Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer Vol. 9-10

Flat out, this is probably my favorite manga series, and one of my favorite stories overall. It has a rather straightforward plot with few real twists, but it doesn't need twists because it's strong enough to stand as it is. The characters are a bit simple yet in a way that makes them feel more real than someone whose motives and history need to be peeled away layer by layer over hundreds of pages. (Hint: the best characters are always like this.) The humor is witty and genuine, at times sharp and at times affectionate, but always clever. In other words, I'm ridiculously biased and cannot recommend this series enough. I love it. As soon as I heard it was getting an official translation, I knew I'd be snapping it up as soon as possible. And thankfully, everyone who worked on it at Seven Seas did justice to it all. I was delayed in getting the latter three omnibus volumes, but the whole thing was very worth the wait. I hope Satoshi Mizukami keeps making manga for a long time, and that Seven Seas will bring English-speakers more of his work. It's hard to talk about this final collection without spoilers, except to say that as much love was shown to it every step of the way as all the previous volumes. The final battle takes up more than half of this collection, but never felt drawn out to me. The few lingering mysteries are wrapped up and explained. At its absolute worst you could say the conclusion feels a little longer than it needs to be, to cover everyone, but I like the characters enough that I don't mind taking a little long to say goodbye. It's a little sad, but in all the right ways. Dang it, just read it already.

Awesome manga, highly recommended for any manga reader.

Excellent.

There aren't enough words to summarize my love for this series. If one more glowing, positive review can get someone to give it a shot, I'll be the one to write it. This volume is the hard-fought conclusion, and it would be apt to call it a pay-off for the reader as well. This series' greatest flaw is in its build up, the early chapters are plodding and the art is middling - but it's greatest strength in how all of these things are refined and improved upon as the chapters progress (particularly the art). This holds true all the way until the very end, there is a passion that went into the creation of this series that never waned for a second. Those early volumes are not bad, far from it, but the finale and everything leading up to it is spectacular and bordering upon perfection. What I like best about Biscuit Hammer is that it's a fantastic, crazy, life-or-death tale that is always inescapably grounded in humanity and mired in emotion. The fate of the world is always at stake throughout the story, and yet somehow what takes center stage is the way out protagonists cope with love and loss, friendship and betrayal, fear and bravery. There are so many characters, and while individually their complexity suffers for lack of attention, they somehow wind up better for it. We're only shown the part of them integral to the story being told, and always led to believe that there is more - much more - lurking beneath. The characters feel human, thanks to the questions left unanswered, the questions begged, even the distinctly non-human entities. And all the while it manages to be fantastic, over the top, and flashy as any other shounen series tries to be. There are notes in this story that call to mind moments from other series like Eureka 7 and Gurren Lagann, but it's not running through a checklist or plugging those things in, it's merely playing a similar chord. Those high points are as spectacular as they are in any other story, and yet still supported by the humanity of it all. They aren't set pieces, or just cool moments, they feel like part of the natural progression of things. I have a keen suspension of disbelief and maybe I'm just a little susceptible to this sort of thing, but there are moments in this final volume that make me cry every time I read it. I never feel like the story is tugging at heart strings for the sake of it, but it manages to do it so well. The ending to this story is perfect - it won't leave you wanting for anything. You will be so content with how it ended that you'll be left with only your personal acceptance of the fact that it's over to contend with.

Had to wait a extra two weeks for the book otherwise its worth buying great price aqesome series

An entire volume is given not only to the best boss rush in manga history, but also an emotional resolution to almost every character present, whether subtly or overtly. It's one of the most satisfying manga that nobody knows about.

Satisfying conclusion to a great series.

good