Descendants of Darkness, Volume 7 Book

Muraki appears again in the city of Kyoto involved in a series of murders of women missing locks of their hair. Strands of his own silver tresses are left at a crime scene, luring Tsuzuki and Hisoka to him. Just what is the doctor's game? Why is he stalking Tsuzuki? Can Hisoka, Tatsumi, and Watari stop Muraki before he kills again, sending Tsuzuki spiralling into dark memories and madness?

Lots of revelations concerning Tsuzuki and Muraki popped out of his volume, raising many a question and few answers. Tatsumi and Hisoka got a lot of development in this book along with the hapless side characters unfortunate enough to cross Muraki's path. The doctor does have a friend, in spite of his cruel deeds, whom readers meet in this book. That friend, Oriya, plays a dualistic role, displaying bizarre homophobia and equally bizarre loyalty to Muraki. All in all, he was a mystery, raising as many questions as Tsuzuki and Muraki did. It was all quite intriguing, if at times frustrating. Watari got a lot to do in this book (along with a moment of hashing Muraki's menace with a mad science gag). The panels depicting Tsuzuki with Hisoka, Muraki, Tatsumi, Watari, and the fall background of Kyoto were all strikingly beautiful, even in a manga which is visually stunning on a regular basis.

For an intriguing storyline, lots of character revelations promising more to come, all delivered in an exquisite, unique art style, this gets four stars.