"Buso Renkin series and vol. 4
By Nobuhiro Watsuki
Plagued by bad dreams, Kazuki Matu sneaks out of his dormroom and gives his life to save a schoolgirl in monster trouble. He wakes up to discover the schoolgirl is actually an Alchemist Warrior and his life’s been replaced by a kakugane. In battle, the kakugane (now Kazuki’s heart) becomes a powerful weapon, a buso renkin. Together he and the girl, Tokiko, battle flesh hungry homunculi When he fails to save a man, the weight of death and his role hits Kazuki hard. That man becomes the flamboyant and outrageous homunculus Papillon, complete with skin tight costume and mask! Besides Papillon, Kazuki battles a league of unusual villains including Moonface and Dr. Butterfly. Lurking at school are the human but deadly Hayasaka twins. The creator of Rouroni Kenshin does not disappoint. The volumes are filled with battle after battle with lots of humor thrown in. The numerous flashback scenes might be confusing for novice readers but not enough to put the books down. In volume four, the series really picks up. Old characters become more defined; new characters are introduced. Kazuki struggles with his decision to become a full fledged warrior under the tutelage of the warrior chief, Captain Bravo. Tokiko fights her instincts. Dr. Butterfly plans his attack. The series is rated OT for violence, though compared to others it is quite mild. The language is censored but sexual innuendo is not uncommon. In one memorable scene the boys do compare sizes (the part in questions is never shown)! Overall, this is a fun series with high appeal. It starts off slow but shows great promise.'"
That was my official review. Personally, I love the humor in this series but the fighting is too much. It's long and drawn out - and even Watsuki himself admits that the buso renkin lance is too big. I love the Hayasaka twins but I'm always a glutton for ambiguous brother/sister relationships.
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