Written by 
Citizen Evil [Volume 1] – M.A.S
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Comedy, Manga
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: 2021
Format read: Electronic (PDF)
Buy: citizenevil.com
Source of book: This book was provided in exchange for a paid, honest review.
My Thoughts
I believe many people have a general awareness of manga by now. But, for the uninitiated, it refers to a uniquely Japanese style of comic that has reached international popularity. Manga (マンガ) are often published in multiple volumes, featured hand-drawn illustrations in a distinctive style, and can come in a wide range of genres and stories. The manga style is so popular that creators are now creating manga outside of the Japanese language, and so this is where we get to the subject of this review – Citizen Evil, written by M.A.S., collaborating with a series illustrators [Apeng, Virand, Galihmsantoso, and Hieumayart].
Citizen Evil is a comic presented in the same style, conventions, and format as a proper Japanese manga including a right-to-left reading direction. Therefore if you’re already well versed in reading manga you’ll be right at home here. In particular, this is a story written in the style of classic dark fantasy manga. But, for all the English-speaking foreigners (英語を話すの外人) in the audience, there’s no need to fear, as this is a solely English-language story created using manga style and storytelling. (This is good news for me, as my Japanese is not great – 日本後をちょっと話す炉ことが来、でもあんまい読むことが出来ない – and don’t worry, I will minimise my Japanese usage for the remainder of this review.)
Citizen Evil is a multi-volume work, with all the published content so far being available through the Citizen Evil website citizenevil.com. This review is of the first volume.
Storyline & Plot
The action starts immediately from the first few pages. Citizen Evil starts with minimal exposition, but it tells you what you need to know. Damien, the protagonist, is obsessed with his crush Rin and we go to the ends of the earth (and hell) to secure her affections. It is Damien’s attempts to try and win Rin over that lead to the ongoing chaos that begins almost right away, as Damien calls upon paranormal assistance in his quest.
I like stories that get straight to the point with no fluff in the beginning, but I will confess this one is a whirlwind with a lot going on. M.A.S. doesn’t mess around and immediately introduces us to side plots as well as our Damien & Rin main quest, which brings up a lot more driving questions about what is going on in this bizarre world. While I usually do rereading while I conduct my reviews, it was particularly needed for this one to ensure I understood everything correctly.
Introducing side plots so early is a bold move, but I can see that the intention is to start trickling in lore to explain the wider universe. It seems, beyond the main pair’s adventures, there’s a greater battle of dark forces at work. And by the early introduction of these plots, we will see an interlinking between them to reveal how Damien’s interactions with the demonic forces will impact the world as a whole.
Characters
Volume 1 of Citizen Evil focuses on our two main characters, Damien and Rin. I appreciate how M.A.S. has provided simple characterisation to start off with but with clear directions for future character development.
Damien – The Awkward Protagonist
Damien is a rather typical awkward, bumbling teenage boy with only one thing on his mind; his crush Rin. We don’t get a sense of there being much else in his life so far outside his obsession. He drags his friend along for missions to spy on Rin, he is a user of the dark web but only as a means to an end of winning Rin’s affections. He’s got a lot of room to become well-rounded and mature through his adventures. I don’t think I’ve seen a character so determined and single-minded as Damien in ages, and I want to watch this guy come into his own.
Rin – The Mysterious Love Interest
By contrast, Rin gets more layered characterisation. She’s a cool, stoic girl with a difficult and mysterious past. Again, following common manga tropes, I suspect she’s a tsundere（ツンデレ）- a girl with a tough exterior who will gradually soften over time. Our first glimpse of this is the fact she intervenes in a bullying incident, and our second is the sweet interaction we see with her younger brother. Beneath the hard shell is a heart of gold. For this reason I already like Rin. While she is here primarily as a love interest, she is shown as having her own life and personality right out of the gate.
The Other Characters
Our side characters are not given much depth to work with in the first volume, but with a lot of hints for future revelations. In particular it is unclear who, or what, is “Citizen Evil” when they are introduced. As the mysterious third entity, we are given enough to know that they are not exactly human, and not here for good reasons.
I was immediately reminded of Death Note as soon as the dark notebook appeared, but besides the dark fantasy genre and the presence of a notebook, the similarities end there. There are no instances of “death by writing names” in this volume. Instead, this notebook is closer to a physical embodiment of a spirit (possibly a kami / 神 – a Japanese spirit or god). On the “fictional object possessed by a magical spirit” spectrum I would place this closer to a Horcrux from the Harry Potter series, although that is still not the best comparison.
Writing
The writing on the page of Citizen Evil is limited to dialogue and Damien’s inner monologue. M.A.S.’s word choices are based on the usual vocabulary of manga & anime and rely on conveying each character’s unique voice. He was very successful (maybe even too successful?) with conveying the extent of Damien’s crush. His unending stream of consciousness has absolutely no filter, which means that everyone within hearing distance hears about the extent of his devotion. This perfectly shows, without any other description needed, the true extent of his awkwardness and lack of social grace.
Meanwhile, Rin’s dialogue fits her mysterious personality. She says little, but speaks with impact, which is a great contrast against Damien’s word salad. The sheer difference between how the two communicate establish how they are coming in as completely opposing personalities. This lays the foundation for what I expect to be a successful opposites-attract relationship built over time.
Illustration
As this is manga, the final important aspect is the art. I want to commend the Citizen Evil illustrators for maintaining visual consistency across the work. Each story (the main quest, as well as the side plots) has slight variations depending on the tone being expressed. For example, a comedic side story has a slightly looser style with more rounded edges. This is important because art style is required to communicate tone in areas where language is not there to describe it for us.
There’s a lot of key visual moments whereby the still drawing itself could be an artwork. A personal favourite is a moment we get of Rin with a guitar in hand, while one of the school bullies cowers behind her. The drawing depicts her from a low angle, as if she is looking down onto the reader, with a determined facial expression. She commands the entire page, telling you she means business and is not to be messed with. You could show just that image alone, with no further context, and the viewer would already gain a lot of perspective on her character.
Action is portrayed well, with lots of dynamic movement, lines, and shading. What I like about the action is a thoughtful combination of explicitly shown action and implied action. We do see some violence, nothing gory, but enough to see injuries. But M.A.S. and the team know it’s sometimes more effective to create emotion by not showing everything. Without giving too much away, the very last page ends a well-executed moment where threat, danger, tension, and drama are expressed well without a single word of text. It’s one of the best pages overall and an excellent way to end a first volume.
Final Thoughts on Citizen Evil
Overall, I would recommend Citizen Evil based on this first volume. Its action and well-established main characters hook you in early and start off an intriguing plot. It’s very suitable for existing manga fans, or those who are already interesting in comics/graphic novels in English but have yet to attempt manga. And personally, I want to know what happens next!
TL;DR: A dark fantasy manga with excellent art and a breakneck pace, diving straight into the action with no compromise. Would highly recommend.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Learn more about Crokes’ book review rating system.