Manga Review: Big Hero 6, Volume 2, by Haruki Ueno

Rating (Out of 5): ~1.5

Publisher: Yen Press

Release Date: 2015

Volumes:  2.

Spoilers?: Yes.

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

Volume: 1.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Hiro teams up with Baymax to resolve the mysterious disappearance of his brother and role model, Tadashi. With four reliable friends and an upgraded Baymax by his side, Hiro finally confronts the masked man, the one who holds the key to the truth!! Spurred by his desire for revenge, Hiro corners the masked man,but then something goes wrong with Baymax?! Read the wonderfully miraculous conclusion to the story of a boy and his kindhearted health-care robot!

Review:

This volume brings this small series to a conclusion, and I’m just so disappointed.

The big moment where Hiro’s revenge and sorrow grow to climax happens, but it’s not as powerful as the movie. The reveal about who is behind everything happens, as are his reasons, and it’s not powerful at all. There’s no more development with the side characters, little development with the villain, and even with Hiro.

There’s one change from the movie—the villain’s daughter and his reason for revenge, is changed to a kid in this version, as opposed to an adult in the movie. And this just makes no sense to me. The little development behind it doesn’t make it any more powerful, any more sympathetic. But mostly, why would he put his daughter in such a terrible position, one where she could die? And how is it okay for him to do that to her, when she’s not even old enough to decide for herself to do it, unlike an adult? How could he do that?

My biggest disappointment, though, is that Tadashi’s ending isn’t any different from the movie. He’s still dead. Why change his death to one of uncertainty, instead of absolution like the movie had it? That’s just hurtful, for no reason.

Then there’s the whole resurrection of Baymax, and how Hiro and his friends are superheroes now. But by that point I was done, and it was so briefly mentioned, there was no importance or power behind it.

I’m just disappointed with this whole thing. I almost wish I hadn’t picked it up in the first place. Ugh.

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).

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

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.