Mist gears blast is a manga published by Delcourt on January 20. It is divided into two volumes, written by Hajime Tanaka and illustrated by Yoichi Amano.
Mist gears blast, a universe with high potential
The manga Mist gears blast is part of a cross-media license that also consists of a novel and a video game. Unfortunately, these two media are not accessible to the French public because they are only available in Japan. The universe of manga is however conducive to a great richness by the creation of a real post-apocalyptic universe. 70 years ago a terrible event occurred, the "Day of Purgatory": a mist of unknown origin spread all over the earth, turning animals into monsters and poisoning humans. Survivors took refuge underground and founded a shelter called "the Root". The Mist has never dispersed and forces humanity to live reclusive in this burrow.
Mist gears blast: Volume 1: Discovering the world
Nagi, the heroine, is a young teenager who lives in the Root. The Mist begins to penetrate the heart of the Root and poison its inhabitants. Nagi's mother was a victim and has just lost her life. Her father having left the shelter ten years ago to try to stop the problem of Mist infiltration, Nagi finds herself alone with her wolf companion Kodachi. She then decides to follow in her father's footsteps and leave the Racine in search of a solution to save the inhabitants. Alone on the foggy surface, she meets the 4th Squadron of GEARS, an exploration battalion tasked with studying the mist, and decides to join them.
Mist gears blast: Volume 2: In Search of the Origin of the Mist
The continuation of Nagi's adventures leads the girl to perfect her fighting technique. To fight animals transformed by the Mist, she uses "Lotus", a system developed by GEARS. The 4th Squadron of GEARS is sent on a mission following the disappearance of a group of scouts. In parallel, the Mist GEARS project continues to search for the source of the Mist in order to destroy it and save humanity.
Untapped wealth
The universe of Mist gears blast is a rich and mysterious universe, which deserved to be exploited more. The characters are unfortunately poorly developed and are subject to almost no evolution. As for the richness of its universe, it is not at all exploited by the two volumes, whether it is the functioning of the Mist, GEARS, monsters, combat systems. Many elements are advanced, but always on the surface, without trying to understand or develop them. The same goes for the many twists and turns of the story, which are brought like deus ex machina, thus avoiding having to justify a scriptural coherence. This lack of detail is all the more frustrating because the universe was meant to be exciting.
An unfinished story
The adventure of Mist gears blast concludes with an excerpt from the novel available only in Japanese, which does not correspond to the end of the novel but invites you to read more to know the outcome of the story. The ending is therefore particularly frustrating for the French public who does not have access to this novel, available only on the official website in Japanese. The url of the official website is also not indicated on the manga for those who would have the opportunity to read this novel in Japanese. Mist gears blast is a manga that is intended for a very young audience, who can identify with the passion of its heroine. Nevertheless, the two volumes leave a taste of unfinished, both by the sloppy aspect of the treatment of the universe and by the editorial choice not to conclude the story and to refer to a novel available only in Japanese.
