Is love really the answer in the end?

I did a quick check and I’m a little surprised that I haven’t reviewed a volume of this series before now; I’ve certainly read them all but somehow not reviewed one until the final 16^th volume. Dimension W is a manga series, and there was also an anime that covered basically the first two story arcs. The gist is that in the future, the world now relies on energy drawn from Dimension W although what the dimension is and how it works is not well understood; what is known is that energy related accidents can result in catastrophe. The energy is harnessed and mostly controlled by New Tesla, a company that produces ‘coils’ which are basically batteries that are used to power everything in the world. With this kind of technology there are downsides of course, including people trying to modify and otherwise illegally profit, so there are also ‘Collectors’, people who specialize in tracking down illegal coils and their producers/users. Kyouma Mabuchi is a Collector with a past (which has been pretty much explained by this point) that has led him to hate coil technology. He, along with the robot Mira (who also has something special about her linked to a past, the last part of which is finally explained in this last bit of the story), are on a mission now to basically save the world from, although they aren’t even quiet sure from what until now. Throw in Kyouma’s somewhat mysterious boss Mary, his old pal Albert, Albert’s boss Claire who runs part of the New Tesla Energy company, a bunch of other Collectors, an African prince and his brother who is stuck in a cyborg body until medical science can save his human one, a former Collector/thief’s helper Ellie, and the mysterious Dr. Yurazaki who created Mira and also has a connection to Mabuchi, and there’s a lot to wrap up.

I’ve liked this story because it’s got a good balance of action, adventure, mystery, sci-fi, and feeling. I was also highly entertained when I figured out that each volume has a part of its cover that glows in the dark. I also enjoyed the art especially because not everyone has the same kind of face or body, which can sometimes happen in a series like this. There is a lot of fighting though, especially in the last volume (or several really) and it’s not especially tame with the violence.

The one thing that did bother me a little about the ending is that when what Dr. Yarazaki was really up to gets revealed, it leads to more philosophical preaching about the meaning of life and humanity than I personally would have liked to see. Especially given the world today in terms of climate and energy etc. and what could have been gotten from that part of the story, the ideas just seemed a little cliché (let’s just say a version of ‘amor omnia vicit’ shows up).

For a finale, I have to say I do like what ended up happening for the most part since there is a little view of nearly everyone. The only thing for me is that there was something that happened to Albert a volume or two ago that never really gets explained, and he was one of my favorites of the side characters, and then there’s the last thing it’s suggested that Mira does (we don’t quite get to see it). Her perspective and Mabuchi’s don’t quite match-up about the implication, and it bothered me a little that even with her new-found self-understanding she decides to go ahead and do the thing that he’s just said he doesn’t want. On the one hand, I get it, it’s off to the next new adventure, but on the other, forcing Mabuchi into it? If you see their vibe throughout the entire series, I think you’ll see why this bugs me a a bit as the last little bit of the story.