Wāqwāq (Series)

WāqWāq (ワークワーク Wākuwāku) is a 2004-2005 dystopian science fiction manga series created by Japanese writer and illustrator Ryu Fujisaki. Following its original run in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump, it was licensed and adapted to English by Viz Media, and released in four compilation volumes ending in May of 2010.

Biotechnological monsters, referred to as the "machines", run rampant on Wāqwāq's desertified surface and have forced its remaining black-blooded human population into a handful of isolatedcommunities under the protection of Guardians . These seven Guardians are ordinary people who have entered a relationship with special constructs called Goujin-zou in order to take advantage of the Goujin-zous' fusing capabilities in combat, and they alone possess the power to keep the machines at bay.

The story follows the exploits of pacifist Shio, an enthusiastic but inexperienced twelve-year-old boy who prematurely inherits his father's title and Goujin-zou when he is killed defending one of the village settlements. At the heart of the machine swarm that claimed his father's life, Shio discovers a red-blooded high school-aged girl who has mysteriously been summoned from a distant past when sophisticated robots were subservient to men and the dream of a separate race of lab-created, black-blooded humans was on the cusp of becoming reality.

According to ancient lore, the Kami of Wāqwāq's various inhabitants would one day return to usher in the end of the struggle between man and machine; however, another story offers the promise of a single granted wish to any who sacrifices the Kami's blood on a special altar. While Matsuda herself was not responsible for the history of Shio's people, her blood and presence elicit a dramatic reaction from the various factions in Shio's world.

Aiding Shio on his quest to protect the Kami--and, debatably, further their own agendas--are a teenage former Guardian, a sprightly wannabe ninja, and a capricious machine that communicates through text messages. Opposing them are shadowy figures whose tangled alliances last just as long as Matsuda remains within reach...