A big blow-up into a massive brawl!
Creative Staff
Story/Art: Eiichi Shimizu and Tomohiro Shimoguchi
Translation: Joe Yamazaki
What They Say
Twelve years ago, a tragic airline crash alerted the SSSP to the activities of aliens on earth. But what was Bemular doing there when the plane went down? Was he responsible for the crash, and if not, who was? The answers to these questions may confirm the SSSP’s suspicions, but accepting the facts will be more difficult. The secrets that Shinjiro and Dan uncover may take them into a trap they can’t escape…
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
So, we kick off this time by learning that the cliffhanger from last volume was a bit of a cheap one, as it turns out Dan didn’t actually harm Hokuto, just intimidate him. Oh, but he does just straight up casually drop that he’s an alien, which is kind of a weird plot point in that nothing really happens with it in this volume. We also learn that Bemular is tied up in the whole airplane incident and Hokuto’s thing, which also includes a diplomatic alien family’s staged death. This is the driving force this time around, and… it’s honestly just a tad convoluted. But regardless, it definitely gets Hokuto moving, desperate to solve matters himself.
Things really heat up, though, when Dan walks into a building during a related investigation… only for the thing to freaking explode! He fortunately survives thanks to his suit, but he’s injured enough to make it a serious concern when some mercenaries come to finish him and Shinjiro off, even though Hokuto’s their real target. What results is a massive battle with some surprising extra combatants jumping into the mix to assist, and it’s definitely cool to see. Though I will say, when the enemies have their own suits on top of so many Ultramen, the action occasionally gets just a tad too clustered, and it can get easy to lose track for a bit. That’s the price for the awesome designs and detail I suppose, and it at least hasn’t been an issue up until now thanks to the limited number of armors in previous battles, but it’s definitely a tad distracting this time around.
When Hokuto seriously steps his game up, will that prove enough to overcome the powerful foes? Or will they simply prove too strong?
In Summary
This time the first half of the volume focuses primarily on intrigue and conspiracy, and it’s… not bad, but not amazing either. It’s certainly better put together than what the series has done in that regard in the past, and there’s some interesting threads involved, but at least for right now it feels a tad convoluted, which drags it down a bit. Still, over half of the volume goes to a giant, crazy battle, and that’s definitely just plain cool to see. In addition to some rather competent villains, we also get some interesting participants jumping in as well, and it’s just a massive, over the top brawl. Though with that said, it seems the series may have hit something of a critical mass on terms of characters wearing complex armor, as the overflow of details gets to be a bit much now and again here, and it can be easy to lose track. It’s certainly not enough to ruin the fight, but it’s a tad distracting, and it probably would’ve been for the better if the villains at least had slightly simpler designs for this battle. Still, this is definitely an exciting volume, and is more than worthy of a read.
Content Grade: B+
Art Grade: A-
Packaging Grade: A
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Viz Media
Release Date: February 21st, 2017
MSRP: $12.99
