Genre Action
Age Rating 13+
Price $18.95
Publisher's summary of volume from the back cover: The Three Elders begin their revolt against Taibo Jin without Fire, but not without consequences. Will Fire make it back in time to save his masters or is he too distracted with romancing Qin? Jian finds Jin’s whereabouts and goes to the forest to get his revenge for White Snake, but unexpectedly captured by Poison Master! Back at China Tower, Hero worries about Jian and Qin who have gone missing, when he discovers a Q Level Assassin, who engages him in battle.
This volume of Chinese Hero is equally as cool and compelling as the previous volume. Wuxia fans will be in for a treat as there's a couple of eyecatching scenes here, such as musical instruments being used as deadly weapons by Japanese martial artists.
Artwise, Ma certainly has his moments and thankfully, not much to complain in that department for this volume. My only caveat is that the Chinese have some weird paneling sequences that progress like a counterclockwise spiral. Thankfully, there are arrows to guide the readers and other than that, Chinese Hero maintains its consistency.
Storywise, it's finally a relief seeing some of the plot hooks established being resolved. We're one volume away from the end and this manga starts to make sense. Ma appears brilliant as everything he's set up before starts paying off.
Much like volume six, there always seems to be a ridiculously fun fight scene which is simply stupendous and incredible. In this case, the award definitely goes to the three masters who attacks their foes using musical notes. Battle God of Poison (what a name!) finally struts his stuff and shows how much of a threat he really is. Again, skeptical readers might not enjoy this part but if you love Chinese action films, one can see the homages and.
Character tragedies is also amped up here as more than one character is forced to make difficult decisions. Romance, destiny, and redemption are elements that are juggled deftly and keeps readers hooked until the final volume.
If you've followed the series this long, Chinese Hero Vol. 7 doesn't disappoint. It's certainly reaped what it's sown in the previous volumes and the off-the-wall action is certainly seeded and to be expected.
8