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Title: O-Parts Hunter Vol 7

Author:  Seishi Kishimoto

Publisher: Viz

ISBN: 9781421508610

May Contain Spoilers

Jio, Ruby, and Ball have made their way to the Dastom Ruins, where they are hoping to get some answers from Mr Wick.  What they find is a cranky old guy and a lot of work!  Wick doesn’t think a bunch of kids should be fooling around with something as dangerous as O-Parts, and he doesn’t think they should be spending the day goofing around, either.  Despite his gruffness, Wick is secretly happy to have the company, and his wife treats them like her own children.  Will a brutal encounter with the Zenom Syndicate destroy the momentary peace that Jio has found with Mr Wick and his wife?

You bet it will!  Just as Jio was beginning to settle in and feel like somebody actually cared about him, the ruthless Zenom thugs come calling, shattering his new home.  The whole bonding segment with Mr Wick just didn’t gel for me, mainly because Jio was only given a few chapters to get to know his new benefactors.  I feel that this interlude would have worked better if the emotional attachment had been allowed some time to develop, instead of having Jio bond so quickly with the Wicks.  He isn’t the easiest guy to get to know and like, and neither is Mr Wick, so their sudden, strong devotion to each other just seemed corny and not very believable.

I breathed a sigh of relief when events forced the three back on the road, this time with Kirin and Jajamaru in tow.  Taking a break at Umbrella Cactus, they soon have more trouble than they can handle at a black market for O-Parts.  Ruby, mesmerized by all of the O-Parts being hawked at every stall, quickly wanders off, and that turns out to be a very bad thing.  A gang of miscreants are soon demanding she hand over her necklace, and she’s helpless to do anything about it.  Until Cross charges to her rescue, just like a knight in shining armor.

I like Cross, even if he is a self-righteous stick in the mud.  Ruby is enchanted with him, but compared to her usual companions, I guess he is kind of hunky.  That tattoo running down the length of his arm is sort of cool, and he has all of those nifty O-Part rings to impress the ladies.  Too bad Jio misinterprets Cross’s good intentions and immediately attacks him when he thinks that he is the one who made Ruby scream.  The fight was just getting started when the book draws to a close, leaving the two young men facing off against each other. 

Some of the history behind the O-Parts is revealed in this volume, and it’s a history that is steeped in death and bloodshed.  During cyclical intervals, various individuals have used the Legendary O-Part to take over the world, all with disastrous results.  With the Stea government and the Zenom Syndicate both racing to locate the contents of the powerful Kabbalah and the Reverse Kabbalah, things are starting to look grim.  In addition to fleshing out some background on the O-Parts, Seishi Kishimoto is setting up an epic battle between good and evil for control of the planet.  Things don’t look very bright if either side wins, so that’s where Jio and Cross will hopefully step in.  They might be strong enough to save humanity from another global meltdown where most of the population is killed, if they can learn to work together.  Yeah, those O-Parts are not sounding like such a good idea anymore.

O-Parts Hunter doesn’t really offer up much that is new or innovative, and the storytelling can be a little uneven.  Still, it’s an entertaining title when it sticks to shounen basics.  While it’s not my favorite series, it is one that I feel compelled to keep following, mainly because I am curious to learn more about the devil lurking inside of Jio.

Grade: C+