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Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

September 28, 2010 by MJ 4 Comments

Pick of the Week: 7 Billion Needles

It’s come to my attention just recently that since I began this feature only eight weeks ago, precisely every other pick has gone to a Vertical title. But really, who can blame me, when they keep putting out titles like Nobuaki Tadano’s sci-fi series 7 Billion Needles, on sale this week. Here’s a little taste of what’s inside:

7 Billion Needles begins with the introduction of Hikaru, a quiet teen who carefully isolates herself from her peers by hiding under a set of headphones. Hikaru has moved to a new town where she’s living with her aunt, but she’s still thinking about the island she left behind. When, in the manga’s first few pages, she’s obliterated by a ball of plasma falling from space, it seems likely that she’ll leave the world without ever really engaging with it, but in the end she finds herself back at school with no memory of the incident.

As it turns out, the alien entity that killed her did something “unforgivable.” Unable to let her (or itself) die, it joined with her to rebuild her body, but must now reside in her bloodstream for both of them to survive. This arrangement pulls Hikaru into a war other humans don’t even know exists, but more importantly, it forces her to reach out to her classmates, with surprising results.

Inspired by Hal Clement’s 1950s sci-fi novel, Needle, but set firmly in the present, this volume feels nostalgic and contemporary all at once–a dichotomy that is only enhanced by being presented on manga’s standard black-and-white pages. And though the premise is perhaps not quite original, as with most manga, the plot here is somewhat beside the point. The real story driving this volume is Hikaru’s own personal journey and the beginnings of her tenuous connection to the other seven billion people with whom she shares the planet.

Hmmm, sounds like I’m already accidentally writing my review, eh? I’ll put a cap on the rest of it until the proper time and place, but suffice it to say for now that I raced eagerly through the first volume the moment it turned up in my mailbox. For fans of character-driven sci-fi, 7 Billion Needles is a must-read. Pick it up this week!

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Filed Under: PICK OF THE WEEK Tagged With: 7 billion needles

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  1. New manga, Del Rey questions, indy manga previews « MangaBlog says:
    September 29, 2010 at 7:19 am

    […] Dacey, Brad Rice, and David Welsh look at this week’s new releases. Melinda Beasi’s pick of the week is the first volume of 7 Billion […]

    Reply
  2. Pick of the Week: Time and Again says:
    November 23, 2010 at 7:34 am

    […] It’s an especially rough week for choosing a Pick, with new volumes of a number of my favorite series hitting shelves at Midtown Comics. Yen Press delivers big this week, with volume five of ninja manga Nabari no Ou, as well as the final volume of the aptly named manhwa Very! Very! Sweet. Tokyopop brings us volume three of previous Pick Demon Sacred, and though it’s not on Midtown Comics’ list, David Welsh reports that we’ll be seeing volume two of previous Pick 7 Billion Needles. […]

    Reply
  3. Off the Shelf: In which there are bunnies says:
    November 24, 2010 at 10:09 pm

    […] I’ve been eagerly anticipating this release (the series’ first volume was a recent Pick of the Week) and I’m happy to say that it lived up to my expectations and then […]

    Reply
  4. 2010 Manga Bookshelf Gift Guide says:
    December 5, 2010 at 4:40 pm

    […] becomes host to an alien entity, is psychologically-driven sci-fi of the very best kind. From my Pick of the Week, “Inspired by Hal Clement’s 1950s sci-fi novel, Needle, but set firmly in the present, this […]

    Reply


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