Japanese: 東方死神 メテオ・メトセラ外伝
Synonyms: Meteor Methuselah: Shinigami of the East, Immortal Rain: Shinigami of the East
Type: Manga
Volumes: 1
Chapters: 9
Status: Completed
Published: Oct 20, 2004 to Jun 28, 2007
Genres: Action, Drama, Fantasy, Shoujo
Mangaka: Ozaki Kaori (Story & Art)
Serialization: Wings
Synopsis: Zol, a bounty hunter who goes by the name of "Grim Reaper", spends his days chasing criminals under the orders of Fuse, his master and the city's respected major.
One day, Zol takes up responsibility for burying a man who died in a hit-and-run on the streets. But much to his surprise, the supposedly dead man pops out of the coffin!! Is this the world's most wanted man, Methuselah?!
This is the adventure-packed miniseries of the fateful encounter between the Methuselah named Rain and Zol the Grim Reaper, who is the grandfather of Immortal Rain's heroine Machika!!
Related Manga
Sequel: Meteor Methuselah
Groups Scanlating
Inconnu
Source: Baka updates, MAL Manga info
Side notes: The main reason why this manga is on my list relies on its sequel that has been for a some time on my list to add here but I decided to postpone it a bit until I get to read the "prequel." In some sites it's considered to be only one one shot that was released but if looking around you'll soon find out that there is more than just one chapter out. The art is pretty decent and on the good level at the start but it depends a lot of the reader is it good or not. Later on it get's more sketchy and like drawn with a pencil.
The story itself has also a quite fast start with some mafia and Zol fighting. As it could have been made more cruelsome it's kept "clean." Due of its nature being a collection of short stories the main line of story never goes too deep under the surface. There is some comedy inbeded to the story so although the world is quite grim there is always some light in it.
P.S. As I now see there is no clear reason to read this manga before the sequel (that was also published first) so if you wish to read it I'd say read the sequel first and come back for this after.
Mayor/ Master Fusa
Zol's "benefactor" and teacher. He taught all his skills to Zol. He's using Zol for his own purposes and doesn't keep the promise to him as he had promised.
Spoiler: He made Zol to kill all human traffickers at the city so that he could solemnly take over the business. He tries to kill Zol more than once and uses the money he gained via Zol's work for his own projects.
Rowen
University drop out specializing in medicine. He's living at the city and loves to do research on odd diseases and illnesses. He's been helping Zol and patching him up out of curiosity and to keep Zol silent from telling him dropping out from the uni to his parents.
Mentioned characters
The story itself has also a quite fast start with some mafia and Zol fighting. As it could have been made more cruelsome it's kept "clean." Due of its nature being a collection of short stories the main line of story never goes too deep under the surface. There is some comedy inbeded to the story so although the world is quite grim there is always some light in it.
P.S. As I now see there is no clear reason to read this manga before the sequel (that was also published first) so if you wish to read it I'd say read the sequel first and come back for this after.
Main characters
Rain Jewlitt (レイン・ジウリット)
More commonly known as Methuselah, Rain is 624 years old. His immortality makes him famous, and he is the subject of numerous bounties. The cause of Rain's immortality is a mysterious man who appears in flashbacks early in the series. Rain is described as a "nice screw-up" and is one of the funniest characters. He falls in love with Machika as the story moves along. Tending to stay away from violence, he doesn't try to stay close to others because he fears their deaths. Rain in the flashbacks was shot and killed by Yuca and then "reborn" by him after Yuca fed him Freya's, an infected subject, flesh and blood. Rain is the opposite of Yuca in many ways, and has told him he will never view life the way Yuca does. Rain has all the powers of an angel, but none of the drawbacks, and is considered a "perfect immortal." He has a relaxed, slightly off beat personality.
Zol Balfaltin (ゾル・バルファルティン)
Zol the Grim Reaper: Machika's grandfather, and also the famous bounty hunter who was later assassinated. The only bounty that he could never catch was the immortal Methuselah. His trademark weapon was his scythe, which Machika now carries, and he was the closest person to Machika before she met Rain. There is a miniseries prequel about the encounter between Rain and Zol a.k.a. Shinigami of the East in the Japanese Magazine "Huckleberry".
Zol seems pretty simplistic with his goals in life and is awkward but kind natured. He doesn't care about himself or getting hurt. He's in debt towards the city major and works under him doing all dirty tasks to pay off his "debt." Zol can't read nor count so he's been swindled a lot.
Supporting
Kona
Kona is ex-slave/ brothel worker who managed to escape from the human trafficking. She is working as a maid/ floor worker at a restaurant and she's pregnant. She likes Zol and works hard to earn little money for the future.
Mayor/ Master Fusa
Zol's "benefactor" and teacher. He taught all his skills to Zol. He's using Zol for his own purposes and doesn't keep the promise to him as he had promised.
Spoiler: He made Zol to kill all human traffickers at the city so that he could solemnly take over the business. He tries to kill Zol more than once and uses the money he gained via Zol's work for his own projects.
Rowen
University drop out specializing in medicine. He's living at the city and loves to do research on odd diseases and illnesses. He's been helping Zol and patching him up out of curiosity and to keep Zol silent from telling him dropping out from the uni to his parents.
Mentioned characters
Machika Balfaltin (マチカ・バルファルティン)
At the beginning of the series, Machika is a fourteen-year-old assassin. Her grandfather, and presumably her only guardian, died a month before the series starts. Machika is a tomboy who shows little interest in men until she meets and falls in love with Rain. Her grandfather was Zol the Assassin, which is why she first wanted to hunt down Rain, the only bounty her grandfather could never catch.
- Has a small role in the end of the manga.
Yuca Collabel (ユカ・コラベル)
This man is seen in Rain's flashbacks. His place and purpose is explained throughout the series. His main goal is to end human life as each time he dies he is reincarnated as another human being. Yuca is the reincarnation of the spirit of Methuselah, the name later applied to Rain. He wants to die eternally but the only way to guarantee his final death seems to be having no population left to birthe him. He reincarnates as Ishmael's son (his mother, who is Sharem's sister, immediately dies after giving birth to a child that is already in the form of a young boy), and Sharem names him "Ys" as she believes that he is the reincarnation of her son Ys. He has had experience creating "angels" in his previous "life" so during his life as Ys he creates numerous "angels" as devices for mass destruction. He was the person responsible for Freya's death and production of the biological weapons, and for Rain's immortality. He wants Rain to experience his pain and see his depression from being the person that he is. In a later volume, it is hinted that a part of Yuca secretly wants Rain to stop him.
He's in main role in: Meteor Methuselah: Kanzen Kouryakubon and Meteor Methuselah
Source: MAL
Comments
Post a Comment