Kurogane no Line Barrel Manga – Chapter 01

Ah, dun get so cocky, lol.

3 years ago, Koichi’s class is on a school trip to the Maritime town’s construction site for social studies. When they arrive, a group of boys bully Koichi into entering a forbidden area. They threaten him to hurry up, and even though Koichi is unwilling, he must pass the keep out sign otherwise get kicked in the ass again. As he treads into the place deeper, his best friends Yajima and Risako come to rescue him. The bullies run off and Koichi thanks Yajima, but his eyes hints that he’s a little disappointed or angry. Just as he is about to get out, an “accident” occurs, where in the dark sky he is drawn into a pair of glaring eyes that look down on him. Since no one really knows what had happened at that time, officials announce that a man-made satellite had fallen. 6 months after that, Koichi wakes up and he’s completely changed…

At last Koichi locates the gang that had picked on his friends yesterday. He defeats them all very easily until they beg that he spare their lives. Back in class, his friends praise him for being so strong and comment that in elementary school he was weak and docile. Koichi asks them if this is why they bullied him all the time. While the group are conversing, Risako is watching Koichi very closely. The teacher calls for Koichi and tells him that he’ll be able to go with a recommendation. After their talk, Risako appears and talks about how much Koichi has changed, and how “perfect” he’s become. She reminds him of the past when she and Yajima had to always protect him from the bullies. Koichi decides to walk off because he thinks she’s going to lecture him. Yajima sneaks up behind Risako and asks if she’s worried about Koichi again. Yajima says that he’ll inform Koichi that she’s actually worried about him, even though Risako doesn’t want him to.

On the school rooftop, Yajima apologizes to Koichi for suddenly calling him out like this. He gets straight to the point and tells Koichi that Risako is concerned about him. Koichi tells him that neither of them find it amusing because since they were kids, the one they had always protected and looked after is all of a sudden stronger. Enraged, Yajima grabs Koichi’s collar and asks if he’s being serious, but Koichi just tells him to give it up because he can’t defeat him. Yajima warns him that he can say whatever he wants about him, but that he’s not allowed to tread all over Risako’s feelings. Koichi walks away with a smirk and tells Yajima that he promised to meet his friends from archery. Before leaving, Yajima labels him the “worst”.

Koichi is walking and remembers what Yajima told him about Risako’s concern for him with a sad look. His thoughts are interrupted by his friends, but Koichi says sorry because he wants to go home now. Out of nowhere, strang, hooded creatures clad in cloaks appear, encircling Koichi and his friends. They run in to attack all at once, but Koichi manages to beat them all. He punches the face of one creature and realizes that there’s something weird about them. They take off their clothes and reveal themselves to daylight.

His friends scatter because they’re scared by the weird-looking monsters. Koichi is now left alone to deal with them but just as he is about to get attacked by one of them, Yajima appears and kicks the monster away. He tells Koichi that they’ll talk later, but first they have to run. They rest at somewhere safe and Koichi looks tense and upset. Yajima asks if he’s disappointed that he helped him out, however, a monster appears and bites Yajima’s neck. Koichi saves him as more of the same monsters crawl towards them. Yajima tells Koichi to flee while he distracts them. Koichi is angry because he doesn’t want Yajima to help him again and that he had thought he had become strong. Behind the creatures, fog builds up and the monsters disappear into the darkness. A large robot exposes itself from hiding and destroys all the monsters. Instantly, Koichi remembers it as the thing that fell down three years ago. Below, people are running away but a girl wearing a uniform seems to be walking closer to the robot.

Thoughts: Impressive. I’m not sure if the girl’s name is Risato or Risako or it could be both, so I just called her Risako. Anyway, this manga was good to read, but it didn’t catch me the same way Deadman Wonderland did. I’ll still read it, though, once the next chapter comes out and see what effect I get from reading it then. The pictures are not the best, but they’re good enough that I’m able to read it. Koichi is such a bastard, but then he’s also good in a way when it comes to protecting his friends. I can understand that he just doesn’t want Yajima to help him anymore ‘cos ever since they were young, Yajima was always rescuing him, etc. I guess Koichi just wants to be independent and he wants others to be dependent on him. Yeah, it was totally predictable when his friends fled and then Yajima appeared to help. I get a hunch that Risako has a crush on Koichi, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she did. Yajima probably likes Risako too. A decent chapter, but like I said, Deadman Wonderland is 10x more enjoyable.