I enjoyed Volume 3 of this series, and decided to hunt up volume 1. (I've seen several episodes of the anime via Netflix and have enjoyed that as well.) I got this good-condition trade paperback from an Amazon Marketplace seller.

I first heard of this oddly-named manga (and anime) series via its TV Tropes page, and decided to check it out. It's about a group of war-relief workers in a fictional land that's very similar to Europe between the world wars. The idea is that a long and devastating war has ended, but now there are destroyed villages, loads of starving peasants, refugees - and bands of unemployed mercenaries seeking to prey on whoever they can.

Our heroes include Lieutenant Malvin, a young woman from an aristocratic family who's impulsive and idealistic, a handful of well-intentioned soldiers who report to her, and Corporal Oland, a huge, battle-scarred, soft-spoken guy who's apparently the sole survivor of a troop of super-soldiers. He can use a special blue lantern to put himself into a near-mindless state where he's an unstoppable force, ignoring pain and injuries and pretty much anything else until he's destroyed his objective.

This volume introduces us to Lt. Malvin and the Pumpkin Scissors squad, and shows how they meet up with Oland and invite him to join them. Their first adventure sets the stage for the whole storyline; Malvin spots an injustice and insists on confronting it, even though she's got three men with which to face down a tank. (Good thing for her that Oland shows up.) We also learn that there are factions in the military that are happy to allow ex-soldiers to run amok, and that corruption abounds. Somehow the story manages to keep an upbeat (and sometimes wacky) tone despite the often grim events that occur.

It seems that the members of Malvin's squad have some hidden talents of their own, though nothing as extreme as Oland's blue-lantern abilities. Still, they're a quintessential rag-tag bunch of misfits, and I'm enjoying their adventures. [I have a slight preference for the anime, as the voice-actors do add something to the characters, but I recommend the manga as well.]

Volumes I've read so far:

Volume 1
Volume 2
Volume 3

I'm adding this book to k00kaburra's Manga bookbox, which should be on its way to the next in line, BCer emmejo in New York, some time tomorrow. [I'll post the delivery-confirmation number in the forum thread after I've mailed the box.] Enjoy!

Flipping through this I liked the artwork and layout, so I picked it up.

The Imperial Army State Section III (AKA the Pumpkin Scissors) is a group is in charge of trying to piece together a war-torn country now that they are no longer at war. Reconstruction of a bombed out land and trying to save the starving, ill or injured people left behind after the war are their primary jobs. It's not an easy job ever, but roaming ex-soldiers and poor governmental decisions in the past make the populace skittish about trusting anyone who is involved in the government, even if they only want to help.

This story focuses on a young and still idealistic noblewoman who leads the Pumpkin Scissors group on their missions and a scarred veteran who joins them in order to try and do some good in a far different capacity than his wartime job as a berserker-like Anti-Tank Trooper.

The first line of this book is "There is no war, but peace has not yet graced the land... This story is about the stage in between..." I found that a fascinating idea, as few books and even fewer comics deal with this messy situation.

It manages to be very serious and even grim, but not get bogged down into depressing, angsty melodrama. The unpleasant situation the country is in is something the characters don't waste more than a comment or two complaining about, instead they are doing what they can to help without expecting much in return except that people will be better off because of it.

The art is a definite strong point as well, it's heavy and varied yet graceful and smooth line art with solidly drawn, substantial characters give it a weight and depth that I find rare in shōnen series. It's almost more seinen in that aspect. The amount of screen tone is very balanced, not too heavy and crowded as in many mangas with an action element, and so are the speedlines and crosshatching. The character designs stand out without resorting to ridiculous and unrealistic additions tacked onto a bland base. The panel layout makes for a nearly effortless, smooth read, with excellent visual pacing to show you where to stop and pay more attention or glide through fast-paced fight sequences. It's very easy to just keep turning pages.

A few spots in the translation seemed a touch rough grammatically and sounded a little off, although I had trouble figuring out exactly why in some cases. I think this is not uncommon for translated stories, as the arrangement and structure of each language is different and they don't always easily match up.

I admit that at the end of this book I still didn't know why the group calls themselves "Pumpkin Scissors" which bothered me a bit. Perhaps I missed it or it isn't explained until a later volume. There were also a few spots where I had to turn back a couple pages and re-read to make sure I didn't miss something because of an overly fast transition from place to place.

All in all, I highly enjoyed this and will keep an eye out for more. I may also have to try the anime, I know FUNimation streams at least some of it online at their website. However a look at screencaps from the show seems to indicate very typical, normalized, CGI artwork without the same weight of the comic, which is a touch off-putting. It doesn't have the same distinctiveness and looks the same as a hundred other series.

Added this book to K00kaburra's Manga/Graphic Novels Bookbox.