7 Billion Needles, volume 4 (FINAL)
Hoo boy, this fourth and final volume of Nobuaki Tadano's 7 Billion Needles was such a friggin' mess. Some intriguing concepts and provocative images were not enough to elevate this volume above its slapdash writing and generally shoddy storytelling. It's really too bad, because I found the first volume very unique and promising - an interesting blend of sci-fi thriller and human drama. But somewhere in the second and third volumes the artist/writer seemed to lose control of the plot, and by the time I got to this volume I was barely even trying to follow the increasingly confusing narrative. (It didn't help that all the characters seem to have the same face.)
With each successive volume of this series the creator works in bigger and broader strokes. Huge things (I'm talking end-of-the-world huge) happen very quickly, with only very rushed explanations, and then are undone again. In this fourth volume, the world comes to an end (sorta) but Hikaru manages to save it and restore it with the power of friendship and self-actualization (or something). And then it all ends as abruptly as it began.
I just with the author might have taken some more time to develop and flesh out his ideas before publishing them; this volume read like a very rough draft to me. For example, the shifting relationship between Horizon and Maelstrom as they are forced to co-habitate a single host could have been such an intriguing story, but it was barely given any attention in the midst of all the craziness. I'll definitely think twice before reading anything by this guy again.
ETA: This is totally random, but one of the (many) little things that weirded me out in this volume was the fact that Nobuaki Tadano draws elongated, lemon-shaped breasts.
