Time Killers: Kazue Kato Short Story Collection TP (Manga)
Publisher: VIZ Media
Release Date: September 2, 2014
Price: $14.99
Creator: Kazue Kato
Format: 240 pgs., Black & White plus Color, Trade Paperback
ISBN: 9-781-4215-7167-6
Age Rating: 16+
ICv2 Rating: 4 Stars out of 5
 
Over the last few years, Kazue Kato has built up quite a name for himself thanks to a certain series called Blue Exorcist absolutely exploding in popularity around the world.  Before she was a super amazing manga author though, she was struggling just like the rest of us while creating short stories which receives various levels of success and this is a collection of those stories.
 
The first thing that has to be said about this book (and I don't get to say this often enough) is that the production quality is of super high quality.  The pages, for instance, aren't just regular paper but rather a high quality plastic like paper which is certain to last for years to come.  VIZ Media put great care into this release and it shows.
 
As for the actual content within the book... short story collections can be rather hit or miss.  Sometimes the stories are good and sometimes the stories are bad.  In this case however, it's very easy for me to say that I can understand why Kato is so popular as even her early works are remarkable and fun to read.
 
Ranging in genres from sci-fi romance to westerns, the stories within this book are fun and very easy to get through.  Starting with a modern teenage assassin story called 'The Rabbit and Me', the book eases the audience in with some solid action and laughs before getting into the more absurd 'Tomato' which features a talking rabbit working as a bodyguard.
 
My favorite story within this collection however was 'Astronerd' which served as a fantastic sci-fi love story which really drew me in as a reader and made me wish there was more to enjoy when it was over.
 
An enjoyable, high quality release; this is a solid book that will give fans of Kato something extra to enjoy while waiting for the next volume of her more popular works but it could also easily serve as a gateway for those who are looking for something new and aren't as familiar with her more famous works.
 
-- L.B. Bryant