Kari’s Manga Corner: ‘Time Killers’

Fans of Blue Exorcist will be excited to learn that Kazue Kato has a short story collection out now called Time Killers, published under the Shonen Jump imprint. Now if you have not heard of Blue Exorcist, go watch/read it right now! Fans of Kato’s writing and art style will enjoy seeing glimpses of characters they know and love in her early works. The collection starts with her award winning debut, The Rabbit and Me, which was published when she was only 19. It ends with The Miyama-Uguisu Mansion Incident which very much like her best selling manga, Blue Exorcist.

At the back of the book, there is an excellent section of author’s notes where Kato explains the history and inspiration for each story. She mentions the final story was not a prototype for Blue Exorcist, but it is based on a rough layout she did for Blue Exorcist. Either way, it is a real treat to see the early incarnations of characters that are found in Blue Exorcist. Even if you have not watched the show or read the manga, you can still appreciate the collection. This would be a great way to see how talented Kato is as an artist and storyteller. You will notice she has many consistent themes such as rabbits, friendship/brotherhood, and tough guys who always seem to get into trouble but ultimately mean well. This collection is fantastic for established fans of her work. I loved seeing her early short stories and later reading the inspiration behind them!

Two of the stories are in beautiful full color pages as well as a couple single pages. The book itself is printed on a fine quality glossy paper which feels more elegant than your standard manga. Though Kato’s style is apparent throughout, you can see how she improves, develops her style, and becomes more confident as an artist. It is also enjoyable to see Kato’s experiments with technique such as only drawing in pencil, using different coloring tools, and drawing tons of detail work. Over Kato’s career, she had fun drawing what she was interested in, no matter how random, and that enthusiasm is visible in this collection. If you are looking from some cool stories and awesome art, kill some time with Time Killers!

Time Killers is rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens, and will carry an MSRP of $14.99 U.S.

A digital version of Time Killers is available for $10.99 (USD/CAN) from VIZManga.com and through the VIZ MANGA App for the Apple iPad®, iPhone® and iPod® touch, Android-powered smart phones, as well as through the store fronts for comiXology, Nook, Kobo, Kindle, iBooks and GooglePlay.

Catch the Blue Exorcist manga series available in-print and digitally from VIZ Media on VIZManga.com and other partner platforms as well as the Blue Exorcist anime series which streams on HULU and Neon Alley, in addition to a host of other digital platforms available throughout North America.

For more information on Time Killers, or other shonen manga titles from VIZ Media, please visit www.VIZ.com.