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Monday, December 3, 2018

Manga Review: Radiant, Volume 1, Tony Valente


Rating (Out of 5): ~3-3.5
Publisher: VIZ Media
Release Date: September 2018
Volumes: 10+
Spoilers?: No.
Volume: 2.

Goodreads Synopsis:

The world is overrun with monsters called Nemesis—and a young boy infected by them will stop at nothing to defeat them all!

Seth is an aspiring wizard living in a pastoral village under the watchful eye of his mentor. Like all wizards, he is an “infected”: one of the few living creatures that has survived contact with a Nemesis, creatures fallen from the sky that contaminate all they touch. His apparent immunity led him to choose a path that seemed to be a perfect: to become someone who hunts and fights the Nemesis. But Seth longs for a quest that goes beyond the simple hunt for monsters. He wants to find their home, Radiant. Along with other wizards, he travels the world in search of Radiant, under the sinister eye of the Inquisition…

Seth has big goals of defeating Nemesis, but first he must earn the trust of the very villagers he wants to protect—not an easy task when those who use magic are just as mistrusted as the Nemesis they fight and Seth can barely control his monstrous powers! It’ll take more than battle prowess—although it’ll take that too— to get Seth’s quest out of the boonies and into the bigtime!

Review: 

I believe this series is actually from France, so it's not technically manga. (I'm not sure what the word for French comics is...) It reads very much like a normal shonen, though, with very similar artwork.
When I first started this volume, I really did not like Seth. He acts like a dumb brat, thinking he can just go out and defeat these Nemeses, when he's never even seen one before, so doesn't even know what he's looking for. His mentor, Alma, is a stern older sister-type, and I like her. She's trying to keep him under control until he's actually ready, and she realizes the realities of hiding what he can actually do.
When we find out that he's not just a dumb kid, but some kind of prodigy/gifted witch, it kind of changes things. He still tries to jump into everything without thinking any of it through or knowing the consequences or even what he's signing up for... but still.
The first plot of this volume is when Seth jumps down to save the town they live in, after making himself their enemy. I appreciated the twists thrown in during this, and then what it leads to afterward. We meet a few other odd characters as Seth goes on a new adventure, to learn more, and I particularly liked Melie, though Doc seems nice, too.
This was a nice start to a fantasy shonen series. I didn't mind it. Thinking about it, it reminds me a little of Black Clover, in a good way.


A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

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