About

Pure, unadulterated geekery.
Everything from obscure cult films to our random thoughts on Toronto culture/events is what you'll find here.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Random Manga Review #1: JJBA


I've wanted to do atleast one manga review for a while but never got around to doing so, and it seems I haven't posted much since I started this blog. Apparently consistency is not a strong suit for me. So this is what I'll be doing from time to time, I either choose a familiar manga I've read in the past or choose a random series outside of my average tastes (basically using the 'surprise me' button on OM) and write a review on it. For this one I've chosen Jojo's Bizarre Adventures. The title alone drew me in and the front cover art had me bedazzled. Not only that but the story turns out to be a bit more complex than I originally thought. At first the story and characters had me peg it for a "Fist of the North Star" kind of manga. But with its array of characters and the build up near the end of each chapter keeps you reading. Not only that but this story continues for seven series, each different but continuing from the last after a fashion. Each story centres around the Joestar family and truly odd circumstances that happen to there massive members. I'm serious about the massive statement, each fight scene there chest is the background and they seem to actually grow as the action peaks in the story. Now the plot might seem like its taken too far at times or the deus ex machina feel of certain charecters and plots. But thats essentially the best part of this manga since the writer makes it all work in the best possible way. Now this is more shounen level kind of reading, but its just boardering on seinen with some of its themes and take on its main villain. Think One Peice after Skypeia, things somehow got a bit more serious. So if you like stories like "Fist of the North Star" with an added quirkiness, the good kind, and a bit more depth than have a look at JJBA the next time your in search of something new.