Review: DARLING IN THE FRANXX

 This one is going to be a doozy.  What happens when you take one of the most controversial mecha shows from the last decade and combine it with one of the horniest mangaka currently working in shonen manga?  You get THIS.

DARLING IN THE FRANXX (Darin In Za Furankisu), based on the original concept by Code:000 with art by Kentaro Yabuki.  First published in 2018 and first published in North America in 2022.

PLOT:

The world has been ravaged by alien creatures known as Klaxosaurs.  What remains of humanity are locked away in mobile fortresses called Plantations, which are protected by giant robots called FRANXX that require both a boy and a girl to pilot.  Young Hiro is one of the many children raised to become a pilot, but he and his previous partner failed and he can't stop sulking over it.  Then he meets the mysterious Zero Two, a half-Klaxosaur girl with a reputation for devouring her partners.  Against all odds, she takes a liking to Hiro, declaring him her "darling" and agreeing to become his co-pilot.  

Review: STELLVIA

It's so rare to find a mecha manga with a female protagonist and mostly female cast that isn't made for the sake of fanservice, which makes it all the more disappointing that this one turned out so poorly.

STELLVIA (Uchu no Suturuvia), based on the anime series by Xebec with art by Ryo Akitsuki.  First published in 2003 and first published in North America in 2005.

PLOT:

Nearly 200 years ago, Earth was ravaged by a massive electromagnetic wave from a supernova.  Even decades later, the night skies are still tinged with green.  That's the reason that Shima Katose wants to become a space pilot: to see what the stars truly look like.  She manages to get into the illustrious space academy Stellvia and makes some friends, but she struggles with her piloting courses.  What she and her friends don't know is that the second wave of radiation is only a few months away...

Review: BOKURANO:OURS

We got a lot of original mecha stories around the turn of the millennium, most of which were anime originals.  This is one of the rare exceptions (even if it got an anime adaptation later down the line). 

BOKURANO OURS (Bokurano), by Mohiro Kitoh.  First published in 2003 and first published in North America in 2010.

PLOT:

It's an ordinary summer in an otherwise unremarkable seaside town.  A group of kids are wandering around the beach when they discover a cave in the cliffside.  Inside that cave they find a strange man in a makeshift room loaded with machinery.  The man asks the kids if they want to play a game, but asks them to pledge to keep it secret.  The kids don't take the situation seriously at the time, but everything changes when they are whisked away from their classrooms and into a sparse, white room inside a giant insectoid robot.  It's only then that the man explains the rules of the game: each child will be given a chance to pilot the robot to fight other alien robots, with the fate of the world on the line.  The kids win their first battle, but in doing so expose some of the emotional fault lines within their friend group with deadly results.

Review: MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM: BLUE DESTINY

It's Mecha Month once more at the Manga Test Drive, and naturally I have to start with the franchise I know and like the best...even if this is not one of its best outings. 

MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM: BLUE DESTINY (Kidou Senshi Gundam Gaiden: THE BLUE DESTINY), based on the franchise created by Yoshiyuki Tomino and Hajime Yadate, written and illustrated by MIzuho Takayama.  First published in 1996 and first published in North America in 1999.

PLOT:

Yu Kajima is just one of the many Federation GM pilots fighting to repel the last remaining Zeon pilots in the closing weeks of the One Year War. His skills have brought him to the attention of Captain Alf Chamra, who believes that Yu is the perfect test pilot for his latest project: an experimental suit called The Blue Destiny, controlled by the equally experimental EXAM system.  Now Yu is being pursued by notorious Zeon ace pilot Nimbus Schatzen, all while experiencing strange visions of a mysterious young woman and piloting a mobile suit that struggles to distingush friend from foe in the heat of battle.

Review: THE MEN WHO CREATED GUNDAM

There's still plenty of Gundam manga out there I could talk about (and probably will at some point), but there is only one is about the making of Gundam itself ...sort of.

THE MEN WHO CREATED GUNDAM (Gundam Sousei), by Hideki Ohwada.  First published in 2014 and first published in North America in 2022.

PLOT:

This comic retelling of the making of 1979's Mobile Suit Gundam follows Yoshiyuki Tomino as he wins over collaborators with his brilliant ideas, works around the schemes of corporations, assaults actors and staff alike, and eventually win the hearts and minds of a generation of otaku with one of anime's most iconic franchises.

Review: PLUTO

 Of course, I can't talk about robot manga without talking about this one.  While it's only tangentially connected to one of mecha's founding works, it's one of the most critically acclaimed manga in the US and it's time for me to add my own praise to that pile.

PLUTO, by Naoki Urasawa.  First published in 2003 and first published in North America in 2009.

PLOT:

Mont Blanc was considered one of the world's greatest robots, a beloved mountain guide and forester in his home land of Switzerland.  Then he was found smashed to smithereens in the remains of a forest fire.  That same day, a notable robot politician in Germany was also killed.  It's up to the android detective Gesicht to investigate these cases. As his investigation grows, he believes that these deaths are connected to a terrible conspiracy to destroy both the world's greatest robots and the humans who want to protect them, and that whomever is behind it may not be human themselves.

Review: GETTER ROBO DEVOLUTION

 Getter Robo is one of the defining works of mecha manga, but none of Ken Ishikawa's original series nor its many sequels have been released in English.  The closest thing we have is this series, but is it enough to scratch that particular itch?

GETTER ROBO DEVOLUTION: THE LAST 3 MINUTES OF THE UNIVERSE (Getta Robo DEVOLUTION: Uchu Saigo no 3-bunkan), written by Eiichi Shimizu with art by Tomohiro Shimoguichi, based on the original story by Go Nagai and Ken Ishikawa.  First published in 2015 and first published in North America in 2018.

PLOT:

Ryoma Nagare's life is one that has been haunted by tragedy.  No sooner do his parents die than his classroom (and classmates) explode in a mysterious attack.  Soon afterwards he's contacted by Dr. Saotome, along with fellow teens Jin Hayate and Musashi Tomoe.  They have been brought together because they possess the ability to manipulate a mysterious robot, which they use in turn to combat equally mysterious, massive creatures known only as the Devolved.

Review: THE VISION OF ESCAFLOWNE

 It's November, which means it's time once more for me to review some robot-centric manga.  While I may have exhausted all of the Evangelion and (most of the) Gundam manga out there in English, that doesn't mean that there isn't plenty of other notable mecha-related titles for me to talk about.

THE VISION OF ESCAFLOWNE (Tenkuu no Escaflowne), written by Shoji Kawamori and Hajime Yatate with art by Katsu Aki.  First published in 1994 and first published in North America in 2003.

PLOT:

Hitomi wants nothing more than for her sempai Amano to notice her.  Alas, even with her skill for divination she can't find an answer to her romantic prayers (much less for the weird dreams she's been having).  During one of her divination attempts, Hitomi is whisked away to a fantastical world where medieval-style kingdoms are locked in a fierce war fought with giant mech suits.  

Hitomi ends up tagging along with the brusque Prince Vaan, who is seeking revenge for his destroyed kingdom and to rescue his mother from the villainous Dilandau.  Vaan discovers that Hitomi herself might be the key to unlocking the full potential of his own mech, and that the two will have to work together if either of them wishes to go home again.

Review: FULL METAL PANIC!

Let's take a look at another notable mecha series from the 2000s that made a much more graceful transition into manga.

FULL METAL PANIC! (Furumetaru Panikku!), based on the light novels by Shouji Gatou with art by Retsu Tateo.  First published in 2000 and first published in North America in 2003.

PLOT:

Kaname Chidori is a popular, smart young girl who keeps busy with her duties as class representative.  Everything would be perfectly normal for her if not for the new boy in class: Sousuke Sagara.  As far as she knows, he's a weird military otaku who follows her everywhere and treats everything like a major threat.  What she doesn't know is that Sousuke isn't just some gun nut, but an actual sergeant for the secret military organization MITHRIL.  He and his teammates believe Kaname possesses a strange power that malicious forces want to exploit for their own purpose, and he is determined to protect her at all costs.

Review: RAHXEPHON

Of course, after talking about an Eva manga, it's time to talk about the manga adaptation of the last of the red-hot Evangelion wannabes.

RAHXEPHON (Razefon), by Takeaki Momose, based on the series by BONES and Yutaka Izubuchi.  First published in 2001 and first published in North America in 2004.

PLOT:

For years, Tokyo has been a world onto itself.  The city is enveloped within a giant bubble, leaving those within unaware of the world outside.  That's certainly true for Ayato Kamina, who spends his days with his adopted sister Reika and living the ordinary life of a high school student.  One day Tokyo comes under attack and both he and Reika are saved by a member of the Terra Force.  They reveal that Tokyo was sealed away by a mysterious race of beings known as the Mu, and that Ayako is the only person who can pilot Terra's greatest weapon: the giant battle robot RahXephon.

Review: NEON GENESIS EVANGELION: LEGEND OF THE PIKO PIKO MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS

November means mecha manga here at the Manga Test Drive, and that means it's time once more to look at the latest Evangelion gag manga from Dark Horse.

NEON GENESIS EVANGELION: LEGEND OF THE PIKO PIKO MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS (Shinseiki Evangelion: PikoPiko Chuugakusei Densetsu), based on the series by Khara, written by Yushi Kawata & art by Yukito.  First published in 2014 and first published in North America in 2017.

PLOT:

There are enormous, strange creatures threatening to destroy the world...at some point in the future.  In the mean time, the staff at NERV Middle School need to train students to pilot their ultimate weapon: the Evangelion.  It turns out that there are three (later four) perfect pilots, so it's up to Misato to train Shinji, Asuka, Rei, and Kaworu using the best method possible: video games.

Review: PATLABOR

Well, in the past I've dedicated this month to both Evangelion manga and Gundam manga.  I might as well keep up this trend and explore some of the other mecha manga out there, starting with a beloved franchise from the olden days.

PATLABOR (Kido Keisatsu Patlabor), by Masami Yuki, based on the series created by HEADGEAR.  First published in 1988 and first published in North America in 1998.

PLOT:

In the near future, Tokyo is full of powered robotic suits called "labors."  Most of them are used for construction and other forms of industry, but there are those who would use them for crime.  To combat this, the Tokyo Police creates a labor force of their own under the guidance of the laid-back Captain Goto.  Goto assembles a ragtag crew of cadets to pilot these labors, ranging from the loud, thuggish Isao Ota to abrasive Asuma Shinohara to tiny, eager Noa Izumi.  Together they must prove their value to their superiors and the city at large...at least, as soon as they learn to work together.