Many thanks to Yen Press for providing a review copy
About the Mangaka
Okubo Atsushi is better known for his more recent work, Soul Eater. However he also assisted on the older series, Get Backers. B.Ichi is his first independent work where he did both the art and story.
About the Manga
What can I say, I’ve sat here trying to think of something to compliment the art of this volume. Unfortunately all I can come up with is the cover is nicely done, which it is.
Sadly the cover is the extent of the good art for this volume, after that it steadily gets worse, going from bad to just plain awful and back again. One of the worst things for me was the inconsistencies in the character designs, and even worse from panel to panel.
Okubo lacks the refinement in skill that he later shows in Soul Eater. Especially in the action panels where at times there’s simply to much going on, and they’re crowded and cramped.
What saves this volume however is the story. This is one of those series where crappy art is easily forgiven because of it’s killer story, and the way the mangaka unveils it.
This volume is clearly rushed, as the rescue is, well, weird. For example what’s with the changing into biker outfit and mini skirt? Never really explained and just glossed over.
However the meat of the story flows really well, and I did find myself getting drawn into it.
The other saving grace for this volume is that it’s pure action, there’s no real time for you to hate the art. Your literally picked up and dragged along for a rollercoaster ride.
Mana is awesome in this volume, and really kicks ass. We get to see that while she may not be Dokeshi, she doesn’t need to be. Certain things about her have been hinted in the previous two volumes, but they literally get to run wild this volume and when she went nuts I had to pick my chin off the floor hehe
I was cursing by the end of the volume though, Okubo those (depending on how you look at it) the worst/best place to hit us with a cliff-hanger, you evil evil man!!
The sad thing I found was that there was no real need for the art to suck. There’s a double page bonus spread and the art for that was pretty good.
Yen Press did their usual good job on this (damn I feel like a broken record), with a nice and smooth translation. Abigail (I wonder if that’s Abby from the website??) foes a decent job with the lettering, with only a few minor niggles for me on the placement of SFX translations. But those are a personal choice that will change from person to person, and at least they don’t translate and edit them out.
I haven’t rated this previously, because I wanted to read a few volumes to get a feel for it. And while I’ll admit I like the series, and do enjoy it, I’m not prepared to add it to the Essential Read list. It is worth a read, but it’s nowhere near being an Essential Read.
Where to Buy
