An island shrouded in mystery, ten guests with suspicious backgrounds, and someone out for revenge. Will anyone make it off the island alive?
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Synopsis (VIZ)
Ten people are sent an invitation to a secluded island by someone none of them seem to remember knowing. Isolated from the world, they soon realize that this is no ordinary excursion. They are all trapped. And no one is coming to their rescue!
As the guests arrive at the island enclave, they discover that there is no obvious link between them and that nobody is quite sure who lured them there. They resolve to enjoy themselves regardless of their missing host’s whereabouts. But when past crimes are brought to light, it becomes clear that their host’s intentions are not benevolent.
My thoughts on this volume (Slight Spoilers!)
This is a manga adaptation of a famous novel by the same name, but as I have not read the original, I was able to read this with fresh eyes. From what I understand the use of perspective was changed when it was adapted to manga form, as the POV stays rather consistent throughout the whole volume. Rather than focusing on whichever character would soon die, we focus on the group as a whole.
To me, it feels like this story will have two stand-out characters: the school mistress Vera, and army captain Philip. While most of the characters were given equal time on the page (except for the ones who were murdered, of course), it feels like there was just a little extra thought and care put into these two. They are also front and centre on the cover of this volume!
The story follows a rather simple setup: 10 characters are all invited to an island by someone they don’t know, for a variety of reasons. Some for work, and others for pleasure. All ten accept the invitation and make way to the island, where the person who invited them is nowhere to be found. They settle in, when a startling message is displayed over a record player, accusing them all of murder. There, the characters are slowly killed off one by one.
As I’m a fan of murder mysteries, I appreciate the simplicity and mystery! It allows the story to get right into the thick of it from the very first volume. Once the accusation is made we are slowly given glimpses into the character’s pasts and their various misdeeds, but these flashbacks are happening at the same time as the murders. The story moves along at a steady pace, prioritizing both character and story development at the same time.
Personally, I do think all of the characters are more or less guilty of murder, with some being more guilty than others. As we’ve only been given glimpses into their pasts so far it’s difficult to know the circumstances that led them to their actions, however, I do think they all deserve to be judged for their crimes. Not by a random person out for vengeance of course, but I found comfort in realizing that none of them were innocent.
Still, the crimes are so varied that I don’t believe they should be punished on the same scale. Like, would you say seeing someone having a health scare and doing nothing about it is at the same level as a doctor operating on a patient drunk? Again, both are undoubtedly bad deeds, but I think they are on different levels and should be judged accordingly.
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