After overcoming a perilous ambush, Ash and company meet up with the head office of Re-O. There, Lemiu is confronted with a terrible secret from Ash’s past… and a climactic attack of selenoids could mean the end of mankind as we know it!
Volume 3 marks the end of writer/artist Takuya Fujima’s science fiction Deus Vitae saga, chronicling the battle of Ash Ramy, the human with selenoid abilities, against the power of the selenoid Mothers and Lady Leave herself, as well as the revelations surrounding the young female selenoid known as Lemiu Winslet.
Finally, many of the missing bits of information get filled in, and this volume carries a good balance of action, drama and character development, finishing up the story with a somewhat soppy and overwrought, but satisfyingly epic, final battle.
Of course, what makes Deus Vitae is not its writing (which to be honest continues to be slightly confusing to work through and isn’t always all that convincing, but which is certainly better than the first two volumes), but rather the strength of Takuya’s gorgeous art, his wonderfully detailed work and of course gorgeous character designs, particularly that of the girls. That said, his artwork does sometimes make it difficult to follow what exactly is meant to be happening in some of the more action heavy panels, but again, the top quality of the line work more than makes up for these minor flaws.
One thing that one does however need to criticize Mr. Fujima on is his insatiable obsession with drawing in female boobs and their associated nipples, which sometimes are just a little too in your face or forced in, making for detracting visuals instead of enhancing the sexiness or whatever Takuya is aiming for.
So in summary, just as it has been throughout the series, Deus Vitae is a fairly average science fiction read, but its gorgeous artwork raises it above the quality of its writing and thus makes it worth checking out.
Related Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deus_Vitae