Day 2: Smokin’ Parade by Jinsei Kataoka and Kazuma Kondou

Deadman Wonderland creative duo Jinsei Kataoka and Kazuma Kondou give fans a new action series about justice and transformations, Smokin’ Parade.

Birthdays tend be happy events, but Youkou Kakujou’s 15th was far from a joyous celebration. His sister Mirai recently got a special operation to transplant new legs thanks to Amenotori, the mysterious company that lately been providing miraculous services to people like Mirai with injuries and disabilities. Youkou’s nose picked up the strange in his apartment, but it would be when he came to after someone knocked him out that he found out what was the source. News of strange murders filled the papers and the birthday boy sadly discovered the culprit. Something in Mirai’s legs changed her into a terrifying creature that killed the friends she invited to the party along with dismembering her brother. There was no hope for the Kakujou kids but Youkou gained a second chance at life when an unknown group of people with red horns machine attachments took down Mirai. The boy was under the care of the Jackalopes soon after the attack. Unlike the patients of Amenotori, members of this vigilante group have metal replacements instead of organic ones. Their eccentric doctor weaponized each of them to take down the creatures they nicknamed “Spiders.” With little left from his previous life, he became the newest recruit of misfit heroes.

Compared to Kataoka and Kondou’s previous series Deadman Wonderland, the pair left little mystery after the first volume of Smokin’ Parade. It revealed many of the key players which may help new readers focus more on Youkou’s development and the Jackalopes’ missions. The creators however allowed some questions stay unanswered to hide the series’ end game. Kondou filled the page with high-energy sequences and didn’t skip out on the gruesome details. Smokin’ Parade is not intended for the faint of heart. Yen Press issued it a Mature rating because of the very graphic and violent scenes and dialogue.

Visit Yen Press’s site for more information on Smokin’ Parade. Kodansha Comics has Kataoka’s 2009 series Livingstone which she illustrated with writer Tomohiro Maekawa. VIZ Media has both Deadman Wonderland and the manga adaptation of Eureka Seven Kataoka and Kondou made with Studio BONES. Anime fans can head over to Crunchyroll to watch “Deadman Wonderland.”