When it comes to historical settings in media I wont include in historical fantasy I tend to divide them into three categories: 1.Meticulous representation of societies and cultures and/or high historical nuance the work almost blurs the line between historical fiction and a documentary. Mori Kaorus lifework comes to my mind. 2.Setting as framework the eras context is quite relevant to the plot. 3.Setting as eyecandy it devolves to atmosphere going for rule of cool. Many wuxia movies and War of the Arrows come into my mind. More on my point related to this categorization will be expressed on section 3..First lets start with details on its characters story and artwork. 1. Opening with characters and story https://i.pin.com/564x/d2/10/55/d2105535473bb7defe008565632bc508.jpg The year is 1870 C.E five years after the end of the American Civil War. Irish gangs dominated this infamous neighborhood where harsh poverty police corruption and rampant gang violence were simply put daily reality. a. First describing the characters Brad and Luke Burns are the mains. Their mother was killed when both were children and they were taken in by the founder of one of those gangs. Brad is the older sibling and earns a living as a hitman for that gang and his goals boil down to safeguarding his brother and getting revenge on their mothers murderer. Luke is almost like a fish out of water within the Five Points being an idealistic and innocent breadwinner in contrast with the jaded and bloodthirsty Brad who puts on the faade of a lazy bum in order to preserve his brothers innocence. Their chemistry is wholesome if somewhat clich and both receive decent development. The rest of the cast is functional yet static. They serve straightforward roles are not quite fleshed out and most villains are caricatures. Some were entertaining though whereas others contributed to siblings characterization. Be warned however: readers may be bothered by stereotypical presentations of western tropes be it the Native American warriors the railroad baron or the psychopathic gangsters. b. And second the story + Green Blood is a rare sample among manga as a noir western yet not original in the greater scope of storytelling and definitely not an eye opener. However to say that it lacks any merit would be unfair. Highly clich yes but for a large part exciting if very violent and its actionthriller twists are quite unpredictable. Also the mangaka has done fair amount of research and included context fitting the era depicted. The chapters dont have too many pages and the story isnt too complicated which makes for an easily digestible read if one can stomach its visceral violence. In the long run however its story is rather unmemorable and leaves little lasting impact this coming from a person who used to include it among their favorites. 5 volumes and 49 chapters were insufficient parts showed lost potential and the ending felt anticlimactic. The story is largely carried by the siblings chemistry and the atmosphere. In general I believe the mangaka is more of a virtuoso rather than a creative writer and drawing excessive influence from mainstream American media. 2. And concluding with the artwork Largely a visual experience its atmosphere is one of its strongest cards and is aided by its powerful artwork.Phenomenal care is put behind detailed backgrounds whether depicting internal or external space slums or rural areas. https://i.pin.com/564x/f4/7a/f8/f47af84c6a4affad6b1dd47fd58c0869.jpg At other parts such as in action scenes backgrounds may be kept more minimal but the mangaka displays craftiness in techniques such as shading and his trademark engraved linework. Key details such as animals characters and their clothing and weapons are also meticulously illustrated. Character designs have mostly realistic proportions but stepping into other peoples shoes I feel some may find the more caricatural ones as a hitormiss element for they might diminish the dark feel of the story and setting. 3. Would I recommend Green Blood as historical fiction? Lets retrace my categorization. If one were to expect something akin to the 1st category they would be disappointed. Detailed visuals and a unique setting do not suffice for many historical elements are either framework or superficially relevant. A similar accusation can be made for many fantasy and scifi works as mentioned in my Nausica review. Green Blood somewhat blurs the line between the 2nd and 3rd category but ultimately falls into the 3rd and as such I would rather recommend it to readers wanting to be initiated into the era and reallife location and/or craving aesthetic and visceral action. Hope you enjoyed my review For other manga with the US as a setting I recommend browsing for Rumspringa no Joukei and Benkei in New York.