Y: The Last Man Vol. 8: Kimono Dragons (original 2006; edition 2006)

Summary: Yorrick & Co. have finally tracked Ampersand to Japan, but they still haven't recovered him yet. Before they do, they'll have to face the Japanese mob, a sword-wielding ninja, and scariest of all, Dr. Mann's mommy issues that have made her the delightful, cheerful, sunny person she is today. We also get an entire issue devoted to Alter's backstory.

Review: This one is also not my most favorite installment of Y ever. Basically what it boils down to is that I don't particularly like Dr. Mann all that much, so spending an entire story arc listening to her bitch about "oh, poor me, look at what a terrible childhood I had" got pretty tiring pretty fast. Yorrick and 355 infiltrating the Yakuza in pursuit of Ampersand was much more entertaining. I wonder if my increasing falling-out-of-love with this story is based on how much I enjoyed the worldbuilding; by this point, the world is pretty much built, and all that's left to do is run around in it and shoot people, or so it seems. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: Still not at top form, but we do get some more clues about the start of the plague, and I'm still interested to see how/if they eventually manage to pull it out of the fire in the next two volumes. ( )

Yorick and crew finally make it to Japan where Ampersand is held prisoner. ( )

After a somewhat lackluster seventh volume, Y: The Last Man seems to regain its footing with volume 8. If you can't enjoy a storyline that involves a near-future Tokyo controlled by an all-female Yakuza, which is in turn dominated by a third-rate pop starlet from Saskatoon, then you probably dropped out of this series considerably earlier than volume 8. There's plenty of character explication this time around as well, and given that it's much better integrated with the overall narrative, this experience leaves the reader well-primed for a jump to volume 9. ( )

Great story and art, as is the rest of the series. The only complaint is the brief nature of Book 8. It only collects issues 43-38. I think more could have been put into the volume. ( )

I can't tell if I'm just losing my interest in this series, or if the writing is declining. This is fine, slightly formulaic. The plot line is progressing too slowly for my taste - it's time for a major revelation or a new central character. ( )