Manga Review: Dogs - Bullets & Carnage, Vol. 3

Dogs, bullets & carnage? Plenty of all three here.

Introduction 

Guns? Check. 

Katanas? Check. 

Killer priest? Check. 

Retired assassin? Check.

Creepy homicidal children? Check.

A cynical person might see the above checklist drawn from Shirow Miwa's Dogs: Bullets & Carnage as shameless cribbing from other sources. Guns and killer priests? Yasuhiro Nightow's Trigun anyone? Katana-wielding babe on a serious revenge trip? Uma Thurman's "Bride" from Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill comes to mind. Doll-like homicidal twins? Elsie and Francis from Hideo Kojima's PSP video game Metal Gear Acid fit that bill. Former mob assassin enjoying a quiet retirement working in a restaurant? Is there a Hong Kong action flick without one? This is an eclectic mix to be sure, but much of what you'll find in DB&C you've probably seen before. However, despite the legion of these and other apparent influences, the series does manage to forge its own identity as a solid action thriller by effectively mixing and matching some tried-and-true ani-manga archetypes in a comfortably familiar dystopian retro-present setting with a dash of steampunk thrown in for flavor.

I know what you're thinking: if this series is as derivative as you say it is, what makes it so praise-worthy? It all comes down to Miwa-san's recognition of the fact he is on heavily-trodden ground and his decision to own it rather than conceal it. This position—this attitude—is revealed often, with allusions from the very subtle to the very obvious. Among the more obvious is Miwa-san's blatant assault on certain otaku predilections, lolicon and nekomimi (catgirl) fetishes chief among these. DB&C has a lot of fun at its own expense as well as the expense of other manga and even in its own audience; all the while a very dark story of human trafficking and bio-engineering is bubbling beneath the surface.

Dogs has a lot going on; four main characters, each with stories running in parallel from the prelude Volume 0, that gradually intersect, finally colliding here in the third volume. And this makes the volume a valuable entry point into the series, if you're too cheap to backtrack and pick up the three previous books. A lot of the sinister meta-story gets laid out here. At the center of all the mayhem is Heine, the "Stray Dog" whose origins are tied directly to the main plot. Badou, the "Gun Smoker," is Heine's partner and archetypal foil as well as the title's primary source of comic relief. Naoto the "Blade Maiden" is arguably the most interesting character as she has the most compelling origin story and is something of an avatar for the reader; her journey of discovery into the menacing "Underworld," the dark habitat beneath the city where much of the story has so far taken place, closely mirrors the journey of the reader. Lastly is Mihai, the "Weepy Old Killer," a retired hit-man trying to live quietly in retirement while events in the story seem to consistently intersect his path and drag him into the chaos. Volume 3 is where the paths of these four characters come together, valuable back story is revealed, and the main antagonists make their presence known in earnest.

Highlights

Dogs is about as intense as they come, packed front to back with ultra-violent, frenetic action. Randomly flip to any page in any volume and odds are you'll find a gun fight, sword fight or fist fight somewhere. Miwa-san presents the action with tremendous visual flair; angles are dynamic and many panels exhibit the author's talent for rendering the kinetic elements of every scene. The story flows well as a general rule, but Miwa-san's ambition occasionally exceeds his grasp as some of the more chaotic action scenes are so saturated with gunfire, motion blur and sound effects that it is nearly impossible to extrapolate what's going on. This can make some stretches of panels briefly disorienting. Contrast and tonality are particularly striking here. Too many manga artists, I find, are shy in the use of heavy ink to create real contrast and a pleasing tonality in their images. Miwa-san has no such timidity, making excellent use of ink and screen-and-tone to dramatic effect without abusing them. Designs are appealing; the characters in particular, and the steampunk-ish, retro-present setting, which has so far not been clearly classified in the story beyond vague references to a climatological apocalypse, is illustrated with a very satisfying sense of scale and texture. If there's one fly at the barbecue, it is the author's odd tendency to break the fourth wall of a scene at select moments to allow for a narrative aside, usually comedic in nature, that stands out all the more because DB&C just doesn't come off as that kind of manga. Sure, there are funny moments and a quip from Badou is always good for a laugh, but a character mugging the camera seems out of place.

Overview

Ultimately, Dogs rises above the many recycled ideas and ani-manga stereotypes that are employed and skillfully stakes out its own territory. Here and there are tantalizing hints of a dark plot yet to be revealed, though Volume 3 goes further than any of the previous in giving a glimpse of what is to come. It's an intriguing story powerfully illustrated, making effective use of every page to lay out the action so visually as to suggest storyboards for the inevitable translation to an anime series. In fact, an OVA has already been produced of the prologue Volume 0 that chronicles the origins of the four main characters; a full series is sure to follow. The series isn't perfect; Miwa-san renders action scenes in such zealous detail that some panels become a meaningless jumble of abstract lines, character-breaking asides can rudely draw you out of the narrative, and the plot can be hard to navigate unless you've started at the beginning. All those warts, however, are easily brushed aside in favor of the high-impact art and agile story-telling. The end product is, therefore, a meaty pitch in the wheelhouse of any self-respecting otaku and worthy of a prominent place in any manga collection.

Rating

ComicsOnline ranks Dogs: Bullets & Carnage, Volume 3 4 razor-sharp katanas out of 5.

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