Hideyuki Kikuchi: Mysterious Journey to the North Sea Part 1

• ISBN-13: 9781595821072
• Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
• Publication date: 5/2/2007
• Series: Vampire Hunter D Series , #7
• Pages: 280

 A hero, no matter how reluctant, can never refuse the last request of a beautiful girl. 
 When a young woman traveling across the scarred wastelands is murdered over the possession of a strange jewel, she entrusts the gem, with her final breath, to the mysterious Vampire Hunter known as D, and charges him with a desperate mission - to deliver the priceless stone to her sister, far off in a fishing village on the shores of the North Sea.
 D's journey is made ever more perilous by the motley unsavory scoundrels and rogues enlisted by the girl's murderer, who will stop at nothing to claim the jewel. Determined the hunter will not reach his destination, the villains are relentless in their pursuit, one of them harboring a secret, deadly agenda of his own.

 If Dickens in my last review shows the very pinnacle to which humanity can reach, Kikuchi is the master of showing the very depths. Every single novel has a plethora of characters that are the most despicable, low-down, conniving bastards the earth has ever produced. And if that's what you're looking for, this novel doesn't disappoint.
 One of the things that has been bothering me about the progressing adventures of the Vampire Hunter D, is the strangely increasing conversation of the intrepid hero. The author goes on and on and on about the silent and stoic Hunter, but he has been steadily becoming more talkative. If you're going to continue to portray him as the strong silent type, he should remain mostly silent. That's all I'll say about that.
 The adventure in this volume centers around a mysterious pearl that everyone seems to be after without seeming to have any clear idea what it is. The usual number of competitor warriors that think they can defeat D have increased as well. There's at least seven that we know of, and that's just right off the bat. This is a two-parter, so who knows what we'll get next time around.
 In addition, we have a possible Noble on the loose. More remains to be seen on that front, but it does seem like we might get a little more history on D. Exciting.
 And hey, let's give a round of applause for Su-In, the girl he's supposedly helping, who loses her whole family and still manages to keep her head in the game.
 There isn't much more to say since this novel is largely setting up for the next one, when all the mysteries will supposedly be solved. Although I'm sure the mystery of D's origins will be drawn out for the rest of the series so don't hold your breath.
 Oh, and Kikuchi is still creating the most disgusting villains the imagine can come up with. Ew.
 Overall: B+
 Not a whole lot of action, so to speak, and it left more questions than answers. The next one will probably be much better as we can really sink our teeth into the story.