Good possibility that peeping on Sakya and Ailee in the bath is more dangerous than an Elder Dragon!
Creative Staff
Story and Art: Hiro Mashima
Translation/Adaptation: Stephen Paul
What They Say
Shiki and his friends are on the hunt for the ancient dragon Myo Galuna, but to beat the best you must be properly armed, which means procuring the tools and materials necessary to craft a legendary weapon! Once that’s taken care of, the next step is finding the monster, but every secret is guarded by a terrible foe… Deadly creatures about in this action-packed 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):
That huge sea monster in the last volume may have been a real pain to defeat, but things are looking up for the trio of monster hunters. They finally found the master weapon maker, Kibalion, and he has agreed to beef up their weapons. Only problem is they need monster body parts, and the only way to make your weapons stronger is to constantly kill stronger monsters. Leaves me wondering what will happen when a monster hunter reaches that level they can’t hope to defeat? Does a good monster hunter know his limits and walk away? Well, the only answer I have is the lack of old monster hunters in this series . . .
Once the gang has accomplished monster killing and stronger weapons, despite Shiki’s near death experience, they decide to relax a little. And as any manga fan knows, that means naked girls and hot springs. Now Shiki may be a badass monster hunter, but is he really dumb enough to attempt peeping on monster hunter chicks? Ah who am I kidding, I would! Besides, you never know when you might step onto a forest path and get run over and killed by a 2-ton Congalala!
Things are going well enough until Shiki and the girls run into that scumbag the “Prince”, or Curlon. Curlon hates Shiki so much that he went to all the trouble to become a Seal Hunter. Now he can technically play at Shiki’s level with an All Access Hunting Pass, hence them bumping into each other at the Labyrinth. Both sides are searching for information about the whereabouts of the ancient dragon Myo Galuna. But will Curlon try to kill Shiki or just beat him to finding Myo Galuna?
In Summary
This isn’t a series that will leave the reader questioning life or society’s great questions, but it will entertain you for a while. Aside from monster fighting action, I was happily surprised with some background revelations about Shiki’s childhood and how he met Ailee’s father and his mentor, Grelyee. Speaking of Greylee, I just can’t wrap my head around the idea that he blew himself up in an accident. I know that’s what got Shiki and Ailee traveling together, but I just feel like Greylee is going to pop out from behind a tree at any moment.
I obviously don’t know why the translator changed, but I didn’t even notice the difference until after I read this volume and checked. So no worries, nothing seemed to change stylistically.
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: December 2011
MSRP: $10.99
