The
Memories of SledgeHammer is three volumes long and takes place between
the two series of Dance in the Vampire Bund Part 1 and Two. It ties up
loose ends and bridges us to the start of scarlet Order. The first
volume takes place after Mina is rescued after the Ivankovic ordeal.
Vera is encased in stone and Alphonse has lost his life. The Bund is
slowly getting back to its former peace as Japan is still in an uproar
after finding out Political leaders and plain humans were trying to
purge the Vampires in Japan. Things are slowly getting better but they're not too fast. Sledgehammer stars Hama and Gotoh with appearances
from the main characters of the main story line.
We learn that Hama and Gotoh go way back, 10 years to be exact in Afghanistan. During his time in the Military Hama was tasked with saving Gotoh. They’re 10 year history just adds another layer to their relationship. It makes it even sweater although Hama continues to ignore Gotoh throughout the volume Even when Hama comes to her rescue in the hospital he never comes to the door for her and escapes into the sun without talking to her. It's obvious he loves her and she would return the sentiment but he’s too busy running away.
Hama sort of has a reason for this. He’s scared of losing her like he lost so many comrades and people he was close with through his line of business. The story finds us trying to slap the two characters to just make up already but they can’t due to Gotoh being targeted like she was 10 years ago. Unlike the main story, this story relies heavily on political involvement as Gotoh is running for office. There isn’t a ton of action but the action we do get is pretty solid. Hopefully there is more action to follow because although I like the dialogue and the way that the story is set up, it gets a little tedious to read.
The artwork is fine as usual but I have to say there is a lot less nudity compared to the main storyline. It could be that there is only one woman being shown so far but that is a plus. Nudity is cool when done right but in the past DITVB went a little overboard at times. This was a very solid volume. It introduced the plot as well as the leading characters in a timely fashion. Though I enjoyed the volume, there was way less action compared to the main story. The story is very interesting and different from the main story so that’s a plus. Flashbacks of Hama’s past were cool to see just how far he came to be a part of the main cast we know of know. One can only speculate as to what will happen between Hama and Gotoh.
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