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Monday, October 19, 2015

Manga Review: Big Hero 6, Volume 1, by Haruki Ueno



Rating (Out of 5): ~3
Publisher: Yen Press
Release Date: March 2015
Volumes: 2.
Spoilers?: Yes (especially for the movie version).
Volume: 2.

Goodreads Synopsis:


When Hiro's kindhearted brother, Tadashi, vanishes through a portal to save him, the boy genius is devastated. But his big brother left something to help Hiro cope with his loss--a personal health-care robot named Baymax. And when what Hiro needs more than comfort is an explanation of his brother's disappearance, Baymax--with a few upgrades--maybe just what the doctor ordered! With new friends and Baymax 2.0 by his side, Hiro is determined to get to the bottom of everything...and he might end up saving the world on his way! 


Review:

Being a big fan of the Disney movie version of this series, I can’t help but compare. It has its ups and downs.
There’s a color page, first of all. And it’s very pretty. The artwork is a little different from the movie, but still very good. I think Hiro is portrayed more kid-ish here, but we also get in his head more. We see how much he admires his older brother, we see how stubborn and embarrassed he can get.
There are some big differences here in the story line. Firstly, Hiro is still a genius, but he’s also already in college and creating crazy things to bother his teacher, instead of putting it off like in the movie. The big presentation goes differently, with Baymax introduced differently, and I think I prefer the movie’s route. And then the accident where Tadashi dies/disappears is completely different, more powerful for Hiro, but also giving more mystery to what happens to him.
Baymax is still adorable and sweet and I completely love him. Hiro is a little more childish, but I don’t mind him; I like his affection for Tadashi. I think we got to know Tadashi a lot more here, and I love him even more than I did before. He’s a sweetheart, and if his ending is the same here as it was in the movie but they’re just stringing us along, I will be really upset. Because I don’t think he deserves to die, and I really don’t want him to. I just want this to be starring him, honestly.
On the other hand, Tadashi’s group of college inventor friends get a lot less focus here. If I didn’t already know them from the movie, I would have no idea who any of them were. They get extremely brief intros, and we see none of their personalities or quirks. Hiro makes them their costumes in this volume, but we don’t get any insight into why their clothes are that way for them. I was disappointed with that.
I plan on reading the next volume, and I did enjoy this one. Some parts were done really well, and others were just mentioned. It could have been better, but it was okay.

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