”How could anyone keep smiling when they’re losing?”
Creative Staff
Story & Art: Sankichi Hinodeya
Translation: Tetsuichiro Miyaki
What They Say
Based on the hit Nintendo games!
Team Blue has garnered attention after impressive showings against some of the most elite inkling teams. But it’ll only get harder from here! With the S4 inklings aiming to bring down Goggles and his friends, the team must continue to find ways to improve, even if it means finding help from the unlikeliest of sources!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
You ever have that one show—that one pop culture sensation that took the world by storm—that you somehow just missed the boat on? You ever try backtracking on said sensation years after the fact only to confirm that it just didn’t hold up and thus could have only existed and have been enjoyed by children at a specific time in human history? Like… you don’t really see people pushing the ‘80s Ninja Turtles cartoon on modern audiences. And yet that specific iteration of the characters remains the canon Ninja Turtles for many people that grew up at that time.
In a similar vein, the Splatoon manga is the type of product that is clearly made for kids, to be enjoyed by kids, and more than likely no one else. Now two volumes into the series, we’re treated to more of the same in the form of episodic chapters where the plucky protagonists that form Team Blue continue to defeat high-ranking teams in turf wars on nothing but good vibes, and plot-convenient weapons the characters always save until the last second. “Villains” in the form of the opposing teams almost always fixate on certain aspects of turf war gameplay, like heavy reliance on sub-weapons, or long-range weapons or what have you—their faults in their play styles being a cheap substitute for an actual personality.
The endless stories surrounding nothing but the turf wars continues to wear thin, with little to no breathing room between each turf war for us to get to know the characters on a deeper level than their appearance (which reminder: is also their name). Chapters where the more experienced Rider takes Team Blue under his wing for some training sessions do give a bit of variety to the volume, but to have the payoff continue to be Team Blue’s endless supply of quirky goofball behavior rather than the training they spent establishing just pages before feels cheap and not conducive to any real character growth. Everything is just so shallow and meant to solely entertain within the confines of a single chapter, and yet I can’t even enjoy the series in that respect.
But the Splatoon manga isn’t made for me. It’s made for the young children that need a simple kid’s story clearly aimed at them and only them. And in that respect, it’s fine.
In Summary:
The Splatoon manga continues to chug along, perfectly comfortable with its shallow, episodic storytelling that doesn’t deviate from any norms. From its protagonists, their oppositions, and even the side characters that attempt to break them out of their mold of substandard children’s characters, everything just feels so contrived. Then again, it’s clear that this is a manga aimed at young children, so to grade it so harshly would be to ignore the fact that I’m not this manga’s core audience to begin with.
Content Grade: C+
Art Grade: B
Packaging Grade: A
Text/Translation Grade: A
Age Rating: All Ages
Released By: Viz Media
Release Date: March 13, 2018
MSRP: $9.99