Review: TRIGUN

 Let's wrap this month up with a series that's had a recent resurgence, but how does its original source material hold up?

TRIGUN (Toraigan), by Yasuhiro Nightow.  First published in 1995 and first published in North America in 2003.

PLOT:

Vash the Stampede is a legend.  He's the Human Typhoon, a man with a 60 billion dollar bounty on his head for bringing unimaginable amounts of damage to the world of Gunsmoke.  Every cut-rate bandit and bounty hunter wants Vash dead, while Meryl and Milly of the Bernadino Insurance Company simply want to find him to keep his damage (and their premiums) to a minimum.  When they do find him, he's not a monster but instead a goofy, donut-loving man who wants to avoid violence instead of creating it.  Unfortunately for Vash, trouble is determined to find him and he's the only one who can stop it.

Review: CORRECTOR YUI

 Remember when the internet was still so much of a novelty that you could create an entire series about a magical girl fighting evil on the internet?

CORRECTOR YUI (Korekuta Yui), based on a character created by Kia Asamiya with story and art by Keiko Okamoto.  First published in 1999 and first published in North America in 2002.

PLOT:

In the far-away year of 2020, the world is more connected than ever through computers.  One of the few people who isn't is Yui Kasuga, a schoolgirl and wanna-be mangaka who cannot seem to comprehend the first thing about computers.  Yet it is she who is chosen by Ir, one of eight sentient guardian programs to be their champion.  They were sent out by their creator to stop Grosser, a supercomputer who has gone rogue and seeks to take over the world.  It's up to Yui to become a digital magical girl to stop Grosser's minions, find the other guardian programs, and save both the real and virtual world!

Review: SILENT MOBIUS

 Well, considering that Kia Asamiya was a guest at this year's Otakon, maybe it's time for me to cover his most famous manga work.

SILENT MOBIUS (Sairento Mebiusu), by Kia Asamiya.  First published in 1989 and first published in North America in 1999.

PLOT:

In the year of 2026, Tokyo is a pollution-soaked metroplis plagued by bizarre interdimensional creatures known as Lucifer Hawks.  The city's only defense is AMP: the Attacked Mystification Police.  They are an all-female squad of officers who use a combination of magic and tech to destroy the Lucifer Hawks.  They not only have to deal with the resentment of their more ordinary male colleagues but also their own personal struggles and dramas.

Review: DRAGON BALL

 Once again, it's time for another Old School Month, where I review some of the greatest 20th century classics and forgotten curiosities.  Today's review is a bit of both: the foundation for a massive anime and manga franchise, but one that's been overshadowed by its far more successful continuation.

DRAGON BALL (Doragon Boru), by Akira Toriyama.  First published in 1984 and first published in North America in 1998. 

 

PLOT:

Goku is a naive little monkey-tailed boy living by himself deep in the wilderness.  One day he is nearly run over by a teen girl named Bulma.  She is travelling the world searching for the Dragon Balls, seven mystical orbs that when gathered together will grant one person a wish.  Bulma soon discovers that the 'grandpa' that Goku keeps referring to is in fact a Dragon Ball, so she manipulates Goku into joining her quest.  Along the way they encounter a motley crew of characters: the pervy turtle-shelled hermit Kame Sen'nin, Oolong the magical shapeshifting pig, and the hapless bandit Yamcha and his companion kitty Puar.