Joe’s wild journey
Creative Staff
Story: Yu Sasuga
Art: Ken-ichi Tachibana
Translation: John Werry
What They Say
Pursued by Division 4, Akari and Michelle encounter a Terraformar with bullet ant characteristics. Realizing this creature has stolen her deceased father’s strength, Michelle stands her ground alongside Akari. The two will be pushed beyond their limits in this fight, but even more formidable opponents are lining up to fight them, and their human enemies are still out there as well. Don’t miss the excitement in volume 10 of Terra Formars!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Kicking things off, we join Marcos and a team of low-rankers underground as they tunnel their way forward. Though they seem to have a decent plan, they’re definitely lacking some crucial information. Meanwhile, Bao proves himself both quite the fighter and quite the bastard as he fights off quite a few Terraformars before giving up and throwing Yaeko out as bait to distract them. Alex jumps off to save her, and the two mount a desperate last stand. And yet despite their best efforts, they seem to be doomed after all.
It’s then that the central character for the volume, Joseph G. Newton, takes the field. And he’s definitely an odd addition to the cast, though not one I dislike. He’s ranked at number 1 and thus possesses overwhelming power, apparently in a large part due to his family participating in selective breeding. It’s all more than a little stupidly over the top, but at the same time it makes him a real fun character who does a great job of stealing the spotlight. Anyway, he has a nice intense showdown with Bao in which he rescues our heroes, putting them back on the board.
Following this we get some more political maneuvering on Earth, and another Bao manages to find the underground group. Which is an interesting quirk, by the way, having there be more than one Bao with their own variations. It’s a bit ridiculous, but it also certainly helps him to stand out. As the volume reaches its end, will our heroes be able to survive once they burst into the germ-filled ship, with Terraformars and the enemy also gunning for them? Or is this a situation that’s simply far too dangerous to overcome?
In Summary
Perhaps fittingly considering how ridiculous his background is, the character of Joe absolutely steals the spotlight of this volume with his introduction. There’s a good bit of content here without him, but his presence is strong enough that he’s easily the core of the book. And ultimately whether or not that’s a good thing will come down to tastes. He’s absolutely over the top even more so than anything the series has shown before, which I personally happen to like, though I could also see people being a little turned off by him for that very reason. Either way, though, he’s plenty fun and in many ways makes for a nice addition to the cast. Bao also gets a good bit of play this volume and makes for a pretty interesting villain that feels rather quirky. The rest of the book isn’t bad but isn’t super exceptional either, though fortunately there are a few good moments to keep things rolling, and things certainly never feel slow. With a crazy new character introduction and plenty of action to keep things exciting, I’d say this is a solid volume, though it does admittedly lack a little in depth. But even so, it’s a fun read that’s should manage to keep its readers satisfied.
Content Grade: B+
Art Grade: A
Packaging Grade: B+
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Age Rating: 17+
Released By: Viz Media
Release Date: January 19th, 2016
MSRP: $12.99
