World’s End Blue Bird: Volume 1 Review Recap

Let’s take a look at what happens in volume 1 of World’s End Blue Bird!

~mildly spoiler free~

Looking for more information?

Please check out my introduction to this manga series here!

Volume one can be purchased from Tokyopop’s website here!

What happens in volume 1?

A different Tokyo, and a playboy

We are introduced to the world of World’s End Blue Bird through Ray, the main character of this manga! He explains that in this world, the only person you can depend on is yourself, and if you get fooled, you have no one to blame but yourself.

He lives in Tokyo, but it’s a different Tokyo from what we’re used to. In this world, due to a meteor hitting down on Tokyo, almost causing the extinction of all life on Earth. That’s when a mystical being called the sorcerer parted the clouds, came down to Earth, and bestowed upon the world an endless summer.

In this endlessly hot city, Ray works as a man-for-hire, doing any odd jobs that need to get done. He is also notorious around the women of the city, them citing his good looks as the reason many a woman has lost a great deal of money.

One rainy day

In this world of endless summer that the sorcerer bestowed upon the Earth, every month, there is one day of constant rain. This becomes a quite a bit relevant later on in the story, but I won’t spoil that surprise here :).

Ray absolutely loves these rainy days, until it becomes his chance encounter with a rich guy from “above”.

Above and Below

In this Tokyo, the sorcerer, along with all of their descendants, are worshipped by some, and are treated as gods by others.

While the average person in this world lives in the slums, also referred to as “below”, all those related to the wizard live “above” where the conditions are similar to that of aristocrats.

While those living below must fight just to survive to the next day, those living above spend their time thinking about politics and the like. Those living below aren’t given an education, and many children have to resort to thievery as a means to get by. All that being said, below is certainly not a safe place to be.

An above person…below?

One day, Ray accidently hits a strange man with his motorcycle. Afraid to get in trouble, he brings him back to his apartment and takes care of him until he regains consciousness. When he does wake up, it’s revealed that he is indeed a person from above, but he has absolutely no intent on revealing just who he is.

After this mysterious man feels well enough he departs, telling Ray that if they ever meet again, then that means that it’s fate, and he’ll share his name then.

They soon have another encounter below, as the mysterious man returned for another visit. After trying to buy food with a bill so big no one could break, he is promptly robbed and attacked by a group of men. Ray oversees this, and the mysterious man then hires Ray to look after him while he’s under.

The man then finally reveals his name to Ray, Guang.

The story then delves off into the adventure these two go on together~

Maddie’s Ratings

Art

This series really does have beautiful art!

Romance

I really don’t vibe with the romance in volume 1 all that much. It starts off no-feelings-attached, and that sort of romance just isn’t for me. I will say though, I did enjoy watching them grow closer and closer throughout the volume

Story-telling

Oh my goodness, how I love how deep the lore in this volume goes. The mangaka did a fantastic job of depicting this other worldly Tokyo, and it really does feel like a real place.

Have you read volume 1 of Okuremashite Seishun yet?

Maddies Manga