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Black Angels

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Description

Even by today's standards, this is a startlingly dark, bleak, violent manga about a justice-seeking hitman and his associates. It has more than enough action and occultish themes to satisfy any action manga fan. 5k5b1

Type

Manga

Related Series

Murder License Kiba & Black Angels (Sequel)

Ooedo Black Angels (Spin-Off)

Associated Names

ブラックエンジェルズ

ブラック・エンジェルズ

黑天使

블랙 엔젤스

Groups Scanlating

N/A

Latest Release(s)

N/A

Status in Country of Origin

20 Volumes 1981 (Complete)
12 Volumes 1989 (Complete)

Completely Scanlated?

Yes

Anime Start/End Chapter

N/A

Reviews

N/A

Forum

0 topics, 0 posts

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Rating

Average: 5.7 / 10.0 (15 votes)

Bayesian Average: 6.07 / 10.0

27%

20%

13%

20%

Last Updated

March 26th, 2025 4:30pm PDT - 2 months ago

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Genre

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Categories

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Category Recommendations

Usagi Yojimbo

Yomotsu Hegui - Shisha no Kuni no Kajitsu

Wicked City (Novel)

Kyoushirou 2030

Rurouni Kenshin Uramaku - Honoo o Suberu

Recommendations

N/A

Author(s)

HIRAMATSU Shinji

Artist(s)

HIRAMATSU Shinji

Year

1981

Original Publisher

Group Zero (2012)

Shueisha (1981, 2000)

Serialized In (magazine)

Shuukan Shounen Jump (Shueisha)

Licensed (in English)

Yes

English Publisher

Manga Reborn (20 Volumes - Complete Digital)

Activity Stats (vs. other series)

(-31)

(-155)

(-1097)

6 Month Pos #4932 (No change)

Year Pos #7786 (No change)

List Stats

On 31 reading lists

On 63 wish lists

On 23 completed lists

On 6 unfinished lists

On 43 custom lists

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Forum Posts Click to view the forum

Comments [ Order by usefulness ]

Such a potential waste

by CSartini
2 years ago

Rating: 5.0 / 10.0

I'm a real sucker for some 80's classics, specially for Shonen Jump's golden era titles. Always been curious about this title, which lasted 20 volumes, a really impressive and rare achievement for that era. Hell, it was serialized along with some of the great pantheons from that era, like Kinnikuman, Captain Tsubasa, Dr. Slump, Hokuto no Ken, etc. Despite that, Black Angels always has been an obscure title outside Japan, not even having his way for a game/anime adaptation on its country. Well, except for a live-action b-movie trilogy released in 2011, 30 years later since its original publishing in 1981. Why is it such a restrained manga? So, after it finally having an official and complete english digital release by the now defunct Manga Reborn, I could kill my curiosity... and now I have an idea for why it's so obscure.

First, I must say that it has some great start. Black Angels is really a product from its time. It's such a dark, grimy and violent manga about a modern assassin that kills all kinds of scumbags that the law simply can't touch... using his signature weapon: a BICYCLE SPOKE! So kickass, huh? The main character, Yoji Yukito, is a drifter that travels the whole country making a living by temporary jobs like a waiter, a clerk, a janitor, etc, and coincidentally always come across by some terrible cases involving yakuza, loan-sharks and random assholes destroying other people's lives and getting away unpunished... so it's up to Yukito to his own judgement on these good-for-nothing pricks. You'll probably be dumbfounded by how cruel this manga is. It follows the "Go Nagai's screw the human rights" school, so all cases have some really shocking drama and innocent people having a terrible/violent fate, and not even women and children are spared. Damn, the manga even depicts such heavy themes, like drugs, misogyny, familicide, blackmail, prostitution and even rape! For a boys magazine! And the violence, oh boy, the violence... innocent people and villains, all of them have some really disturbing and gory deaths! You'll go nuts by all the assassins' signature moves! Man, the 80's was really some crazy time, heh!

So, back to the story...

it may be formulaic, but as story progresses, we have some background about Yukito's past and the Black Angels, new badasses characters are introduced and s their group, we got an assassins organization that is pulling the strings around a lot of cases, reaching even the police and government... and that's where the manga becomes an insane battle shounen, deviating from a realistic hardboiled action to an over the top conflict between the Black Angels and this organization. Despite that, it's a really cool and fun read up to... the middle of the series, where everything starts to fall apart. Then, shortly after, there's a plot twist that... the only thing you'll think, from this point forward, is what the friggin' hell the author was thinking, and will simply beg to reach the end or even drop it. Seriously.

It's so sad and frustating to see such a great and striking bloody ride turning into complete nonsensical bullshit. The manga goes so batshit that you can't simply believe. It's so unacceptable and unforgiving. You can clearly see the author's gone mad. Maybe the editors also messed up and are responsible, I dunno. I don't have a problem with tone change, there are cases like Dragon Ball and Kinnikuman that were comedy-focused series and then turned to good over the top fighting. But that supernatural bullshit? Recycled characters? All that illogical deus ex machina resolutions? And don't make me comment about that ending. What a true lesson on how to completely destroy your own work, Mr. Shinji Hiramatsu. It's truly a heaven to hell journey. I had a blast up to the 10th volume, I'll never forget that. But after that point? Simply can't recommend at all, man.

... Last updated 2 years ago

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Painfully mediocre

by expectations___
2 years ago

Rating: 5.0 / 10.0

This series felt stale by the 6th chapter, I'm amazed how it managed to last 20 volumes... I can't reccommend this to anyone in particular and, while it isn't bad, I have nothing good to say about anything that was presented to the reader up to chapter 20, where I finally dropped this, with no regrets.

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