Title: Choujin X Vol. 8
Author: Sui Ishida
Publisher: Viz Media
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 255
Genre: Supernatural, Battle
Publication Date: February 18, 2025
The Story
The search for the poppy fields in Minami continues; however, that has to be put on hold when Tokio hears the call of another choujin. Even though he is told to ignore it, he can’t, and he convinces his teammates to investigate. When Tokio arrives, he discovers a bunch of corpses and Palma who has fallen into chaos. Tokio thinks that there is a chance that he can still save her; however, the battle proves to be a bit more difficult than he thought. When he’s about to lose, he’s saved by a couple of familiar faces. In the end, they are able to save Palm and take her in for interrogation.
With the battle over, it’s time to start hunting for the poppy fields again; however, no matter how many dealers they capture, they can’t seem to get a lead on where they are and their allotted time is running out. Meanwhile, Batista learns of Palma’s capture and is confronted; however, he proves to be superior in his fighting skill and escapes after destroying all of the Xember. He remarks that he has what he needs and the new discovery he made thanks to Palma was worth investigating.
Finally, they get a lead about where the opium is coming from… someone or something operating under the name of Nude. They track this entity down; however, they discover that Nude is a person and that person is a choujin. He makes his escape… or does he?
Characters
Batista gets a bit more of his backstory revealed. We see the scene where Mori has their dream and foretells that Batista will one day destroy the world so they need him to renounce his choujin powers. Sandek protests and pleads for there to be another way; however, Batista volunteers to have his powers stripped and to live life as a normal human. While we don’t truly see how he got his powers back yet… it’s like a missing piece of the puzzle that explains why he’s doing what he’s doing in the present day.
Towards the end of the volume, Azuma and Tokio have a heart-to-heart talk… and later a fist-to-fist discussion. There’s a lot of things that needed to be said between them so it was nice to see them air out their grievances and come to terms with one another. Could the hatchet and all of the passive animosity finally be settled between them?
With Palma’s capture, we learn that Ely’s suspicions about her were correct. She was a good-natured person who didn’t truly realize that she was doing anything bad. Sadly, this also means that she’s kind of dense and naïve. But, on another note, she is only 16 so she is kind of dumb and naïve by nature. Despite that, she has some wholesome innocence about her. I hope we get to see more of her in the future outside of her just being a source of information.
Tokio is still continuing to grow as a character. His sense of justice is growing by the volume; however, although he is stubborn, he is still able to recall his lessons about keeping his emotions in check and that has allowed him to become quite analytical in battle. It’s rare to see characters who typically charge blindly into situations do so cautiously and rationally. It’s a dangerous combination but it’s also quite unique. I like this development!
Final Thoughts
This was another well-balanced volume of Choujin X. The majority of the volume was taken up by action; however, the battles that we received had purpose and meaning… one to save Palma from completely falling into chaos, the other, to air the grievances between two childhood friends. In the middle of it all, more of Batista’s purpose is slowly revealed, while reminding us that there is an existential threat to the world that everyone is working to prevent. Through it all, we have the growth of Tokio as a character as he begins to use his head in battle, thinking and analyzing his options.
In short, this is another volume that had it all. Story progression, character development, and great action. Of course, right when the case of the poppy fields breaks, we are left on a cliffhanger. There is a bit of foreshadowing throughout the volume with everyone wondering about how long it would be before the underbelly of Minami would take notice of the high number of dealers going missing due to their capture and while the cliffhanger at the end may indicate the negative side effects of capturing too many dealers, it could mean something else entirely.
Either way, it was an excellent volume that made me want more!
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This item was provided for review by VIZ Media
