Manga Review: Blank Slate Breaks the Shojo Manga Mold

Take a look at the cover of Blank Slate by Aya Kanno. A darkly handsome man holds a gun and smirks against a blood red backdrop. Then take a look at the top right cover and you'll see the words that you least expected to read: "Shojo Beat Manga." This is shojo manga? Where's the flowers and romance? The first kisses and lovelorn schoolgirls? This is not your usual girl-y graphic novel, but yes, it is shojo manga.

The anti-hero of Blank Slate is Zen, a mysterious masterless assassin who gets both men's and women's hearts a-flutter. But behind his handsome facade, Zen is a manipulative, cold-hearted killer who has no memory of the past 20 years of his life. And did I mention that he's a hottie? Well, there's lots of bishonen eye candy in Blank Slate, and that's partly why it's a shojo story.

Find out how Kanno pushes the boundaries of shojo manga with my review of Blank Slate Volume 1 from Shojo Beat Manga / VIZ Media, and see if her stylish action / suspense series is worth a shot, or if it aims high but misses the mark. Also, check out a free online preview of Blank Slate at Shojo Beat's website.

Image credit: © Aya Kanno 2004