Holiday Review (and Giveaway) Time!

This year has been a hard one for many, but not for the manga industry.  If anything, it continues to grow like never before in size, variety of works, and even on the front of labor rights.  This might have been the hardest holiday line-up of reviews I've had to put together because there was simply SO MUCH to pick from!  Still, I managed to pick 25 books representing some of the most notable titles and trends of manga in 2022 and I'll be reviewing a new one every day from the 1st through the 25th.

It's also time for The Manga Test Drive's annual Holiday Review Giveaway!  As usual, it works like this:

    -    Leave a comment on this post or on this Twitter post telling me what was your favorite manga of             2022!  It doesn't matter whether it came out this year or not - so long as it was new to you, it counts!

    -    The contest is open from today to the end of Christmas Day

    -    Afterwards, one commenter will be chosen at random to win a $25 RightStuf gift certificate (ideally to spend on some of the better manga we reviewed).  We need to be able to reach you through email or Twitter DM to declare you a winner, so don't post anonymously!

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.