Sakya and Ailee discover how well bikinis act as armor against sea monsters.
Creative Staff
Story and Art: Hiro Mashima
Translation/Adaptation: William Flanagan
What They Say
Shiki, Ailee and Sakya are on a journey seeking a legendary weapon craftsman, but in order to reach him, they need a boat. When the only solution involves hunting down a terrifying sea monster, Ailee must face demons of her past and learn to believe in the friends at her side. Experience the thrill of the hunt in this second volume of the manga based on the hit Monster Hunter video game series!
Includes special extras after the story!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Shiki is well on his way to having a full hunting party now that Sakya and a reluctant Ailee are accompanying him. Sakya seems to be a lonely girl with nothing left to keep her at home since the death of her parents. Ailee on the other hand, has the same dream as Shiki; find and defeat the mythical Myo Galuna monster. Both of them inherited this dream from Ailee’s father, the same man that taught Shiki to be a monster hunter.
This places a strain on Shiki and Ailee’s relationship, as far as Ailee is concerned. Her father chose to take Shiki as his apprentice, which makes her angry and jealous. However, Shiki is the only other person she has met that believes whole-heartedly that Myo Galuna is real and not a legend. This tension and the yet undisclosed reason for Ailee’s hatred of companions keeps a decent amount of conflict injected into the story.
At this point, Sakya has done all she can to increase the power of their weapons. And with her blacksmith father being dead, seeking out his old master is the only way Sakya knows to acquire weapons powerful enough to take on Myo Galuna. But the ship that can take them to the grandmaster blacksmith is held up in port because a massive Plesioth is patrolling the nearby waters. Being more brave than smart, Shiki eagerly agrees to kill the Plesioth in exchange for ship passage. Seems like a long shot, especially with Ailee’s desire to hunt alone. A bad habit that might get them all killed, yet a personality flaw that gives her character room to grow.
Can Shiki and the girls defeat a sea monster three times the size of their ship?
In Summary
This series is based on the relatively well-received Monster Hunter video game franchise. Much like the video games, this manga is based in a world focused on monsters. The citizens of the land rely on some monster species for food, but others are vicious threats to mankind. A standard monster hunter has to report to a Hunter’s Guild, where they take jobs to kill a particular monster. This ensures that monsters are not hunted to extinction, while supplying jobs for the rougher-cut citizens and protecting people from marauding monsters. However, a small number of hunters, like Shiki, have an All Access Pass, which allows them to kill any monster they want. This is good for the overly energetic Shiki, but his real desire is to find the legendary Myo Galuna monster and defeat it.
Other similarities between this manga and the video games is the ability for a hunter to take monster body parts to a blacksmith to use for weapon creation. The various weapon classes (great sword, bowgun, dual swords, etc.) from the game also transfer into this manga series.
Mashima’s art mixes detailed monsters and serious-looking characters with bouts of chibi. The chibi doesn’t bother me, but the angle of characters faces and their eyes are strange-looking at times and the lack of overall detail is expected from a shounen series. Kodansha’s presentation is good for a fledgling company, at least as far as this North American branch. Extras include translator notes and a great description of the various games from the Monster Hunter franchise. The translation reads well, but I’ve come to expect that from Flanagan. Overall, a decent series, but fans of the Monster Hunter video games will probably get more out of this manga.
Content Grade: B-
Art Grade: C
Packaging Grade: A-
Text/Translation Grade: A
Readers Rating: [ratings]
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Kodansha Comics
Release Date: August 23rd, 2011
MSRP: $10.99
