Eternal Sabbath Vol. 8

Rating T+ Genre manga Author Fuyumi Soryo Publisher Del Rey

When I look back on my experience when reading Eternal Sabbath Volume 8, I think of the three C’s: clones, chaos and confusion. All are very present right from the start in this manga, and once you’ve jumped in there’s no turning back.

The Eternal Sabbath has a very in-depth psychologically based plot about Mine Kujo, a neurological scientist and her lover Ryosuke “Shiro” Akiba, a genetically enhanced human who has the ability to hack or “link up” to other people’s minds. Volume 8 in particular is the last volume of the series, so if you’re already a fan and aren’t aware of how things wrap up, I’d recommend skipping this review. The final volume focuses on the desperate attempts of Shiro and Mine to save the world from Isaac, a clone of Shiro who is destroying Japan and causing utter devastation, including death and destruction. Things get a little confusing when Shiro and Isaac have some form of altercation in which the reader is led to believe that Isaac jumps off the top of a building to his death. However, when reading on Isaac is there again, berating Shiro, until a scuffle and some kind of mental manipulation cause Isaac to burst into flames. All is well according to Mine and Shiro until she notices that something doesn’t seem right with her partner’s behavior.

More pandemonium sets in when the plot takes Mine on a quest inside the mind of Isaac (yes, he shows up once again) to finally remove him and his powers completely from the planet. Turmoil and guilt from her past tries to interfere, but Mine overcomes the negative memories and completes her goal.

Eternal Sabbath Vol. 8 reminded me very much of a plot line that is along the lines of 24. The characters are frantically running around trying to catch a bad guy in a certain amount of time and there’s always some type of action going on. There are indeed some confusing parts of the plot that don’t really make sense unless you’ve been reading this story from the beginning. I’m not exactly sure why Isaac is so evil and I had to research the characters to find out what their role in this story is. I gave it two out of four stars because I figure its pretty neutral ground. I didn’t always get why certain things were happening and I’m not a big fan of action-packed entertainment with violence and mayhem. However, I tried my very best not to be biased and looked at it from a different perspective. It was a good story and it definitely isn’t boring. The ending was a positive one, so that worked for me.

If you enjoy action in entertainment, I’d say this is a good manga to go with. It’s not something I’d normally read, but will probably be well received for those that frequently read it. It leaves room for various possibility and wasn’t predictable. I’d advise starting with the first volume in order to get the whole story in, otherwise things may seem a little muddled.