Pages

Saturday, March 2, 2019

Manga Review: Saikano: The Last Love Song on This Little Planet, Volume 1, by Shin Takahashi


Rating (Out of 5): ~3
Publisher: Editor's Choice (VIZ Media)
Release Date: 2004.
Volumes: 7.
Spoilers?: No.
Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Shuji and Chise are high school seniors in a small town who have just started dating, when Shuji discovers that Chise has been engineered by the SDF so that she can transform herself into a powerful weapon. While Shuji and Chise keep trying to nurture their relationship, Chise continues to grow even more powerful as the Ultimate Weapon, and becomes increasingly torn between being a destructive fighting force and remaining an ordinary teenager. What do you do when the girl you love becomes a weapon of mass destruction?

Review:

I borrowed this from a friend at work, and I wasn’t too sure what to expect. Clearly I knew that it was explicit (which I don’t mind), and it’s from VIZ, which was a good sign. I was intrigued from the get-go, and slightly wary.
I’m still not too sure what to expect. This first volume seemed a little slow, or subtle. The concept is intriguing, and I’m interested to see how it develops—what with her being the ultimate weapon and all, while falling in love with him, a normal guy. It seems a bit typical teenage love story angst, aside from the war part. Plus, quite a bit of the war parts and technical aspects are skipped over, which I hope changes later, but also might be because it’s from the guy’s point of view.
I do think that the feel of the book works well with the artstyle. It’s more old-school and subtle, with some wordless panels for emotion, especially at the end of this volume. I do appreciate that.
I feel like there is still a lot for this series to work out and develop, like the story is just getting started. I’m interested to see where it goes from here.

No comments:

Post a Comment