Scryed, Vol. 1 - Yosuke Kuroda

Genres: Manga, Science Fiction
Recommended Ages: 16+
DRP: n/a

As my three readers may have noticed, the length of time between my posts has been growing steadily – I’ve only finished 3 books in the last 5 weeks. What that told me was that I needed some lighter reading, something that I could read quickly, kind of like an easy victory to get me back in the swing of things. Well, I’ve had a student hounding me about reading the first volume of this manga called Scryed (pronounced ess-cry-ed), written by Yosuke Kuroda. I’m not totally up-to-speed with manga (I’ve read only one other title, Naruto) or anime, but apparently Scryed is a popular television show. I’m not sure which came first, the show or the book, but I digress…

So I read Scryed, Vol. 1. Despite my inexperience reading manga, I was able to follow the storyline pretty well. That is saying a lot, because this story is kind of whacked. Twenty two years prior to the book, there was some sort of seismic activity that essentially left an area of Japan entirely surrounded by huge cliffs, completely isolated from the rest of the world. The area inside these cliffs is known as the Lost Ground, and its isolation soon left it lawless. In addition to the change in geography, the seismic activity also affected some people, leaving them with the ability to alter the environment around them. These people became known as Alter Users. The Alter Users' abilities left them very powerful. As it is in the real world, some use this power for good and others for evil.

Vol. 1 of Scryed lays down this back story and also introduces us to some characters. The main character is Kazuma Torisuna, an Alter User also known as “the Treasoner.” Kazuma is one of those characters that exemplify the grey area between good and evil. He battles a couple of the evil Alter Users that have become powerful within the Lost Ground, but he also fights with “HOLY,” a police force attempting to bring law back to the Lost Ground. This seems to be the central theme of Vol. 1 – people can be good and evil, and sometimes the people we think are one are actually the other.

All in all I enjoyed reading Scryed, Vol. 1. As I said, I needed a quick read and I got one. For inexperienced manga readers, it may feel a bit weird that the book is read from “back” to “front” and from right to left, but I found I got used to it quickly. I would recommend this book to older kids that like manga as well reluctant readers that enjoy action and science fiction. Scryed is rated OT (Older Teen, 16+) and I feel this is an appropriate rating. The story and illustrations are fairly violent. There is also a character that is scantily clad – not nude, mind you, but almost there. For these reasons I would try to persuade younger readers that other books may be of more interest to them.