Someone once said, “It’s all been done before.” There might be a grain of truth to that cynical sentiment- in terms of anime and manga. However, even if “it’s all been done before,” it’s how a thing’s been done that makes an anime or manga either a copycat or a piece which sets itself a part.
plot summary
War has struck the world as a whole for one last time. After this cataclysmic event, many governments simply disappeared, therein making another world war an impossibility. However, small wars among the now impoverished countries broke out from time to time due to instability. It was during this period of unrest that beings were born of humans who were not human themselves.
These creatures, called E’s, have phenomenal psychic abilities, but are turned upon by their human brethren when they manifest their powers.
Ashurum, a secretive quasi-military organization, houses and protects many disenfranchised and abused E’s. Among these is Kai Kudou; an idealistic young man who was raised, along with his sister, Hikaru, in Ashurum.
Kai and his Psychic Military Group Teammates, use their powers to capture rogue psychics for Ashurum. One night, the team is dispatched to the supposedly abandoned city of Gald to “save” psychics from being misused as weapons by a guerrilla group.
Things go terribly wrong, though, as Kai attempts to the right thing, only to be set upon by his own teammate, Shen-Long!
When Kai is left for dead, he’s saved by Asuka Tokugawa and her brother, Yuuki; a mercenary “handyman” who distrusts Kai and Ashurum. Asuka, on the other hand, is very glad to meet Kai.
review
There’s nothing new about post-apocalyptic angsty teenagers with mind-boggling powers. E’S is different from other PAT-MBP in that it fleshes out each character and focuses on their interactions more than their mind-boggling powers. The by-play between Kai and his psychotic, sister-obsessed teammate cum nemesis, Shung-Long, lays the ground work for the battle which will set Kai change him forever.
There is plenty of action in E’S, though. Enough, in fact, to soothe any blood lust that might crop up if “plot” and “development” become too burdensome for some distraction-prone readers. The geysers of blood and rampant psychic-induced explosions more than balance out the emotional scenes in which Kai searches his soul.
There’s something innately compelling about E’S which can be described in two words: character development. Right at the outset we see exactly what kind of person Kai is; a kind, caring, compassionate man willing to put himself in danger for his fellow E’s. His pacifism is naive and endearing simultaneously, and I shudder to think the hard lessons the outside world will school him in.
While this up front delivery of Kai’s temperament and personality may seem sudden, it leaves room for more character development further into the series; and I really do believe Kai will change profoundly given his naive personality. Kai is too much of an innocent to be left alone too long to his own devices and still be an innocent. When Kai’s in the safety of Ashrum, he let’s those in power do the thinking for him. On his own in Gald, however, Kai begins to lose both innocence and the inability to make his own decisions. Will Kai be able to choose his loyalties wisely and objectively?
The mangaka, Satol Yuiga, used a heavy touch and many details to achieve the look for E’S. The lines are super crisp, the shading is subtle and not overwhelming, and the images come across as clean and clear. Each page is brimming with fantastic hyper-detailed imagery which spills off the edges.
Why the Japanese adore German uniforms as much as they do is a question that should be explored in depth on this site. Suffice to say right now that Yuiga must really dig German duds. The character designs for the Ashurum Psychic Military Group Team are very militaristic and imposing; right down to the disturbing armband. The flowing trench coat Kai wears on the cover of the manga and his uniform’s sharp lapels are taken right from World War II, and isn’t that Deutsch wording behind our man?
The rest of the designs for other major characters are thoughtful. As their names imply, the twins Shen-Long and his sister, Shen-Li, are Chinese and their designs reflect that, but why they have blond hair is beyond me.
Yuiga uses many familiar manga devices throughout the volume. The ever present sweat drop is also in good company with the mild use of SD. But I should say my favorite character design in this volume is Asuka’s fat-bottomed kitten at the beginning of Chapter 6- I’m a sucker for a cute cat, but I’m especially a sucker for a chubby cute cat.
Broccoli, the US publisher of E’S, released these volumes as “Deluxe”, and the manga lives up to the name. The cover is quality paper with a satin finish which soaks up the colors and makes the imagery pop. The pages are also of quality paper which, in turn, lends itself to better image quality. At the back of Volume One is a short after-manga insert, along with terminology, a relationship correlation chart and “Asuka’s Guide to Gald”.
E’S, Volume One is an old idea with a new focus and promises to rise above its predecessors.
E’S, Volume One gets 
out of a possible five Kasugai Gummies.