Saturday 22 October 2011

Books: 7 Billion Needles

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7 Billion Needles
Vol 1
By Nobuaki Tadano

2010




Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/

7 Billion Needles
Vol 2
By Nobuaki Tadano

2011




Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/

7 Billion Needles
Vol 3
By Nobuaki Tadano

2011




Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/

7 Billion Needles
Vol 4
By Nobuaki Tadano

2011




Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/

Doing for teenage girls what Akira did for teenage boys - 7 Billions Needles is a lurid take on the numerous stresses of puberty wrapped inside interstellar horror and beings from beyond the stars. Based on the 1950 Novel 'Needle' by Hal Clement (which John Wyndham's Chocky kinda rips off slightly) there's lots of very dramatic craziness externalizing inner conflicts about loneliness, rejection and friendship.

Like Akira it's got loads of pontificating about evolution that I should admit left me a little lost as it went on. But it's also got crazy bodily mutations and far-out almost-surrealist imagery to keep you turning the pages (things get especially wild in Vol 3 - so be prepared).

With a high-detailed style renowned manga style that I'm guessing must be traced from photographs or something (?) that paradoxically had me reading it much faster than if it were less realistic. Also - it seemed that the art got more rushed the further it went - so it ended up resembling (for me anyhow) children's author Satoshi Kitamura (especially in how they both draw cats in the same way).

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Links: Anime News Network Review, Manga Worth Reading Review, Comics Alliance Review, Tor Review.

Further reading: Akira, Domu, Uzumaki, Solanin, Death Note, FreakAngels, The New York Four.

All comments welcome.

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