Genres: Action, Adventure
Rating: Mature
Price: $9.99

In the final volume of Golgo 13, we learn about Duke Togo’s mysterious past. It all started with in 1946 Japan when a crime goes unsolved. 

The crime? Five members of the Serizawa family are found dead, and only a little boy is left alive, crying in the room where his now-deceased family members lay. Unfortunately, he won’t talk when the local police force find him. 

The entire chapter, which takes up most of the volume, is seen through the eyes of two of the policemen. It starts in the present, with one going to see the other, and flashbacks back and forth from the past to the present as the plot progresses. 

After all these years, those murders remain unsolved, and it haunts one of the policemen to no end. And even though the statute of limitations had long expired on the crimes — meaning the guilty parties could no longer be prosecuted — he will find the truth behind the crimes, even if it’s the last thing he does. 

Through the different choice of narrative process, we are able to see how Duke Togo can be seen from the outside world — the world outside of assassins for hire. And it’s effectively used for a great story. 

The other story focuses on the 2000 U.S. presidential election and what lengths one man will go to in order to ensure his voice is heard in the process of selecting a new president. It’s also less of a story about politics and more of one about society. The narrative used to tell it also is applied quite well. 

While the art can be a bit simplistic at times, it always has a depth to it by using darker backgrounds. It’s especially nice to see it in a book about a for-hire assassin as it applies nicely. 

The final volume of Golgo 13 is a very good one. Although the second story and the message behind it is quite good, it’s the story about Duke Togo and his beginnings that makes this volume great.

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