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MÄR (VOL. 12) [ADVANCE REVIEW] |
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Saturday, 17 March 2007 |
 | | ▪ | PUBLISHED BY: | | VIZ MEDIA | | | ▪ | ART/AUTHOR: | | NOBUYUKI ANZAI | | | | ▪ | FORMAT/COLOR: | | JAPANESE FORMAT / BW | | | ▪ | PAGES: | | 192 | | | ▪ | RATED: | | T | | | ▪ | RELEASE DATE: | | 03/20/2007 | | | ▪ | REVIEW DATE: | | 03/18/2007 | | | ▪ | REVIEWED BY: | | HOLLY ELLINGWOOD |
SERIES SYNOPSIS:
Ginta jumps through a “door” that suddenly appears in his classroom, and finds himself in the magical world of his dreams. Now, at the “request” of the Chess Pieces, the War Games have begun – and Ginta and his eight friends, calling themselves Team Mar, must battle the Chess warriors. They ride a five-battle winning streak into the sixth battle at the Mushroom Fields. Luck turns against them in the first match and Alan loses, but Alviss and Dorothy pull off victories in the second and third matches…
REVIEW:
After an unexpected defeat, Tem Mar goes into the next battle unnerved. It is Princess Snow versus Magical Ro and if the latest upset unsettled the team, it will be nothing compared to what happens next! The latest Chess Piece is no stranger to Snow and the outcome may lead one of Tem Mar’s group right into the hands of the evil Lady Diana, she who controls the Chess Pieces!
MAR is an energetic shonen action series. From the creator of Flame of Recca, this manga series has also been picked up as an anime which is currently airing in Japan. This is action packed with the Second MAR Heaven War underway and battle after battle in these latest chapters. It’s not just action though, these are battles with emotional ramifications. Snow’s discovery of who her opponent is shocks her to the point of affecting her fighting ability. After that terrible outcome, Ginta faces the vengeful Ian in an emotionally tense match as Ian reveals his reasons for his hatred of Ginta. He goes so far as to use the dreaded Demonic Bond in the fight to show he is taking no prisoners. As both teams prepare for the Final Battle, Jack faces old man Weasel and learns the shocking truth about his father’s death. It all culminates on an edge of your seat cliffhanger that will decide the fate of the war.
Ginta is a pure hearted hero and is easily likeable. He comes from a life that had him as the constant looked down upon loser at school. In this dream world, he has the chance to be something larger than life as he strives to save the dream world he has quickly come to care about, just like he has come to care for Snow. With the latest happenings, Ginta now has a new goal of not only winning the War Games, but having to rescue his princes too.
The art style will be very familiar to Flame of Recca fans. There are guys with triangularly spiky hair, lots of action done with exciting imagery, and creative weapons and powers with the use of the magical ARMS. Ginta’s would have to be the most unique as “Babbo” is a metal ball on a chin sporting a mustachio. It can transform into all kinds of things to help Ginta and talks, having a personality of its own.
Extras in the manga include quite a few comic panels done by the author and a sneak peak at the next volume.
IN SUMMARY:
MAR is a creative shonen series with lots of action and excitement. |
