This series is one of those survival tournaments sort of like Fate/Zero. There are a lot of fighters gunning for the grand prize and everyone has their own reasons for winnings and strategies. We change perspectives a whole lot which is interesting. The series does a good job with all of the varied abilities as well. It can definitely get rather intense at times and for the most part you really can’t trust anyone as they will all do whatever they can in order to win. It definitely keeps you at the edge of your seat the whole time.

The story starts by introducing us to the Zodiac War tournament which is a battle that is held every 12 years. One fighter is chosen for each of the 12 Zodiac symbols. This is typically someone who has really been training for this day because the prize is immense. You get whatever you wish for. The limits of your prize appear to be absolutely unlimited so who would not jump at such a chance right? Each player swallows a poison gem and the deadline for the tournament is midnight. If there is more than 1 competitor still alive at that point, the gem will unravel and everyone dies. So you better murder the 11 contestants quickly or you will find yourself in oblivion as well.

Part of the fun is of course seeing who gets bumped off and who wins so I won’t be talking about who wins or anything like that. Obviously you want to go in with as little information as possible. Most of the characters’ wishes are hidden as well until the end so I won’t really go into that. Instead, I’ll mainly spend the review talking about each character individually. At the end of the day this is really a true combat manga all the way so you can expect quite a lot of action all the way through. It definitely does not hold back on the action at all. The series can get rather violent with how everyone is getting murdered. Of course that will come as no surprise but the backstories tend to be dark as well. You’re shown just how hopeless things are for most of the characters and why it is so important that they win here.

I can understand why they take the risk considering the stakes. That said, I would say some characters are considerably more powerful than the others. Everyone has some kind of a special ability up their sleeve but it’s hard to compare reading vibrations to having unlimited bullets for example. For the most part the characters are rather down to Earth so having an infinite machine gun is actually super handy. The series does a good job of using the rock paper scissors type rules though where characters have good and bad matchups which ends up being just as important as the battles themselves. You might still find some fights a tad cheesy with who comes out on top but all in all I would say the series did a good job with this.

The art is definitely very high tier. The series has a ton of detail on each page, you can definitely feel the dread of the characters and understand how high the stakes are at all times. Each page makes you want to flip to the next. It’s very easy to read and the style is memorable. For example Rabbit in particular looks super deranged the whole time, definitely not someone you really want to mess with.

One thing that’s too bad is that we didn’t get a longer introduction. We only get to see all of the characters together in the same room interacting for a very brief time. The tournament starts almost immediately and from there we don’t have a lot of time for conversation. Sure we get the 1 on 1s, but after that it’s about action. Seeing a little more tough talk and flexing at the beginning is the kind of thing that I will never turn down. The tension is palpable and it’s the kind of thing I really enjoy about tournament series especially because until the rounds start, it really is anyone’s game.

Okay so first up lets talk about Rat. He is one of the more unremarkable characters at first glance. His ability is a mystery but all of his stats appear to be around average. The guy is quick but still wouldn’t be a favorite to win. He’s a fun character to have around though and when you think of Rats in any form of media you know that they’re really clever. So naturally you are expecting something smart out of this guy. I liked his plan and once we get the reveal about his ability, it’s one that I really like. It’s an incredibly useful ability and yet I would not say that it is downright broken. The author is careful to add some limits to it. Honestly it’s an ability that would still be super scary to have in real life.

Then we have Ox who is one of the big favorites to win the event. He’s known for being virtually invincible. His strength is completely off the charts and he wins every fight without getting a scratch. He is absolutely unstoppable and the guy is very emotionless. He just does whatever he wants and doesn’t generally doubt himself. I liked him quite a bit. We never get a whole lot of backstory into the guy but just enough where you can understand him. I like the mystery there and of course in general I tend to like the characters who are really good at fighting and come prepared.

After that is Tiger who tends to get drunk a lot. She’s a solid fighter as well and gets even better when she is drunk but at the same time she never feels like she is a match for the top tiers which is what holds her back. I like her can do attitude and how she never backs away from a fight but at the same time it would have been nice if she was a little stronger. Bravado is all well and good but when it’s not enough to lead you to victory then it can end up feeling rather hollow. I still liked her well enough and in general the series made almost every character likable. There are two main exceptions here but she isn’t one of them.

Rabbit is the next one to talk about on our list. Like I said, the guy is absolutely insane. It’s hard to know what he is thinking at any given moment and that makes him a dangerous wild card. He is strong but his real strength is his unpredictability. At any moment he can just lunge at you and end the fight. For that reason, I feel like the characters could have had their guard up a little more. It’s not like this guy even looks all that stable right? Rabbit is super smart though. His ability isn’t necessarily the best at first but is one that becomes more and more useful as the fight goes on. in a survival game that is absolutely a really good kind of ability to have. It sets you up just right to make a play for the win.

Then we have Dragon who is one of the only ones that I did not care about. I don’t think the series ever meant for him to be all that interesting though. In a tournament of 12 fighters with only 4 volumes, some fighters can’t get as much depth as the others. I felt like Dragon was one of these guys. His ability isn’t very interesting and the guy doesn’t seem all that tough. So in the end there just isn’t much else for the guy to do. He’s just absolutely busted but not in a powerful way.

Snake suffers from the same fate which isn’t really surprising since they’re basically twins. So he has all of the same issues that Dragon has with no real improvements there. This guy can feel vibrations…but yeah that’s about it. These two are still good to have in the story of course to round out the roster but I don’t imagine that very many people missed them. They just never felt like they were really ready for this level of competition at all.

Horse is one of those guys that I thought had a whole lot of potential but in the end it just wasn’t enough. The way he went out wasn’t super satisfying either to be honest. I know a lot of this is about wits and being careful but even so it was just underwhelming. I still think he made for an interesting character even with the lack of screentime. He’s one of those guys who really would have made waves if he was left on the board for too long as well so it’s easy to see why he had to be targeted early on.

Sheep is the oldest contestant. He’s been around for a long time and so he can’t compete physically at all. The guy has bombs though and one of his big advantages is the guy’s a team player. He’s willing to work with just about everyone but of course in a tournament like this you have to be careful. He has a lot of wits and is a reasonably fun character but at the same time it just feels like he is doomed right away. No matter how skilled you are, can you really make it far without having some level of physical ability? It just seems like a losing battle.

Monkey is the pacifist of the group and so naturally she is one of the most annoying characters. This is a war so of course there’s no way to get through this without violence. For starters that would mean giving up your wish and nobody is going to do that. So she felt rather nonsensical from the start. Monkey has some of the strongest stats in the tournament but it’s not worth much when she isn’t willing to make the first move. She made for an interesting wild card but as a character I just didn’t like her. She definitely went to the wrong tournament, that’s for sure!

Chicken doesn’t have the biggest role but is a fun enough character. She’s not thrilled about being in this whole fight because fighting isn’t her favorite thing. Still, she has a wish to be granted and is ready to get it. Anyone who sounds this nice is rather suspicious right out of the gate though. I would definitely say that for sure. She’s not bad but Chicken doesn’t really stand out next to most of the other fighters. I would consider her to be one of the weaker characters overall.

After that is Dog who is good against poisons. He feels like one of those characters who is also rather underutilized. I couldn’t take him super seriously and he didn’t feel like one of the smarter characters either. The guy definitely needed a better plan here. I’d have been eager to see more of what he can do but in the grand scheme of things, most of the others had more potential so it was definitely a fair tradeoff.

Finally we have Boar who feels like someone who would be the main heroine in another title. Her backstory is rather twisted but her design just feels like the lead. Her infinite ammo ability is really solid and she’s a very confident character. Definitely one of the favorites to win the whole thing and I really enjoyed her character the whole time. Definitely a really fun character to have around at all times.

There is also the referee Duedeculpe but not a whole lot to say about him. Of course he is important for checking on what’s going on and is key to the ending. Not the most interesting character or anything but definitely a necessary one. Especially since he is a part of the mysterious organization which is definitely interesting in itself. Now there’s a group that you definitely can’t underestimate considering how much pull they have. If you get in their way then it’s game over.

Overall, The Zodiac War is a pretty fun series. The battles are all rather intense and the abilities are used wisely. I liked all of the tactics being used here and the ending definitely works really well. It’s a satisfying conclusion that makes the whole thing really worth it. I’d recommend this to anyone who likes a solid action title. I would again caution that this definitely does get very intense but I wouldn’t say it ever gets extremely crazy to the point where it is trying to be an edge lord type title. For the most part the violence is limited to the contestants which is always a big deal.

Overall 6/10