Megaman is a very large franchise which has split into various parts of the franchise. We have the Classic universe (Which spins off once again into another series titled Mega Man X), and the Battle Network universe (Which spins off into Starforce) There are always subtle references in each of the series they may be more connected than we realize. This manga adapts the Battle Network games (Very loosely) and I definitely didn’t realize the sheer magnitude of what I was getting into when I first checked out the series.

The series starts out with someone simulating how he’s going to destroy the world. It’s hard to take him seriously since the manga has just started, but we cut away to a school scene. Lan Hikari (The Main character) ditches school and rushes home since his father is expected to have finally made it. He’s often away and that doesn’t change as he is not at home. Something came up, so he had to cancel once again. Lan and Megaman exchange some harsh words, but they later put aside their differences to go save the school.

The series starts out with small time threats (Still serious threats of course, but not world shattering) like a train about to crash, or a prison that is guarded with electricity. Chaud and Protoman make their debut pretty early on and they instantly start off on the wrong foot with our two protagonists. Lan and Megaman decide to take them down since they callously destroy fellow navies, but defeating them will be tough. Protoman can reach mach 5 and his skills are considerable. (Only in volume 2 and I’d say that they’ve surpassed comic book characters) The first big threat is Dr. Wily and the legendary Life Virus monster. It was a solid way to start off the series, but I never really considered those two as a threat.

Eventually, The heroes go into the undernet and meet with the legendary Bass. Bass is the greatest character in all of media, but I’ll go into that a bit later in the review. Bass crushes them with ease and they are forced to find more power. Megaman comes across the four legendary navies and if he is able to defeat them..he will gain overwhelming power! A new villain group by the name of Grave starts to terrorize the world at around the same time. Megaman taps into his Hubstyle form and has a very climatic battle with the Virus Beast. Bass ended up coming along and the two of them have an immensely destructive battle. It’s one of the greatest battles to ever be seen and it was the first time that you could truly call the series High Tier. Remember Dragon Ball Z? This universe even surpasses that legendary series.

Unfortunately, Hubstyle won’t be enough to take on the next opponents. These guys wield dark powers and the light of Hubstyle is sucked away against them. Even without Hubstyle, Megaman has gained tremendous power thanks to his experience and expertise. Protoman also obtains the legendary Muramasa blade which gets stronger whenever Protoman gets inflicted with damage. It’s a very risky blade, but he has Megaman to back him up. The shadow masters are very powerful, but not exactly Megaman level. Things take a turn for the worst when….BASS shows up! His power has now multiplied exponentially and he’s seeking to destroy whoever gets in his way. Megaman and Protoman must use the legendary Double Soul technique if they wish to win. The battle is incredible and just as impressive as the first battle. This time, things don’t end so smoothly as the mighty…..LASERMAN shows up! After a cheap shot from behind and an assist stab from Dark Megaman, they decide to leave…with Bass. Megaman attempts to stop them, but Dark Megaman proves to be too powerful.

This next arc was pretty epic and it was definitely an intriguing experience to see Laserman in on the action. Unfortunately for his fans, Dark Megaman overshadows him for the whole series. Laserman doesn’t retain as much dignity as his anime counterpart, but his lines are definitely intense. Megaman and Dark Megaman have a pretty epic fight and the series continues to be great.

The next arc was the weakest from the bunch and Megaman became a criminal. There’s not much logic behind it, but the Government can do whatever they want, since it’s their country. Megaman tries not to hurt the attackers (Since he’s much stronger than them and could win with a single hit) and eventually he comes face to face with Cosmoman and Nebula Gray. Defeating them alone could prove difficult, but the always awesome Bass is also there to shake things up. Even together, can Megaman and Bass hope to defeat this being of pure evil?

The final arc deals with the menace of the Cybeasts. Megaman is one of the chosen warriors sent to fight in a tournament that will decide the right to battle them. The winner will have absorbed the emblems of the opponents that he defeated so that his power would be great enough to stop the Cybeasts. Things look to be pretty easy for Megaman…until the mighty Bass shows up! Which of them will win in this final battle!? Also, will the winner be able to defeat the Cybeasts!?

Lan makes for a decent character. He loses sight of his morals early on, but after that he never looks back again! Lan may be seen as a pretty generic character, but generic beats being a bad main character right? He will definitely put his life on the line for a comrade and he knows when it’s time to get serious. Chaud is also a pretty solid guy and he’s a good rival. He looks pretty great during his early appearances, but after that things go downhill for him. He tries to be optimistic about the whole thing, but he was utterly surpassed. He is still good for an assist once in a while. At the very least, Chaus is still a pretty smart guy and actually helps to find the mastermind behind the whole Grave incident. (Not that things go very well for him)

Megaman is the real star of this story. He’s a very good guy right from the start. Even after Lan ignores and abandons him, Megaman continues to do the right thing. He never resorts to destroying his opponent (Unless that opponent is endangering someone’s life and needs to be quickly stopped) Megaman’s already great personality becomes even greater when he is in his legendary Hubstyle mode. In that form, he’s easily one of my favorite characters of all time. He’s also immensely fast and his power is basically unstoppable. Megaman is the standard for what all main characters should be like.

Protoman is a good rival and he gives Megaman a good fight during their initial encounters. Once Megaman obtains Hubstyle, the gap in power is greatly changed. Protoman can no longer engage him in an equal battle, but he still finds other ways to be useful. With his Muramasa sword, he can still fight high level opponents. He also trains a lot and by the final chapter, he is once again a very tough opponent. Protoman can also help Megaman out through the Double Soul technique.

Chief Oda’s navi is very cool, but he’s never given an official name. It’s too bad since he’s a great opponent for Megaman and his skills are considerable. Megaman’s friends (Roll and Gutsman) are all right, but they never really get a great role. Torchman and Elecman are decently good characters, but not one of my favorites. Blasterman is pretty much a joke in the manga.

Serenade is a pretty great navi and his (Sometimes he is called a she so I’m not extremely certain of the gender. For reviewing purposes, I will refer to Serenade as a he) abilities are pretty intense. Serenade is one of the only fighters in existence who was able to go up against Bass on equal ground. He had one of the most emotional moments in the series and helped Megaman and Protoman to realize their full potential.

Laserman wasn’t one of the bigger characters to appear in the manga, but he needed an honorary mention since he’s become so popular on the net. (On the blog I write his name as Lazerman for effect, but if you go to youtube, you’ll find many videos with him) Laserman might not be as intense as his anime version, but he’s still a character that you won’t want to mess with.

Dark Megaman is a very interesting villain and his abilities are on par with Megaman’s. One can even argue that they temporarily exceeded his since Dark Megaman obtained some of Bass’s power. Dark Megaman also got a laser form and he was definitely one of Megaman’s deadliest threats. He’s another one of my favorite characters from the series.

There are several giant monsters in the series like the Life Virus, Virus Beast, Cybeasts, and Nebula Gray. They are all decently cool for the most part, but they don’t have much in the way of character development. Cosmoman briefly appears towards the end and his character was all right. We never really got to see much of him. I didn’t really care for Colonel or Tomohawkman, but they were all right.

There are many more characters that I could mention in the series, but I think that I’ve covered a good number of them. Let’s end off the characters with the greatest character in existence, Bass! Bass has been my favorite character of all time for a while now. I’m not even completely sure when it started, but I think that it must’ve been the manga. Bass has a very cool intro in the manga and he completely crushed the heroes. His power is unparalleled (No character in all of media could defeat him) and his speed is also off the charts. Bass also has a pretty great personality and he has a lot of honor. He would never resort to taking a hostage or hitting someone with a cheap shot. He likes to win fair and square so that his opponent will realize the gap in their power levels. Bass needs to prove that he’s the strongest and he usually does just that. After an opponent has proved himself worthy to be his rival, it’s not entirely out of the question for Bass to help him. Bass definitely isn’t a hero, but he’ll help if he wants to do so. If the world is about to end, he’ll try stopping it so that he can finish his fights. Also, how can an opponent try to destroy the planet when Bass is still around!? Bass also has a pretty tragic back story which helped to shape him into the being that he is today. Bass knows the dark depths of despair and he’s been able to live through it. Bass is not only the strongest physically, but mentally as well. His Get Ability also insures that he’ll never be destroyed. Bass will be around until the end of time. Hopefully this will put some enlightenment into why I think Bass is so great. If you’ve been around my sight, you’ll definitely be aware of my high respect for him.

Megaman NT Warrior is an incredible manga that has it all. The art is very high tier and I never get tired of looking at it. It was definitely very well done and some of the best art that I’ve ever seen. The fight scenes are some of the greatest in existence and the character roster is the greatest in existence. Having a character as great as Bass already boosts the series up, but having Megaman in his Hubstyle mode is overkill. This is a series that I have read and re read over a dozen times. I highly recommend buying it, since this is the ultimate manga experience.

Overall 10/10

La Corda D Oro is a pretty unique series. The plot revolves around a girl named Kohoko. She meets up with a fairy who can only be seen by a select few who can help to bring music back into its golden age. The fairy tells her that she must inspire people with her music and gives her a magical violin. With it, she can play excellently as long as she is one with the music..in a way. Along the way, she realizes the true value of music and why it’s a necessary part of everyday life.

Kahoko isn’t the only character who’s deeply interested in music. Once she joins the music world, she runs into Len, Ryotaro, and others. Winning the contests may be easy with her magical violin, but what happens when it starts to break down? Will Kahoko be able to master the violin or is all hope lost!?

This is one series where I can’t say that I really like any of the characters, but they aren’t awful. Kahoko is a pretty cheerful character, but she doubts herself a lot and by the end of the series, her music skills never become extraordinary. Technically that’s realistic since she just started playing the instrument, but it is pretty disappointing. By the end of the series, she definitely has a long way to go. The fairy helps her less and less as the series goes on and he basically disappears by the end. Kahoko is one of only two Gen Ed (General Education or basically normal school) characters who is able to practice and compete alongside the music school kids.

Len is known as one of the greatest musicians around. Like Kahoko, he also uses the violin. If Kahoko is cheerful and only average at the violin, he’s the exact opposite. He’s pretty silent and he also tends to be pretty rude. He doesn’t usually mean it, but he doesn’t know how to interact well with others. He mastered the violin a long time ago and his skills are unparalleled. Later on, he even leaves the city so that he can further his skills and rise to the next level. He starts to warm up to the others by the end and maybe even learns that friendship can be a good thing. Of course, he has to leave at the end which may make him regress a bit.

Ryotaro is the other Gen Ed student who manages to make it into the big leagues. He misses out on most of the first volumes as a musician. At first he just wants to stick to sports, but Kahoko helps him realize that music is one of the most important hobbies ever. That’s basically what happens; At any rate, Ryotaro uses the piano in his performances. He’s pretty good and he actually competes with Len a lot. He never ends up surpassing him, but he definitely gave Len a good fight. Ryotaro’s one of the happier members and he’s usually pretty upbeat.

Azuma is one of the musicians that you will find yourself disliking pretty quickly. He’s rich and pretty good at the flute. While he appears to be a very nice and polite guy to the general audience, he actually harbors a dark side as well. He’s pretty rude to Kahoko for the entire series, but unfortunately nobody ever notices. Later on he must decide between sticking to music or furthering his education. (I wonder which one he’ll pick…)

Keiichi is another music student who plays the cello. He doesn’t get as much of a role as the other members and he mostly enjoys sleeping. He’s decently good at music and he tends to do pretty good. He’s overshadowed by the other members, but he’s an all right character. Finally, we have Kazuki and Shouko, but there’s no reason to go too in depth with them. Kazuki is also a pretty happy guy who plays the trumpet. He’s all right at best, but next to Kahoko he may be the worst musician. His personality doesn’t really change that much and he never notices that his best friend (Azuma) has a dark side even though it’s fairly obvious. Shouko plays the clarinet, but that’s about all I can say about her. She’s very quiet and rarely talks to gets any character development.

The art for the series is decently good and the pacing is all right. There isn’t an overabundance of romance, but a bit more than is necessary. If they had cut the whole romance subplot out of the way and just kept it to music playing, this may have risen to a higher score. As it is, I’d recommend it to Shojo fans or people who really enjoy music. I thought the manga was all right and one of the better Shojo’s that I read.

Overall 4/10

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There have been many Pokemon films over the years. There are usually one volume manga that go along with each movie. They are basically written adaptions of the films that they cover. This manga retells the events of the latest Pokemon film, but I will still be judging it as if it were an original story.

The manga starts off with Keldeo challenging the mighty Kyurem. Things don’t end well and the legendary Swords of Justice are forced to intervene. Later on, Ash and friends have fun buying boxed lunches and having a grand time. Pikachu is the only one quick enough to notice a damaged Keldeo on the train, but Ash and friends are quick to come to his aid. Things get dangerous when Kyurem follows them and starts a battle. Will Keldeo prove himself worthy and defeat Kyurem?

First off, let’s talk about Ash Ketchum, the legendary trainer from Pallet Town. He’s battled many powerful enemies in the past and his Pikachu should be one of the strongest beings on the planet at this point. Unfortunately Ash never shows this as he spends the entire volume getting beaten up. Ash and Pikachu don’t provide any threat to Kyurem and actually perform worse than Keldeo. Ash also doesn’t act brave in this volume and seems to be scared of Kyurem. Kyurem is tough, but Ash has dealt with Mewtwo and Gary, so he should be prepared at this point. When it’s all on the line for Ash to free some pokemon, he is unable to rise to the occasion. Ash is definitely not a really likable character in this volume and I’d recommend checking out other titles if you’re just reading the volume to see how cool he is.

His friends, Cilan and Iris are alright at best. Cilan seems to always be thinking about food and he doesn’t really take the situation seriously. I don’t think he would be my first choice if I needed a partner to go fight a legendary pokemon with. Iris knows a lot about Dragon pokemon, but she can’t seem to make up her mind. At first she claims that Kyurem is the strongest dragon type pokemon on earth! Later on she says that he is one of the strongest dragon type pokemon. That’s a pretty key difference, but aside from that she was alright. She took things a little more seriously, but she never got to take on Kyurem. Actually, compared to his friends I’d say that Ash was a pretty good character in this story.

Keldeo is arguably the main character of this adventure. He quickly learns that to truly become a Sword of Justice, he’ll need strength of character and the guts to accept defeat. He has a pretty climatic battle with Kyurem and I’d say that he was an alright character. I’m not a huge fan of the design (It wrecked some of his serious moments) but when the going got tough, Keldeo stepped up to the plate.

There was no Team Rocket in this story, but Kyurem took their place as the main villain. He definitely stole the show in this manga and all of his lines were pretty intense. He effortlessly takes down fighter after fighter and it seemed like nobody could stand up to him. The Swords of Justice couldn’t endure his power, Ash was frightened by his strength, and Keldeo lacked the experience needed to take him out. I’m glad that Kyurem could talk in human language, proving that he is one of the smarter pokemon. He has two different combat forms and both of them are definitely cool. Seeing as how he can fire off giant energy blasts, fly at super speeds, and freeze everything that he comes near; he’s definitely one of the toughest pokemon that Ash and friends have come up against.

This was definitely one of the better movie tie-ins to the Pokemon franchise. The art was pretty solid and while the comic relief could be a little off putting, the fight scenes came out strong. It is a fun Pokemon adventure and I’d definitely recommend it to Pokemon fans everywhere. Non pokemon fans will still get a kick out of it as well.

Overall 7/10