Jagan wa Gachirin ni Tobu

A horror manga about a deadly giant owl called Minerva who can kill anyone just by looking at them. After the American government captures the owl and then it escapes, an old hunter is the only hope for survival as Minerva wreaks havoc upon Tokyo.

We’ve discussed this on a recent episode.

This is one of Kazuhiro Fujita‘s manga he did for a seinen magazine. Because it ran in Big Comic Spirits it doesn’t have his usual shonen action manga themes of friendship and courage. Instead, Fujita is able to focus solely on a some really amazing fights between the hunter and a truly horrific monster.

Minerva the giant owl is easily the best part of this book. The winged beast zips around the sky and it’s humongous eyes continuously cry bloody tears. Fujita does some great creepy moments by drawing characters reflected in Minerva’s eyes, showing that they’re in peril. I think this series stands up to Fujita’s most creepy content from Ushio and Tora. It’s a shame it’s not available officially.

~dakazu