Immortal Hounds by Ryo Yasohachi is a “splatter gun action” manga whose blood-soaked cover really lives up to the content inside. Every other page sees limbs flying, blood spilled, heads half-blown off and almost every other iteration of violent dismemberment you can imagine.
But Immortal Hounds isn’t really about the violence, as much of it as there is. The plot revolves around a syndrome called RDS -- Resurrection Deficiency Syndrome, a fatal communicable disease. Humans in Immortal Hounds have a little-understood ability known alternately as Resurrection or Revive that lets them immediately return to life if they’ve died of violence or illness. The only way a human can die in Immortal Hounds is due to old age.
Enter Vectors, who can’t resurrect themselves. Vectors can die of sickness or violence. But Vectors also spread RDS, stripping normal humans of their ability to resurrect themselves as well. Vectors are hunted down by the UN and local police forces, though they’re hard to find. It seems all Vectors have fake identities, fake backgrounds and are conveniently rehomed just as police are close to finding them. Is some shady organization behind the appearance of the Vectors?
On top of that, whenever police are close to catching a Vector, an Escape Artist shows up to escort the Vector to safety. Their brutal tactics include shooting off the cops’ limbs so they can’t act, knowing it takes up to 10 minutes for them to die of blood loss and then resurrect. For a world that has conquered death, Immortal Hounds is a bloody and brutal place.
Our main characters are Kenzaki, a harsh detective who is driven to pursue Vectors because of his little sister’s death at the hands of a Vector she loved, and Rin, an Escape Artist who works undercover in Kenzaki’s office as an ironclad administrative assistant. Immortal Hounds starts us off with the human interest angle right away, showing us the tragic tale of Kenzaki’s little sister -- and how the Vector she loves, the Vector who kills her, escapes.
It turns out Vectors use love as their way to spread RDS. Since RDS infects a person slowly over a period of several months, romantic contact is the perfect way to spread the disease. You learn what motivates the Vectors to do what they do, though what motivates the organization behind them remains a mystery.
Rin is 100% devoted to completing her missions as an Escape Artist, regardless of the Vector’s moral character. Meanwhile, Kenzaki is 100% devoted to eliminating Vectors and all those who succor them, including whatever organization is backing their entrance into the country. The first volume of Immortal Hounds ends on a chilling note as Rin is given an impossible mission, one she must accept. She is as determined to do her duty as Kenzaki is to do his.
The art in Immortal Hounds is smooth and competently executed. I’m not a gore fan, but if you are, you’ll be delighted by shots of blown-off heads with eyes bulging or tongues flapping. Rin also does all her Escape Artist missions in a decidedly sinister sailor outfit, which is given a weird practical edge by the fact that its long ribbons block photography of her face. You’d think with the sailor uniform, there’d be a bit more ecchi, but I am pleased to note that Immortal Hounds avoids pairing its violence with sexploitation.
There’s also semi-chibi styled informational shorts full of dark humor, as a cop pairs with a variety of animal mascots to explain RDS, Vectors and what the public can do about them. The dark humor is a welcome respite from the grim brutality of the rest of the manga, a darkness barely ever touched by levity. If you’re looking for a laugh a minute, this isn’t the ticket.
But the setting of Immortal Hounds is wildly interesting, and its characters’ voices are consistent and strong. Rin has a lot simmering under her murderously efficient surface, and Kenzaki’s motivation is clear and believable. The twist at the end of Volume 1 really has my interest piqued. What is the organization behind the Vectors? Where did RDS come from? How did humans get the ability to resurrect? Will Rin succeed in her mission? What's with the UN director? Will the Vector who killed Kenzaki's sister be able to live with himself?
To say I want to see where Immortal Hounds goes understates the matter. I can’t wait to see what Volume 2 brings to the table.
Immortal Hounds Volume 1 is available for pre-order on Amazon here and releases July 26.
