Tag Archives: Oneshot

Bass: Time of Reunion Review

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It’s time for a oneshot about the best character in all of media. Bass has returned and he’s ready to really dominate as always. Many people forget this but Bass is the strongest character of all time. Who can possibly challenge the guy? Well, in this chapter some tough fighters like Megaman try but they are definitely found lacking. It’s nothing to be ashamed about though, it was…inevitable.

The special starts off with Searchman and the army trying to take down Bass but they are quickly routed. Surprisingly he spares their lives. They then go over to Lan and Chaud to ask for their help. Basically Dr. Cossack is dying and he wants a chance to say his final goodbyes to Bass. They all figure Bass won’t come quietly so they’ll have to try and defeat him. Lan agrees to help since he’s ready for a fight and Chaud’s not one to be left out. Do they really have a chance though or is this a suicide mission? One wrong move and they may end up being confined to oblivion!

Trying to mess with Bass definitely doesn’t sound like a good idea under any circumstances. Serenade makes a quick appearance and also confirms that this may be ill advised. For starters, trying to kidnap Bass to make him meet up with Cossack seems a little iffy right? That’s not a great reason to kidnap someone in general. It’s certainly not as if the planet is at stake or anything like that. So that’s the first problem here. Then of course there is also the matter of his power. Serenade crushes Megaman and Protoman while admitting that Bass is even fiercer. Still, they are eager to try.

It was fun to see Serenade for sure. Then in terms of the actual fight, the art is top tier as always. It’s great to see Bass taking everyone on again like in the good ole days. People forget but Bass was the original powerhouse. He speed blitzes Megaman and Protoman while dealing massive damage the whole time. It’s great to see that he has not lost a step. Even with Hubstyle and Double Souls combined, it’s clear that Megaman wasn’t quite strong enough to be of any real danger to Bass. Bass wasn’t afraid of anything the whole time, nor should he have been. He doesn’t even have to resort to Beast Out or his own Hubstyle at this point. He’s just at a completely different level.

One thing you will notice is that Bass is quite a bit nicer here. He seems to have mellowed out a whole lot since the events of the manga to the point where he actually spares people at times and doesn’t mind talking things out. The old Bass would never have humored the heroes the way that he did here. He’s definitely had a whole lot of character development over the years. So it all works out okay here but I do agree with Serenade that Megaman and Protoman were in the wrong the whole time. So if Bass had wanted to murder them then he would have been fully in his rights to do so. You can’t just go trying to take someone down like this.

I wouldn’t say that the oneshot opens the door to future sequels I’m afraid. So don’t get your hopes up for that but even just getting another look into the world was fun. Megaman NT Warrior is still my favorite manga of all time and everything is exactly as it was. The art still looks super intense and the writing is on point. It just goes to show that there are still a ton of different stories you could do within the series. There is a lot of ground left to uncover. It may be tough to come up with enemies who can be a real threat at this point but then you could do some prequels or something. Lets just get more Megaman content around.

Overall, This is a really fun one shot. I’m also impressed at how long it was. It’s almost like a full volume with around 100 pages at the ready. The author really knows how to craft a good story. Outside of the battles the humor was also pretty fun. I liked the banter between Lan and Chaud. They definitely haven’t missed a beat there. The series always had top tier action but would take a break for some comedy every once in a while. It’s a good mix I would say. You should definitely check this out. It’ll really be very nostalgic as well.

Overall 8/10

Monsters Review

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Lets take a look at Oda’s original oneshot! One Piece has become one of the most recognized franchises in the world and yet before that he had already written a quick story here. You can tell that his art style is a little rougher around the edges from back then but it still looks clear enough. It’s a fun story and you can bet that I was inspired to check this out since the new Netflix adaption just came out. It’s a rare case where I saw the adaption before the original special. It’s a very faithful adaption though so it’s just about the same.

We start off with the famous Shirano stopping by a local village and he is recognized by the waitress Flare who was saved by him as a child. She survived a very traumatic ordeal when a dragon murdered everyone and destroyed the village but thanks to his help she survived. Unfortunately a samurai known as Ryuma appears and picks a fight. Shirano defeats him and diffuses the situation but that same samurai picks a fight with a villainous figure known as D.R. who decides to summon a dragon as revenge. Now the village is doomed to be destroyed and Flare wishes that Ryuma had never stopped by. She will have to relive the same tragedy all over again and this time Shirano will likely die as he has decided to stay back and fight it which is a fool’s errand.

Ryuma definitely comes across as really irresponsible and not the kind of guy you want to have as your hero. Picking fights for minor things is a bit much no matter how he tries to justify it. Yeah I put no blame on him for the D.R. matter because villains will do what villains do but he shouldn’t have picked a fight at the restaurant. The guy does have a good rage mode in the story though. Seeing Flare break down and jumping into action was definitely the right move. The scene showing her trying to keep it together was really good.

I give her a lot of credit there because trying to put on a brave face is a really tough thing to do but she pulled it off. It may not have fooled Ryuma but she wasn’t trying to burden anyone with her problems. I deduct some points for her blaming Ryuma for everything right away though. D.R. is the one who looks shady and at the end of the day he summoned the dragon so shouldn’t you be blaming him the most? Same goes for all of the villagers who panic as always.

Shirano definitely has a really big role in the story as well. It’s a role you can probably see coming but he pulls it off well. There’s always something scary about a character like this when you feel like you know him but then find out the hard way that you never did. It’s why you have to be careful who you trust and how far you trust them. Trust is not something to be given lightly. D.R. is a very forgettable character though and there’s nothing to make him stand out.

As mentioned the art is a little on the rough side but I would still say it’s good enough. You can always tell what is going on. It really has changed a lot compared to the current One Piece days but hey time will do that to any artist. There is a decent page count to this oneshot but with the wide panels and lots of reaction type shots, it really goes by very quickly. You’ll easily be able to read this one in one sitting. The action scenes we get here are really short so at the end of the day this is more about the adventure. You won’t be bored at any point and it moves pretty quickly so I have no issues there.

I think this could have even worked as a full ongoing if the author was interested in that. It definitely would have been more of a Kenshin type story about a wandering samurai but with the dragon in chapter one, the author already opened the door for a lot of supernatural events which would be different. Dragons themselves aren’t super rare to find in a story like this but if the author went far enough with spellcasters and such this could have been pretty unique. Ultimately I am glad that we got One Piece instead though.

Overall, Monsters is a fun oneshot. It’s a nostalgic trip to the past and an interesting look at what could have been rather than One Piece. It’s a good title which is enough for a oneshot like this but naturally doesn’t have enough in it to pass the average ongoing title. It’s free on the viz site right now so I’d recommend giving it a read. Then if you enjoy the series, it’s time to quickly check out One Piece and begin one of the longest journeys of your life!

Overall 6/10

Golden Sun: Dark Dawn Review

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Golden Sun has always been a pretty great franchise and it’s nice to see that this game got a quick manga oneshot. It’s really just an adaption of the intro level so it’s not like it’s very long or anything but I’ll take what I can get.

The story starts with one of the kids trying to show off by proving he could pilot a flying device but didn’t realize that he needed wind powers for that. So naturally he crashes into a dangerous forest. The hero of the Golden Sun event, Isaac heads off to save him. Accompanying him is Matthew and the rest of the next generation. They end up having to fight some monsters though and it’s overall a dangerous mission but nothing will stop them from saving their friend. That is what it means to be a true hero!

Definitely a fun story. It’s also interesting how there are a lot of creative liberties from the game. For starters Isaac is the only adult here so his trusty sidekick is nowhere to be seen in this version. Additionally while in the game this was mostly all part of Isaac’s plan in terms of how to handle finding the lost kid, in the manga he’s caught more off guard. To the point where he actually loses to one of the monsters and ends up having to be saved. This change makes him look really weak so ultimately I don’t think that was the way to go. They should have just had him be in command of everything like normal.

The art was fairly decent. I wouldn’t call it top tier or anything like that but it works well enough to get the story of the oneshot across. Additionally the character cast is on point and this makes for a good adventure. The idea of course is to get you to buy the game and I like to think that maybe this would convince some people. I’ve always wondered just how effective a short promo like this could be but hey I’d say it’s as good an attempt as any. There were really no mistakes in this story. Ultimately I just wish they would have gone ahead and done a complete adaption. That would have been a lot of fun.

Because of the short length there is only so much you can write about for this one though. That’s why this review is fairly short. The characters don’t really have time for intros and there isn’t a lot going on beyond the quick fight because the page count wouldn’t really allow for that. So ultimately this is a pure teaser all the way through but it’s an effective one that will have your interest piqued.

Overall, Golden Sun makes for a good story. As the story in the games is always top notch it makes sense that the manga follows suit. It’s still a little too short to really get invested on this end but at the same time that does mean you can easily read this one at any point. It won’t take long to do after all and then you are all set. I’m currently playing through the actual video game for this story so I’ll have the full review up for that one pretty soon. You could say that I’m in the home stretch already!

Overall 6/10

Mega Man World 5 Review

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It’s time for a quick Mega Man manga oneshot. It’s always nice to see a game get a quick adventure like this and I think all games should try for this. It’s a great way to get people hyped to play the game even if the intended effect is likely not to be found out like 20 years after the fact. Regardless the art is on point and we get some good action scenes so I’m definitely on board with this adventure.

The manga starts off with Mega Man getting some upgrades. They come at a good time because the heroes learn about a bunch of robots causing carnage over in town. They are led by a robot who calls himself….Earth. Earth wants to unveil a new era with robots at the top and so Mega Man has to try and stop him along with the other planetary robots. These may be some of the strongest opponents that Mega Man has ever come up against so he can’t afford to hold back here but will even his best be enough against such dangerous fighters? Only time will tell.

The manga ends early so that the incentive is for you to play the game to see how it all ends. It’s basically a built in cliffhanger and I would say it works well. Earth wipes the floor with Mega Man and prepares for the rematch which is where you as the player should go and buy the game to see what happens. I already love cliffhangers so this really hit the spot for me. It’s just a good way to go about it.

This also means that the rest of the chapter is basically a bunch of nonstop fight scenes and if you know me you know that I really don’t mind that. Just give me as much action as possible. Sure it’d be cool if the fights could be longer but you get a lot of variety here with Mega Man crushing everyone who dares get near him. He’s basically opening a clinic at that point on how to shred through the robots. They all get a tough line or two before being destroyed.

I don’t even remember some of these robots too well which shows that I probably need to brush up on my Mega Man knowledge a bit. At this point there are so many robots that it’s hard to remember them all but I definitely try. The fact that they are all named after planets definitely makes it a bit easier to recall at least now that I’ve read through the manga. I also didn’t remember this new cat sidekick that Mega Man has instead of Rush. Naturally I miss Rush but the cat honestly did a pretty decent job here. He came in clutch for one moment which was pretty good.

The artwork here is on point and very smooth. I don’t know which artist did this one, if it’s someone who did a bunch of others or only worked on this oneshot but he seemed to be very experienced. All of the characters are drawn on model and the fight scenes are very clear. The writing is good as well so this is a very complete story. Of course that does mean there’s not a whole lot to say here since it’s really just one chapter with a lot of fighting but all you need to know is that it’s worth checking out.

Even if just to see how Mega Man methodically takes everyone down. He’s always been a very efficient fighter and I think we’d see more of that if we got some more Mega Man games with actual cutscenes. It’s easy to forget but he’s not quite as compassionate or emotional as X. Mega Man will blow up any robot master in his way because he knows that they will continue to cause a ton of trouble if left unchecked. He will let Light and friends worry about what happens afterwards but his job is to stop the villains and he does it really well.

Overall, Mega Man World 5 is a solid title. You’ll be finishing it in the blink of an eye but the title has no flaws. The art is on point, the characters are solid, and it’s basically got everything you could want in this story. Trust me when I say that Mega Man is absolutely the manga you want to be reading right now. It also reminds me of why we need a true Mega Man ongoing. Mega Man San is tiding us over for now but that’s still more of a mini manga with how short the chapters are. I need a full blown one and that’ll be amazing. Until then you should read this story for a good idea of the kind of action you could expect from such a tale.

Overall 7/10

Naruto: The Whorl Within the Spiral Review

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It’s always good to see Naruto returning back to the world with a new story. To this day the original series is one of the most influential titles in the entire world. Almost everybody has heard of this series at some point after all. Well, this one’s a prequel about Boruto’s grandfather Minato after he won the global popularity poll. It’s always nice to see more of this guy since he’s so great and the story is handled really well. It’s got action and a lot of character development. Minato and Kushina is also easily the best romance in the series and one of the best in all of Jump.

The story starts off with Minato getting jumped by two Jinjuriki but he manages to escape them. It does give him the inspiration to create a new ninjutsu though and so he creates the Rasengan. It’ll come in handy because Kushina loses control in a fit of rage so he’ll need to take down the Fox once and for all and save her from her destiny. It’s definitely a pretty fun story through and through as we see his true power. No way Obito should have been able to hold his own against this guy. I’m just saying….no shottttttt.

The art here is excellent so right away you can see that the artist has not lost a step. He’s as good as he ever was. The details are really on point and the action scenes are really impressive. It’s cool to see Minato using the true Rasengan. I still think it’s way more impressive how he creates it with one hand compared to Naruto who usually had to use multiple hands to form it. This way’s more instant and lethal in a fight. Since part of the chapter takes place more in a meta dreamscape of sorts I wouldn’t use the attacks for power scaling personally but if you do then Minato scales up considerably since he’s 1 v 1ng the Nine Tails on his own.

The most important thing here though is how devoted Minato is to keeping Kushina safe. He doesn’t waver in that goal and is really someone that she can depend on the whole time. He makes sure not to injure her at all and takes some pretty serious injuries in getting her control again. He clearly trained in the sealing jutsus a whole lot off screen and from the chapter we see that he was meeting with Kushina almost daily to improve his skills. Minato definitely has the level of determination that we usually see Naruto with.

You could absolutely make a whole miniseries out of this so in a way it’s too bad that this is just a oneshot. You can feel that there is a lot of story left to tell even though it’s unlikely that we will ever get to see this. We even see more of Minato’s squad including an Uchiha but it’s hard to say who that would have even been. Possibly a whole new character I suppose. It’s also interesting seeing the Nine Tails as more of a true villain again.

Of course the Hidden Leaf looks as tactless and corrupt as always. They surely could have handled Kushina with more grace than basically threatening her not to leave the village constantly so she wouldn’t run out of control. She wouldn’t be trying to run off and everything if she wasn’t under so much pressure. That’s just common sense but these guys are dragging her anyway. I was glad to see her take them for a loop. While the chapter is definitely more Minato focused, she definitely gets her time to shine here too. In the end she was also pivotal with coming up with a good name for the new jutsu.

Overall, This was a really fun story. It’s very well contained and the 50 pages go by in a flash. You’ll read this in minutes because it’s just such a good story. Hopefully we get more one shot adventures in the future. In the meantime you can read this even if you haven’t started Naruto yet and maybe it’ll inspire you to check out the series. It’s very new reader friendly but of course if you’ve read the main series then you will enjoy it even more.

Overall 8/10

Kid Icarus: Uprising The New Myth of Light – The Mirror of Pathena Review

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That title’s definitely a bit of a mouth full. You probably don’t need to write all of that out since part of it is almost like the full title that usually doesn’t make it over but I wasn’t 100% sure either way so I figured I would just do it like this. It works well enough anyway and what’s more important either way is the actual manga. The story and art here are definitely on point. You’ll definitely have a good time with this one although as a oneshot that means it is really over as soon as it has begun since it’s only around 20 pages or so.

Basically Pit had defeated the forces of evil a long time ago but for some reason monsters have started popping up again. The only way to stop them is to take down the leader. Palutena believes that it may be a powerful dog like creature which has popped up. It looks like the Cerberus but only has two heads. Is Pit really going to be a match for this guy? Also, he seems strong but is this creature really the leader or is there more to this battle than meets the eye? The chapter mainly focuses on this battle and then ends with a solid cliffhanger to keep you going to buy the game. It’s definitely handled well and gets you excited.

The artwork is pretty solid here with some real action all around so it’s easy to read. Granted, the scanlated version uses that blue tint that seems to happen when you turn a color chapter back into black and white so it can be a bit more difficult than it should be but you could see that the art underneath that was very solid. This is a title that definitely goes all out with the pages that it has. Realistically though I suppose you won’t remember this one for too long before you have finished it. That’s just the way that these things go because it’s really short but I like to think that this hopefully convinced at least a few people to buy the game.

The lore around Kid Icarus was always fun. You’ve got a lot of monsters and gods fighting it out and it’s like Nintendo’s take on the old Hercules myths. With Nintendo’s seal of quality it’s also not surprising that it’s so good. They never really give you anything sub par and I wish they would do more serious manga. The Mario and Kirby gag titles are an exception to this. When they bring their A game then you have great titles like with the various Legend of Zelda ones. You could absolutely do a good Kid Icarus ongoing story as well. I’d say that they shouldn’t even feel like they have to follow the game and can just do their own thing. There is so much to explore with the world and so many characters to introduce. It would be a whole lot of fun.

Overall, there isn’t much more to say here because of how quick the manga is. You’ll be breezing through this one in no time and I’d say that’s just a good thing. The story is on point and it never drags on. The characters are likable so oneshot or not, it covered every base here. The fundamentals are sound and it’s why I can confidently say that this would have been an ongoing. The ultimate purpose of a oneshot is to draw you in. Whether it is to sell a video game or just to try and get an ongoing from the oneshot, it has to grab you quickly because there aren’t very many pages. I would say that the game definitely succeeds in that.

Overall 7/10

The Comiq Review

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It’s time for a murder mystery title. This oneshot starts out more with the feeling that it’ll be a title about creating manga but quickly escalates from there. The art wasn’t my favorite, it’s going for a retro look but it’s still very clear and easy to read. You’ll be taken through a lot of twists and turns, I feel that some make previous scenes feel a bit odd but the manga encourages you to read it a second time at the very beginning so I suppose this is intentional. It’s a good manga in the end even if it could be more solid.

The series follows Ryota, an up and coming manga creator. His series is more of a classic Shojo title but the ratings aren’t great. He even cringes when he hears people reciting the lines out loud. I dunno, if you’re writing something shouldn’t you be proud of people talking about it? I would have thought he would have been more thrilled even if the lines are a bit cheesy. Well, one day his sister Mihana submits one of his chapters to the legendary author Seiya for review but the guy panics and shuts down the livestream.

It appears that something set him off and Ryota then starts to pick up the pieces. See, in this world there is a program where prisoners get to draw the backgrounds for your manga and so this guy named Baba seemed to have put in an element that looks eerily similar to a calling card left at the scene of a murder. Now the cops are interested in Ryota as well so Ryota is really in the middle of this. He can request a new artist or stop writing the manga but he thinks that Baba may be innocent and this is a last ditch effort to save himself. Baba cannot speak so he can only communicate through artwork. Can Ryota solve the puzzle or is he about to step into something much bigger than himself?

So you’ve got the direct case here and the objective on how to solve it but the series could have benefitted from being an actual series. It took a full two paragraphs to really describe the plot because it’s fairly involved and then the manga throws in a whole villain group near the end. This could have absolutely been a 4-5 volume series as Ryota gets closer and closer to the truth. Because it’s so short everything has to move fast so the pacing is really good but it also relies on the villains making some extremely sloppy mistakes in order to get caught.

One really nice thing about the way Ryota solves the case involves background noise which I thought was a clever way to tie everything together. Baba was giving hints through background art after all so background noise being the deciding factor was a good parallel. I’m not sure if that was intentional but I like to think that it was. Ryota’s also a solid character the whole time. He’s quick on his feet and ready to help out. If his gut instinct was wrong and he was helping out a murderer then that would be dicey but it’s important to follow your intuition and he doesn’t hesitate.

Ryota is able to hold his own when talking to the villains too and doesn’t back off. A character who isn’t nearly as good is his editor Mr. Aimochi. My problem with Aimochi is not just that he’s unhelpful but he actively hurts Ryota in the case by constantly getting in his way. He doesn’t want to give any info and practically threatens Ryota to stop talking about the whole murder case. I really don’t think Ryota was overstepping in those scenes and it is a shock to learn that your artist is a convicted murderer. You’d think Aimochi would have just been a little more understanding.

The detective meanwhile was a lot more reasonable. Yes he’s still got to follow protocol and is also a bit of an obstacle for Ryota to get past but at least he will listen once Ryota has his attention. Ryota’s sister Mihana is good even if she can be a bit harsh with his manga. When she submits it on the air and Seiya mocks it she turns on Ryota so fast. Cmon now that’s when you have to side with family over a celebrity. Seiya was clearly shook so she should have interpreted it as his being jealous instead. Now that would have been a good moment. She does help him out later on though.

As for Baba, I think he could have handled the whole thing much better. It’s great that he drew something but what were the odds of anyone really noticing it? That was like a hail mary with a 1% chance of working. Yes at this point it’s one of the only things he could do but before jail he could have made a move. It’s a bit hard to get too into this without spoiling the twists at the end but part of the issue is that Baba was very passive about the whole thing. If he had quickly told his side of the story through writing or something that would have helped a whole lot.

The whole villain group is also really crazy and out of the blue. They act really threatening and just feel a bit out of place here. When Mihana enters the group hideout it’s like a base right out of Shonen Jump. You’ve go several members and the big bad but how does nobody know about this place? Then the sort of blackmail/hold they have on Seiya is weak at best. I don’t really get why he was hanging around and still being a part of this. It’s like everyone was just trying to move on from the past but you’d think that he would have wanted big time revenge on the main villain right? Actually I think it’s time to jump into spoiler land a bit so skip the next 3 paragraphs if you haven’t read the volume yet. It’s time for a bit of a semi deep dive.

So basically there is no “Seiya” and that’s just the code name for the members of the Pumpkin Club. The leader is a rich girl who liked the “Seiya” we know in the present so she murdered his father and forced him to work with her. She also implanted chips into everyone’s heads to send them pain jolts whenever she wanted. Eventually he fell for one of the girls in the club and they tried to run off but the leader foiled the plan and forced the heroine to jump off the building and commit suicide. So…..Seiya then began to work for her again and covered it up while using Baba as a scapegoat.

Here’s where the tiers fall off the truck for me. Why would Seiya possibly not just murder the leader right then and there? She has two bodyguards yes but that’s it and they weren’t there at the scene of the crime. If you don’t want to be a vigilante then you go to the cops and try to convince them. The only thing you cannot do is continue to work for her and pretend that nothing has happened. Right through to the end Seiya is still doing her dirty work and threatening Baba.

I feel like the twists weren’t very well thought out. Sure, it’s intense to have a whole villain group running around and zapping people but did it really make a whole lot of sense? I don’t think so and even with a re read I don’t think that would change. Seiya’s actions don’t match up with the flashback at all. It just makes him look even worse as a character to be honest because he doesn’t stand up for himself at all. If you won’t even make a stand to avenge your friend then you’re probably never going to make a stand.

Well, we’re back from the spoilers. On a final note, as I mentioned the art isn’t great. The retro style makes for an interesting angle but I think it all could have still looked a bit more streamlined. The art is still very clear and easy to read though so you will have no problems breezing through this one. The writing is also sound enough to keep you engaged. I may not agree with some of the twists and the way things played out but you still want to read all the way through to get to the answer of the mystery and that only happens when you’re really engaged with what you’re reading.


Overall, The Comiq is a story that doesn’t go down the path you’re expecting it to go. This does mean you will be at the edge of your seat wondering what will happen next but the conclusion won’t quite live up to the hype. I think this just should have been an ongoing series instead of a oneshot, particularly with the group around. Otherwise I’d say that the best thing to do would be to not introduce the group at all. Play the climax straight with one person and it would flow a little better. Either way I would recommend checking this one out though, it’s certainly a quick read as it is.

Overall 6/10

Secret Reverse Review

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It’s always fun to see a manga creator make a story with the superheroes. This one’s sorta a manga but sorta a comic so I had to choose carefully what category to put it in. Ultimately I went with a comic since it does read left to right and it’s all in color. It’s a pretty fun story with a good amount of action and the artwork is naturally very high quality. Ultimately there’s a lot to like here and it would be cool if we could get a sequel or more stories in this continuity.

The story starts with Ironman heading to a big video game convention. It’s not really his thing as he prefers tech expos but he was invited and a big deal is that Kaioh has something which will change the industry forever. It’s an invention similar to Duel Monsters which makes solidified holograms with unlimited potential. Ironman is intrigued but unfortunately something has caused Kaioh to go crazy with power. Ironman will have to team up with the spectacular Spiderman in order to stop him. But is there someone pulling the strings behind Kaioh?

It’s fortunate that Spiderman was around to help because this probably would have been difficult for any one hero. Kaioh’s tech has a lot of versatility to it but for the most part he uses it like Doc Ock. He has the tendrils behind him to back him up during the fight and since they’re hologram based they can keep on changing. It makes for some really flashy battles and if this was a long running series instead of a oneshot, I suspect we would have seen a lot more monsters summoned.

Kaioh cracks pretty quickly so I wouldn’t say that I was a fan of the guy at all. He has no great ambitions and is pretty shortsighted with how he’s thinking about things. He has a cool design and is really smart but at the end of the day he lacks strength of will. The name is a nice homage to Kaiba but he lacks that guy’s cool points. If this had been allowed to be a true crossover and Kaiba was around I suppose they would have had to drastically change the plot.

Spiderman looks good here as he’s an experienced pro who gets the job done. The author does a good job of giving both Peter Parker and Spider-Man their due respect here. He’s not quite in the adult phase yet but you can tell that he’s no beginner. He gets his share of good quips and moments as well in there. Then you have Ironman who’s more of the main character here and he looks really good.

As Tony Stark he did well in bearing with the pain to hold onto the card for a full minute. That was impressive and he was able to stay in control so he didn’t attack any innocent civilians with his blast. Then as Ironman he quickly gets the job done with his attacks. This was a solid pair to choose for the two superheroes without a doubt. There are also some original characters here like Kaioh’s daughter but there isn’t really a lot of time for that. She was brave in getting the heroes to arrive and trying to talk him down though.

Then you have the actual alien and I thought the design here was really good. As for the being’s overall plans, it probably could have handled things a bit better. Shouldn’t you keep the tech on the downlow until you have everything in place? Showing it off at an expo just seems like you’re courting disaster here. That was his biggest undoing so I guess overconfidence got him in the end.

This is a oneshot so there’s no big cliffhanger or anything like that but that could have been a fun way to end things. Have different stories with each hero fighting more of these creatures which would eventually tie into some kind of big event. Or maybe you could do the reverse next time and have some Yugioh characters going up against a Marvel villain. That may even be a more interesting turn of events although it’ll be difficult to pick a villain strong enough to give those duelists a run for their money.

The art was really good as I mentioned earlier so the whole adventure really ends in the blink of an eye. It’s why we need more superhero stories like this with a manga touch to them. There are countless heroes and villains to choose from and all kinds of fun adventures to put them in. Hopefully this one ended up doing really well so we can get more of them.

Overall, Secret Reverse is a fun story. It’s a very direct superhero story with two heroes taking down the villain. Feels like a classic Marvel Team Up issue. Whether you’re a fan of the comics or just want to see an alternate reality of Yugioh in a way, then this is the title to check out. I do think Yami Yugi would make for a really solid hero if he was ever transported to Marvel/DC. There are tons of ways he could use his monsters for justice.

Overall 7/10

Mortal Kombat Review

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Mortal Kombat is still one of the best video game adaptions to the big screen of all time. It is a spectacular movie all around with crazy amounts of replay value. It’s cool that they made a manga based on it. Granted, it’s a complete one shot so it’s only about 7-8 pages long but it still manages to get through most of the adventure. Just picture everything being sped up quite a lot in order to cover the distance. No time to slow things down that’s for sure.

So the manga starts with Johnny Cage, Liu Kang, and Sonya Blade being recruited to the tournament. They come for several reasons including fame, revenge, and honor. Standing in their way are the most dangerous fighters to ever exist. Creatures and beings with powers far beyond those of mortal men. It’s enough to get you rather excited isn’t it? From there we jump into the battles and then the manga ends by telling you to watch the movie if you want to see how the final fight plays out. I was low key expecting the manga not to adapt the whole movie in 8 pages but at the same time it got so close that they may as well have shown the ending of the fight right?

It does its job as being a good promotional tool for the movie though. I think you’d be hyped to see how it plays out on the big screen and I wholly recommend it. For the manga itself it is definitely a good idea to check it out since it won’t take you longer than 5 minutes anyway. That said there is only so much that you could do in such a small space of time. You probably won’t be remembering it for very long afterwards either.

The artwork is good though. It’s not your typical movie-tie in kind of deal. The character designs are on point and there’s a good amount of action to be had here. It reads pretty cleanly and the plot is solid. I definitely had no issues with it aside from the fact that it should have been a lot longer. That part dashes a quick star out from under it only because you do need to at least be a little longer to tell a full story. This is like having an appetizer but only 1/10 of it.

Hopefully Mortal Kombat gets more titles at some point. It’s one of those franchises that can be difficult to adapt because a lot like to go overboard on the violence angle when the original movie showed the exact tone and level of intensity that you should strive for. To this day that has never been topped and I don’t think it will in the future either. It was pretty much perfection in the series after all.

Overall, Mortal Kombat is a nice nostalgia trip down memory lane. I should probably go to Youtube and rewatch some of the fights one of these days. It’s a really iconic title and the manga will hopefully get more people to watch it. If you’re on the fence about checking the movie out then I hope this manga will do a good job of convincing you. The 3 main characters all have a lot of personality and the manga gets to show that off in their brief screen time. They’ve all got different approaches to the tournament but at the end of the day they all know how to fight.

Overall 6/10

Dr. Stone: Terraforming Review

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The Dr Stone manga may have ended a little while ago but the franchise lives on with the anime special, future seasons, and now this one shot. There are certainly a lot of other stories to tell here in the verse and I was glad to see that the one shot takes place after the series. It’s sort of like a speed run of readapting the first arcs but with the whole gang already around. It goes by quickly and captures the classic charm of the series.

The story starts with Senku lost at sea and no memory of how he got there. Gradually he remembers and basically the cast was on a plane when lightning struck and knocked them all down. They were able to use the revival formula to turn into stone but Senku fumbled the grab and so he revived himself by mistake. Now he is all alone in the middle of the ocean and has to try and survive now. Can he really pull this off without freezing to death? He may be the mighty Senku, but this is no easy scenario.

The reason why I say it’s sort of like a speed run version of the actual series is because from here Senku works on reviving the rest of the characters one by one and getting to safety. If not for the subplot with Dr. Xeno and the others, you could easily play this as an alternate take on chapter 1. What if Senku warped back but with his current knowledge? In a way it probably wouldn’t change a ton but he would have had an easier time of it. Sure enough, Senku does really well here and gets everyone up to speed.

I wouldn’t say any important developments happen here and that’s the norm for special chapters. This is really just a chance to get to see your favorite characters one last time. After all, there probably won’t be any other Dr. Stone manga chapters for a long while so you have to savor them as they come. It’s a fun adventure that definitely ends quickly but makes for a good all around story. We get some more inventions as well as the formulas for how to make them. For example, making sails out of fish skin definitely seems like a very obscure tactic that you probably wouldn’t think of right off the bat.

The characters are all around to help but for the most part Senku is really the one pulling the strings. Suika and Chrome get to help out with one idea though and as always Kohaku is good as actually doing the manual work. She may not succeed in getting Senku flustered but completes all of her other missions. I’d say the chapter is the author trying to really re-confirm to everyone that Senku is still a man of science who doesn’t have time for the more emotional moments. So anyone hoping that would change here probably will be in for a bit of disappointment but the series had been setting this up for a very long time at this point.

The artwork is as good as always. The series has a lot of detail and there’s just a whole lot of ways that it enhances a story like this. The oceans look good and all of the background details as well. It’s definitely the way to go. This artist certainly has a lot of skills so I look forward to him doing more stories whether it be Dr. Stone adventures or some more One Piece stories. Either way works.

In a way the story also sets up for a bunch of other sequels as well. There’s a lot of materials that the heroes need to get after all on their way to building the time machine. What I’m most interested in is how this will play out. What are the time travel rules that this series will use? Additionally, it may be easier said than done to actually prevent the whole stone event from happening. Senku has enough clout where maybe he could convince someone like Xeno to help him in the past but he would have to handle it very interesting. That could easily be enough for a full oneshot volume or something like that. I think it’s the next logical step in the Dr. Stone mythos.

Overall, This was a fun story. It just goes to show that no matter what kind of situation you put him in, Senku will be just fine. It helps that the revival fluid can help you cheat death at any time. A series about how this affects society would also be interesting. The fact that there’s a substance which can heal you indefinitely has to have had a major effect on the world right? It changes the way everyday life would be played out, particularly for risky kinds of situations that would be more standard now. If you enjoyed the main manga then you should certainly read this oneshot. It’s a very solid self contained adventure.

Overall 7/10