VIZ Media added artist Tatsuki Fujimoto’s first multi-volume work “Fire Punch” to its Signature catalogue earlier this year in January. The mature series dove deep into a world that lived a bit far from current modern life due to the presence of people with powers or “Blessed”.

Due to the control the reigning Ice Queen had on the world, areas within her “kingdom” were under oppression and people attempted to survive in poverty. The village of siblings Luna and Agni had a constant thick layer of snow so nothing ever grew from the ground. While both orphans were Blessed and had healing abilities, Agni offered literally his body or rather pieces of his body to his neighbors as substances. The controlled cannibalism helped the community live another day, but nothing could stop when the war reached their homes. An army fighting against the Ice Queen stopped by the village to replenish and rest. However, when they discovered the human meat in the homes, the commanding officer Doma ordered his men to leave so that he could dispatch the villagers. Using his fire powers, Doma scorched everything into ruin including Agni. Long after the army left, Agni’s body kicked into overdrive to heal and it surrounded himself in a flurry of flames. Finding Luna’s body and hearing her last word pushed Agni to fight the pain and eventually fight those that destroyed his first life.

Even with the “Mature” rating and parental advisory VIZ printed on the book, nothing could really prepare one when they start on this despairing tale. While it showed the strength of determination, there are more scenes of cruelty and oppression due to the domination of those with a source of power. Fujimoto skillfully brought his ideas to the pages with a lot of detail ranging from a spread of a dystopian cityscape to people’s gruesome injuries. Even with the graphic illustrations, the series had some parts dealing with heavy and taboo issues like sex, cannibalism, slavery and war. Reader discretion is advised.

Volume Two of “Fire Punch” will hit shelves in April. For more information on the series, visit VIZ’s webpage.