Only one ship remains piloted and utilized by humans in their bid to take back the seas.

This is the base story of the manga series, Arpeggio of Blue Steel, of which I received the full first volume in my first ever LootAnime crate (http://www.lootcrate.com). LootAnime is just one of many subscription options offered up by the good folks at LootCrate, so if you are interested check out their site and find the subscription that is a best fit for you. Just know for the LootAnime service you pay 29.95$ USD a month.

I will be providing you, the readers, with a review of the volume. A few notes that are need to know for future review purposes.

I hate reviews that provide big spoilers. Why? That completely takes away the purpose of reading or watching or playing the medium on your own! Small spoilers sometimes are unavoidable in discussion, so please have my apologies in advance when it comes to this particular issue. I will provide a base review while trying to provide as few spoilers as possible and then discuss what I think of the item being reviewed. This will be my review format on just about anything from this point forward.

Normally, I wouldn’t do a chapter-by-chapter breakdown. However, as this is the introduction to the series, there are a lot of details that will remain important as the series continues onward.

Chapter-by-Chapter overview of Volume 1 of Arpeggio of Blue Steel

Depth.001

The volume opens up with some beautifully colored pages following an unnamed man and an unnamed girl being chased. The men chasing them are attempting to get the girl back, stating she’d be some great leverage with the councilman. The unnamed man reminisces very briefly and then they make their great escape once the getaway ship arrives. Fighting to make their escape, we find out a few details. This is the I-401, the last ship under human control after the ice caps melted and the Fleet of Fog took over the seas from the humans, and they were hired to sniff out a light cruiser from the Fleet of Fog. They sink the cruiser, and after a moment where we find out that the main character’s name is Chihaya Gunzou and his friend in the form of a little girl is named Iona. They come face to face with the man who hired them – who states they need to carry ‘humanity’s last hope’.

Depth.002

A man by the name of Kamikage Ryuujirou approaches Gunzou about carrying what he calls ‘humanity’s last hope.’ He reveals it is a weapon that the government has been working on that they feel like could put them on even footing with The Fog. Problem is the country as it stands now does not have the capacity or resources to mass produce the weapon and every other attempt at taking it to another country has failed, leaving them with the I-401 – a Fog ship. It’s also revealed in the chapter that the government is going to do one of two things: persuade Gunzou and crew to cooperate with them in the fight or take the ship from them. We also get a glimpse at other ‘mental models’ from other Fog ships and they seem to have a bit of distaste for Iona - I-401’s mental model. By the end of the chapter, Gunzou and crew weigh their options and decide to take Kamikage, who is also the Assistant Secretary of the country, up on his deal.

Depth.003

Not much happening in chapter three of the volume. Gunzou and a man named Kashihara Kyohei (as per the naming guide found within the volume) discuss some concerns regarding Iona, the mental model for the I-401. Gunzou and crew make a plan to try and get around Takao, the mental model on a Fog heavy cruiser that is currently stationed in the eye of a typhoon, and it fails by the end of the chapter and they walk right into Takao’s arms.. Chapter four starts with the confrontation.

Depth.004

Despite having decoys in the water and thinking that they had the right information, Takao was able to pick out the I-401 once it surfaced on the water and took a sniper-esque shot. It took some maneuvering but the I-401 managed to go back into hiding and began to assess their situation. Meanwhile, in other locations, Kamikage is handed an envelope with the most recent battle data from I-401. Kamikage and a man named Vice Admiral Uragami assess the information. They also make plans to circumvent interference from Kita Ryokan - the next anticipated prime minister. By the end of chapter four, Gunzou realizes that Takao’s sensor range was much larger than they realized, partially because there had to be a secondary ship hiding somewhere near by that extended Takao’s range.

Depth.005

In the final chapter of this volume, the crew of the I-401 manages to not only elude and evade Takao, the heavy cruiser, but they manage to locate and take out the secondary ship – the 501. Taking Takao by surprise, she withdraws which allows the I-401 to continue. Takao and another mental model realize that a key to their situation maybe to acquire what they dub a ‘human unit’ as they realize how powerful human intuition is in this battle. Gunzou and Kyohei further discuss the situation and Gunzou comes to the conclusion that Iona’s role in this maybe more of a key to changing the tides of the battle between humans and The Fleet of Fog. The crew presses onward to their next destination.

Final Thoughts on Vol. I of Arpeggio of Blue Steel

This almost post-apocalyptic story shows the start of humanity’s last stand against their still relatively unknown enemy, The Fleet of Fog. The volume starts out with action and ends on a note of hope – which comes as a delicacy in a world where humanity is scraping by to survive. The characters are engaging, especially Gunzou. I wish I had his analytical skills. Iona is mysterious and her role is going to be bigger in the series by the time the story comes to a close. The government is split between those trying to do good for humanity and those trying to do good for themselves – much like actual real world society. The series has certainly caught my attention and I am not usually drawn to stories such as this. Be sure, readers, I will be continuing this on my own time.

If you wish to see more on this series, let me know in the comments.