a variety of perspectives and camera angles and a natural flow to scenes and conversations. The story is also structured similarly, with the introduction of a villain who then retreats into the background for a bit while the protagonists get on with the daily grind of their occupation, calling, and/or duty.

My favorite aspect of the series, however, is the strength of the partnership between Train and Sven. It’s clear that these two trust each other professionally, but it goes deeper than that, as exemplified by Train’s reaction when Sven gets wounded during an attempt to apprehend a target. Their relationship actually reminds me some of Ban and Ginji in GetBackers, with the energetic but extremely powerful guy using the nickname –chan to refer to his more cerebral partner who possesses some sort of eye-related power (though this is only a hint so far in Sven’s case). That’s a pretty superficial comparison, but the overall affectionate feel is pretty similar.

Thankfully, the similarities between Black Cat and GetBackers do not extend to the art. Yabuki’s illustrations are clean and easy on the eyes, with a minimum of screentone and quite a lot of speed lines. Even without looking at the cover, one could probably tell that this series ran in Shonen Jump. Speaking of the cover, that’s the one area where Yabuki’s art becomes unattractive. Rinslet in particular looks much, much better in the interior art. One artistic element that does puzzle me is Train’s coat. What exactly are those brown things?! They look like miniature life boats but I have a sneaking suspicion they’re meant to be cat nipples.

Bizarre sartorial choices aside, what it all boils down to is that Black Cat is a lot of fun. The well structured story and the camaraderie between the leads elevates it beyond typical shounen fare and I’m definitely looking forward to seeing how the rest of it plays out.

This review was originally published at Comics Should Be Good.

I enjoyed being unspoiled on this, so if you want to be unspoiled too, go no further.

From the back cover:
Luffy and crew must contend with “Saw-Tooth” Arlong and his nasty Fish Man pirates, who specialize in using mafia tactics to squeeze the lifeblood from innocent villagers. Needless to say, it comes as a big surprise to everyone that pirate-hating Nami is actually a member of Arlong’s crew!

Review:
This volume’s all about Nami and her background and, though some parts of it work out as one might expect, I still found the final pages to be unexpectedly moving. Essentially, Nami’s working for Arlong because of a deal they struck in which she might be able to buy the freedom of her village for a hefty price. She’s sacrificed a lot for this goal, and the arrival of Luffy and the others to “rescue” her doesn’t actually endear them to her, as it causes her to have to prove her loyalty to Arlong. The scene where she fights (and apparently stabs) Usopp is pretty awesome, though I never had any doubt that she had somehow managed not to really wound him.

What’s even better is how this situation affects the others on the team. Usopp’s pretty convinced Nami’s evil, but Luffy refuses to consider it or even to hear the details of her past that her step-sister, Nojiko, relates to the others. Nami has a pretty tragic backstory, not unlike those of Luffy and Sanji in that an adult made a sacrifice to protect her life and she feels bound to repay that and protect their dream. In Nami’s case, this manifests as a foster mother named Belle-Mère and a close-knit village, respectively. Nami had thought everyone in the village hated her for becoming a member of Arlong’s crew, and was okay with that if it meant being able to protect them, but they secretly always knew what she was about and want to protect her just as much.

When Arlong betrays Nami by stealing the money she’s accumulated thus far, the villagers have had enough and are set on taking up arms against their oppressors, which will surely get them killed. The absolute best scene I’ve seen in this series so far occurs when Nami, desperate to stop them, tearfully turns to Luffy and says, “Help?” I’ve got geekbumps just thinking about it, actually. After this, Nami’s boys, each a badass in their own way, head to Arlong’s lair to take care of the situation. I kind of love them for it.

From the back cover:
If Luffy wants to get out of a year’s worth of chore-boy duty on the oceangoing restaurant Baratie, he’s got to rid the seas of the evil Don Krieg. Unfortunately, Krieg’s armed to the teeth and aided by his “Demon Man,” Commander Gin. The battle takes a surprising turn as Krieg reveals his increasingly deadly military might!

Meanwhile, Nami has sailed off on the Merry Go with treasure in tow, and she’s headed to Arlong Park, home of creepy Captain Arlong and his Fish-Man Pirates. What business does Nami have at Arlong Park, anyway? Something fishy is going on and Luffy’s crew just may be in over their heads!

Review:
The first half of this volume reminds me of the theme to The Itchy and Scratchy Show. You know, the one that goes:

They fight and bite
They fight and fight and bite
Fight, fight, fight, bite, bite, bite

Okay, maybe there isn’t actually any biting, but there sure is a ton of fighting. It’s pretty cool, though, with Luffy being fearlessly determined to win against Don Krieg, like any good Gryffindor shounen hero, and earning the admiration of the Baratie pirate-cooks in the process. I was amused that, after he endured bomb blasts and being stabbed by a few stakes, all he seemed to require was a couple of bandaids.

While Oda does well at illustrating the fights so that one can tell what’s going on, I was left with the urge to see this animated. A lot of the fight takes place while Luffy and Krieg are standing on floating chunks of a destroyed deck, which would probably be more impressive if in color, et cetera. Also, I’m not sure if this is new or not, but I really noticed some panels with interesting perspectives in this volume. Instead of always focusing on Luffy, they’d sometimes focus on the weapon about to hit him or the effect of his kick while the rest of him is in the background. It’s pretty neat.

Because of Luffy’s determination to follow his foolish dream to sail the Grand Line, Sanji decides to follow his own dream—to find a mythical patch of ocean called the “All Blue,” where every species of fish in the world can be found, conveniently located somewhere around the Grand Line—and accepts the offer to join Luffy’s crew as cook. Though he tries to be tough about his departure from the Baratie, there’s a pretty awesome goodbye scene and then they’re off in a vessel belonging to Sanji, following Nami’s trail.

As they sail, they (and we) learn more about the dangers awaiting them in the Grand Line, including the existence of three great powers that rule those waters. I assume that each group will have to be defeated in turn, which is a pretty appealing prospect, I must say. Even cooler, though, are some unexpected revelations about Nami’s background. I’m glad I’ve managed to remain spoiler-free for this series!

From the back cover:
Don Krieg’s evil pirate armada attempts to hijack the oceangoing restaurant Baratie, but the pirate-cooks put up a fierce resistance—until Krieg reveals one of the greatest secret weapons in his arsenal: Invincible Pearl!

When sous-chef Sanji steps into the fray, it turns out that he and Chef Zeff have some unfinished business concerning the loss of the latter’s leg! Will their differences come between them, or make the Baratie stronger? Either way, unfortunately for Luffy, it turns out that Don Krieg harbors an even deadlier weapon: Gin, the very man whose life Sanji once saved with a square meal!

Review:
While nearly the entirety of this volume is occupied by the fight for the Baratie—with Luffy assisting Sanji and the cooks in their efforts to fend off Don Krieg and his pirates—there are still some nice bits of storytelling that elevate this beyond your typical shounen fare.

I was wrong that Sanji is the son of Chef Zeff, but their backstory together is revealed here and it’s kind of horrible, in a way. Suffice it to say that Sanji feels responsible for the end of Zeff’s pirate career and so will fiercly protect Zeff’s new dream, the oceangoing restaurant, and gets up time after time (after enduring injuries that should’ve killed him about six times over) so that it can exist for even a moment longer. What I really loved was that Luffy completely understood and we get a little snippet of the scene in which Shanks lost an arm protecting Luffy to really show the parallels between his and Sanji’s situations.

What I didn’t love was Invincible Pearl, possibly the most ludicrous opponent yet, but I couldn’t help kind of admiring how absolutely absurd he is.

From the back cover:
Luffy’s pirates thought they were just stopping in for a quick bite… but now Luffy’s been made a busboy on Baratie, the oceangoing restaurant, and it turns out some of the worst-mannered pirates on the Grand Line are just dying for a meal.

Always one to look on the bright side, Luffy sets his sights on Sanji, the smart-talking, skirt-chasing assistant chef of the Baratie, as the Merry Go’s new cook. But it’ll take more than a vicious pirate battle and a little sweet talking from Nami to convince him to leave the Baratie and join Luffy’s team. His oath to feed any and all pirates in need keeps getting in the way. The question is: what do you do when the very same pirates you just fed now want to serve you up for dinner?

Review:
Is this the part people meant when they assured me it would soon get really good? There’s so much good stuff here I need to make a list!

1. We get some fun, ominous hints about the Grand Line from someone who’s actually been there.

2. Don Krieg, the leader of a pirate armada of 50 crews, is introduced. He’s got some specialized weaponry, but aside from that, he’s not silly and cartoonish like the other villains we’ve seen so far.

3. Turns out the head chef of the oceangoing restaurant is a famed pirate who sailed the Grand Line and kept a log book.

4. Hawk-Eye is awesome! He’s a master swordsman who took down Don Krieg’s ship with just his sword. Zolo’s been looking for him so that he could challenge him for the title of greatest swordsman, so they have a great fight and Zolo loses spectacularly. Still, Hawk-Eye sees potential in him and tells him to live and keep improving and come see him again someday.

5. Nami steals the Merry Go! I’m sure she’ll come back, but I like this anyway. Plus, I think we may be starting to see an inkling of her past.

6. Sanji, the cook that Luffy wants to join the crew, is kind of annoying but with the powerful kick he displayed at the end of the volume, could it be that he’s the head chef’s son and that’s why he doesn’t want to leave the oceangoing restaurant?

So, there were awesome fights, some character revelations, some hints about the future, and even one nice bit of continuity when Luffy referenced a character we haven’t seen since volume one. If it stays this good, I’d be happy.

From the back cover:
Once upon a time, Usopp was just a local boy with a talent for tall tales. Everyone in his little seaside village knew him as the joker who claimed to be a pirate captain and woke people up in the mornings by shouting “Pirates are coming!” But then real pirates landed on the beach…

Now Usopp’s village is under attack by the Black Cat Pirates, one of the most legendary and feared crews on the high seas. And three young would-be pirates have joined him in defending the village: Nami the thief, Zoro the swordsman, and Luffy, the straw-hatted pirate captain with incredible rubber powers. Usopp is about to find out how an imaginary pirate stands up to the real thing… and what it means to be a real pirate. His neighbors will never believe this in a million years…

Review:
The beginning and ending of this volume are pretty typical shounen fare. Luffy and friends continue to fight the Black Cat Pirates, culminating in a fairly cool fight between Luffy and the pirates’ captain. Unfortunately, with the cartoonish art and villains, it never approaches the realm of a truly badass battle like one might relish in other series. In the ending of the volume, the crew has come to an oceangoing restaurant in search of a cook, and there’s a lot of random fighting amongst chefs and naval officers and it’s all sort of crazy at this point.

The middle, though, had some really good moments. For one thing, the rich girl who was to’ve been the victim of the pirates’ plot is so grateful to our heroes that she gives them a really swanky boat. It’s just like leveling up in an RPG or something! For another, Usopp shows some surprising maturity. He’s long been known as a liar in the village and habitually declared “the pirates are coming!” even when it wasn’t true. Now, rather than brag about his bravery in helping to repel real pirates, he wants the villagers to go on thinking of him as a liar so that their peace of mind won’t be compromised. After he leaves, his little band of followers carries on his “the pirates are coming!” tradition. I think I actually got a little verklempt!

From the back cover:
Captain Kuro of the Black Cat Pirates was the most feared evil genius on the high seas… until he vanished. Most people believe he’s dead, but only his crew knows the truth: Captain Kuro has been lying low in a small seaside village, posing as a mild-mannered butler until the time for pillage is just right. Now that time has come, and the ruthless Black Cat Pirates are about to attack…

Unless, of course, Monkey D. Luffy can stop them! All Luffy has on his side are his sword-wielding first mate, Zolo; his thieving navigator, Nami; Usopp, a local kid with a knack for telling lies; and his own bizarre rubber-limbed powers. If these four amateur pirates want to stop the entire Black Cat crew, they’ll have to come up with a pretty slick plan…

Review:
There really isn’t a great deal to say about this volume. It consists almost entirely of a battle against the pirates and the attempts of the main cast (plus Usopp, lying villager boy) to protect the village from their attack. There are plenty of reversals to make things more interesting—like Luffy and Zolo getting delayed only to make a dramatic entrance later, characters nearly getting defeated only to become reinvigorated, et cetera—but in the end, it’s still just one really long fight scene. And it’s not over with this volume, either.

Sometimes extended fight scenes can be really cool, but this volume just didn’t do much for me. I think the wackiness of the One Piece villains is starting to get to me. I like it best when the opponent is someone you can be interested in as a character, like the Soul Society Captains in Bleach or the sympathetic Seta Soujirou of Rurouni Kenshin. Despite their gimmicky cat-related attacks, characters like the Meowban Brothers of this volume can never truly interest me.

I look forward to the end of this arc, which will hopefully happen in volume five. Perhaps whatever lies beyond that will be more to my liking.

From the back cover:
Sure, lots of people say they want to be the King of the Pirates, but how many have the guts to do what it takes? When Monkey D. Luffy first set out to sea in a leaky rowboat, he had no idea what might lie over the horizon. Now he’s got a crew—sort of—in the form of swordsman Roronoa Zola and treasure-hunting thief Nami. If he wants to prove himself on the high seas, Luffy will have to defeat the weird pirate lord Buggy the Clown. He’ll have to find a map to the Grand Line, the sea route where the toughest pirates sail. And he’ll have to face the Dread Captain Usopp, who claims to be a notorious pirate captain… but, frankly, Usopp says a lot of things…

Review:
I didn’t like this volume quite as much as the last, even though I got what I wanted in one respect—the fighting with Captain Buggy wrapped up and Luffy and crew began to sail and explore. Now that they have a proper navigator with some sense, they’re out to gather supplies and such, since to enter the Grand Line unprepared and in their little tubs of boats would be foolhardy indeed. I wonder if, in this series, the shounen tradition of the powerup will be adapted to the acquisition of bigger and more seaworthy vessels.

The first three chapters of this volume comprised Luffy’s fight with Captain Buggy. In the first one of these, the dialogue consisted almost solely of lines like “Chop-Chop Quick Dodge,” “Gum-Gum Sickle,” and “Chop-Chop Harpoon.” Toss in a handful of exclamation points for each. It was, as ever with this series, pretty silly, but still entertaining. I did snicker a few times, at least.

There were a couple of other funny things in this volume, too. As the main characters return to Nami’s boat, some thugs who had been laying in wait emerge, and it seems like we’re about to have another series of battles. Until they recognize Zolo, that is, and run away. I also am enjoying the instructions in the back of each book for making little paper props for the series. Here’s an approximate quote from the one in this volume:

You’ll need: scissors, glue, etc.
You won’t need: Tea. (Please don’t go to the trouble.)

I guess mostly what I didn’t like were some boring bits. In the middle of Luffy and Buggy’s fight, Buggy lapses into a flashback about how he used to know Captain Shanks, which I thought was dull. Also, some later chapters featuring a mendacious village youth were rather yawn-inducing, as well. Not bad, no, just kind of meh. I think there was actually one chapter (24) where nothing actually happened at all.

From the back cover:
As a kid, Monkey D. Luffy vowed to become King of the Pirates and find the legendary treasure called the “One Piece.” The enchanted Gum-Gum fruit has given Luffy the power to stretch like rubber—and his new crewmate, the infamous pirate hunter Roronoa Zolo, strikes fear into the hearts of other buccaneers! But what chance does one rubber guy stand against Nami, a thief so tough she specializes in robbing pirates… or Captain Buggy, a fiendish pirate lord whose weird, clownish appearance conceals even weirder powers? It’s pirate vs. pirate in the second swashbuckling volume of One Piece!

Review:
I don’t know about the rest of you, but sometimes I just get a major hankering for some shounen. One Piece satisfies this requirement admirably, offering wacky villains, inexplicably absorbing combat scenes, unsinkable optimism, and a strong sense of camaraderie.

Luffy and friends must face off against Captain Buggy who, along with his crew, is terrorizing a port town. Buggy has eaten another of the devil fruits (Luffy at the Gum-Gum fruit, which gives him the ability to stretch like rubber), which lets various bits of his body fly off and attack of their own volition. It actually reminds me of something out of Tezuka, to see a cartoony disembodied arm fly over and stab someone. Buggy also has some bizarre lieutenants, including a furry guy with the ability to control animals and a sword-swallowing acrobat who has a plethora of attacks based on circus tricks.

Yes, it’s silly, but it’s a great deal of fun. There are also heartwarming things that make me like the characters, like the way they avenge a dog whose deceased master’s shop gets destroyed. Lest one thing they’re soft, however, they also do manly things like slice their own wounds to prove their toughness or something. I’m not sure what all that was about.