Hokuto takes center stage in a big way!
Creative Staff
Story/Art: Eiichi Shimizu and Tomohiro Shimoguchi
Translation: Joe Yamazaki
What They Say
Who is Hokuto really, and why has he shown up in the middle of a battle wearing an unsanctioned and unidentified Ultraman suit? His appearance is just another question on Shinjiro’s list of unsolved mysteries. The machinations of shadowy enemies begin to emerge, and Shinjiro finds himself even more shocked as events unfold.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
As the volume opens, we get to see Hokuto in his Ultraman suit showing off. He’s got an interesting and quirky style to him, and this scene honestly does a pretty nice job of matching flashy action with some solid humor. Continuing on with the silliness angle, Rena comes to visit, causing Shinjiro to realize that she’s got a crush on Ultraman. And boy is it funny to see him struggle with the realization that he could date an idol by letting her in on his secret.
Before that can advance, though, there’s another monster call. Shinjiro and Moroboshi of course rush to the scene, but it turns out that Hokuto beat them there and crushed the opponent. And in a surprising twist… he just straight up unmasks and says that he wants to join the SSSP. As things continue on, we learn bits and pieces about Hokuto’s past, and there’s some solid machinations in the background, especially surrounding the alien city and some disturbing and mysterious corpses. It’s all quite solidly done, and it keeps things moving rather smoothly, even with minimal action.
Things come to a head, though, when Shinjiro finds Hokuto blackmailing an alleged scumbag. Our hero of course doesn’t approve of this means of gaining funding, leading to a clash, Ultraman against Ultraman. It’s a solid fight with some interesting twists to it, and in the final pages, it comes to one hell of a cliffhanger to end the book on.
In Summary
Once again, we’re granted a real rollercoaster ride with this volume. In particular, Hokuto steps up into the spotlight this time around, and fortunately that works out quite well, as he’s a truly amusing character. On top of this, we get some serious machinations behind the scenes that have some interesting implications and will likely have a big effect on future volumes. And in addition to the expected fantastic action, we actually get some truly hilarious gags, including a brilliant one focused on Rena. Perhaps biggest of all, though, is the powerful cliffhanger at the end, which easily has the greatest impact of any scene in the series thus far. Added all together, this makes for one hell of a book that’s sure to please, so be sure to pick it up.
Content Grade: A
Art Grade: A-
Packaging Grade: A
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Viz Media
Release Date: November 15th, 2016
MSRP: $12.99
