is a Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese manga

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

 series written and illustrated by Ryu Fujisaki

Ryu Fujisaki

is a Japanese manga artist born in Mutsu, Aomori Prefecture.He won the 39th and the 40th Tezuka Award. He made his professional manga debut with WORLDS in 1990. All of his works are published by Shueisha under their Shōnen Jump labels. He has also illustrated three light novels and released two...

. It was serialized in Shueisha

Shueisha

is a major publisher in Japan. The company was founded in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The following year, Shueisha became a separate, independent company. Magazines published by Shueisha include Weekly Shōnen Jump, Weekly Young Jump,...

's Weekly Shōnen Jump

Weekly Shonen Jump

is a weekly shōnen manga anthology published in Japan by Shueisha under the Jump line of magazines. The first issue was released with a cover date of July 2, 1968, and it is still circulating. One of the longest-running manga magazines in Japan, it has a circulation of 2.8 million copies...

from 2004 to 2005. Shueisha compiled the chapters into four tankōbon

Tankobon

, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...

 in Japan, the first released on January 5, 2005, and the fourth on July 4, 2005. The manga is licensed by Viz Media

VIZ Media

VIZ Media, LLC, headquartered in San Francisco, is an anime, manga, and Japanese entertainment company. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ Media LLC, which is jointly owned by Japanese publishers Shogakukan and Shueisha, and...

 for an English-language adaption in North America, the first volume released on August 4, 2009, and the last on May 4, 2010.

Plot

Wāqwāq is a fictional world of black-blooded humans who live in separate villages, in fear of the machines, wild creatures roaming the desert-like world. To fight the machines are the seven , humans armed with their own , special machines which merge with Guardians to offer them their supernatural

Supernatural

The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...

 powers. The young Guardian Shio believes that the red-blooded Kami

Kami

is the Japanese word for the spirits, natural forces, or essence in the Shinto faith. Although the word is sometimes translated as "god" or "deity", some Shinto scholars argue that such a translation can cause a misunderstanding of the term...

 from long ago will one day save them from the machines. Soon after his village deals with a devastating machine attack, Shio meets a girl with red blood whom he believes to be the Kami.

Characters

Shio

Guardian is twelve years old and the main character of the story. He wishes most that no one will have to fight anymore. His Gojin-zou is which has the ability to consume anything and use it to attack.

Matsuda

is introduced as a teenage, Japanese girl, transported into the world of Wāqwāq. Shio considers her a Kami

Kami

is the Japanese word for the spirits, natural forces, or essence in the Shinto faith. Although the word is sometimes translated as "god" or "deity", some Shinto scholars argue that such a translation can cause a misunderstanding of the term...

, prophesized to bring peace to his people, because she has red blood, but she is hated by the other black-blooded humans.

Plasty

is a small, friendly robot who travels with Shio and Matsuda on their way to Spider's Thread Village. It loses its tenacity when it is touched by Matsuda's red blood.

Leo

is a Guardian and possesser of the Gojin-zou of flames. He has an endless migraine from the trauma of a machine attack which leads him to hate all machines and wish to rid the world of them using his Gojin-zou.

Manga