Category Archives: Manga

Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth Review

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It’s time to review a quick one shot that was recently scanned. The story takes place towards the beginning of the Cyber Sleuth game and you can think of it as a promo for the game. It’s a fun little adventure. I always wish that these one shots could at least go on for a full volume, but I suppose that one shots have to exist or the term wouldn’t mean much. Whether you know the plot from the game or not, it’s pretty accessible to new readers since they explain enough to keep you in the loop.

A detective agency exists to help people with cyber related crimes. The world is very high tech so this takes place in the future or in the present time of another world which is more advanced than ours. Kyoko is the leader of this 2 man group and her subordinate is known as the Cyber Sleuth. He lost his physical body thanks to an accident involving the mysterious creature known as an Eater. He now lives as a half digital being that can exist in both planes of existence. He uses these unique abilities to help people as he tries to find a way to become normal again. In this chapter, some people show up to ask for help since their accounts have been stolen. The main character heads to the internet to stop the gang that is responsible. It’s a fairly direct story since he just has to beat them up and then the case is cleared.

A running gag in the game to an extent is the fact that the main character always shows up too late to save the people and they end up being eaten by the Eaters. That continues in this chapter as the gang members are simply eaten and no trace of them is left. So much for those guys eh? We got a nice little fight scene and the main character looked tough so that’s always a plus. This was during his rookie days so he is fairly inexperienced, but does a decent enough job. His personality seemed very different from the games though as he would interrupt Kyoko and was more assertive than usual. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but he would have to step up a bit as a main character if it were a longer series. Being assertive is great, but then you have to be consistent and this main character would be getting worried in the next panel.

The art is all right. It looks like it has the potential to be very good with some nice, crisp cuts, but other moments don’t work quite as well as the art can get a little cluttered. I think it’s just a case of trying to do a little too much because of time constraints. It probably wouldn’t be an issue for a longer series as the artist would get used to the characters and you would see it get smoother over time. You can still tell what is happening the whole time and that’s certainly the important thing.

Overall, There’s not much more to say about it. The chapter is only around 30 pages or so and it’s a good story. There’s some action and foreshadowing, not to mention that they leave you with a decent cliffhanger so you can go play the game yourself. I completed it a while back and highly recommend it. It’s certainly one of the best Digimon game and that’s considering that the competition is rather stiff. Most Digimon games end up being rather awesome. If you’re a Digimon fan then you should definitely check this out. I can’t say that you’ll get much out of it if you’re not already familiar with Digimon though. Maybe you could just enjoy it as a quick action story I suppose, but there’s only so much you can do in 30 pages. It’s good to see more Digimon manga being scanned. It shows that there is always hope for obscure one shots and other titles that are missing to the wind. On the video game side, I’m ready for Cyber Sleuth 2 although I know that probably won’t happen. The new Digimon World game will definitely be fun though.

Overall 7/10

Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright Comic Anthology

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Fire Emblem definitely has a lot of manga titles. It’s pretty cool how the series is so big even if most of the various series aren’t all that great. This one is all right, but I’m not a huge fan of Anthologies. Perhaps one will feature a big action scene which will help it out a bit. I shall have a review for the series up when it finishes.

Overall 5/10

Library Wars Love & War

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The premise for this series is certainly very unique. Who ever thought that we’d see a series about an army of librarians who have to defend their books with guns? It’s off to a good start so far and I’m 4 volumes in. If it can keep it up, then this will probably end up being one of the best Shojo titles. I’ll have a review for the series up when I finish it.

Overall 7/10

Fairy Tail Ice Trail Review

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It’s time for another Fairy Tail spinoff! The main character just so happens to be my favorite character in the franchise so I was certainly expecting it to be a cut above the rest. It’s a fun little mini series. It’s less interesting than Fairy Tail Zero, but there is certainly more action and Gray is as cool as always. I want to say that Ice Trail is actually the best Fairy Tail manga although it is certainly close. If anything, I just wish the series could have gone on for another chapter or two so I could see Gray take Natsu down in a fight. That would be the best way to end it all.

So, this takes place a little after Ur sacrificed herself to stop an ice demon. Gray has now decided to wander the globe in search of strong fighters. This will be difficult though as many people need his help along the way. Both volumes essentially have their own self contained plot. The first one sees Gildarts enter the fray to help out against a few powerful mages. Gray would have liked to have won on his own, but having a powerful ally isn’t too bad. It’s just a shame that Gildarts isn’t likable in the slightest. He’s easily the worst character in this series and does his best to bring the title down. Luckily, he is written out after the first volume.

It was a fun start. There were a few action scenes here and there. Gray got the hype that he deserves and mops up the pre arc villains pretty easily. Volume 2 sees the inclusion of Pause (I could have sworn that this was not his name in the English translation, but I may as well go with the wiki) and Doronbo. The three of them quickly form a team as Gray tries to find the elusive Fairy Tail guild. The main problem here is the fact that another guild has arrived to destroy the group. Can Gray hold them off until the main members show up?

I can’t say that I liked either Pause or Doronbo. Doronbo starts off as your average crook who also happens to have a pill that essentially freezes time for 30 seconds. At the very least, you move so fast that this is basically the effect. Which, I have to say is a poorly conceived idea since it is way too powerful. Both times it is used in the manga, the culprit should have been successful, but plot hax intervened. Gray simply forgot about the 30 seconds rule when he saw someone he recognized and Doronbo forgot because he was having some ice cream. (Or Cotton Candy) I don’t think that would reasonably happen to anyone after taking such a pill so I think that concept could have been completely removed. Besides that, Doronbo is just annoying. His transition into being a good guy is also extremely sudden and there’s not really any reason for it.

Pause is about as bad as Doronbo just in his own way. His gimmick is that whenever he fights, Pause loses all control. He’ll suddenly make crazy facial expressions and try to wreck everyone until Gray shuts him down. After a plot twist, it also turns out that he is basically just your average villain. He’s not very smart either as he lets the villains mess with him for quite a while before doing anything about it. If not for Gray, he would have been sunk multiple times. The paper power is definitely pretty interesting, but he’ll need more than that to be a good character.

As you can see, Gray basically had to carry the manga on his own. He’s easily the best character here and it’s not even close. Gray saves everyone with his ice powers quite regularly and he’s a great hero. Gray’s as noble as they come and while he may not have been strong enough to take on a bunch of skilled enemies on his own yet, that’ll change. He’s definitely likable as a kid even if he hasn’t reached his prime yet.

As for the villains, they’re basically just dime a dozen in terms of character. They want to beat people up and aren’t afraid to use magic. The villains don’t seem to have thought all of this through very much though since they certainly were never a credible threat to Fairy Tail. Once the leader shows up, it’s basically game over from there. The energy absorption trick that Kafuchi had was fairly neat, but he wasn’t all that impressive aside from that. It was cool to see Gray take out some ice treasure hunters as well.

As mentioned earlier, Gildarts is terrible. Mainly because he’s an extreme flirt who even goes after people that are already taken by another. His overwhelming power is supposed to be an excuse so you can overlook the rest of his character, but that’s just not going to fly. Even in the main series where he has a lot of competition, Gildarts is still near the bottom of the pack.

The art is all right. I wouldn’t call it that good and it can get busy at times, but it’s not bad either. The character design for Gray is decently good and the only character that you could get mixed up once in a while were Doronbo and this one shot Fairy Tail ally who looks just like Gray. Aside from that, everyone else is pretty distinct. The fights are fun as well and Gray punching out a giant energy explosion esque item was pretty hype. He certainly looks impressive considering his age. It just gives me even more fuel when I say that Gray is stronger than Natsu and basically always has been.


Overall, Ice Trails is a solid manga to pick up. You’ll probably forget most of the villains by the end since they scream One Shot with their designs and powers, but that’s okay. The manga helps give you more backstory on Gray and seeing him actually join Fairy Tail is pretty neat. I think it may have been a missed opportunity not to show off some of the other Fairy Tail characters and their first meeting with Gray, but maybe another origin title will deal with that at some point. Gildarts is the only weakness here and that shouldn’t deter you from checking this title out. It’s only two volumes so the series really flows by in no time at all. Hopefully this is the last that we’ll see of Pause and Doronbo. As far as supporting characters go, they were very generic and just not all that likable. Next up on my spinoff list is Fairy Tail Girls. Given the reputation of the franchise…you can probably imagine that this next review won’t be as positive.

Overall 7/10

Yugioh 5Ds Review

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All right, I have finally finished the Yugioh 5Ds series! To think, I started this title all the way back in 2011. It’s been about 6 years, but it was a fun ride. The Yugioh 5Ds manga may have been a little less ambitious than its anime counterpart, but the same could be said for the rest. 5Ds was a lot of fun and the Yugioh game is simply so great that the manga is still an all-star by the end. I’ll compare it to the other Yugioh manga (plural) a little more in depth later. For now, let’s start with the plot.

Yusei is from Satellite sector so he lived in the slums for a while. It doesn’t get him down though and Yusei still has fun dueling everyone. Things change when a mysterious knight challenges him to a duel with his life as the stakes. Yusei manages to fend him off, but his best friend, Sect is corrupted and turns to the side of evil. Meanwhile, Goodwin (Rich guy who has his own tournament) wants to revive an incredibly powerful dark overlord to do his bidding although his real reason will come later on. Yusei will have to win the tournament and defeat the Shadow Spectres at various sites in order to turn Sect to the side of light once more. There are a lot of other obstacles that he’ll have to overcome, but Yusei is ready to ride to the next level!

The manga invented a concept for the 5Ds series about sense. When you drive fast enough and with a lot of passion, you’ll be able to hit opponents with a blast of sense. So, what is sense exactly? Well, it is basically hitting someone with pure telekinetic force, which is enough to get them off course or even cause serious injury. It makes virtual reality real and allows 5Ds to have Shadow Games to an extent. I actually enjoyed this concept, but I can also see how it might not have worked too well in the anime. If Sense was a real thing, then why would anyone want to actually duel under those circumstances? You would always be putting your life on the line and even if the general public couldn’t access this ability, it would be a little strange. Nothing’s too strange for Yugioh world though and I’m sure that I could have gotten behind it. I’m sure the anime could have made the scenes look really intense.

As you would expect, the art is pretty crisp and clean here. The author does a good job of showing the duels and capturing the intensity of the high stakes rounds. I’d say that the animation probably is a little better than what we have in GX. The monsters all look good and the duels are very easy to follow. Had the series gone on any longer, I’m sure that the art would continue to improve. It is an area that can certainly be counted as a strength for the series.

Yusei is a great character as you will have come to expect from Yugioh. He’s a superb duelist and does whatever it takes to keep his friends safe. I’ve always preferred Jaden and Yami Yugi, but Yusei is certainly leagues above Yugi, Yuma, and Yuuya. His Stardust Dragon is certainly a great ace to have up his sleeve and his synchro summon deck certainly seems well balanced. It’s easy to say that Yusei is the best character here. Sect is Yusei’s best friend and the guy was made up for the manga. He’s not a bad friend I suppose, but he’s just not tough enough for me. I like characters who have a certain flair of confidence of arrogance about them. Otherwise, the character just has to be really good at being a nice guy. I just never found Sect all that enjoyable and even once he got his evil form, it wasn’t all that great. It was an improvement though and at least he finally became one of the big shots. I certainly won’t call him a bad character though and he serves his role fairly well, but I think we could have put Crow in his place and then the manga wouldn’t have needed an original character.

Jack is certainly a major character here as you would expect. He’s as tough as always and I would say that he is the second best character in the manga. He doesn’t really get a chance to become a full fledged hero like he was in the anime, but he serves his purpose as the tough rival who always keeps everyone on their guard. His Red Dragon Archfiend is definitely a really cool ace monster to have at the ready as well. We’ve also got Crow who is more of a friend than a rival. He comes out of the blue a little less than he did in the anime so the character wasn’t as forced. Plus, with most of the characters randomly showing up in the manga at some point or another, he fit in well. Crow’s not a bad character either, but he always felt a little bland when placed next to Yusei and Jack. Not to mention that I don’t think he could hold his own against either of those two. He’s no Joey Wheeler, but Crow’s a good pal to have around. You can never have too many dueling friends.

Akiza is a character who is quite different from her TV show counterpart. For starters, she is actually very popular at school and isn’t a psychic who works for a shady organization. That’s too bad since the plot was definitely a lot of fun in the show, but her new role is handled well. It’s a shame that her appearances were so brief in the manga, but I guess the series couldn’t squeeze everyone in. As it stands, she’s a good character. Leo and Luna have also been altered from the show and the result is a little worse than Akiza. Leo is fairly similar as he panics a lot, but since Luna bosses him around a lot in the manga, it makes things dicey for him. He goes along with her plans since she is the boss, even if he doesn’t necessarily agree with it. Luna is evil for most of the series, I believe that this was in part due to some kind of darkness that had infected her. Either that or it was actually natural and then the duel just showed her the light. The two characters were rather boring and I was ready for Yusei to take them down for the count.

The Skeleton Knight is another new character for the series and he serves as one of the main villains. This guy was definitely really cool and he helped the series start with a bang right from the get go. The stakes were real at soon as he appeared since it meant that the plot was starting early. He doesn’t get to duel a whole lot, but the battles that he does get are satisfying and he lives up to the hype that surrounds him. He may not have a lot of character, but you can’t really go wrong with a solid design and the cool demeanor that he has. Director Goodwin is one of the big villains here as you would expect thanks to the show. He’s a pretty good villain. He certainly won’t be matching some of the iconic foes like Marik, but Goodwin does a good job of ensuring that he is a threat and gives the heroes a really good showdown.

A lot of the other supporting characters from the show appear at some point during the series. Bolt, Officer Trudge, (Ushio), Kalin, and others. Kalin in particular was a really cool character from the show, but he didn’t get quite as much to do in the manga due to the limited amount of duels that could be covered. It was definitely funny to see how many people had a grudge with Jack though. Akiza, Kalin, Yusei, Sect to an extent, etc. Everyone wanted a piece of Jack by the end and at least that goes to show that his reputation really does precede him. Defeating Jack Atlas is always something to brag about since few are able to accomplish this.

So, how does this manga stack up against the other Yugioh titles? Well, Duelist is obviously still the best and I’d put R at second. After that, it starts to get a lot closer between the titles. I’d put Millennium World at third followed by Yugioh GX at fourth. GX is the manga that I haven’t read for the longest time though so it is possible that things will change when I re read it. Who knows, maybe it’ll end up passing Millennium World! Next would be Yugioh Zexal and then Yugioh 5Ds at 6th. Classic Yugioh is easily the worst and hasn’t aged all that well, but how good can a Yugioh series be without a lot of duels anyway? It’ll be cool to see where Arc V ranks on this list once the manga finally comes out.

Overall, Yugioh 5Ds is definitely a lot of fun. I was really hoping that it could get past the 9 volume curse for Yugioh Spinoffs, but no such luck I suppose. It looks like Arc V will have to be the one to do that. The series did a lot in the short length that it had though and each volume is power packed with action and duels. The review is a little short, but keep in mind that I did read this series over the course of 6 years so some of the older events aren’t as fresh as they would have been otherwise. The tournament arc was a lot of fun and there were certainly a good amount of events in the series, but it all continues pretty seamlessly so that’s why you don’t need to spend too much time talking about the plot. In the end, you’re here for the duels an the series definitely delivers on that. In the end, this is just a really enjoyable title and you don’t really have to put too much thought into it. It’s the perfect manga to just pick up and read when you’re in the mood. This is a must read for all Yugioh fans and people who simply like to enjoy a good action story as well. With good art and characters to back it up, the title really has no weaknesses. It is a shame that Leo and Luna fell kind of flat, but I never liked them much to start off with so they have no real effect on the final product. With the final Zexal volume already out, you can expect another Yugioh review soon.

Overall 8/10

Vigilante- My Hero Academia Illegals

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I shall have a review for this series when it is finished. It’s off to a decent start and I can easily see this series going on for a long time. It just needs to focus on the action and the concept while not being bogged down by other elements. Hopefully it goes well!

Overall 6/10

Pokemon Hoopa and the Clash of Ages Review

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Considering that the Pokemon anime messed up big time and probably lost a lot of viewers, it is nice to go back to before that time and remember the more innocent days. This film is fairly recent so it isn’t that far back, but it still counts. The movie was fun although I didn’t care for Hoopa’s true form and didn’t like how they overhyped him the whole time. The manga does a great job of fixing that up although it feels super small, even for a one volume one shot. The whole film is being played on fast forward mode and the manga diverges a little bit for fun. It’s a fun little read.

Ash and friends are enjoying some donuts when Ash is thrown into a portal. He meets up with Hoopa and two guardians who have decided that it is time to bring him back to full power. Unfortunately, this causes Hoopa’s true form to go on a rampage as he starts to blow everything up and summons 6 Legendary Pokemon to defend himself. Ash grabs Pikachu and prepares for the fight of his life. He is aided by 3 Legendary Pokemon as well so now he is ready. Can Ash prove that he is the true Pokemon Master and take these clowns down? Time to find out!

One thing that this abridged version makes very clear is that the plot gets a little repetitive. Hoopa’s jar is broken so he turns evil at the very beginning of the volume, but the heroes quickly turn him back to normal. That’s good…but only a few pages later we see Meowth grab the jar and unleash Hoopa once again. In the film, there was a decent amount of fluff so this didn’t happen immediately, but the manga depicts just how quickly these two identical events occurred. It did help us get to the climax very quickly though so that’s always fun.

The original characters from the film were okay, but mostly just generic here. The two protectors remember happier times with Hoopa and one of them gets to help out a little during the climax, but that’s about it. In the end, it really came down to Ash and his friends to save the day as you may have expected. Hoopa wasn’t quite as charismatic as in the film, but he is still a decent Legendary. I still don’t like the Unbound form though. At least he makes for a good villain. I was also glad that the manga fixed some of my issues from the film regarding his power level. He was definitely very overhyped there, but in the manga version we see that Lugia was wrecking him. Had the fight continued on, I’m confident that Lugia would have won here. He had Hoopa on the defensive right from the start.

The 6 vs 3 fight of the Legendaries was also handled a lot better than in the anime. Who hasn’t wanted to see Rayquaza take on heavy weights like Dialga? I do think that the 6 evil Pokemon would have won in the end since the numbers advantage is important and Latias is fairly weak, but it would have been a good fight. Ash was around as well so his Pikachu can really tip the scales. I was satisfied with Ash’s portrayal here. He was eager to help Hoopa out and didn’t back down from a fight. He was even willing to get zapped by Pikachu in order to save the day. His friends felt forced in though and the classic “The future is now!” saying felt a little tacked on as well since it was a really odd way to start the sentence. Ah well, Ash will get new friends soon.

Now, the writing for the manga could be a little odd at times. At one point, Hoopa asked Ash what he would wish for so he could thank Ash. Ash responded with his wish to become a Pokemon Master, but after Hoopa offered to grant this to him, he quickly backpedaled and said that it couldn’t be done. He could have given Hoopa an actual wish or simply declined as he did in the movie. Another moment was when Hoopa told his Unbound version something. I’m going to quote the dialogue word for word so here goes.

Unbound- “You disappear…I am Hoopa. I will be…the one…who remains!” Hoopa- “Ashkan said…he wanted to help you too. I’ll tell you everything about me. So please…..calm down and listen…They’re all waiting for you….You and I should become one again. Hee hee, Surprised? You can have fun with them too!” Then Unbound turns good and the two of them merge. Not only did this conversation use the classic three dots…too often, but it didn’t make much sense. Hoopa said that he would tell Unbound all about himself, but then he didn’t. The conversation didn’t actually go anywhere. Maybe it was a bad translation or something, but the dialogue throughout the manga isn’t great. The other lines aren’t quite that bad at least, but it definitely is something.

The art is very clear at least. It’s not great art or anything as it stays very basic to make it look appealing. It’s good for kids since they can easily understand what is happening and I’ll definitely take this over vague artwork that you see from time to time, but it still didn’t feel really high quality. A good example of a great take on simple art is Bleach. That series got it down to a T.

Overall, This was a bit of a short review, but there isn’t a lot to say about this manga. It did a good job of covering the events from the film, but it probably should have been a little longer as everything was really glossed over. I am glad that the 6 vs 3 fight was extended a little though and it definitely shows that the author had his priorities straight. These one shot adventures are always fun and a great way for Pokemon fans to experience the movies in case they don’t have the opportunity to watch them. It’s a good adventure and while it is not great, you’ll have fun reading it. Even if you’ve never watched Pokemon before, this makes for a good story. After all, you won’t need any previous context to understand what is happening since it is all self contained.

Overall 7/10

My Hero Academia Smash

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This is a little spinoff to the main series. It very lightly retells the story’s events as a 4 koma comedy title. As with most titles of this kind of series, the jokes can get old rather quickly so there isn’t much of a future for it. It’s not all that bad though, but there isn’t much of a reason to read it. I’ll review the series when I finish it.

Overall 4/10

Barakamon

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Barakamon’s off to a decent start. It’s a fairly calm slice of life adventure that will remind you of Yotsuba. I do think that the main cast is already better than Yotsuba which is certainly a good thing. It has the potential to drag on or get repetitive if nothing happens to shake up the daily routine, but I’m assuming that something along those lines will happen at some point. I’ll have a review for this series when it finishes. So long as nothing drastic happens, this series should be pretty safe at its positive score.

Overall 6/10

Fairy Tail Zero Review

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It’s time to look at one of the Fairy Tail spinoffs. It certainly has quite a few, but this is the first one that I have read. It certainly starts them off on a good note as this one is leagues ahead of the main series. I won’t be reviewing that one anytime soon since it shows no signs of ending at the moment, but the excessive fanservice ruined what could have been one of the ultimate manga titles of all time. That’s a story for another day though. This manga plays it straight for the most part and makes for an interesting action title that does a good job of setting the stage for the main title. There are some name drops to help expand the mythos, but I have to say that most of the names went over my head or simply didn’t matter much. The actual story and main characters are the main draw for me as a casual FT reader. Big fans will be able to appreciate this volume even more though.

The story starts off with a little girl by the name of Mavis. FT fans will remember her as the legendary leader who created the Fairy Tail guild. This story is about the birth of Fairy Tail and we learn that Mavis wasn’t always an ultra powerful, super fighter. She never gets to be all that super powerful here either, but it takes time to get to that level. At first, she is an ordinary girl who lives among shifty characters who adopted her for kicks, but don’t do much else. They don’t seem to care for her either and force Mavis to walk around without any sneakers. Mavis ends up getting used to this though and ultimately never wears any footwear again.

They all get burned to a crisp though as the land is destroyed so Mavis escapes along with Zera, a girl around Mavis’ age. Zera was never all that nice, but after this traumatic event, she began to warm up to Mavis. The two of them lived alone on this island for quite a while until some treasure hunters showed up. They came to grab the legendary Jade jewel. Mavis duels one of their members in a strategy game to see who will claim the jewel, but it has been mysteriously removed already. The two groups then decide to join forces to reclaim the jewel and so starts the beginning of their partnership. The owners of the Jade are the notorious Blue Skull wizards so the heroes will have to fight hard to defeat them. After all, they don’t know any real magic yet.

This one shot could have potentially been a little boring if handled wrong. I’m not a huge fan of the jungle setting after all and big cities don’t appear all that much. Luckily, the writing is good and as a result, the one shot plays out like a fun little fantasy adventure. It’s similar to something like Slayers or Orphen. The character interactions are good and the main cast are all pretty likable. You’ll find yourself breezing through the volume even though the length is longer than your average volume. It never drags on and the pacing is nice and quick.

Mavis is the main character and I can safely say that she is the best Fairy Tail Guild Leader. Her match of wits against Yuri was something that you would expect from HXH or another strategy title. I certainly didn’t think it would come from Fairy Tail and most of the current members on the team certainly wouldn’t do too well in this kind of event. The game was about mentioning truths in regard to the person that you are fighting. To make sure that neither participant can lie, a magic crystal is used. (Sadly, this is why the game wouldn’t work too well in real life) You can’t use truths that can be applied to both people (So no “You’re a human” as a truth) and you can’t use truths about clothing or other obvious/minor details that would drag the game out forever. As both participants are ideally strangers to each other, it gets to be very tricky right away.

Mavis decided to up the stakes a little though and boldly claimed that she would win the game on a single turn…and then did so 2 times in a row. It was quite impressive and her wins were both legitimate. No real plot hax here, just good strategy. Mavis doesn’t have any real flaws to speak of and can easily hold her own volume. She’s a good hero who looks out for her friends and is eager to stop the villains. Mavis is certainly worthy of her role as leader.

Zera is Mavis’ best friend and appears as a main supporting character during the volume. She may have been very mean at the beginning of the story, but she was a little kid at the time and certainly couldn’t have been expected to be all that mature. She is fairly anti-social and has a hard time getting used to the others, but she gets used to having friends by the end…or at least makes an effort to get along with them. She can’t fight so she mainly serves as moral support for Mavis. She’s a nice character to have around.

Yuri is easily the best member of the Treasure Hunters and he is very close to being as cool as Mavis. I like his competitive spirit and he certainly has no shortage of confidence. Yuri is rather greedy and isn’t willing to just let Mavis win for free, but that’s a good thing. He’s in it to win and gives everything his all. That definitely makes him a good rival to have around and it’s be cool to see him in the main series. Unless he is a minor character or got a name change, I can’t remember him ever appearing. He would be super old though so I guess that makes sense.

Warrod is someone who has shown up in the main series, but he’s my least favorite member so that’s too bad. He’s not a bad character in this volume, but he’s just not all that interesting I suppose. He tries to sound wise and he has a decent amount of magical power, but I find him to be over hyped. I don’t know how he got such a high position of honor in the main title. He’s technically heroic and a solid ally though so he’s just not great compared to the others. If you just look at him as a character with no comparisons, then he’s not bad.

Precht is the final member of the Treasure Hunters and he is pretty cool. Of course, he does go on to become one of the big villains in the main series, but here he is a hero for the full volume. He’s the best fighter in the group and he also has a very cool design. He seemed very reliable so it’s a shame that he ultimately decided to join the darkness. This is Fairy Tail though so maybe he will become a good guy at some point in the future once more. Only time will tell I suppose.

Zeref gets a mild appearance here. He’s been hyped in the main series for quite a while and I’m looking forward to seeing him fight someday. After all, if the demons were created to defeat him and the heroes could barely take them down…just how strong is Zeref? His field of death is certainly a great ability since just getting near him can prove to be fatal for most living things. He seems like a fairly nice guy so it’s too bad that the ability eventually led him down a dark path. He did play a pivotal role in helping the heroes even if his screen time was brief.

The villains aren’t bad even if they don’t get a whole lot to do here. They’re here to serve their role as villains, but only the leader really gets a personality/actual design. He’s not a bad villain leader as he is fairly powerful and knows a good amount of magic. He may have underestimated the heroes, but it is easy to see how he rose to power the way that he did. This guy wasn’t half bad and I was satisfied with him as the big antagonist.

This is Fairy Tail though so the author managed to squeeze in a quick hot springs esque scene with Mavis and Zera. It’s only 2-3 pages max and isn’t as bad as the usual stuff though. The 3 flashbacks to it via small panels were super unnecessary, but they were quick panels and could have been worse. It’s not enough to really hurt the score all that much or anything like that, but I can’t say that I was surprised at this moment. It’s a shame since it was literally one quick scene away from being a Fairy Tail series with no fanservice. That would have been monumental. Ah well, it’s a fairly quick blink and you’ll miss it scene and as the characters are fairly young, the actual fanservice is fairly minimal considering the situation. The anime version seemed to nerf the moment as well so that’s good. I don’t know how this volume was stretched out to almost 10 episodes though, I hope that doesn’t hurt the pacing.

The art is solid throughout the manga and the character designs are good. The action scenes are also well drawn and that helps to elevate the series. As seen with the Madoka series, bad art can really hurt a series even if the writing is on point and the plot is interesting. It’s just a super crucial element in any manga and instantly gives Zero an edge. Good art starts a manga off on a high note and then it’s just up to the writing/characters to keep it at that level.

There is also a big twist towards the very end of the manga which is handled well. I certainly enjoyed the twist and while it is fairly sad, it does make sense. It explains away some interactions which would have been fairly odd otherwise. I would have just explained the oddness away due to the trauma or something like that, but this makes even more sense. It’s definitely a sad plot twist, but it’s not over the top or super dramatic like other series would have done. It adds a layer of depth to this one shot.

Overall, it is a little ironic, but this prequel completely destroys the main series. It is actually a well crafted volume with the writing being sound and the art is consistent. The characters were all fun and engaging which helped make the adventure fun. An adventure is only as good as its characters after all and the strategic elements were also really good. This one shot did a good job of showing off Mavis and her skills as a tactician. She may not specialize in physical fighting or raw power, but you don’t really need that when you have wits right? I almost forgot to mention this, but her magical abilities specialize in illusions. This is a fairly bad power to have for the most part since it is easy to see through after a while, but that’s where the intelligence factor comes into play. In the end I recommend checking out this manga. Don’t read the main series, but read this one shot anyway. It can stand up on its own and you don’t need to appreciate all of the cameos and name drops to really enjoy this adventure. Hopefully the rest of the spinoffs are also able to bring this level of quality with them.

Overall 7/10