Genre Adventure, Mystery Published by Hakusensha Demographic Shōjo | Written by Aya Kanno English publisher Viz Media Magazine Bessatsu Hana to Yume | |
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Original run September 16, 2005 – June 19, 2006 Publishers Viz Media (NA), Hakusensha Similar Requiem of the Rose King, Phantom Dream, Arm of Kannon, Songs to Make You Smile, Fairy Cube | ||
Blank Slate (Japanese: 悪性 －アクサガ－, Hepburn: Akusei – Akusaga), is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Aya Kanno. The manga was serialized in Hakusensha's manga magazine Bessatsu Hana to Yume. The individual chapters were collected into two bound volumes,which were published by Hakusensha on September 16, 2005 and June 19, 2006. It was licensed in English by Viz Media, which released the manga's two volumes on October 7, 2008 and December 2, 2008, with the e-book versions released on January 29, 2013 and February 12, 2013, respectively. The manga has been localized in France by Delcourt and in Taiwan by Ever Glory Publishing.
Reception
MangaLife's Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane notes that nothing about the manga portrays its Shojo Beat label on the manga's cover. She commends Kanno for being upfront about "chapter 4 of the bonus episodes has been included as chapter 1", and the original first chapter is not in the book at all; she wasn't initially expecting the story to be serialized, and in retrospect felt that it didn't mesh well with the later material." Graphic Novel Reporter's Casey Brienza commends Kanno's artwork with "Kanno has tremendous range when it comes to her artwork. The soft, sanitized style found in Soul Rescue barely resembles the self-conscious satire of Otomen. Blank Slate sports yet a third look—bleak, brooding, and beautiful. She really takes the opportunity to strut her stuff here. The subtlety and dynamism of her layouts are top notch." About.com's Deb Aoki commends the manga for "stylish, contemporary artwork with lots of bishōnen (pretty boy) eye-candy", its "unconventional shojo story with more suspense, action and violence than romance" and for its "tantalizing undercurrent of erotic tension". However, she criticizes the manga for its "cold, detached storytelling", wooden and unimaginative fight scenes and a robotic main character. Comic Book Bin's Leroy Douresseaux commends the manga for its "shooting, blood splatters, and a mysterious, remorseless, too-cool character" and further notes that the manga should be a Shonen Jump Advanced title rather than a Shojo Beat one. Mania.com's Thomas Zoth comments on Kanno's use of "a much grittier, darker style for this neo-noir story" when compared to Otomen. He condemns the massive plot in the second volume, "where the twist effectively negates the entire point of the first three-fourths of the narrative." PopCultureShock's Michelle Smith pans the "very dull" first chapter in terms of characters and setting but notes an immediate improvement in the second chapter. She admires "the economy of the storytelling—no extraneous information is offered nor is any essential detail lacking—as well as the way the series ends." Jason Thompson, on the online appendix to Manga: The Complete Guide, commends the manga with "the plot is second fiddle to Aya Kanno's impressive artwork, which features sexy guys and more than adequate action scenes."
