Manga Review: Ultraman, Volume 11, by Eiichi Shimizu and Tomohiro Shimoguchi

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: VIZ Signature (VIZ Media)

Release Date: January 2019

Volumes: 14+

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 10. 12.

Goodreads Synopsis:

It’s time for a new generation of Ultraman!

Decades ago, a being known as the Giant of Light joined together with Shin Hayata of the Science Special Search Party to save Earth from an invasion of terrifying monsters called Kaiju. Now, many years later, those dark days are fading into memory, and the world is at peace. But in the shadows a new threat is growing, a danger that can only be faced by a new kind of hero—a new kind of Ultraman…

Shinjiro, Moroboshi, Hokuto, Jack, Taro, and even Shin Hayata—the first Ultraman—have all come together in New York City for the ultimate showdown with the forces of the Star of Darkness! Can Moroboshi’s brother be saved? Will the idol Rena Sayama make it through this all-out battle? And what is the Star of Darkness’s ultimate plan? The winners will know the answers…

Review:

This volume centers around a truly terrible brother relationship. Two brothers who were hurt and separated, and are now faced with each other again. Only one of them has change completely, and can't be saved.

The Ultramen are fighting real monsters now, and it's destroying everything around them. It's getting dangerous and violent, and there's only so much they can do to help at this point. The ending looks like there's only more trouble coming, and it's surely not going to be getting better.

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

Manga Review: Ultraman, Volume 10, by Eiichi Shimizu and Tomohiro Shimoguchi

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: VIZ Signature (VIZ Media)

Release Date: May 2018

Volumes: 12+

Spoilers?: Light.

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

Volume: 1. 8.

Goodreads Synopsis:

It’s time for a new generation of Ultraman!

Decades ago, a being known as the Giant of Light joined together with Shin Hayata of the Science Special Search Party to save Earth from an invasion of terrifying monsters called Kaiju. Now, many years later, those dark days are fading into memory, and the world is at peace. But in the shadows a new threat is growing, a danger that can only be faced by a new kind of hero—a new kind of Ultraman…

As the Star of Darkness prepares to launch its all-out assault on New York City, the SSSP begins to assemble its forces to oppose them. Shinjiro and Dan head for the Big Apple unsure if they can stop the coming storm, but unlooked-for allies may help them turn the tide. The battle to decide the fate of the Earth begins here…

Review:

Now Ultraman is needed in New York. The aliens are invading and the public is aware of it. Only, there are other people in the ultraman-like suits now, some good and some bad.

The aliens do announce that they're going to release some kind of chemical that's going to make humans go crazy and start doing awful things. In a surprising turn of events, this turns out to be a lie, so all the chaos that ensued was just to prove that humans deserve to be obliterated. This plot point was probably the most interesting to me.

This series is an easy read, but I'm only reading every other volume at this point, so a little hard to follow for me. It's a quick read, though, and quite interesting at times.

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

Manga Review: Ultraman, Volume 8, by Eiichi Shimizu and Tomohiro Shimoguchi

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: VIZ Signature (VIZ Media)

Release Date: May 2017

Volumes: 9+

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 6. 9.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Fighting to protect his childhood friend Yuko from the shadowy group that sent the Ace Killer Squad after him, Seiji Hokuto has his work cut out for him. Shinjiro, Jack and the alien Red also join the fight. But the members of the Ace Killer Squad are more ruthless than any enemy Shinjiro has ever faced. Taking down these villains is going to take some help from an older and very upset Ultraman!

Review:

I missed a volume, and suddenly we're in the middle of a battle, and it appears that Seiji is being killed, though he is holding on for a surprising amount of time, and he has a trick up his sleeve. This leads up to Shinjiro stepping up, and possibly proving himself as the next real Ultraman.

It's odd seeing Shinjiro fighting so seriously, and seeing how he's grown and taken control in his position as Ultraman, and then skipping to a scene where's he trying to impress this pop idol while hiding his superhero identity.

We get a skip after all that, and suddenly we're in New York, and this photographer is growing suspicious of aliens in the city and wants to find out if they're behind all these attacks. There appears to be some dangerous drug, or something, being passed around, turning people crazy, maybe? We're left with a cliffhanger, so it should be interesting where this leads.

I don't really follow this series very closely, and have only read a few volumes, but I don't mind it. If I read more, I'm sure the fights would be more interesting, in particular. I am curious about the aliens—they don't seem to be everywhere, or just walking around town. Are they secret, or are people fighting them? Or is only Ultraman? Because sometimes we get scenes where these aliens are at a bar and thinking up havoc, and it just confuses me. I suppose they're at an underground bar?

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