Title: Psyren vol. 15
Author/Artist: Toshiaki Iwashiro
Distributor: Viz Media
American Release Date: March 4th, 2014
Format: Manga
Genre: Action, Supernatural, Comedy
Publisher Age Rating: T+ for older teen
Overall Personal Rating: B+
Synopsis:
Ageha and his fellow Psionists and Elmore Wood launch an attack on Astral Nava to rescue their kidnapped friends and confront Miroku Amagi once and for all. The Star Commanders are formidable opponents, but Ageha’s team gets a boost from some surprise reinforcements. As the ferocious battles rage, Miroku begins to set his ultimate plan in motion: the creation of an entirely new species to replace the human race!
Is it possible that Ageha and the others have the power and understanding that will remove this threat to human kind?
Commentary:
As we get closer to the final battle and conclusion of the series things are really heating up. We are discovering new things about these unusual fighters and at the same time getting a better picture of the secrets hidden behind the curtain. Volume 15 of Psyren is decently action packed and some surprising heroes arrive on the scene, but the question that remain is if the new found power of Ageha’s give him the edge or does it just make him feel better about his chances. The stage is being set and the simple fact is that this is where Psyren locks itself into the stereotypical shonen mode. I was expecting more surprises in this volume and a few twist, but things are lining up just as expected and in a way I am a tad bit disappointed. I know that it is hard to bring a series to its climax without falling back on some tried and true plot devices and I sincerely hope that the final volume gives us the true twist that this fine series deserves.
The pacing in this volume is relatively strong which makes it very easy to read and follow. The battle sequences do not get overly complex and confusing and that too helps the reader stay focused on what is really happening. The clean battles are very important to this stage of the story because when there are so many things being introduced to help the series make its final moves many creators get crazy and loose control of their editing abilities. Toshiaki Iwashiro does a great job of staying focused and on top of the action.
Overall Grade: B+
Psyren, is one of those series that has it all from the wayward teen ager turned ultimate hero to the crazed evil person who wants to recreate humanity just to prove a point. The heroes are everywhere and for Psyren I see even some of the minor characters as having some true strength and reason for being not just for filler and canon fader as the story progresses. Much about this series opens plenty of door for great story telling and for this next to last volume I feel like Toshiaki Iwashiro fell back on some rather tired cliché elements. On the other hand Toshiaki does a great job of not mudding the water with over complicated battle scenes and that may just be the best part of the volume. All in all volume of 15 of Psyren is strong enough to propel us into the final volume and keep us guessing on what will really happen.
