Gestalt Vol. 1, is about a priest journey to a forbidden island, where a rebellious god is residing.  The priest's name is Oliver, who is only level 11, and can only cast level 3 spells.  There are 5 levels to spell casting, and many different types.  The brotherhood that Oliver is from wants him to come back, for they think he just ran away.  They ask a dark elf who is a friend of their to find Oliver and bring him back.  But, while Oliver was in Barbaros, a slave trading town, he is gifted a salve girl and is forced to keep her.  The only problem with her is that she can't speak.  So, Father Oliver tries to use a dispelling spell, but it's new to him and he's having a hard time actually getting it to work.  The dark elf shows up and tries to take Oliver back to the brotherhood.  Oliver doesn't want to go back, but, he doesn't know any powerful offense spells.  The slave girl gets his attention and communicates that he should try the dispelling spell again, this time it works.  The slave girl turns out to be a sorceress and she uses her magic to escape from the dark elf, with Oliver.  Her name is Ouri, and she happens to be from the island where Oliver is going.  Together, they head for the island, but encounter many obstacles, such as siblings of Ouri (who want her gone) and…helping others! Yep, because Oliver is a priest, he is obligated to help others, but he ends up helping with things that effect everyone around.  Also, along the way, they pick up some companions, including the dark elf who was trying to take him back.

There is an intricate story developing in volume one, and yet, it's not very deep.  A lot of character are introduced, but, when they are, there is a little basic info box explaining them some, which I found helpful and kind of nice.  Otherwise I honestly would have been overwhelmed by all the characters.  The idea of spells levels and user levels is weakly used and explained, but I didn't mind it being there, I just wish it was more prominent.  The art work wasn't to my liking, but I can be picky when it come to this.  It reminded me of Inu Yasha.  I was amused by the interaction between any character and Oliver, it's awkward because Oliver makes it that way, and it's comical to the reader.  I got some good laughs.  I did find that the story moved to fast, and left some things undeveloped enough to actually make you want to know more, leaving you right before the event would become interesting.   The things that did get completed where actually pretty good.

Overall, I find Gestalt, vol. 1 to fast and over worked.  There is potential for a great story, for though who prefer a faster story, this is just fine.  There wasn't a lot of real romance, just moments of lust, which was nice, one more thing and my head would have exploded!  It did add a nice touch to the comedy part of this series.  As for the action, that was my favorite part, it was clear and easy to know what the heck is going on, unlike some manga that I've read, where when a character uses a move, you don't know what just happened.  So, I enjoyed the fight scenes.

ComicsOnline gives Gestalt Vol. 1, 3.5 out of 5 spell levels.