(Short) Manga Reviews: Dragon Ball Full Color: Saiyan Arc, Volume 1, and Max Steel: Hero Overload, Volume 2

Dragon Ball Full Color: Saiyan Arc, Volume 1, by Akira Toriyama
Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: February 2014

Volumes: 3?

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells. RightStuf.

Volume: 2.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Son Goku is the greatest hero on Earth. Five years after defeating the demon king Piccolo, he's grown up and had a family--he's married, and he has a child, Son Gohan. But what is the real reason for Goku's incredible strength? A visitor from outer space arrives bearing terrible news--Goku is an alien, and the visitor, Raditz, is Goku's brother! When Raditz turns out to be a ruthless killer, Goku must fight his incredibly strong brother to save his family and the entire human race. A surprising alliance may be Earth's last hope: Goku will team up with his old enemy Piccolo—archenemies united to save the world!"

Reads R to L (Japanese Style) for teen audiences.

Review:

I have never read or seen any of the Dragon Ball series, including any of it’s spin-offs or other versions. The most I’ve ever seen of this series is the image of a few of the characters. So my understanding of this series was minuscule when I received this book, and I was a little deterred when I thought this was the first, only to find out it was a later arc of the series.

I’m even more surprised to say that this wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be—it was even a little enjoyable. I didn’t mind reading it.

I was thrown into the world with little explanation, but everything was explained well-enough along the way. I got at least some understanding of their powers and how they worked. There was a bit more violence than I expected, and I didn’t grow too attached to the characters, but it was interesting. The fight scenes were pretty easy to follow. The art wasn't too bad, either.

I didn’t really appreciate that the SFX were translated at the end of the volume, but I respect their decision not to clutter the panels. And this is definitely a sturdy, pretty volume. It’s full color, with a solid spine and thick pages; it is not a flimsy book, which is nice.

This was a pretty average book for me, and I’m happy with that, given I had no idea how I would feel about it. I don’t know if I want to pick up more volumes, but I’m not so turned off from watching the show now, at least. And I have a better understanding for why so many people like it.

&

Max Steel: Hero Overload, Volume 2, by B. Clay Moore and Alfa Robbi
Rating (Out of 5): ~2.5
Publisher: Perfect Square (VIZ Media) and Mattel
Release Date: January 2014
Spoilers?: No.
Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells. RightStuf.
Volume: 1. 3.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Maxwell McGrath is just your average 16-year-old boy…until he starts experiencing uncontrollable Turbo Energy! To control this superpower, he must merge with a know-it-all alien ultralink named Steel. Together this unlikely duo will battle to save the earth as the ultimate turbocharged superhero—MAX STEEL!

Review:

I received this book for review, and it isn’t really something I would normally pick up. I just don’t read a lot of middle grade, cartoon network, superhero stuff.

But it was all right. The artwork was all right, the story was okay. It was pretty average for me, honestly. The humor wasn’t that great, it was a little exaggerated with the overall plot predictable. The moral lesson at the end was good, although it was pretty much just tacked on to the last two pages.

But I do think that elementary, maybe grade school, kids will enjoy it. I’m just not the target audience.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, and Erik Jansen from MediaLab PR. Thank you so, so much!

(Short) Manga Reviews: Naruto, Volume 67, and D. Gray-Man, Volume 24

Naruto, Volume 67, by Masashi Kishimoto

Rating (Out of 5): ~2

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: October 7, 2014

Volumes: 70+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 66. 68.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Naruto is a young shinobi with an incorrigible knack for mischief. He's got a wild sense of humor, but Naruto is completely serious about his mission to be the world's greatest ninja!
Just as victory seems at hand, Obito turns the tables on the Allied Shinobi Forces and becomes the Ten Tails jinchuriki. With the powers of the great Sage of Six Paths now under his control, Obito seems unstoppable. Naruto and his father will have to team up if they have any hope against this beast!

Review:

I read several of the first volumes in this series, and watched about the same amount of the anime. But I never cared enough to continue it, or just never got around to it. But when I received this volume, I thought why not read it? I knew that I was way behind in the series—I’d heard things and saw things about it, so I knew I’d missed a whole bunch—but I figured I’d see what was going on, and if it would catch my interest enough to want to read more.

Sadly, it, um, didn’t.

I was definitely confused. I thought I understood at least some of the way the ninja thing worked, but most of this went way over my head. It didn’t help, I don’t think, that this entire volume was in the middle of a fight, so I had no idea what had already happened. There were several characters I recognized, but also a lot of new ones, and all of them in different positions than I knew of. And the enemy they were fighting just seemed to be god-moding, which bothered me.

I’ve pretty much just drawn the conclusion that this series isn’t for me. I was beyond confused, a little annoyed, and mostly just not enjoying myself.

I’m glad I read it, but I don’t think I want to read any more.

_______

D. Gray-Man, Volume 24, by Katsura Hoshino
Rating (Out of 5): ~3
Publisher: Shonen Jump Advance (VIZ Media)
Release Date: August 5, 2014
Volumes: 24 (Hiatus)
Spoilers?: No.
Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells. RightStuf.
Volume: 1. 23.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Set in a fictional 19th century England, D.Gray-man is the story of Allen Walker, a 15-year-old boy who roams the earth in search of Innocence. Washed away to unknown parts of the world after The Great Flood, Innocence is the mysterious substance used to create weapons that obliterate demons known as akuma.

Allen, now joined by two companions, is still on the run and trying to deal with his demonic alter ego, the Fourteenth. This means avoiding erstwhile allies as well as overt enemies. He also has to prevent one of his companions, fellow Exorcist Kanda, from trying to destroy the Fourteenth while keeping the Fourteenth from destroying his other companion, Johnny, whose zealous devotion to Allen is gratifying but not much help in a fight!

Review:

I have not read any of the previous volumes in this series, nor have I seen any of the anime. So I was going into this volume pretty much blind, aside from the little recap at the beginning of the volume.

I was confused throughout this volume. Everything in the previous volumes is a mystery to me, including how their powers and politics work, and the relationships between everyone. Some of the powers, like the things that come out of people’s eyes, seemed gross to me. I’m pretty much confused by most of what happened in this volume—the entire plot didn’t make a lot of sense to me.

I was intrigued, though, particularly by the characters. Everyone has a history with each other, and I was interested in that, in how it came about. There are a lot of characters, too, and we only saw a handful of them in this volume, but I was interested in how they got to where they are now. And I’m glad that the confusing plot wasn’t so bad that it turned me off from the series.

I don’t know if I’ll pick up more volumes of the manga, since I’m already so far behind, but I might give the anime a try. It looks interesting enough for that.

A review copy (of both) was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, and Erik Jansen from MediaLab PR. Thank you so, so much!