Asian Addicts Anonymous

English title: Aquarian Age: Juvenile Orion
Written by: Sakurako Gokurakuin
Original run: 2001-2003 in Monthly Stencil
Published in Japan by Square Enix
Published in English by Broccoli Books
Volumes: 5
Spin offs: trading card game, anime, live action movie
Synopsis: When Mana moves back to Tokyo she’s excited to meet her childhood friend Kanamae, but he seems less than thrilled to see her again. What exactly happened in their past when their parents died? Why are mysterious people coming after them?

This is probably the first, or one of the first, manga series that I have read through. Thankfully clocking in at only 5 volumes, this can be a quick read. (I can usually finish them all in one day.) I love this series and have read it multiple times. It doesn’t get old for me, which is a true test of a good book/manga.

The basic plot of this manga revolves around psychic factions battling to take control of the Aquarian Age. There are 5 factions: 1) Darklore, 2) E.G.O. (Evolutional Girls Organization), 3) Wizdom, 4) Arayashiki, 5) Erasers. There is a sixth faction mentioned, but it does not actually appear in the the manga, called the Polestar Empire. Besides these factions, there are independents known as mindbreakers. Mindbreakers have the ability to take control of, or “mindbreak,” psychics, thus they are feared, hunted, and killed (along with those they have mindbreaked).

The story starts with a dream about the day that Kirihara Mana’s and Kusakabe Kaname’s parents were killed in an accident. Later in the manga, we learn that it wasn’t an accident, but a test sent to judge psychics. Mana is back to her old hometown and is in hopes of seeing her best friend, Kaname, whom she hasn’t seen in years. At her new school, she runs into Kaname (Darklore) again, who is not happy to see his old friend as he still has vague memories about what happened, and makes several new friends: Amou Tsukasa (Eraser with amnesia), Nakaura Tomonori (Wizdom, math teacher and Amou’s guardian), Itsuki Naoya (E.G.O. heir apparent even though he is a boy), Shiba Isshin (Arayashiki, pronounces his name Yi Xin – the Chinese way).

At first, Mana has no idea about her powers until Itsuki decides to test them to see if she would be strong enough to help take care of his overly powerful psychic sister, Haruna. While he is testing her, Kaname comes to save her and transforms into his darklore form. Mana manages to stop Kaname from killing Itsuki and she mind breaks Itsuki. Slowly, she mindbreaks all of her friends and they set out together to take over the Aquarian Age to stop the endless killings.

I found the plot original and highly enjoyable. Sakurako did an excellent job of conveying the emotions of the various characters from the dark factions to Kirihara and friends. To have these powers is at once horrible and wonderful and they have to figure out what purpose they have and what they want to do. The action was done well and wasn’t confusing (like some heavy action manga can be). The storyline is easy to follow, for the most part. I think the parts in this series that confused me the most was Amou Tsukasa’s past. He is an eraser who is sent to test Mana and Kaname when they were just little children. He ends up killing their parents and Mana almost has Kaname kill Amou (known as Israfel then). What confuses me is how they portray Amou. First they state he was too gentle for the work they gave him, but then a very evil and violence-loving side is show. So is Amou the gentle angel or the vicious harbinger of death? You never know which is the real him. Is he combating his violent nature? Who knows?

And of course most of Mana’s friends fall for her (not all, but the majority). Kaname is in love with her and they become an official couple at the end. Itsuki loves her and so does Shiba. It wouldn’t be a manga if only one person fell for the female lead. Nakaura and Amou have a special relationship that isn’t quite clear, but it is clear that they don’t have any romantic feelings for Mana, which is good. It is absurd if EVERYONE falls in love with her. The main focus is the fight with the bad psychics and the building of Mana’s team, but the love story is in there.

Overall, it is a great story with good art. A definite must for fantasy lovers. 5 stars.