X-Day is like no other manga I have ever read. This level of drama in a manga series seemed out of place, after all most manga released in Canada and the United States often have supernatural, super powered fantasy, science fiction and sexually explicit plots that do not truly connect to the third dimensional reality we relate to. X-Day truly captures and succeeds at getting into the mind of stressed out high school seniors that no longer feel connected to the people around them as they prepare to leave the school behind forever.

     X-Day follows Rika in her senior year as a break up and the added stress of homework, exams, and papers, leaves her life in disarray. On top of this, Rika has been injured and does not feel emotionally she can return to her place as the star of the school’s track team, the one thing that made her popular. Now Rika has to watch as her best friend, Kako, becomes the star she was, and at the same time starts dating her ex-boyfriend! What's a girl to do when everything seems to be falling apart?

     Like anyone else looking for an escape, Rika turns to the school computer and becomes an anonymous chatter, named 11, and walks in on an Internet conversation between three other people who are beginning to hate school as much as she does. Dropping an idea about making the school disappear, an off the cuff comment becomes a plan to blow up the school. And as the group of four, three students and a teacher, prepare for X-Day will all their troubles will go away with a single boom?

     X-Day is a wonderful look into the human psyche of people who are struggling with their identities as they prepare or try to hide from the world ahead. While the students in this book are talking about blowing up the school, they are really venting their frustrations, developing new friendships that they'll come to depend on and discovering exactly what makes themselves tick.

     X-Day is an awesome read! I honestly enjoyed every minute of it, because it was nothing like what I expected. I thought I was going to get some Columbine type horror, but instead something completely different takes place. I truly enjoyed the interaction between the characters and I see that all their troubles seem to go away for a moment when they talk, but no one notices. I find it interesting how the author explores surreptitiously the psychology of those who choose to use extreme violence as a means to resolving their current situations.

     I look forward to Rika and her fellow conspirators discovering life and love and further exploring the meaning of their existences. That is where this story is truly headed and it is great to see a manga tackle such profound topics. Truly, X-Day is a realistic, honest portrayal of the unnerving and growing years high school combined with an Internet culture and a raw emotion that is amazingly depicted through remarkably detailed artwork, that I felt made the story truly unfold right before my eyes. For those looking for something completely different and closer to the heart and mind, X-Day is a true coming of age story that may or may not have an explosive ending.

     Send comments and questions about this article to JMinners@ybfree.com.

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