Tokyo Blade Detectives Volume 1 is a comic written by Todd Black with art by Lam Vu Van. A young woman traverses around Tokyo in search of a woman’s missing son. This is a science fiction and supernatural comic that takes inspiration from manga while featuring sword-based combat. The leading lady of this tale is Miko, she is handy with a sword and very angry but always gets the job done. Miko has a tragic past that has made her the way she is. She stays with Michio who she calls “Old Man” and they both run an unspecified agency. They’ll run across many different factions and the unique people that are part of them. The story begins with Miko being accosted in an alleyway by a group of men as she makes her way home. Miko manages to get through that scrape and back to the agency where she has a conversation with Michio that is interrupted by a knock at the door. This comic takes place in Japan in a future where guns are both illegal and a thing of the past and where laser swords are the main weapon. The action here is bloody with numerous stabbings but no clear dismemberment. The pacing fluctuates as the fight scenes speed things along but everything slows up a bit when people get to talking. The tone is overall tense with many situations occurring that cause it to spike. The dialogue is mostly conversational with plenty of aggression from Miko. There are occasionally thick text-bubbles but only a few word-heavy pages. This is a comic with a rough-and-tough leading lady in a futuristic world with a story that is both mysterious and violent.
The art here is clearly manga-influenced but it is a sort of blend between that the modern American comic style. The colors here are overall very bright with a wide range. This takes place deep in the heart of Tokyo so besides the occasional tree the scenery is all shiny buildings. The environment seems very high-tech and sterile which makes the characters stand out even more. There isn’t a central location and Miko’s search takes her all over the city so we’ll visit a market, run across rooftops, and even travel to different planes. The backgrounds of the panels are split between showing the surroundings or just being a color gradient. The expression level here is around average as Miko maintains an irritated look and rarely deviates. The emotional range here consists of shock and fear with plenty of anger. The faces are smooth and drawn a bit simplistically but they have prominent eyes that tend to carry the expression. The mystical effects are very eye-catching and are usually bright. The violence here is laser sword-based and involves slicing and stabbing with blood and some rough-looking attacks. The action sequences usually flow well and have many panels with more than a few fight scenes.
“Is this worth reading?”
Yes.
“Would I like this?”
If you like science fiction stories with supernatural elements that star a young Japanese woman with laser sword fighting, drama, and mystery then this is for you.
“What would this comic’s film rating be?”
R. Violence.
“Could I get a quote from the comic?”
“Great, the Tao. Just what I needed today, another faction.”
Kickstarter Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/blackmagicwolf/tokyo-blade-detectives-4/description
***IN-DEPTH COMIC STATS BELOW***
Probably Contains Spoilers
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Actual Pages(not counting covers and credits): 80
Violent Pages: 24, for 30% of the comic
Sexy Pages: 0, for 0% of the comic
**The levels below aren’t necessarily maintained throughout the whole comic, but they were definitely reached**
Violence Level – 4
“Wasn’t no tussling at all.”
“Sometimes you gotta hit somebody.”
“I’m getting charged with how many counts of assault?”
“This was a tournament arc.”
“All my life I had to fight.”
Gore Level – 3
“The only thing leaking out your face is tears.”
“Looks like somebody spilled some ketchup.”
“Might need to soak that up with a bath towel.”
“That isn’t supposed to be outside the body.”
“This is a slaughterhouse.”
Death Level – 3
“And everybody lived happily ever after.”
“We might have gone to a couple funerals.”
“It just LOOKS like a serial killer was here.”
“Yeah this was a tragedy.”
“Think Gettysburg.”
Porn Level – 1
“Everybody kept their clothes on.”
“I guess it was too hot for a bra.”
“Sometimes you got to let everything air out.”
“This is like late night Cinemax in the early 2000’s.”
“Oh. This is porn.”
