VIZ MEDIA/Perfect Square – @VIZMedia
MANGAKA: Hideaki Fujii
ORIGINAL STORY: Level 5
TRANSLATION: Tetsuichiro Miyaki
ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Aubrey Sitterson
LETTERS: Annaliese Christman
EDITOR: Joel Enos
ISBN: 978-1-4215-7700-5; paperback (July 2015); Rated “A” for “All Ages”
152pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK
The video game, LBX (Little Battlers eXperience), is a series of role-playing action games created by Level-5 for the Sony PSP. Hideaki Fujii created an “all ages” manga based on LBX, which VIZ Media has published in English as a bi-monthly graphic novel series under its “Perfect Square” imprint.
In the world of Fujii's manga, the LBX is the hottest toy in the year 2050. The LBX (Little Battlers eXperience) is a miniaturized robot made of a new super-strong industrial cardboard. Van Yamano is a rising LBX player, but he doesn't just play with these battle-robots for fun. In order to save his father, Professor Yamano, he has to keep the LBX, named “Achilles,” out of the hands of evil at all costs.
As LBX, Vol. 6 (Chapters 23 to 25 to Final Chapter, entitled World Battle) opens, the “Duck Shuttle” arrives at the powerful new military satellite Eden, which orbits the Earth. Aboard the shuttle are Van and his partner and LBX rival, Hiro Hughes, with Cobra piloting.
Van has LBX Icarus Zero, and Hiro has LBX Icarus Force. The duo plans to use their LBX to stop a plot by Alfred Gordon, Vice-President of the American Union and also leader of “The Directors,” a terrorist group. Gordon wants to bring peace to the world by taking control of the world, and he has the powerful and perhaps unstoppable LBX Zeus to enforce his will. Van, Hiro, and Gordon are in for a big surprise.
[This volume includes bonus comics.]
I am still surprised that I enjoyed the LBX manga, which proved to be quite entertaining. The series is really directed at elementary-age readers and also fans of the LBX, an actual, real-life media and merchandising franchise. Alas, LBX Volume 6 is the end of the series... for now at least. Still, this short, six-volume graphic novel series is perfect for readers who are enjoying or have enjoyed the Yu-Gi-Oh manga. Those readers may even want to have an LBX toy.
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Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux (Support Leroy on Patreon.)
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