Webtoon Spotlight

Spotlight#70: Kazarki

Have you ever wanted to make good on a promise? Well, it's been over 40 spotlights since then, but it's finally time to return to Jin Zhan with his side webtoon Kazakiri, a spinoff of Lily And Marigold.

Summary

Amongst the bountiful cast of Lily And Marigold, we follow the path of Sara, a ninja-like mercenary known as Kazakiri. However, unlike most of them, she has a heart of gold. Follow her adventures with the ethically dubious Seth and fiery delinquent Hellion as they form their dispute conciliation agency.

Characters

Sara: Despite her background as a ruthless killer Sara is often portrayed as a righteous woman that tries to save everyone she meets. This can lead her to trouble most of the time, as her efforts can often be pushy and invasive. On her off days, she can adopt a more sisterly or casual demeanor.

Seth: Sara's polar opposite, Seth's casual smile reflects a man with absolutely no moral code. He is often rude and outspoken to those who can't pay the bills and will betray his allies at the drop of a hat. In addition, he is a harsh, selfish, and cynical realist that is happy to tell anyone the truth if it means solidifying his worldview and ego. These traits make him an influential businessman who can always recover from any situation, even if that often gets him beat up. He's my fave character amongst all 3 of Jin Zhang's works.

Hellion: A delinquent with a good heart Hellion has a fuse about as tall as a grass blade. Despite his disgusting habits, Hellion seeks to improve himself primarily to help keep his little sister out of trouble. Unfortunately, that trait leads him to be a perfect middle ground between Sara and Seth.

Overview

Lily and Marigold is a sci-fi/ fantasy slice of life series with arcs of the week with little continuity. Kazakiri decides to leave all of that to opt for a much cynical and serialized story. The jokes are somewhat more adult and have a bit more bite to them, befitting the more shortened downcast. The various arcs in the story usually have more twists and turn than what you'd expect to give the series a crueler edge. 

Jin Zhang's fabulous anime-inspired artwork captures this beautifully with a darker and more sleek color palette and legitimately dramatic action scenes that are stylish to watch. This series has many more mature themes to go along with the new story as Sara is a woman who rejects yet accepts her path of violence wholeheartedly as she often pays for doing the right thing at all costs. It may be a thankless job, but it's the right thing to do regardless.

Epilogue

Overall, Kazakiri is another webtoon with fantastic potential for more gripping and action-packed arcs. Unfortunately, with a near-year hiatus, I will have to see if my light will shine on it again next time.