Since it's that time of year, I have a confession to make. If you haven't noticed my most recent drawing as of this post, I'm reading a manga called The Seven Deadly Sins. Yeah, after many anime riffs, they now have their own manga.
I may not be Catholic, but I feel a bit guilty about reading it anyway. Why? Because I think it's gonna be one of those crazy long shounen manga. And we all know the stigma that comes with that.
The reason I picked it up in the first place is because of an article I read on a Tumblr blog called "Manga Therapy" (not linking it doe to spoilers). The first word in the post's title was "Greed" and I instantly thought "FMA!!!!!" Then I read a bit and thought, "Wait. THIS ISN'T FMA!!!!!!!!!!"
After a bit of research on the series, I learned that the Sins each have a marking of an animal on their body, one of which looks suspiciously like an ouroboros. My first impression was, "What a knockoff!" But then I signed up for a free trial of Crunchyroll's All-Access Membership just so I could read it.
Turns out the similarities to Fullmetal Alchemist are only superficial. The story is set in medieval times and is based on Arthurian legend. There are knights, princesses, fairies, and giants. Magic is heavily involved. And the story, so far, is no FMA.
Here's a brief synopsis: Ten years prior to the story's beginning, the king's royal guard, the Seven Deadly Sins, were framed for a crime that they didn't commit, and were exiled by an elite group known as the Holy Knights. In the present, the Holy Knights have staged a coup d'etat and overthrown the kingdom. The king's youngest daughter, Princess Elizabeth, believes the only ones who can save the kingdom from the corrupted Holy Knights are the Seven Deadly Sins. She escapes the kingdom on a quest to find them, but with the Sins dispersed and in hiding, it won't be easy.
That was the lamest synopsis I ever wrote.
I'd get to the characters, but I'm in a time crunch. I'll update that later.
Update: Here are the characters. I'm only really writing about the protagonists that appear early on-- I don't want to get into spoilers.
Meliodas (Dragon Sin of Wrath): Although he appears to be a boy (which he assures he isn't), he is the leader of the Seven Deadly Sins. He runs a tavern called the Boar's Hat, even though he couldn't cook to save his life. Despite his title as "Dragon Sin of Wrath", he is actually very laid back. He has a strange attachment to a broken sword that he carries with him at all times.
Elizabeth: She is one of the princesses of the kingdom of Liones, and the king's youngest daughter. When she begins traveling with Meliodas, he employs her as a waitress. Being a princess, she knows nothing of combat, but is willing to put herself in danger for the sake of her people.
Hawk: He is a talking pig and friend of Meliodas. His main job is to eat the leftovers of Meliodas's lousy cooking.
Diane (Serpent Sin of Envy): She is a sweet, though sometimes airheaded, giant girl. Due to her size, she can't fit in houses or even go into cities. She has a crush on Meliodas, and is initially suspicious of Elizabeth when she sees them together. However, she and Elizabeth become friends fairly quickly.
Ban (Fox Sin of Greed): He is a human turned immortal, and can instantly heal from most damage, save for one scar across his cheek, neck, and shoulder. Living most of his life as a thief, most people-- including himself-- don't think very highly of him. The first person to ever see the good in him was a love that he lost long ago.
King (Grizzly Sin of Sloth): "King" is not his name, but his title, since he is king of the fairies. Though he looks like a child, he sometimes takes the form of a stout man so as not to draw attention to himself. He is physically weak, and appears quite harmless, but he carries a dangerous, shape-shifting weapon.
Now, a little review:
The good: Many of the protagonists are based on sins, which are essentially really bad flaws. They're ashamed of their pasts, so much so that they won't even talk about them with each other. This makes for an excellent group of mysterious yet relateable characters.
The bad: There are too many instances of groping and panty-snatching in the name of humor. Guess what? It's not funny!
Told ya it would be a little review.
I'm not sure exactly what I think of the manga, but my thoughts are more positive than negative. Maybe I'm reading it because of my feeling that the fandom will soon explode, and I can say that I'm one of the "first" fans abroad (even though the manga has been out in the USA since March and I started the series in September). Maybe I'm reading it because I don't want spoilers-- I just read the most recent chapter last night. Whatever the reason, I hope the story doesn't go sour by the end.
Just an FYI, the anime premiers October 5th. Coincidentally, that's the day after the Jewish Day of Atonement. I hope Cruchyroll snaps it up. I want to hear what the characters sound like and see them in action.
