Law of Ueki Review

Posted on October 24, 2014 by dreager1

It’s time for one of the manga elites! The Law of Ueki is pretty underrated in the manga community and you’ve likely never heard of it. That’s too bad since it can definitely hold its own against big titles like Naruto and One Piece. For some reason, it just never really hit it big and it’ll forever be more of an obscure title. Why is the Law of Ueki so good? Well, it has a perfect blend of action and hype. The ending is pretty rushed, but it almost fits the pace of this title.

The plot follows a kid who’s named…..waiiiiiit for it…..Ueki! He has a talent..he can turn garbage into trees. The running joke is that this ability never becomes useful and it’s probably one of the worst abilities ever. Luckily for him..this can all change. There is a tournament being held with 100 fighters. Each fighter represents a candidate to be the next King. The fighter’s prize is that they may learn a new “talent.” They can write down whatever ability they want on the paper and it shall be theirs. Each student starts out with around 10 talents if I recall correctly. Injuring a non combatant will result in the character losing a talent. Lose all of them…and let’s just say that your life will effectively be ruined. Ueki just needs to win the tournament to get the best super power ever, but he’s really just doing it for the guy he’s representing. He’s also going to need to make sure to do his best since the villains can be ruthless.

Much like MAR, The Law of Ueki is really just one really long tournament. The action is nonstop and that’s what I like to see from any title. This series pulls off most of the Shonen tropes that you would expect and does a nice job with them. One mild weakness for the series is that you could call some parts a little generic. Ueki is what you would expect from the lead and we even have the change in villains twist that you may have expected. I wouldn’t say that this is a big weakness though since everything is repetitive to an extent. As long as the scenes are enjoyable, then the Law of Ueki is still winning.

The art in the series may not be spectacular, but it’s definitely very good. The style reminds me of One Piece and it really captures the battle scenes. It’s always easy to follow what’s happening and many different series have trouble with that. There are a bunch of fight scenes to be found so that is a pretty big positive for the series. I’d say that the artwork is above average and it helps the manga feel even more exciting than it would have without it.

Tier wise, this series is likely a lot stronger than you may have expected. The top fighters can easily hold their own against fighters from Naruto and One Piece. I’m still going to say that it would be a stretch for them to go up against Bleach or Reborn! fighters, but that’s not bad. Ueki vs Beet is a good comparison to make here. It is like Sailor Moon though in the sense that the top tiers are drastically stronger than the average fighter. Ueki and the two big villains are really in a league of their own. They have super speed, flight, super strength, and much more. Fighting those guys will tire most other fighters out. Another reason why I love having strong fighters appear is that we are treated to some great fight scenes!

Ueki is our lead and he’s a pretty good main character. One can definitely see why he’d be called generic though. He’s very similar to Luffy and I think the author must be familiar with the series. I got a One Piece vibe several times while reading the series. I like Ueki, but I wouldn’t call him an amazing character like Train Heartnet or Ichigo. He’s a hero and I tend to agree with all of his calls. He believes in the power of friendship and he always sticks by his team. Beyond that, he doesn’t get any memorable lines and he doesn’t really stick out. You’ll mostly enjoy him for his fight scenes. He does get all of the best ones after all.

Mori is the main heroine and she makes sure to get involved in the tournament. Unfortunately, she has one of the worst powers of all time. She can make her opponents fall in love with glasses. That’s pretty terrible when you think about it and her fight was really just one big parody. I think that the author could have given her something that was a little more decent since that hurt her appearances in the series. She never really gets to help out in the fights, which can be sad for her fans. She’s a decent character, but she just doesn’t stand out.

Ueki’s main group of friends doesn’t really get any better with Kobayashi. Technically, he’s Ueki’s mentor, but he’d still be considered as one of the main characters. He doesn’t get a whole lot of screen time though since he is banished from the planet for breaking one of the rules. The only way to get him back is to win the tournament, which gives Ueki some motivation. I suppose that he’s not a bad character, but I don’t find him to be very likable. He’s meant to make the reader laugh and I didn’t find him to be very funny so that plan didn’t work. He’s basically just a side plot for most of the series.

Sano is easily the best friend that Ueki has, but it’s still not saying a whole lot. He can turn towels into iron/steel, which isn’t bad. It’s not the greatest ability out there, but that means that he’ll always have a solid weapon to hit people with. He’s the strategist of the group and he’s typically the first person to figure out what an enemy’s ability is. He comes in handy quite a few times, but he can’t help all that much against the big opponents since he physically cannot keep up with them. He’s no Sanosuke, but Sano is always ready to help out.

Rinko joins the team pretty early on after a brief stunt as one of the villains. She can throw explosive beads at her opponents. It’s not a great power, but when you look at her allies…you start to appreciate it. Her slap is pretty iconic by the end since the artist makes her hand look huge and it’s almost always a one hit KO attack. At least she’s getting a lot of action! I wasn’t a big fan of her either though and she didn’t really add a whole lot to the group. She just pretty unmemorable as well, which adds to the amount of characters that were fairly generic.

Hideyoshi is largely inspired by Usopp, but I really don’t like him. He can make sounds come from other directions with his drawings, but man…that’s a pretty awful power. He cannot fight at all and he’s mostly used for comic relief. It’s hard to really root for this kind of character because he can only win with severe plot hax. I think the series could have been even better if Hideyoshi had not been introduced. I still like most of the villains in the Law of Ueki, but I have to say that most of the heroes can use some work. Ueki mostly has to carry the team on his own and he’s already not the greatest main character. (Although the others make him look like the next Vegeta!) (In terms of epicness of course)

Tenko is the Celestial Beast who helps Ueki develop his abilities. His training is highly risky though and if Ueki were to fail…he would die. Tenko is still a nice guy though so he lets Ueki train when needed. I guess I didn’t mind Tenko by the end. As a whole, I find Tenko to be a little unnecessary and he should have gone in to help Ueki instead of “trusting” him at one point. I disagreed with his decision and it was hard to forget about that. He is better than most animal mascots though and I dare say that I like him more than Mokona and Cerberus. It’s a close call of course.

Hanon is the final villain of the series and he’s very powerful. He can absorb other fighters to gain their abilities, which comes in handy. Initially, he was tough, but he was probably not a huge threat. That changed once he met up with the previous main villain. Suddenly, Hanon become a big contender and his powers almost have no limits. His speed and power are off the charts and he can fly as well. Hanon makes for a great villain as his abilities are perfect. The fight scenes with him are naturally great and they feel very climatic. It’s rare that I like all (2) of the big villains in the manga series, but Law of Ueki managed to pull it off. Most impressive!

Robert is the main villain for a good chunk of the series. He’s pretty great and it was our first glimpse of DBZ action. He starts out as a pretty sinister villain, but he starts to warm up to the others as the series goes on. I quickly became a fan of his, but my timing was a little off since he quickly stopped appearing due to a tragic meal. I was rooting for him there, but it was a good way to hype up the next villain. I would have preferred a climatic fight first with a clear resolution, but The Law of Ueki just moves too quickly for that. Robert is not someone that you will forget and he had the privilege of staying in the top tier from start to finish.

“God” is the host of the tournament and he doesn’t do anything until we reach the end of the series. He seems like a pretty nice guy and he’s really relaxed about the whole situation. He does have to step in when his rules start to be abused by the competitors, but what if he has grown rusty over the years? His fight is pretty intense although a lot of it is off screen. It’s implied that he actually could have won against most of the villains, but Hanon is very debatable. “God” was having a very tough time when he went up against Hanon’s right hand man although he was holding back so that he wouldn’t hurt him. At full power, he could possibly give Hanon a good fight although I’m confident that he would lose. He’s a pretty good character, but he suffers from a severe lack of screen time.

Li Ho was actually one of my favorite characters in the series. Unfortunately, he got the shaft towards the end since it was fairly rushed. He never got to have the ultimate fight with Ueki that I had been waiting for. He’s an immense threat without the use of his abilities and that’s a big part of why he’s likable. He has super powers, but he chooses not to use them so that he can perfect his martial art skills. This makes him strong enough to take on the main villain and he did fight Ueki on more than one occasion. He does take his honor a little too far though as he should have activated his powers by the end. I mean, imagine if Goku decided not to turn into a Super Saiyan 3 and the series ended without him transforming. All of the foreshadowing ends up going to waste. Ah well, Li Ho is definitely a solid character and I dare say that he’s even better than Rock Lee. (Both of them are hand to hand fighters in a supernatural world, but Li Ho looks a little more impressive)

Barrow is another big opponent in the series. As expected, he has a really formidable ability up his sleeve. He has the normal celestial weapons like the Pick and the Cannonball attack, but his secret ability is what really makes them deadly. He can bring back past images of himself to fight as well. So, if he attacked you from a certain part of the field 15 minutes ago, he can bring that “him” back to launch the attack. He’s not changing the past, but merely bringing it back once again. The only drawback is that the past him is still real so then he can become a target. He can spam his time manipulation to launch some devastating combos. It’s very tough to overcome this kind of opponent and it definitely depends on what the location is. Again, I definitely enjoyed this villain. He didn’t have much of a personality beyond wanting to win, but he was pretty reasonable and I never found myself rooting against him. He did help to activate Ueki’s rage mode though.

We have another big villain in the form of Marilyn. I’ll admit that her power was a little too good since I don’t really see how she could have lost her battle. We can make the same case for some of the other villains, but Marilyn really stood out in this regard. She can make 1 second stretch out into 10 seconds for her. This means that she is moving 10X faster than everyone else and that’s a massive advantage. There are so many ways to win that way and only a few opportunities to stop such a strategy. I was highly skeptical of Ueki’s win against her because it didn’t make a lot of sense. It’s one of the risks of making your villains so powerful without giving the hero a power up. If you are physically superior to Marilyn already, then you should be fine, but nobody in the series (At the time anyway) was good enough to pull this off. Even someone like Goku would have a tough time if he wasn’t expecting the hit. Marilyn’s backstory can come off as a little cheesy, but she was a solid villain overall.

Since this is a tournament title, there are naturally many more fighters involved. I just managed to grab most of the main characters and the iconic villains. There is a small part of the series that happens before the tournament and we get some breaks, but it’s mostly all about the tournament. The series also kicks into overdrive towards the end in terms of pacing. It goes a little too quickly as we get rushed results with Li Ho, Robert, and arguably Hanon. Hanon’s right hand man also starts to get some development that ends up going to waste and the host of the event’s fight had to end a little quicker than it might have been. That being said, the series doesn’t drag on because of this and I can’t say that it had any bad volumes. Just about every installment gave us an exciting fight and advanced us through the tournament.

The climax in the Law of Ueki can hold its own against any climax. Whether it be from Bleach or DBZ, the Law of Ueki’s still manages to shine through. It may not beat their arcs, (Nothing will beat the end of the Aizen Invasion) but it’s enjoyable enough that you won’t miss them while reading it. The end fights hit all of the right notes and it basically sums up why the series was fun in the first place. It has a lot of great fights and exciting villains. Some parts may be generic, but the action and art keep it real. I also like when a series decides to go all out for the ending. Let’s just say that the power levels skyrocket in the final volume and Ueki/Hanon get to shoot through a few tiers in their big fight.

The Law of Ueki also manages to take the high road as it avoids fanservice. I don’t recall any of that being in it and if there was any, it was extremely brief. There is also virtually no romance in this title so it’s really a complete action story. There are basically no negatives that I have with it. Some of the characters may not be great, but I can’t remember any truly awful ones (Like Roshi or Oolong) either so that’s a pretty big win.

Overall, The Law of Ueki is an incredible manga that I highly recommend. It’s fairly short compared to the average Jump (Or Shonen in general) series, but it contains a ton of fights within. The series got a sequel series a while back, which I’ll be checking out soon so you can expect a review for that title at some point. I can only imagine the plot hax that will be involved to make the fights even considering how skilled Ueki is. I doubt they can stop Hanon, but they can try. Between Hanon, Robert, and the others, it’s very tough to match the Law of Ueki’s high caliber villains. You should definitely enjoy this title if you are into action. Think of it was a grounded DBZ in terms of tone and finesse. Now we just need Ueki to get popular enough for people to compare him to Luffy some more!

Overall 9/10

Sailor Moon Review

Posted on September 24, 2014 by dreager1

It’s time to review a pretty legendary manga in the form of Sailor Moon! If DBZ is the most popular Shonen manga of all time (Mildly debatable I suppose since One Piece tops it in sales, but DBZ basically invented the industry and nobody can forget it!) then Sailor Moon is the most popular Shojo title. It revolutionized the manga industry as we know it and they recently came out with the new Sailor Moon Crystal anime to be a more faithful adaption (in theory) of the manga than the original show. They also re released the manga volumes again in a crisp, new form. So, I finally got to read it and it’s a solid Shojo title. It’s safe to say that it beats most of the others, (I still say that Fairy Navigator Runa may be better…) but it definitely has its weak points as well. Let’s see how the series held up through the years!

The plot is pretty large so bear with me. The first arc mainly follows Usagi as she deals with the usual school routines and such until she is given a magical amulet by a cat. She is actually the legendary guardian of the moon…Sailor Moon to be exact! (I like to think that the sailor part is there because the scouts soar through the cosmos with their FTL feats and space has been known to have similarities to water) She must now find the other Sailor Scouts who have been scattered around her school and neighborhoods so that she can find and ~~destroy~~ defeat Queen Beryl of the Negaverse. (Dark Kingdom) It’s a tough job, but the Sailor Scouts were literally born to do this. (In this reincarnation anyway)

Things wind down a little after that as we get introduced to Mini Moon. Her courage is matched only by her cunning and she certainly makes things difficult for Usagi. (I still prefer to say Serena, but I suppose that I can deal with calling her Usagi) She has come to the present because things are getting dangerous in the future. Wiseman has assembled some powerful allies and they now wish to reduce the world/galaxy/universe into ash. That may not be his exact goal, but that’s more or less what happens. The heroes will now have to time travel and meet up with a new sailor scout to take these villains down. Can they really hope to do this or have the heroes met their match?

Next up, we get the Death Busters! (Really cool name right?) This is the anime that made Sailor Moon famous (to me anyway) and it was pretty intense in the anime. These heart snatchers want to power up an immensely destructive being to wipe out the universe once and for all! The true threat may be closer to the heroes than she appears. Will the heroes really be able to face off against someone so close? Meanwhile, Tuxedo Mask struggles to stay relevant, but it’s a losing battle. As the fate of existence hangs in the balance, Sailor Moon will have to make a tough call!

It’s hard to call the next arc an arc, but I suppose that we’ll have too since even Wikipedia recognizes it as such! A circus comes into town and there’s a new queen who happens to be evil. Nehelenia is so evil that not even the heroes can hope to make her change her ways. The scouts have been through this before, but can they hope to beat the Amazonian Quartet? The villains have finally taken the scout’s number advantage in the fights so the battle can truly be even now!

Well, every series must end at some point right? Things get chaotic for the heroes as a bunch of new characters are introduced. None of them are likable of course, but have we ever had a character debut in the final arc of a series and still manage to be epic? Sure, we can name a bunch of villains, but how about a hero? Gets interesting doesn’t it?……verrrryyy interesting. Anyway, Sailor Galaxia is basically the Sailor Moon version of Galactus and she doesn’t suffer from his great size disadvantage. Sailor Moon is completely outgunned and the scouts really seem to be outmatched. They’re going to have to use the power of friendship and something that could be even more useful in a fight if they really want to end things once and for all!

I’d say that the series’ main weakness is that it feels dated. It’s not really in a good way as some series can pull it off a little more efficiently than others. The art is the main problem that I have with it. It’s kind of like Tsubasa in the sense that the art usually looks all right, but it gets dicey for fight scenes. On the other hand, Tsubasa was still a lot newer and it did look more refined than Sailor Moon. I have a feeling that it’s the kind of series that is easier to read the second time around, but I read this one pretty recently so I likely wouldn’t revisit it for a while. Thus, I can’t really say that I care for the art. I would certainly call it under average, but I’m sure that many series back in those days weren’t quite as refined as the ones of today. Some would hold up well and others just wouldn’t. This is simply a case of the latter.

It’s also why my memory of the series is more grainy than it would be for something like Bleach. The events start to blur together after a while and the characters can look very similar as well. I also have the TV show to thank for my distractions since I saw it quite a few times so I tend to think of the TV show version of each arc instead of the manga’s. What can I say…the show was just That good. Still, this could be the manga’s greatest weakness. No series wants to be forgettable and my recollection is just way vaguer than it should be. Even for a series like Muyo and Roji or Kingdom Hearts II where there may be yearlong breaks between chapters, it’s always pretty easy to remember past events and just jump in. It helps that there are only a handful of characters who really stand out in Sailor Moon. (Plus, no “Rage Mode” scenes or big power ups that radically change Sailor Moon’s appearance.

The oldness of the series does help it in one big area. There really isn’t anything in the way of fanservice. It’s possible that there is a scene or two somewhere in the manga, but I can’t recall any and that’s always a good thing. There is a pretty big dose of romance thanks to Tuxedo ~~Last~~ Mask and Sailor Moon though. I can’t say that it’s very good though and the constant insults can make you take a step back. Why couldn’t these two just stay as rivals or enemies? Most of the bickering was in the anime so it’s not quite as common in the manga, but it’s still intense to see. Taking away the romance would have been fun since the new characters in the final arc wouldn’t have jumped into the fray themselves. The romance isn’t terrible like Black Bird so it won’t really affect the score that much, but I definitely would have liked it to have been cut out.

One thing that always needs to be addressed are the power levels for the series since they’re always compared to DBZ. I have to say that I sneeze at the very thought of Sailor Moon being that high. One Piece or Naruto could have a field day with the Sailor Moon universe, never mind Bleach! Sailor Moon would have a more even match in something like Shaman King I suppose, but pre elemental spirits and taking Hao away. Then, that could be an interesting fight. The problem is that the Sailor Moon fighters tend to be very slow and their durability is really underwhelming. They’re basically just meta human in those areas or maybe not even peak human. All you need is a quick slash from Kenshin and they would all go down. It really all comes down to Sailor Saturn and Sailor Galaxia to hold off the big threats since they have some good proven feats. The rest of the characters are mostly hype at this point. The manga does make it easy with all of the narration. We find out towards the end that all of the Sailor Scouts are immortal and their spirits are indestructible. This means that they can never be defeated for good because their souls will just be reincarnated. So, the debaters who put a lot of stock into the “immortal = victory” argument will definitely like this. Of course, destroying them once every 100-1000 years shouldn’t be too difficult for the villains since the reincarnations will likely not be much stronger. This is why immortality really doesn’t help all that much. Well, it’s still good to see that Sailor Moon has a lot of debaters on their side.

Sailor Moon is the main character and she’s pretty unique. It’s safe to say that there aren’t many main characters like her, but I can’t say that it’s really a good thing. She’s just not my kind of main character. She’s mostly comic relief for about 90% of the series and she’s just not very powerful. I guess it’s okay for the main character to not be supremely powerful or born with the powers of the 9 Tailed Fox or something, but it certainly doesn’t help. Let’s also not forget the romance subplots as well. Adding all of these things up results in a main character that just isn’t my style. If she could have at least said something like “Only one of us is walking away from this chump” or “In the name of the Moon, prepare to die!” then that likely would have helped me gain some respect for her. I just want her to strike some fear into the hearts of the villains or to at least stand up to them. Typically, Sailor Moon just isn’t that kind of character.

We’ve also got Tuxedo Mask, but they don’t call him Tuxedo Man for a reason. He constantly gets kidnapped or brain washed so it’s really hard to take him seriously. He doesn’t really have any abilities at his disposal so it makes sense that he would be defeated, but he should at least lose with some dignity. His rose was surprisingly effective in the anime, but it was definitely not quite as lethal here. He also develops a romance with the main character that he tries to deny through insults and such, but he eventually crumbles. The romance plots don’t help either of them as you would expect. Again, Tuxedo Mask just needed to act a little cooler for me to really like him. At least punch out one of the villains or something! Don’t worry, we’re going to talk about a cooler character next for a change of pace.

Sailor Galaxia is the big villain that I had been waiting for! It’s no stretch to say that she rose the series up the universe tiers by herself. There were other strong fighters of course, but Galaxia is a casual planet buster and she actually felt like a DBZ villain. This is someone that I could actually picture fighting opponents like Frieza. (Let’s not push it and request that fight though) She’s easily the best villain in the series and that’s great since it means that the manga got to end with a bang. Her armor is really cool and it helps her design to end up as one of the best. She’s easily one of my favorite characters in the franchise and maybe she is my favorite. It’s something that I’ll have to think about.

Two other villains are Queen Beryl and Queen Nehemiah. Unfortunately, they are essentially the same character. I can’t really say that they have any personality. They just want to destroy the world or something along those lines. They are willing to destroy innocent people to do this and Sailor Moon won’t stand for it! They’re not bad villains, but they are pretty generic. In that case, your only hope is usually for the villain to have a cool design or to have some impressive combat feats. In those regards, Queen Beryl definitely beats Nehemiah. I can’t say that they really added much to the series, but Queen Beryl has become pretty iconic by this point. So, I’d say that it warrants her appearance and she can definitely fight. I’ll also give some props to her since her name is a pretty cool pun. From the manga, Queen Beryl is probably my second favorite villain. It’s a bit of a “by default” thing, but that still does mean that I find her likable. It may be in comparison to others, but she still beats many other villains. If only she could have gotten a nice hand to hand fight or an extended action scene. That certainly would have been cool!

Wiseman is the big villain from the Mini Moon arc and you gotta love the design. He has a pretty intimidating cloak. Unfortunately, his plan is rather sketchy. It revolves around Mini Moon lacking strength of character and buying into what he’s saying. If she had just stayed in the castle or been a little more defiant..things may have been okay. Still, Wiseman’s “cunning” I suppose and he can still fight when it comes to that. He’s not the greatest fighter, but that’s all right considering who he’s fighting. He’s a little generic, but there’s only so much you can do with a serious villain who runs around in a cloak while holding a crystal ball.

The Sailor Starlights come in during the end of the series and they’re pretty underwhelming characters. They’re only here to mess with Sailor Moon and Tuxedo ~~Mast~~ Mask. This gets old rather quickly and you would think that their tricks wouldn’t work on the strong bond that the two of them have right? Well, the problem is that Sailor Moon is easily impressed by just about anyone and we’ve established that Tuxedo Mask doesn’t have a lot of will power. The Starlights are eventually written out of the manga, but why they were added in the first place is beyond me. They scream “filler characters” whenever they’re on screen.

We’ve also got the three Outer Sailor Scouts. Neptune, Pluto, and Uranus. These three were pretty intense in the show, but their roles have been drastically reduced in the manga. Sailor Pluto never really gets to fight since she has to guard the time portals. She eventually rejects that job, but she only gets a page or two of action to use her signature attack. It’s a pretty good attack and more fighters should learn how to use the classic energy ball. Uranus had a pretty great attack in the show and I believe that it’s the same in the manga, but it doesn’t look very impressive. Neptune’s water abilities are decent as well, but these two never get to do anything worthwhile. They couldn’t take down Saturn and I think that’s when the audience realized that they weren’t any more useful than the other Scouts. Only Sailor Moon can hope to take the villains down.

Well then, how about the normal scouts? Mercury is one of the originals and she’s not really a fighter. She’s pretty smart and she has aqua abilities, but even her powers aren’t meant for combat. It’s all about bubble illusions or other non threats. She eventually gets some better abilities, but she really doesn’t help all that much in the fights. Sailor Mars has fire powers and she is a little more refined with her abilities. She can talk a good game and her fire arrow is an attack that I can actually trust. She’s a step up from Mercury to be sure. Sailor Jupiter doesn’t have much character and I really didn’t like her in the show. I’m more indifferent as far as the manga is concerned. Thunder abilities are cool, but they never really help her out. Sailor Venus is arguably the strongest member of the main Sailor Scouts with the exception of Sailor Moon. She has a lot of prior experience since she was already a Sailor Scout since before Sailor Moon’s time. Her experience causes her to be pretty confident or to completely underestimate her opponents…usually both. She’s definitely better than most of the others, but Sailor Mars may give her competition. (In the manga anyway)

Mini Moon is sort of a member, but I like to think of her as a part timer. She hasn’t really gotten to develop her abilities yet so she can’t help in a fight. Mostly, she just tries to psych out Sailor Moon and mess with everyone’s memories. She’s pretty skilled in that area, but she tends to make a lot of bad decisions that endanger everyone. Mini Moon gets a pretty cool/powerful super form as a result, but it’s only a positive for her. At the very least, Mini Moon manages to be a lot more likable than Mini Mini Moon. (Or Chibi Chibi Moon) The double Mini Moon can’t really talk since she’s so young and she’s really only useful for one of those twists that you were waiting for at the end.

We’ve also got the mysterious Sailor Saturn. She’s one of the main antagonists for a while and her power is considerable. Aside from Sailor Galaxia, it may not be a stretch to say that she is the strongest character in the series. She actually shows her feats instead of relying on the hype of the other characters to keep her going. Sadly, she doesn’t get to do much once she turns good, but one good action scene is still a lot better than 90% of the cast. Her design is pretty inspired and she’s easily one of the best characters in the series.

There are certainly other characters that I could mention. We had The Heart Snatchers, The crazy Scientist, The evil circus…but they aren’t huge players. Sailor Moon is not the kind of manga that really believes in a lot of character development so they’re all pretty one note. This sort of leads into one of the complaints that I have with it.

Sailor Moon is always the hero. What we’ve learned from epic manga like DBZ and Naruto is that it’s best for supporting characters to also get their moments. Imagine if Goku got to fight Android 17 instead of Piccolo and if he fought 18 instead of Vegeta? Picture Goku always being the guy to claim victory while all of the side characters lost every time. That’s basically what happens in Sailor Moon. Her teammates can’t really do anything right and they have to be saved by Sailor Moon everytime. It can get pretty annoying after a while and especially if you don’t really care for the lead. This is probably one of the reasons why the other characters aren’t memorable. All of the Sailor Scouts are just there to be defeated over and over again. Sailor Moon’s victories also aren’t that impressive because she’ll just fire some kind of energy blast and the opponent is disintegrated. This never fails.

How does Sailor Moon stack up against the anime? Not very well I’m afraid. I think Toei realized a lot of the mistakes that the manga made and rushed to fix them. They didn’t get everything right though. Toei added some extra romance with Mars and they made Jupiter to be a pretty unlikable character. That being said, they made sure that each of the Scouts got their time to shine and there were many more fight scenes to be found. The fillers helped to develop the characters and I can safely say that I remember most of the episodes pretty clearly. I dare say that the anime is in another league and that is very rare since the manga is typically on the same level as the show. Some would say that the manga is typically superior since there is no filler. This is just not the case here. How does it stack up against Crystal? Much better so far, but it’s likely a losing battle. I’ll get back to you on that once I watch it.

This review may have seemed pretty negative, but that’s just because there are a lot of noticeable errors. Some series are just easier to rip apart than others. You still have to consider that this is one of the oldest fighting, shojo manga and it didn’t have a lot of the resources available to us today. It didn’t know that supporting characters should get a bigger role and the art isn’t really its fault. (Still gotta count it though) Sailor Moon was a fun read and that’s what counts. I’m confident that a remake manga would be even better and it still clobbers the average Shojo manga of today.

One of the positives that I can easily elaborate on is the final arc. I guess it would be a stretch to say that it saved the manga from being known as an action series without much action, but it did add a good amount. The stakes were a lot higher and the fights were a lot more engaging. The Sailor Scouts had been needing an opponent like Galaxia to fight because it would make things more interesting. It’s the closest to DBZ that we’ll get here and it was a blast. Galaxia’s minions weren’t that interesting, but her fight was definitely a lot of fun. It also proved that the artist can draw good fight scenes when she wants to. If we had another arc after the final one that had been just as action packed, it may have given it enough steam to earn an extra star on its rating. As it is, it ends up missing the solid seven. If you’re thinking about checking out the series, I’d definitely recommend making it to the final arc. The battles and nonstop action definitely makes it worth it!

Overall, Sailor Moon is a legend and it’s still one of the biggest titles around. I definitely had my share of qualms with it. I didn’t care for the art and most of the characters weren’t really likable. Still, it manages to avoid most of the pitfalls of other manga like fanservice and characters that are beyond dislikable. (Even DBZ had some of those!) Some parts of the series definitely feel dated, like the writing and the art, but it’s still a fun read. This is a series that has a lot of replay value. There are around 12 volumes and slightly more depending on the format. I would definitely recommend this to the average manga fan and especially if you’re curious about the Shojo version of DBZ. Don’t go into it expecting a bunch of fight scenes though as it’ll give you the wrong impression. Just go in blind and I’m sure that you’ll enjoy it as a pretty nice series. Who knows, maybe this will get you to watch the anime based off of it. See, I think it’s a fair assessment to say that Sailor Moon fails as a shonen action series about warriors who defend the world from evil. You should not read it for that. If you read it as just another Shojo series, then you’ll be very impressed since most of them stay away from the action genre. (Don’t compare it to other magical girl items though or you’ll be saddened to see just how much it gets stomped by Pretty Cure) Sailor Moon won’t be joining the elites of manga, but it can easily fight for Top 3 in the Shojo section of manga. (Which is impressive in itself!) I do plan to give it a re read someday since the ambiguous art also makes you want to check again to make sure that you didn’t miss any feats.

Overall 6/10

Cross Game Review

Posted on September 5, 2014 by dreager1

It’s time to throw a baseball review into the mix. Cross Game is really the only manga about baseball that I’ve read and it’s pretty fun. You don’t need to worry because the actual sport gets a lot of screen time and that’s how it should be in a sports manga. It doesn’t take itself quite as seriously as many of the other sports manga that I’ve read. Prince of Tennis, Slam Dunk, Whistle, etc. They were all pretty serious and Eyeshield 21 still managed to keep the stakes a little higher than Cross Game. Does Cross Game’s attempt at mixing Baseball and humor work? It’s time to find out!

The plot for the first part of the series is mainly about Ko as he learns what it means to be a great pitcher. He becomes pretty close to Wakaba and things are going pretty well. She wants him to win the big tournament so Ko’s going to make sure that he does this. After all, who doesn’t want to become the world champ for that age division? (Actually, this part is only 1 volume. I thought that it was around half of the series for some reason, but it’s a lot shorter than I thought. Well, I guess Wakaba and the early adventures with Ko were very memorable then!)

The plot for the rest of the series is more or less the same. Ko still needs to become the best pitcher that he can be, but the pressure’s really on now. It’s less fun and games and Ko can’t let down his guard for a second! His team has gotten a lot more talented and Azuma has helped to make their offense a contender as well. If Ko’s ever going to make it to Koshien, it’s going to be in this tournament. It’s do or die and there is no going back now!

Ko is an intriguing main character. He’s definitely pretty unique compared to most other leads like Naruto, Allen Walker, Goku, etc. He doesn’t want to be the very best Baseball player because he loves the game so much. (Although he really does love Baseball) He needs to throw an extremely fast pitch to impress Aoba and he needs to make it to win the final tournament to fulfill a promise that he made to Wakaba. So, unlike most other leads, the stakes are very high from the beginning. After all, he can’t make it to the big tournament once he graduates from the school so he only has 2-3 tries to make it all the way. Because of this, Ko continues to train hard day in and day out. He tries to keep the atmosphere light, but he can never be quite as chipper as his teammates on the inside.

He ends up being a pretty likable main character. He can joke around a lot, but it’s mostly to keep team morale up and to put up a solid front. He does also get into the romance subplot for the majority of the series and that can be a distraction from his pitching. Luckily, he’s still pretty good. Ultimately, he’s a nice guy and Ko is serious about winning at Koshien. He exercises vigorously every day and he never loses sight of his goals.

Aoba is arguably the main heroine. I would say she is since she’s around for both parts of the series and she’s especially important in the second half. She has a rivalry with Ko in the sense that they are both pitchers. Aoba gave up her dream eventually since girl teams became harder to find, but she still took the time to practice and trade techniques with Ko. Aoba definitely played a big part in how Ko became such a great player since he learned from her stance and technique. Aoba mostly resides in the role of game manager as she finds out a player’s strengths and weaknesses. She’s typically pretty gruff with Ko and the two of them keep up their rivalry for the whole series. Both of them were pretty close to Wakaba, which likely helps in this regard. Aoba challenged Ko to pitch a 100 mph fastball back when they were kids and that helped to jump start the whole series. She’s a pretty good character and probably one of the best members of the cast. (Who else could knock out a criminal by throwing a baseball from a moving train?)

Akaishi is one of the main characters and he’s a good person. He becomes a catcher to help Ko fulfill Wakaba’s final wish and he does a pretty good job of it. He does fall into the whole romance angle a lot easier than the other characters, but he manages to resist it for the most part. He hasn’t totally gotten away from it, but he tries. He’s one of the few characters who knows how personal the Baseball games are for Ko and he’s always someone that he can count on. His role never becomes as large as it could be though.

Azuma is probably the best batter in the series. He starts out as Ko’s biggest rival since one hit can make or break the game for Ko depending on the situation. Azuma always has a chance to hit a home run so he shouldn’t be underestimated. He ends up joining Ko’s group for the second part of the series, which makes their team almost unbeatable. He likes Aoba, which can cause tension between him and Ko. It’s a professional rivalry though so they don’t spend their time trading insults or trying to back stab each other like you may expect from a movie or something. They both do their best to reach their goals without trying to sabotage the other. They’ll let the playing do the talking! Ko badly needed a rival in this series so it was good to have Azuma on board. He’s a decent character. I don’t care for the romance part too much of course, but at least he’s a good player and he definitely doesn’t mess around. (Unlike Senda)

Senda is the main source of comic relief in this series. He flirts a lot and he seems to think that he’s actually a great baseball player. Unfortunately, this couldn’t be farther from the truth. The heroes don’t even try to humor him most of the time. Things never end well for Senda, but he stays pretty chipper about the whole situation. I definitely wouldn’t mind if he wasn’t in the series though since we don’t need more flirts. At least he never does anything really drastic though so I can let him slide for the most part. His comic relief stays classy and that’s always a good thing.

Wakaba is one of the big players in this manga. Her story is definitely one of the more emotional ones, but she was pretty optimistic through it all. She was a nice person and she definitely helped Ko to excel. She doesn’t really play Baseball, but she’s still pretty influential to the series in other ways. Her name probably pops up more than all of the other characters. As with most of the other characters, Wakaba was a good addition to the series.

An intriguing plot point develops when a girl named Akane moves into town. She looks exactly like Wakaba and the same goes for her mannerisms. The similarities are uncanny and this can definitely be dicey for the main characters. It also helps to provide the Wakaba plot with some closure, but it’s safe to say that she wasn’t quite as good as Wakaba. They were a little too similar so you end up thinking of Akane as a poor substitute for the real deal. That being said, Akane doesn’t do anything wrong and she’s still a pretty good character. I definitely prefer Wakaba though.

As you can see, Cross Game has a pretty good cast of characters. Senda can be a little annoying and the same goes for a certain truck driver, but nearly all of the other characters are pretty good. If there was a character who could have been a lot better, it would be the coach. He’s very old and wise, but he’s just not as enthusiastic as the other coaches from your average sports manga. I would take the coach from Whistle any day. Being able to play is also a key factor and that’s something that this coach really can’t do. He has an assistant as well, but she never really gets a role in the story. There are definitely other members of the team that I could mention as well, but they’re mostly just here to fill in the ranks. I will say that the coach of the main rival team was a lot better than our coach. He was pretty sinister and he’s an antagonist, but he has personality. He really took the games seriously and he always got upset when his team loss. It’s what you would expect from a real coach and the (not so) subtle insults from him are a nice change of pace from the polite cast of characters. His shades also add an extra dimension of coolness for his character.

The art is very clear and easy to read. An argument can be made that it is a little too basic, but for a Baseball manga maybe that’s okay. It doesn’t look bad and you can always tell what’s happening. I won’t deny that a more intense looking art style like Prince of Tennis or Eyeshield 21 may have helped the series a little more, but the artwork here fits the tone. One problem that I have with it is actually the number of reused facial expressions and panels in the series. It seems like the author can only draw a handful of different facial expressions so every member of the cast gets to try them out. There are whole panels that look exactly the same and the dialogue is only subtly changed. I’m sure that it saves the author time, but maybe it’s intentional. Some of the gags rely on the fact that the panels are the time so maybe it’s a mix of saving time and allowing the panels there for joke reasons. The series has a lot of comedy undertones so it’s always possible.

Cross Game is certainly more emotional than the other series based off of a sport. It also manages to balance other genres like comedy and romance while giving the Baseball games a lot of screentime. It’s a little tricky to do all of that and I wouldn’t have minded if they cut down on the romance and comedy a little more. Keeping it as a Baseball themed story with some drama would have been interesting. The romance was just a ltitle too much of a focus. The rival likes the main heroine and the main character is conflicted since he sort of likes the heroine, but he also likes someone else. He can try to move on, but is it the right choice? There’s also tension because the catcher liked one of the main characters and we can’t forget about Senda. Essentially, all of the main players liked someone so there was always some kind of romance plot in the air. It’s handled in seriousness sometimes or just played for laughs. The series jumps from both genres a whole lot so it can be hard to tell at times. It is what it is though and Cross Game did a decently good job considering. If you’re going to have romance then at least do it in a professional manner and that’s what the series did. They didn’t waste time with random fanservice scenes and the series should be proud of itself. It managed to jump past a hole that most other series fall into quite a few times. The series got close to 20 volumes, which is pretty impressive. As with Bakuman, the series goes by in a flash and it’s hard to imagine that it went on for so long.

So, how does it stack up against the other sport manga? Well, I may have already hinted that it’s not quite as intense as some of the others, but let’s be direct about it. Cross Game isn’t quite as good as Whistle, Prince of Tennis, Eyeshield 21 or Slam Dunk yet. (Granted that I’ve only read one volume of Slam Dunk, but I thought that the start wasn’t bad) I prefer those series because they are a lot more fast paced and the sport action is really intense. They feel like Shonen Jump titles and they can even hold their own against battle manga like Naruto and Bleach. Cross Game just isn’t that kind of title and it doesn’t try to be. It’s still a pretty fun read though and it’s more about the overall experience than the excitement. You won’t get a rush from reading it, but you’ll still enjoy the experience. It’s a manga that leaves you feeling happy and that is definitely a good thing for any title.

Overall, Cross Game is definitely a fun read. From start to finish, it’s an enjoyable experience and it’s something that you could recommend to anyone. The story is very accessible so it’s something that the mainstream crowd could enjoy as well. (Provided that you like Baseball) The characters were all fleshed out and it’s a fairly deep experience for a Baseball manga. The story never drags out either and I definitely wouldn’t have minded if the author had continued for another 5-15 volumes. I do think that the artist could be lazy with the dozens of reused facial expressions and panels, but it may have just been an artistic choice that didn’t go over very well with me. There aren’t a whole bunch of characters in the story since you don’t get to really meet a lot of the opponents, but that’s all right. As long as the main characters are solid, then that’s really all that we need. I definitely recommend checking this series out!

Overall 6/10

Attack on Titan No Regrets Review

Posted on July 6, 2014 by dreager1

Attack on Titan is still mega popular and that won’t be changing anytime soon. The anime was a big hit and now we have 4 different manga series with many more likely on the way. This one finished pretty abruptly with two volumes, but it goes to show that some prequels do know when it’s time to quit. I think they made the right move keeping this to two volumes because they can blast through the plot a lot quicker without having any pacing problems.

The plot involves Levi and his two friends: Isabel and Farlan. They are from the underground area where thugs run rampant and it’s very chaotic. They are used to just trying to survive and they are experienced. One day, the Survey Corps arrives and they force Levi and his partners into joining them. The “heroes” plan on destroying the leader of the squad, Captain Erwin. For now they shall play along and once Erwin has served his purpose….then they will destroy him!

Well, Levi is a whole lot better in this manga than the main series. I really disliked him there due to how far he will go to protect his ideals. It’s fine to save the world, but you have to prevent yourself from becoming a villain in the process. There are complex scenarios where becoming the villain is used so that the others can be saved,(Yugioh GX) but the circumstances were completely different and it was done in a much more acceptable manner. Back on topic, the Levi in this series is more like your typical action hero. (Ignoring the fact that his whole mission is to destroy one of the “good” guys) Levi is skilled and he doesn’t fear any of the other humans. He’s not really friendly with other humans, but he means well. Levi is just always thinking about the mission so he has no time for sentiments. His two friends keep him in check as well. I may never get around to liking Levi as a character due to the main series, but I can definitely say that I like his portrayal in this series. The author certainly did a good job.

Isabel is one of Levi’s friends and she’s pretty cool. She’s very enthusiastic about the whole thing and she loves bragging about how tough Levi is. Her skills are pretty fierce as well. She may not be quite as intense as Mikasa, but she still outranks plenty of the Survey Members that we’ve seen in the franchise. I would easily put her in the top 10 characters in the franchise and I would expect her to be playable in an Attack on Titan fighting game. (Someday)

Farlan is Levi’s other pal and he’s not incredibly interesting. It helps that his design is pretty similar to Erwin’s so it can be very easy to mix them up. Luckily, the plot usually doesn’t have them together so this isn’t a real problem. Farlan is usually the guy who gets Levi to back off from his quest on beating everyone up. Farlan’s a tough guy to read because you’re never sure of his true intentions. He doesn’t enjoy combat quite as much as Isabel or Levi yet he’s really into the mission of taking out Erwin…except when he’s not. I couldn’t really get a read on the guy. He’s definitely not a bad character so I guess he’s just average for me.

Erwin is the big Survey Corps member and he’s mentioned a lot. He’s barely a big enough character to be mentioned despite the fact that he’s always in the summary. He is the guy who makes the series possible as he forced Levi and the gang to join up. He’s definitely not likable though and he believes that the end justifies the means. He did something to one of the higher ups to cause him to change a vote and it likely wasn’t a heroic deed. Forcing Levi and the group to join his cause also took some measures that no self respecting hero would likely commit too. At the end we’re supposed to admire his passion to make the world a better place, but I really can’t get on board with the plan. Humanity is so corrupt in the manga that they’re not much better than the Titans. (Of course, that would bring up the Titan debate on whether they can actually think or not. The Abnormals are the wild card. I definitely am not rooting for the Titans in this case, but the humans make it hard for me to root for them. I guess I’ll just root for nature)

The art for the manga is pretty solid. I would definitely make the case that it looks better than the original series. Everything is clear and even the fight scenes aren’t hard to follow. The Titan rampage scenes also aren’t as unnecessarily violent and it feels (Ironically enough since this is a Shojo series) more like a classic Shonen Jump battle.

One reason why this spinoff is a lot better than the main series is because the violence isn’t quite as over the top. Now, I mentioned that it was good that the series is so short and this is the main reason. As it stands, the first volume was much better than the second one. (The series would have gotten a 6/10 if it had just been a one shot) In the first volume, Levi still takes out a Titan and it’s still a violent act, but it’s not as detailed as it could be. The artist doesn’t place emphasis on the slash and it’s more of a normal effect that you would see from Bleach. It wasn’t over the top at all and I can definitely live with that.

The second volume gets a little more dicey as it veers back into main series land. Cheap shots to the weak parts and a lot of humans getting taken down for the count are included this time. Levi taking out a bunch of titans is cool of course and it’s handled pretty well for the most part. I just don’t like when they go all Legend of Zelda on us and aim for the eyes. No, just defeat the villain! Making the heroes essentially beg for their lives before going up against the Titan may make the whole thing emotional, but it can also be a little over the top. (Of course, emotion is another thing that has to be carefully used. The classic example is Frieza blowing up Planet Vegeta. It was emotional and well done. Itachi taking out the Uchiha Clan? A little more towards the gritty to be gritty with plot hax side. Especially after the 30th plot twist.) Just die with a quick panel and let the Titan move on. Still, the violence is definitely a big step down from the main series and that’s a good thing.

What isn’t cool in the second volume is that the horses get involved. I can’t wait until they bring in the cars so that the animals can be safe. Supposedly, Titans only eat humans so they would be safe otherwise. Luckily, the horse part isn’t necessarily graphic since they’re in the background, but it’s still enough to put down the book and sigh. Of course, one thing that is almost as bad is the fact that Hange actually got a few lines! I’m glad that Levi gave her the cold shoulder and then she’s written out. Please, we don’t need her drama right now.

Overall, This was a pretty good prequel for Attack on Titan. I have to say that Levi proved to be a better main character than Eren and his friends could hold their own. This mini series is only two volumes so it didn’t have time to add in a lot of characters and plots, but that’s all right. This is just a nice stand alone story. I do think that the second volume wasn’t quite as good as the first one and started to show signs of the main series, but luckily it quickly ended before things could escalate. The ending is rather sudden, but it works. You sympathize with Levi and the humans one more time until you read the main series. I recommend checking this out if you like Attack on Titan and you should otherwise like it if you’re in the mood for a story about reaching out for your goals. (And being aware that this is related to Attack on Titan so it can be a little intense) Get ready for the ultimate battle against Titans!

Overall 5/10

Street Fighter Alpha Review

Posted on April 23, 2014 by dreager1

I’m sure that we’re all familiar with the Street Fighter video games at this point. I only own Street Fighter IV and Street Fighter X Tekken, but the franchise is so popular that I’m still familiar with several of the characters. Its great to see that Street Fighter got a manga and it’s safe to say that I had some decently high hopes heading in.

The series is only two volumes so they couldn’t really fit everyone in, but that’s all right. Two volumes is better than one and while I do wish that all series could be over 20 volumes; it won’t affect the score. That would be pretty unfair to short, but epic franchises like Zombie Powder and Megaman ZX. There is still a decent amount of plot and the series is very fast paced.

One of the many positives of Street Fighter Alpha is the fact that the story is fast paced, but the author also knows when it’s time for a long fight. Bison vs Rose and Ryu takes up most of the second volume and it’s a great fight. Length is important and it’s one area that Marvel and DC continue to struggle in. I don’t want to see a fight that only lasts for two pages before the rest occurs off screen. I want to see some serious DBZ action and Street Fighter delivers.

One of the reasons why the delivery goes smoothly is thanks to the art. The art is the classic 90’s style so everyone looks pretty tough. The fight scenes are great and you feel the power behind each blow. It’s hard to describe why the 90’s had such awesome art and you really need to view it firsthand to appreciate how well done the drawings are.

The plot involves Ryu, the hero of Street Fighter, as he is not really a fighter anymore. He’s basically a bodyguard for hire at this point and he’s worried about how the Dark Hado may take control of him someday. We don’t get to see all of his previous history first hand, but he mentions his tough fight against Sagat and how it changed him. Ryu isn’t the happy go lucky guy that he used to be.

Unfortunately, the Dark Hado consumes Ryu once again and he’s forced to take on Chun Li and his other friends. Ken is not frightened by the darkness and he still loves to fight. Ken wants Ryu to accept this as well, but will Ryu comply? Meanwhile, the true threat behind the curtains is Bison and wide spread devastation will occur if he is not stopped. Ryu will have to put on his fighting gloves once more and take on this strong opponent as well as shutting down an underground fighting arena. It’s going to be a tough day for this fighter!

Ryu is a good main character. He’s definitely not as cheerful as I had imagined him to be, but I’m sure that it’s temporary. By the end of the series, Ryu is already showing signs of his old self. Ryu’s dark form is pretty fierce and he’s much stronger than his normal form. Ryu doesn’t look very impressive without the dark powers, but he’s still strong enough to defeat most opponents. He’s just not at the high level that other fighters like Bison and Akuma have reached. Naturally, Ryu will likely possess incredible powers once he masters the dark powers and merges them with his natural abilities.

Ken is one of the bigger supporting characters, but he doesn’t get a lot of action. His big moment is when he has a big confrontation with Ryu. The manga portrays Ryu and Ken as being similar in power and I’m okay with that, but I’m glad that they weren’t dead even. Ryu’s accelerated healing and dark hado powers should definitely give him the edge. Even without those two factors in Ryu’s favor; I would still pick him in a fight. Ken’s heroic, if not a little generic, but he’s a good character as well. He’s not the type of guy that would come close to being my favorite hero, but he’s a good supporting fighter.

Chun Li is pretty high tier as far as cops go, but she’s definitely not as powerful as Ryu or Ken. Her energy blasts seem to be decently powerful and she does know martial arts, but she’s not a master at this point. She’s a good character and she proves it when she goes into the ring to save Cammy. Unfortunately, Chun Li misses most of the climax, but maybe we’ll see her more in a future series.

Guy is definitely the best hero of the series and everything about him is awesome. The manga hints that he could take down Bison and he makes short work of Ryu during their fight. (It should be noted that Ryu was using his dark powers) Guy is definitely a master at hand to hand combat and he doesn’t mind letting his opponent know how the battle is going to end. He gets a pretty small role, but I definitely would have liked to see him appear more. Akuma may have met his match against this fighter!

Cammy is more like an android in this series. Not literally, but she doesn’t have much emotion due to circumstances. She’ll likely learn the values of teamwork and friendship at some point, but she’s still a good character. She does pretty well in her first match, but she definitely lacks experience and she’s not one of the strongest fighters in the ring.

Birdie was all right I suppose. I was really wondering why he was here the whole time. He uses a gun….which isn’t awful, but that’s not going to cut it in Street Fighter world. (Even counting the fact that a pair of bullets nearly took out Ryu) I didn’t recognize him from the games so I just figured that he was made up for the manga. He could have been worse, but I never found him that likable. A decent power boost or fight scene could change that.

Rose is a mysterious character that pops up from time to time. She seems to be on the side of justice or maybe she just wants to defeat Bison. Either way, she’s a pretty fierce fighter and a good character as well. Her paralysis was strong enough to keep Ryu pinned down for a while and she gave Bison a decent fight. The victor was never really in doubt, but Rose was still able to put up a fight. Sakura also gets a small role, but she doesn’t look very impressive. Her heart is in the right place, but she simply doesn’t have the abilities to win the tough fights. She’s too young at this point and Bison takes her down pretty quickly. Sakura actually makes the situation a little dicey for Ryu because of this.

Bison is the big villain in the series and he’s definitely powerful. As mentioned earlier, his fights are quite long and he’s likely in the top 5 strongest characters of the franchise. He’s a solid villain and he can back up his bragging with action. The other villains look pretty bad in comparison since we only got some minor guys like Vega and Adon. Vega doesn’t have his signature mask and he looks downright weak. (Although he was fighting a high tier fighter) Adon just seems petty and not the kind of villain that I could really respect. He underestimated the Dark Hado. Bison definitely makes these guys look bad by being so cool and even his design puts theirs to shame.

Akuma is easily one of the best characters in the series. He only appears for an instant, but it’s an awesome appearance. Ken acknowledges Akuma’s incredible power and they hint that he could have easily defeated Bison. Unfortunately for the heroes, Bison is below someone like Akuma and the latter does not want to bother fighting him. Akuma does want to challenge Ryu and that should be a quick match. Ryu doesn’t seem to be on the same level as of yet, but a little training can go a long way.

Overall, this was a pretty fun manga. I’d like to see Tekken or Virtua Fighter top this series. The series was definitely short, but we got some great fights, a good cast of characters, and a good plot. You don’t really need much else to be a good manga. The series does end on a pretty epic cliffhanger and you’ll want to make your guesses on who will ultimately win the fight. I recommend this manga to anyone that likes some solid action scenes!

Overall 7/10

Heroman Review

Posted on December 31, 2013 by dreager1

After watching the anime, it’s easier to appreciate the manga and look at the differences. Was the anime a straight adaption? Yes, for the most part although it does change some things from the manga. It’s time to see if the original is truly superior and how far it will go in the grand scheme of things. Let’s find out!

The plot involves Joey Jones as he has always wanted to be a Hero, but he lacks the power. His friends try to tell him that heart is what matters, but he won’t have any of that. Instead, he finds a toy that one of the bullies from school threw away and using his determination and a bolt of lightning, turns it into a superhero…Heroman, to be precise! With Heroman at his side, Joey now has the courage to stand up to his foes and the determination to do the right things when it counts. After defeating supernatural samurai and other threats….there is an alien invasion! Can Joey stop the Aliens in time to stop the next threats that arise or will it prove too much for him? He has other adventures along the way and the final plot deals with the remnants of the invasion as they attempt to destroy the planet. This manga is definitely full of excitement!

The art is pretty good for the series and it’s very clear. The art reminds me of Bleach and that’s always a good thing. It’s nice and simple so you can usually tell what is going on right away. When the fight scenes occur, it can get a little tough at times, but for the most part it’s solid. The fight scenes still do have good art, but they just might not be as easy to decipher at times. There aren’t any really long fight scenes in the manga, but the first battle between Heroman and Gogorr is definitely the highlight of the series in that regard. The artist does a good job showing off Joey’s super speed, although I believe that speed lines would be more effective than the use of after images. Both ways are effective so it still works, but it’s a lot harder to gauge his speed using the latter. (Luckily we have the anime for that) The way that the manga is translated is interesting since they use quotation marks for certain words. It makes you picture the character saying the word in a strange accent, which can be slightly distracting, but it’s nothing major.

The manga is a little weaker than the anime in the fact that we do get a filler plot involving a little kid in a wheelchair which isn’t very entertaining. You also can’t really root for him since he skates a little too quickly which makes things a little embarrassing for one character and the kid doesn’t seem to regret his actions in the slightest. Maybe he didn’t notice, but he just didn’t seem to care. The manga does have a little more fanservice than the anime since Lina’s outfit is not that resistant to wind in this version. There aren’t too many scenes of this and it’s one of the lightest types of fanservice that you will find, but it’s still a negative since it’s not necessary. I’m glad that the anime took that out.

Joey is still a solid protagonist and he’s a lot more heroic than most main characters. He does what he needs too and he never crosses any of the big lines. He doesn’t hesitate to sacrifice himself for the greater good and went out of his way to help out his enemies as well. He’s basically a good kid and he will go far. He doesn’t make any big mistakes like using a telephone while on the run in the manga (As opposed to the anime) and he typically has a plan in mind.

The Professor got a much smaller role in the manga or at least it felt that way. He’s still not very likable, but he’s a lot more polite when he ditches Joey and Psy on his way to being kidnapped. It’s still hard to take him seriously and even more so when he fails in his big plan. In the anime, he didn’t make any mistake on the final device, but in the manga he makes one that could have been fatal. It makes the character more believable, but also not quite as professional.

Lina is still the main heroine and her role is similar to that of the anime. It is still a little questionable how quickly she stopped talking to Joey when Will told her some choice words. It’s a little tough to swallow that she would betray Joey so easily. Still, she’s better than the average co-lead although I hope that she can start to fight at some point. (Sequel Series one day…maybe)

Will is one of the major players in the manga and he always wanted to be a hero. It’s sad for him because he is too weak to stop the aliens and he always has to watch as Joey ends up saving Lina. He gets alien powers during the later part of the series, but it also mutates his body and now he doesn’t want to show himself to anyone. He leaves and goes on a quest to destroy the alien artifacts that around and also beat up people that he doesn’t like. His ultimate goal is still to protect Lina, but beyond that he is a little confused at the moment. His abilities are definitely impressive and he can hold his own against Heroman.

Heroman is still as expressionless as ever. He actually participates with the others and has more fun than in the anime, (Getting burned at the barbecue) but he still seems to have trouble replicating mortal emotions. He does believe in justice and he will always try to defend a person in need. His abilities are pretty sound and one good punch can take care of many threats. His only real equals in the manga would be Will and Gogorr. Heroman has his Blast Mode and Rage Mode to keep things interesting and he won’t lose when the chips are down. He’s a fine hero, but I would like to see some more emotion.

Psy is still Joey’s best friend and he comes complete with a sob story. It’s a little iffy since he claims that he was a little too reckless and let the tackle cripple him, but how could he have avoided it? Even if he had dropped the ball, he couldn’t have maneuvered away. Plus, he had no reason to think that such a hit would end his career. He’s a decent friend and he means well, but he doesn’t add a whole lot to the manga. That being said, he still shouldn’t be called a bad character and just could have used more development.

Gogorr is the big mastermind of the whole operation and he has the skills to back it up. He’s definitely one of the cooler characters and his speed is definitely formidable. Joey is able to speedblitz him as first, but Gogorr quickly adapts and turns the tables, which shows just how quick he is. His raw power is also enough to hold Heroman at bay and he’s easily the strongest character in the series aside from Heroman.

Agent Hughes and The President appear, but both of them are out of their leagues. Agent Hughes gets a much smaller role in the manga than in the anime, but it’s essentially the same effect. He does his job, but he’s completely outmatched. He’s all right though and better than the average army grunt. The President never panics, but he doesn’t get much character in the manga.

The manga may not be quite as good as the anime, but it gives it a fair shot. The manga is only 5 volumes compared to the anime’s 20+ episodes and they are different enough that you can enjoy them both. The manga adds a Samurai and gives Will a better role, but also has more day to day adventures while the anime launches off with the alien invasion immediately. The animation was not excellent, but it was still pretty good and the manga’s art was pretty good as well so they’re about equal in that respect. Unlike the anime, the manga doesn’t end with an after credits scene and it’s probably for the best. I love after credits scenes, but the one in the anime wasn’t terribly interesting because it was about a mad scientist who isn’t a great character. (I even skipped him in the review. Just know that he is pretty boring and hard to root for)

Overall, this was a solid manga. It won’t rise up to be one of the all time greats, but it is pretty solid. It’s a fun miniseries to check out and it’s basically light hearted fun. It has a lot of replay value considering its size because it’s just fun to read. Stan Lee did a good job on this series and it would be nice if he could give it a sequel. It would be fun to see more of Joey and Stan (The Man) Lee was also in the manga as a solid supporting member. He knows what it takes to make a good coffee and he’s a very dependable customer. The only negative to the manga would be the slight fanservice and as I said, it is very slight so it shouldn’t destroy the experience for you. The rest of the manga is just too fun and the characters are pretty likable for the most part. I dare say that Joey is a better main character than Kite or Ginta. I recommend giving this manga a shot and you should enjoy it. It’s an underrated gem.

Overall 7/10

Pokemon Genesect and the Legend Awakened Review

Posted on December 24, 2013 by dreager1

I had high hopes for this manga one shot because it was based off of the greatest Pokemon film of all time. That’s a pretty big feat and it’s one that will probably never be surpassed. It would only make sense for this manga to be the greatest Pokemon film adaption and it would definitely rise up to great things during its journey through the years. Was it as good as I had hoped? No, it was even better!

The plot is essentially the same as in the movie, but I shall recap the plot in case you somehow missed out on it. Genesect has been awakened after millions of years and he wants to return to his home. Since it is no longer there, he decides that he shall just conquer an area and make it his! There are a few other Genesect who are with him and are ready to help…willingly or not! Ash and friends don’t realize the gravity of the situation as they have fun at a local area. While they’re playing with the Pokemon, Genesect viciously attacks and even defeats the ~~All Powerful, Invincible, Indestructible, Immortal, Light Speed, Universe Buster~~ Legendary Pikachu! Ash doesn’t take this very well and he gets pretty emotional. Since Ash is no longer a threat, the Genesect only have one Pokemon to contend with….Mewtwo!

It’s a pretty awesome plot and an even better manga! Genesect is easily one of the greatest Pokemon of all time and his personality is pretty intense. This guy will remind you of a classic Shonen Jump villain and he definitely knows how to fire a nice blast. The other Genesect are around, but not really likable. One of them gets his own subplot, but it was mainly just to make Ash and friends seem useful. The main Genesect was the only truly awesome character and his speed/power are at incredible levels. This is one guy that could hold his own against fighters like Goku.

Mewtwo is also pretty awesome and I dare say that the manga made her even cooler than in the movie. She actually tells Genesect that she is faster than him and that’s something that you will usually find in DBZ or Bleach. The line was extremely hardcore and just so epic that you really had to stop and think about it. Not bad….not bad at all! Mewtwo did pretty good in her base form, but when she went Mega, it was a whole new ball game. Mewtwo was able to fight all of the Genesect while they were teaming up and it was definitely a testament to her incredible power. She has a variety of attacks and her high level of speed means that she is the perfect fighter to battle any opponent. Mewtwo has no weaknesses and she can even use her mind abilities if she needs too.

Unfortunately, Ash doesn’t look very good. Ash’s role just isn’t as good as it should be and he doesn’t seem like he has the amount of experience that he should have developed by this point. Ash has fought opponents like Gary and Paul in the past and he’s even went up against foes like Team Rocket and Team Magma in the past. He should have taken the whole Genesect battle in stride, but that’s not what happened. Pikachu looked good since he was able to block Genesect’s strongest attack and he probably would have defeated him if he was not double teamed. Pikachu did his part and even though he did not fight for the rest of the volume, it was a decent attempt.

Ash just didn’t have Pikachu’s courage or finesse. He couldn’t bear to see the Pokemon fighting so he tried to end it all by becoming a martyr as he jumped in the middle of the blasts. Mewtwo was around to bail him out, but I didn’t see anything heroic or epic in that scene. It was just Ash making a pretty bad call and I can’t even say that I was really surprised. It’s too bad because Ash used to be such an intense main character. I’m sure that he’ll go back to his roots, but it’s definitely sad that he couldn’t really help against the villains. At one point, he tells the main worker that he has to go to the park to see what’s happening, but it sounded more like a question than a demand and Ash looked a little too emotional at that point.

The art for the volume is pretty clear, but I don’t think that the artist is great at facial expressions. They actually remind me a lot of the Maximum Ride volumes and that’s not really a good thing. It just doesn’t translate that well, but the rest of the art is solid. The fight scenes show us that Pokemon are pretty high tier when they want to be and the art is solid for these scenes. The battle art reminds me of Bleach and that is certainly a good thing. The fact that you can completely understand every panel is a sign that the art is good and it’s easy on the eyes. It’s fun art and it fits perfectly for Pokemon. The writing is also a step up from the previous film adaptions and it has a more serious feel to it. This definitely isn’t the classic days! They’re actually going all out!

Overall, this manga was extremely good. This is how you write a successful Pokemon manga and it would have made an awesome ongoing series. Mewtwo is a solid fighter and he has a pretty cool demeanor. Genesect was an awesome villain and he may have been the first Pokemon villain to be truly evil…at first anyway. You could also argue that he was just misunderstood. I still liked the ending because it was essentially a parody of Man of Steel and showed what Superman should have done. At least Mewtwo didn’t erase their memories at the end which is always a good thing. I highly recommend this volume and it may be the perfect jumping on point for new Pokemon fans except for the fact that Ash doesn’t look so good. Get ready for some intense action!

Overall 8/10

We Were There Review

Posted on November 9, 2013 by dreager1

We Were There is a pretty big romance series that was featured in manga format. The fact that I’m reviewing a romance manga means that I may have finally gone over to the other side…or this is going to be a preeeeetty negative review. Either way you should take note that I’m not a fan of the romance genre, so while the manga may sound bad in my review, you may still like it. It all depends on how much you like romance and drama.

All right…this is one of those manga series where it’s a little hard to talk about the plot without spoiling it as well since they connect to each other. Well, I’ll give it my best shot and divide the series into two parts. The first past of the series is about Nanami and how she becomes friends with Yano. At first Yano is rude to her, but eventually she gets him to start being a better person. It’s very emotional and the arc has a pretty intense ending. Honestly, if the series had ended there, it would definitely have had a much better ending.

Arc 2 is arguably still about Nanami, but she has to share her screen time a whole lot. We get some new characters like Sengenji who get their own mini plots inside of the real plot. The “real” plot is very intricate, but I’ll at least mention some of the parts of the plot. Nanami is trying to cope with the realizations that come from the first arc, but now one of her friends is trying a little too hard to be friendly. Will she have to tell him the sad facts of life? Yano is a mystery at this point and the volumes all keep hinting at what may have happened to him….what did happen to him!? Sengenji got the title of “Beauty and Brains” which was pretty cool for her at first, but it got annoying after a while. Can she stop someone from calling her this?

So, there’s the plot in a nutshell. It really is in a nutshell this time because I didn’t mention many of the numerous plot twists or subplots that are in the manga. There are certainly a lot of them, so you need to always keeps a sharp eye and have a lot of caffeine so that you don’t fall asleep while reading! It’s not that the series is boring, but the fact that there is so much romance!

All right, this is a romance series so should I expect any less? Well, I do expect the manga to balance romance with plot, but this series goes a little too far. You can rarely go a single chapter without some kind of romantic plot advancing. One of the only characters who isn’t affected by this is the dog and he’s the best character of the series!

Artwise, the series is decently good. It’s not going to win any awards on my watch, but it’s good enough. The panels are clear and you understand what is happening, but there aren’t any big fight scenes to test the artist’s ability. The series nearly lasted for 20 volumes which would have been impressive since that’s something that shonen series tend to do. (And Skipbeat)

Let’s go into the characters, although you can likely already tell that I don’t like any of them. Nanami is the protagonist and while she may be a nice kid, she ends up hanging with the wrong crowd. She could have been a great person and gone on to revolutionize the editing world, but Yano and the others dragged her down to their level. It was a never ending cycle where they would hurt her feelings and then she would hurt them back. It just wouldn’t stop and that should have been a sign for her to get away from them.

Yano is one of the other main characters and he’s pretty awful. Yano is definitely not a great character and he makes more mistakes than I can count. Some of them are completely unacceptable and show why he’s not a very honorable person. If we placed him in a manga like Yugioh, he wouldn’t last a minute! We’ve also got Takeuchi and he’s not very good either. Granted that he’s better than Yano, but not by much. He nearly wrecks his friendship with one of the characters and he was very pushy throughout the whole series. He should really know that he has no chance and he should just stick to having fun at his job. He’s definitely a lot nobler than Yano, but again….that’s not saying much.

Yuri is another one of those characters who seems to be here for the sole purpose of dragging other characters down for the count. Yuri manages to take on several characters throughout the series and she never really has any good reasons. She gets a sob story like the other characters, but it’s hard to sympathize with her decisions. She is one of those characters who never really got better as the series progressed. We’ve also got Nana who gets so many plot twists through the series that it’ll make you take a step back. What’s the true story behind her actions!?

There are other characters around, but you get the idea of the series. The characters are all pretty negative and not people that you would want to be around in the real world or even on the wired! So, the manga series doesn’t go so well because of the abundance of romance, lack of action, bad characters, and the fact that there aren’t any things that you can take interest in.

Overall, this definitely wasn’t my kind of manga. You can probably tell already since a manga review with 10+ volumes will usually be a lot longer than a mere 1K words. That being said, if you are a romance fan then you’ll possibly like it. It depends if you will end up minding the destruction, drama, and sad things that end up happening to the main characters all the time. Personally, I would not recommend this manga and would instead point you over to Tsubasa. It’s the closest thing to a romance that I would highly recommend at this point unless you count Bleach.

Overall 2/10

Gamaran Review

Posted on October 8, 2013 by dreager1

Gamaran is a manga that I had always seen as I headed to the latest chapter of Bleach or Naruto. It’s a title that was always around, but I never realized that it was a really cool series. I had no idea what the plot was or if it really had any potential. After reading it, I can safely say that it’s one of the greatest manga of all time! This is a pretty bold statement, but it has earned the right.

The plot is very easy to describe even though it did last for 21 volumes. Gama is one of the last guys to use the Ogame style. (A way of fighting) Naoyoshi is one of the candidates to become the next Daimyo, (King of the land basically) and he comes across Gama. After witnessing Gama’s sword abilities firsthand, he decides to have Gama fight in his defense. The road towards becoming Daimyo is long and fierce. There are many obstacles along the way and the current Daimyo is having a tournament. To become the Daimyo, you must win the tournament, which sounds simple enough…right?

This is basically the plot for the first half of the series. While it may not sound like it can hold its own for over 7 volumes, it works. The fights are intense and Gamaran gets right to the point. We don’t see a lot of emotional scenes and dialogue doesn’t fill up whole chapters. The series is essentially nonstop fighting and there aren’t many breaks. At first it’s tough since Gama is the only warrior on Naoyoshi’s side, but eventually his comrades come in to help. Most of them are pretty cool and I will go into more detail about them later.

The plot for the 2nd half involves Jinsuke, the 1000 man slayer! He decides that it’s time to conquer the world and while we get some pretty emotional reasons for why he’s doing this, that’s all that you really need to know. I will delve deeper into his history as we go through the characters. Gama and his pals have to stop Jinsuke and his large army of allies while working to save Naoyoshi. (Who was kidnapped) Both arcs are incredible and it’s hard to say which one was better. I’m inclined to say that I preferred arc 2, but it’s very close. Lori got to have more fighting scenes in that section which definitely helped me decide.

The art is very solid for the manga, although the author does tend to draw people differently from chapter to chapter. Lori’s hair is constantly changing in size and his spikes really stick up at times. Also, after the time skip, Gama’s eyes start to look exactly like Lori’s. Beyond those minor issues, (Which aren’t really issues since I don’t mind them. They make the manga look unique!) the art is spectacular for the fight scenes.

Gama is the main character so it’s fitting that I talk about him first. I didn’t really care for him during the first volume or two, but he quickly got better as the series progressed. His character is pretty similar to Ichigo’s and even the attire shares some resemblance. As you may have guessed from the picture, Gama is a sword fighter. Most characters in the series use a sword or at least a weapon that has a blade.

Gama is about as skilled as a human can get and his heightened speed and power are impressive. His mostly uses thunder techniques, (Which don’t use thunder, but are very quick) which are epic. They become less effective as the series wears on, but they definitely help to give Gama an edge. He’s easily one of the best main characters out there and puts a lot of the others to shame. This is a true warrior who never gives up.

Zenmaru is one of Gama’s allies and he’s pretty annoying. I never found him to be a likable character and he definitely overestimates himself. Many times, Gama will have to do all of the work, but Zenmaru will act as if helped a lot. I’m sure that you’ve seen this type of character in other manga series, but if not, be warned! He uses a really big (slow) sword and this is probably what limits him. Swinging the sword takes time and his speed isn’t nearly as good as Gama’s. By the end of the series, Zenmaru has gotten pretty skilled, but it ends up feeling forced.

Shinnojou is another one of Gama’s allies and he’s a big improvement over Zenmaru. Shinnojou is an expert fighter and he’s the highest ranked member of the Ogame school. (He’s not the toughest, but the highest ranked) Shinnojou is more of a tactile fighter than the other two and he uses his wits a lot. Shinnojou’s water techniques also revolve around trickery and sudden movements. He does pretty well for the whole series and while he doesn’t fight a whole lot, he always looks good. I definitely had no complaints with him and he made for a good character.

Lori is another one of Gama’s allies and he’s definitely the best character in the series! (Gama being second) He doesn’t fight as often as the others, (Until arc 2) but we see that he is definitely the most skilled. He is the only character in the series who was able to give Jinsuke a good fight. While the fight didn’t go as I had thought that it would, it was a good battle. Lori acts like Zaraki or Sasuke in terms of personality. He always keeps his cool and manages to act epic at the same time. His hair is very spiky and when he power ups, you would think that he’s a super saiyan. He uses a lot of raw power in his swordsmanship and he can even use a Rasengan themed attack on the opponent. He doesn’t even need a weapon to take out some of the higher ranked villains.

There are so many villains that it can be hard to choose which ones to talk about. Let’s start off with Jinsuke. Jinsuke is the main villain of the series and he also happens to be Gama’s father. Defeating him is one of Gama’s goals in life, but it may be tougher than it sounds. Jinsuke was able to defeat 1000 warriors and that’s a feat that is nearly impossible with a sword. He definitely has a strong aura, but he only gets one serious fight for the entire series. Still, he definitely makes for a good villain.

Ranmaru is one of Jinsuke’s highest ranked officers. He becomes Gama’s main rival and they do get to fight several times. He’s another really cool character and a highlight of the manga. If Lori’s my favorite hero, then Ranmaru is my favorite villain of the series. We even find out a nice twist about his abilities. Who said that there were no supernatural abilities in this manga!? His ending may not be as happy as some of the other characters, but at least he got to live his life to the fullest!

Another big villain is Zenmaru’s big brother/rival, Kai. Kai uses the same weapon as Zenmaru and he’s a pretty sharp fighter. His relationship with Zenmaru is similar to Sasuke and Itachi’s…Counting the plot twists! Take that as you will….Unfortunately, I never really liked Kai. He wasn’t a very likable character and I can’t sympathize with him. I couldn’t really forgive Itachi either, but his decision was reasonable in comparison to Kai’s! Kai only fights a handful of times, but that’s really all that we needed.

Riko and Kujou are two other members who used to be part of the Ogame school. Did I mention that part already? Well, Jinsuke, Kai, Riko, and Kujou decided to destroy the rest of the Ogame school to go rule the world. This is the reason why Gama wishes to destroy them, Jinsuke in particular. They just can’t forgive the mass murder of their comrades!….until they do. Riko is a pretty minor character for the most part, but he does get one cool fight. Kujou doesn’t really fight until the very end. His fight is pretty good, but I wasn’t terribly interested. He’s a decent fighter, but not one of the best.

Kiyomori is a character that appeared during the final volumes of the series. He actually uses hand to hand combat, which shows how fast he is. Otherwise, one sword slash and he would be down for the count. He’s a pretty intriguing character and while I don’t think he would have lasted a second against Lori or Gama, he made for an epic villain. He’s definitely not someone that you would want to underestimate.

Banri is one of the divine spears and he is the strongest member. While the others only get to appear for the first arc, he manages to last for the entire series. He ends up becoming a rival for Shinnojou. His skills are very good with a spear, but he was never much of a threat. I never pictured Shinnojou losing to this guy. Still, he was another example of an epic villain.

I could go on and on listing the various villains, but I’ll stop there. Muraku is one villain that started out as a pretty cool fighter, but he quickly got worse. When he appeared for his final battle, he was completely unlikable. It’s like his character did a complete 180 for the worst. Also, I never saw how he could really give Gama such a good fight. Gama is far faster than Muraku could hope to be. There are also several good guys that I didn’t get around to talking about like the old mentor and his rival. The two old guys team up during the climax and they’re definitely solid fighters. One of the old guys just came out of nowhere, but he was a nice addition for the most part.

One negative that I should mention is the ending. It’s very rushed and feels a little forced. We don’t really get any closure for some of the plot lines and the ending just wasn’t satisfactory. This is only a mild negative since most manga tend to have bad endings. There aren’t many exceptions to this rule, but Megaman NT Warrior managed to end on a high note. The ending definitely could have been worse, so at least it wasn’t!

There is one more negative that I should note. Kashitarou is one of the worst characters that I’ve seen in a while. If you know who Oolong and James Bond are, then you know all that you need to know about Kashitarou. Kashitarou is the definition of an awful character and there was nothing that he could do to fix that. Once he appeared for the first time, I knew that it was over. You’ll want to ignore all of his lines and he won’t bring the manga down too much. He barely appears which is definitely a good thing!

It should be noted that the manga can get pretty violent. There are parts that make Bleach look like kid stuff! So, while I highly recommend the series, I wouldn’t recommend it for kids. On the bright side, there isn’t really any romance in the series. There’s no time for that since the battles are always happening. Another positive for the series is the fact that they power up, DBZ style! It’s always good to see characters using aura in manga and tends to be one of the key things that separate them from comic book characters.

So, if you ever wanted a really awesome manga about sword fighting, then I’d recommend checking this one out. The series has some pretty great characters and a nice array of villains. The series concluded with over 20 volumes so there is enough content to keep you busy. You won’t have to worry about a lack of fights or screen time for your favorite characters. I’d say that it’s time to check it out!

Overall 9/10

Beet The Vandel Buster Review

Posted on August 2, 2013 by dreager1

Beet The Vandel Buster is a manga that is missed by many fans. The series had a golden beginning and just kept getting better and better. The series had an abrupt ending with 12 volumes, but there is still a chance that the manga will continue someday. I find the chances of that pretty slim, which is why I’m doing my series review now. If the series ever does return, I’ll either continue from there on a weekly basis, do a new review covering “Part 2” or just update this one.

The manga is about a kid named Beet, who wants to end the darkness that covers the land. The world is filled with Vandels who basically have control over everything. There are various resistance groups who have made it their purpose to wipe these creatures out. They call themselves “Vandel Busters!” The more Vandels you take down, the higher your level and rep increases. There are some powerful Vandel Busters around, but for the most part, they don’t seem to have a chance. There are just too many Vandels and many of them are immensely powerful. It’s essentially the same as Naruto level fighters trying to take on Gokus and Vegetas.

There is one legendary group that are called the Zenon Warriors. They are possibly the strongest Vandel Busters in the world. The series starts off with them at a village, when the strongest Vandel in the world appears. His name is Beltorze and his design is pretty similar to Omega Shenron’s. His power is very considerable. The sheer power that is involved in Beet’s very first chapter, would make DBZ proud. Not even DBZ got to this level of power until later on. The battle is pretty good, but Beet comes along and things get dicey. Like Spiderman or Batman (Depending on the version) bad things happen that could have been avoided, if only Beet had made the right move.

The battle may not look good for the heroes, but we see more of it near the end of the series. After a large time skip, Beet is now a very tough Vandel Buster. Along with Paola, he goes to end the Dark Ages. While Beet is mostly a close range fighter, Paola uses her magical abilities to attack foes from afar. They make a pretty solid team and take on various fighters. They’ve fought opponents like Beltorze and Garonewt in the past.

Eventually, the team gets a new recruit in the form of Kissu. Kissu is also a magic user and he is powerful, but only with his spells. His strength of heart is another matter. He lacks the resolve that Paola and Beet currently possess. It’s hinted that he may have finally turned around, but that’s exactly where the series ends. BB and Slade also help the team out when they’re in a pinch. Slade possesses great speed and BB is a magic user who turns the tables and actually prefers close combat.

The team goes around and takes down as many Vandels as they can. The series is always on the go and the heroes are doing pretty well. Beet currently has a 1 Star Bounty on his head. (Which is more than what a whole country is worth) Whichever 7 star Vandel destroys him, will become the legendary 8 Star Vandel. The pressure is on for Beet and his friends!

Beet is a pretty solid main character and he’s one of the more heroic fighters currently out there. He inherited several Saiga and they have helped him to become a very well rounded fighter. He can fight up close thanks to his Feather Sword and Burning Lance, while fighting from afar with his Air Gun. Beet can use his Shield to block many powerful attacks as well. If Beet needs to land a single, but powerful shot; then it’s time to take out the Axe. Beet uses his powers wisely and he’s definitely cool.

Paola is the first member to come and help Beet out against the villains. She did pretty well on her own and got quite a few level ups. She is a magic user, so she can fire off magic blasts to defeat her opponents. Being a long range fighter does have its disadvantages, such as not obtaining the speed and power that Beet has acquired through rigorous training. She’s a pretty good character and never backs down from a fight.

Kissu is only arguably a good character. He’s always having self doubts and his physical abilities aren’t so good. His magic is very potent, but he rarely gets to show it. When the going gets tough, Kissu is usually taken out pretty quickly. I never became a fan, but Kissu was starting to show some promise. If only the series had kept going.

BB is a skilled fighter who arrests those that break the law. Her magic can be used for long range, but she can wrap it around her for close range. This way, any Vandel that makes contact with her, will be destroyed. She’s definitely not as cool as the main fighters, but perhaps she will get better. Slade is a bit of a part timer. He helps out when Beet is in a pinch, but he’s usually not on the team. Slade’s really quick and his weapon is pretty much impossible to spot. Unless your skin is extremely hard, one hit is all he needs to take you out of the fight. I guess you could call him Beet’s rival.

Zenon is the commander of the Zenon Forces. At first he may not impress you, but he’s pretty epic during the climax of the series. Not only is he able to fight against Beltorze, but he was able to transcend his very limits. He’s easily one of the strongest characters in the franchise. He was able to keep up with Beltorze, only one other fighter has accomplished such a feat. (Beet, albeit it was only a fake) There is another character known as the Winged Knight. He’s very similar to Zenon and some suspect that they are one and the same. I definitely think that he is Zenon. (The light aura is a giveaway) This shows that Zenon is even more resourceful than we thought. The other Zenon members aren’t that likable yet, but there’s always a chance for that to change. We just need them to take up arms and fight again! Or at least get a solid flashback.

There are many Vandels, but let’s focus on the 7 Star fighters. Noa is known as the smartest member of the group, but he hasn’t gotten to fight yet. It’s safe to say that he’s immensely powerful, but we have no proof yet. He’s a decent character, but it would be good to see him more excited about fighting. Lady Rodina is another 7 Star fighter. She is scheduled to be Beet’s final opponent, which could mean that she’s…the strongest? I don’t know if that’s possible, considering how tough Grineed and Beltorze were, but that’d certainly be a plot twist. If only she had gotten to fight.

Next up, let’s talk about Hysterio. He had a really cool design, but he seems to be pretty unimpressive so far. Baron completely pulverized him and his powers aren’t the greatest that I’ve seen. He was pretty disappointing, but they can’t all be winners. Garonewt is one of the strongest fighters so far. He has many creatures hidden in stones that are on his body. He also controls gravity, which makes it almost impossible to even stand up, let alone fight. His battle was definitely epic and few could hope to take him down.

Baron is an aerial Vandel whose abilities are very potent. He’s a legend, even among the 7 Stars and he’s been doing well so far. Not only did he nearly defeat Beet, but he also took down the rest of the cast, (Including The Winged Knight) except for Kissu. Can Kissu really defeat him? I don’t think so, but that’s exactly how the series ended. Right before their big, climatic battle.

Grineed is another solid villain. He’s much better when he turns into his true form. In that form, his power is definitely lethal and he was one of the most impressive villains in the series. He definitely felt like a high tier fighter and he had one of the best fights in the series. Beet had some pretty solid/long fight scenes throughout the manga and this one definitely ranks up there.

Beltorze is the final 7 Star Vandel, and I’d say that he’s the strongest. Not only did he take down the Zenon Warriors, but he’s also devastated Beet and his pals as well. Beltorze never ceases to impress me and he’s basically got everything that a villain could want. Speed, Power, Endurance, Regeneration…Everything! I can’t wait until he fights again, but that could be a while.

Beet The Vandel Buster is definitely a remarkable series. It’s one of the greatest manga that I’ve ever read and the art is excellent. The author really knows how to draw a fight scenes, not to mention that he’s good at writing interesting villains. I really hope that Beer continues at some point in the future. Some may not like that the plot isn’t exactly deep, but it makes up for it with plenty of battles. The series is essentially non stop action. The fighting never stops and the art helps everything go smoothly. Even if it doesn’t continue, this is one series that I won’t be forgetting. I highly recommend reading it.

Overall 9/10

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