| | |  | MANGA | Home » » » » Black Cat, Vol. 1 | | | | | | | Product Promotions: | | | | | Description: | | Two years ago, Train, a high-level assassin known as Number XIII in Chronos, left the secret society to live by his own rules. Since then, Train has been a sweeper, a bounty hunter, catching criminals and bringing them in alive. But his main mission is to find a former Chronos member who killed his best friend. | | | Features: | |
• ISBN13: 9781421506050
• Condition: New
• Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
| | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| Kentaro Yabuki | | Paperback:
| 208 pages | | Publisher:
| VIZ Media LLC | | Publication Date:
| March 07, 2006 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 142150605X | | Product Length:
| 7.5 inches | | Product Width:
| 5.08 inches | | Product Height:
| 0.69 inches | | Product Weight:
| 0.48 pounds | | Package Length:
| 7.5 inches | | Package Width:
| 4.8 inches | | Package Height:
| 0.8 inches | | Package Weight:
| 0.45 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 11 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 11 customer reviews )
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5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
 Not the newest of themes, but glorious nonethelessFeb 25, 2006
By The Oddling
"small-time manga fanboy"
I first heard about Black Cat in the pages of Shonen Jump magazine; simply a one-page "Manga from Japan!" preview sort of thing. Then a couple months later, the same magazine printed the first chapter as a preview with the promise that the graphic novels would be released beginning in March of 2006. Well, it came out early, so I snagged a copy as soon as I heard about it, and I was NOT disappointed!
The story is not that original; it's a bit like Cowboy Bebop meets Trigun. Quite a bit like Cowboy Bebop character-wise, mildly like Trigun setting-wise and in the fact that the main character is an untouchable, carefree gunslinger. That doesn't deter from the fact that it is still a great and interesting story; a very successful re-hash of old ideas.
Train, with the not exactly secret identity of Black Cat, has become a Sweeper (bounty hunter who hunts lesser criminals) in order to leave his past life working for the enigmatic orginization Chronos behind. Of course, what good is a shady past if it doesn't haunt you? Various people from Chronos come after Train, and they either want him to come back or to die.
Train's partner Sven (my favorite character thus far) is an ex-cop who wears an eyepatch over his right eye and smokes more cigarettes than I had thought humanly possible. He's very skilled with a gun, though his true forte is tact. Being a former cop, he is much more wise about the situation every time than Train seems to be.
Rinslett is introduced about halfway through the first volume; a sexy thief who always works in disguise (VERY much like Faye Valentine from Cowboy Bebop...though Faye didn't wear too many disguises if memory serves). She forms an alliance with Train and Sven in order to kill an underworld crime boss who has been funding research and development for bio-engineering humans into weapons of war. His greatest success thus far is Eve; a little girl who can transform at will, though only one arm at a time (she's not fully developed at this point in the story). Exactly why Rinslett wants the crime boss dead is a bit uncertain; she's not exactly open about everything with her partners.
Overall, this manga is great, at least in my opinion. It features one of my favorite art styles, an enjoyable, deep story that's still followable, characters that are easy to like, and action sequences that are comprehendable (unlike Dragon Knights, for instance). I'm definently going to be faithfully buying this series, and I hope that it becomes one of your favorites too!
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
 A stray cat lives freeDec 12, 2007
By E. A Solinas
"ea_solinas"
They say that a black cat crossing your path can be a sign of bad luck.
But fortunately manga fans won't find the first volume of "Black Cat" to be unlucky. While it doesn't forge new territory, Kentaro Yabuki crafts a funny, snappy, action-packed little opener to this series, and gives it plenty of room to expand later on.
Train Hartnett and his partner Sven are sweepers -- bounty hunters who wander around, catching wanted criminals. But a mafia hit man finds out a shocking secret the hard way -- Train was once the Black Cat, serving the secret Chronos organization. He's a superhuman gunslinger with a belled choker, a giant unbreakable gun, and a reputation for being bad luck personified.
But while chasing a dine-n'-dasher, Train runs into an old friend, who is determined to bring him back to Chronos, or kill him. And when he and Sven rescue a damsel in distress, they find themselves being hired by a notorious thief, Rinslet, who wants the sweepers to work for her. Train can't pass up the opportunity.
Her target is a mobster who is developing some kind of secret weapon -- and when Train infiltrates his mansion, he finds that the man is using nanotechnology to create shapeshifting superhumans. But he doesn't know that one such little girl has left the mansion -- and Sven has taken the deadly child under his wing.
"Black Cat" has an unusually smooth opening volume -- Kentaro Ysbuki doesn't bother introducing the characters to each other, or throwing in a ton of infodumping. Just a lot of hints, elusive memories, superhuman gunplay, and slightly goofy banter between Train, Rinslet and Sven.
It's definitely a fun ride -- Yabuki has a knack for snappy dialogue, solidly detailed artwork, and a quirky sense of humour (Train wears a bell collar and drinks milk). But there are darker moments as well, such as the child whose arm can turn into a giant blade, or the hints of Chronos' nastier side -- assassinations, world control, that sort of thing.
And our quirky hero is a good piece of work -- funny, lighthearted and honorable. But Yabuki hints at a darker past for him when he was a "House Cat." But Sven doesn't get neglected either, since we get to see him bond with the sheltered Eve, which promises to only get more interesting in the next volume. Rinslet could use some expansion, though.
The first volume of "Black Cat" is anything but bad luck -- it's a wry, action-packed little manga that hints at future storylines. Nice opener.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Recommended to Fullmetal Alchemist FansFeb 07, 2012
By Christina (A Reader of Fictions)
On my first read through the series, I was completely enraptured and could barely step away from my computer to do anything else. This time, it wasn't quite that good, knowing all the spoilers, but it is still a great series.
Black Cat balances humor and seriously dark concepts in a way that reminds me heavily of Fullmetal Alchemist. Plus, the bounty hunter aspect adds some Cowboy Bebop flair (that's where today's song came from btws...it's the bounty hunter tv show theme). Seriously, if you like either one of those series, you should probably give the lesser known Black Cat a go. While not, perhaps, as good as those two (which are among the best manga/anime ever), Black Cat is a stellar seinen comic.
I really love Train. He is, for one thing, a total bishy. And, for another, he's a badass. I don't usually find being able to wield a gun especially attractive, but that level of skill is incredibly impressive. Sven, too, is awesome. He has all of those crazy inventions, which are his real talent, even though he does have another.
Perhaps my favorite character, though, is Eve. Her transformation ability is awesome. Even more than that, though, she is a total genius. And she loves to read. She advocates the use of libraries because you can have access to ALL the books without spending money. Clever girl.
Also, the art in this series is soooo pretty. I just love it. This manga should be more popular than it is. For those that have seen the anime, I would still recommend reading the series, as there is much more to it.
3 of 4 found the following review helpful:
Shonen with a twistFeb 19, 2006
You know the story of Black Cat if you are a diehard manga/anime fan, becuase it is--in every sense--Cowboy Bebop. The characters even have the same roles as the characters in Cowboy Bebop. Train is an ex-assasin(ish), just like Spike. Sven is an ex-cop, just like Jet. Rinslet is a thief with (almost) no morals, just like Faye. Eve is a bio-enigneered weird girl, just like Ed(minus the bio-engineered part). Even Train's ex-partner (can't remeber his name 0_o)is playing out the same role as Vicious--the sort-of evil dude that wants his ex-partner back on his team. And all of these people are bounty hunters who are, basically, broke. They more then sometimes skip out on restaurant bills. And yet... it all works, somehow. Every character in this story is likeable in their own way, especially our hero, Train, the Black Cat. Train's the kind of guy who'd steal a girl's a heart and agonize over it after he dumped her. He'd let a criminal say any regrets he had, and maybe--just maybe--not even kill him, but turn him in. In short, he's the boy next door that never actually lived next door--moody, like a cat. Sven is a cool guy, much suited to his work, and Rinslet--well, love her or hate her, you can't deny that without her, not too many boys would be reading this story. I am a girl, so maybe my opinion is different from most guys (well duh. It would be.), but I can truthfully say that I prefer stories like Black Cat to the typical "kick-ass action story that's made for boys--girl's STAY AWAY" that is usually brought over here before sweet stories (with emotions)like this one. Black Cat is on my list of favorites, right up there with my all time favorite(part time obsession) Full Metal Alchemist. Yay Yabuki-san! Keep the great books comin'!
Amazing Series.Jun 30, 2011
By Dojo Master
Black Cat is quite possibly the oddest series I've ever read. The plot is simple, generic even but even then the plot is always enjoyable. What it lacks in originality it makes up for in characterization and art.Thus whether my review convinces you or not, I urge you to buy it.
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