 | | ▪ | RELEASED BY: | | TOKYOPOP | | | ▪ | AUTHOR / ART: | | COURT BETTEN | | | ▪ | FORMAT: | | JAPANESE / B&W | | | ▪ | PAGES: | | 192 | | | ▪ | RATING: | | T | | | ▪ | RELEASE DATE: | | 05/13/2008 | | | ▪ | REVIEW DATE: | | 05/14/2008 | | | ▪ | REVIEWED BY: | | SCOTT CAMPBELL |
Chiyoharu used to be the leader of the troublemakers, until one day an innocent prank results in a major fire at the school. When his three cohorts take the blame and are expelled, Chiyoharu tries to go on with his mundane life, beating himself up with guilt. Then he meets the mysterious, muscle-man Souza of the North Wind and a ditzy self-proclaimed detective who are trying to solve the mystery behind Souza's amnesia. She slapped on a pair of handcuffs onto Chiyoharu and Souza, so they had no choice but to go to school together. At first, Chiyoharu didn’t know what to make of Souza, but once Souza went to the mat for him, he couldn’t help but let Souza move into his apartment while he tried to remember his past. For no apparent reason, Kaede began hanging out with them, and so the three of them became a team. Harukaze Bitterbop is non-stop comedy and action from there on in, with few stops to catch your breath! In volume two, Harukaze Bitter Bop starts to get a bit more in-depth, and maybe even a bit crazier… or a lot crazier, depending on how you look at it. When Souza suddenly disappears, will Chiyoharu find himself missing the big lug? Kaede, of course, wants to rush out and save the missing Souza, but convincing Chiyoharu to help her may be tough. And what is the relationship between the mysterious Ayame and Souza's origins? The action heats up in volume two of Harukaze Bitter Bop when Chiyoharu faces off against a love-struck and insane female detective, a gang of yakuza, a guy wearing a raccoon helmet, and Souza himself! You have to love the art in this new series – it pops in this cool, edgy, funky sort of way that just seems to be lacking in a lot of manga. It’s cartoon-like with all the roundness, and accentuated facial features, etc. but it still manages to be cool and edgy in it’s look because it is just so proficient. It’s a clean style of art with hard lines and visually well defined characters. The flow of the images on each page is just as clean and well put together for a free-flowing, enjoyable read. You can’t really complain about anything to do with the visuals within this book – the art just really works its magic and captures you within only a few pages of reading. The cover is also mentionable – it should prove to be a good selling point because it showcases just how great the art is on the inside. The colours used on the cover are subtle, yet really pop at the same time. The art here just doesn’t have to work very hard to be cool, because it already is you see. The story is so funny – it’s really a lot of laughs and smirks and so much more. The art helps everything be as humorous as it is, but it wouldn’t be anything without the characters and their strange personalities and random motivations for the various actions they take. It’s based on a semi-classic idea of some poor normal boy who doesn’t want to get dragged around and thrown into a crazy situation, but of course ends up in exactly that sort of mess without even a thought about what he wants. It’s always funny to see a handful of crazy characters, and all their oddity, consume the world of some poor dude who really just wants to get to class on time and fit in with all his peers. It’s a very “Why me!?” situation that perhaps most of us can relate to in one way or another. The reasoning behind this title’s 13+ rating is for very mild violence, mild gore, and for reference to tobacco and its use within the book. It’s mostly slapstick violence all in the name of a good laugh, so really it doesn’t seem like a big deal. This book feels like a real “sleeper hit” – one that many people may miss out on unless they get told just how funny and worthwhile it is. To any of those people lucky enough to be let in on this bit of “insider info” – enjoy!
IN SUMMARY:
Harukaze Bitter Bop is visually arresting with all its zany characters and even crazier situational comedy. This is an all-around good book series for its funny plot devices and awesome visuals – pick this one up and give it a try!
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