Reviews for BakeGyamon, Volume 1

The average rating for BakeGyamon, Volume 1 based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2010-10-16 00:00:00 Keith Halfyard Originally posted at Anime Radius. The set up is simple enough for a shounen manga that originally was serialized in the pages of Weekly Shounen Sunday: young children from around the world are drawn into a game organized by monsters in a world like ours only backwards. The winner of these 'backward games' will be granted any wish they desire by some higher power. The main protagonist (Sanshiro) is a very spirited and happy individual who loves adventure and is determined to win the games - except that he doesn't want any wish, he just wants to experience a great escapade that takes him away from his typical life on a secluded island. And with the introduction of Sanshiro's back story and personal initiatives, Bakegyamon stops being a typical manga series and becomes something different. It's not anything groundbreaking, but it does manage in its first volume to start to break away from the usual 'magic quest' shounen manga in its own quiet way. In the first volume of Bakegyamon, we are given the basic set-up for the rest of the series when it comes to how the Backwards Game works and we are slowly introduced to some of the supporting characters our main hero Sanshiro will undoubtedly be interacting with and trying to make friends with, as you do in an odd new world populated by monsters and strangers. For the most part, the first volume is light-hearted and humorous; it doesn't take itself seriously enough to be dramatic but it's not so comical to risk parodying its own tropes. The artwork and humor combine perfectly when it comes to Sanshiro's reactions to the stranger things during the different rounds of the contest. Even thought Bakegyamon seems to be selling itself as a comedy upfront, there are darker edges to it that suggest not everything about the Backwards Game is as straightforward as it seems; the scene in which Aki reveals her own hesitations about the games highlights this perfectly. It's a shame the manga doesn't focus on her questions more before diving back into the action, but I suspect they are saving those kinds of scenes for further on in the series. As the book progresses, you can see a visible pattern emerge to the story: Sanshiro meets New Character; Sanshiro and New Character are forced to work together to advance in the Backwards Game; Sanshiro gains a new ally and learns something new about how the games work. It becomes dangerously cut-and-paste in how the chapters progress, but that is only a minor trifle in comparison to the rest of what the series has to offer. Although only in its earliest stages - the first of five volumes - Bakegyamon seems to know what it wants to do and has a plan that it will be revealing later on for the benefit of dramatic tensions. We follow Sanshiro throughout his opening experiences in the backwards world, see it through his eyes, and therefore are able to follow him and be surprised by the things he finds out about his new surroundings. It's not terribly intelligent or complicated, but it can be at turns clever with its specific games within the contest and never loses the energy best embodied by its main protagonist. Any shounen fan looking for a fun new series that isn't too typical of its genre should give this Bakegyamon manga a go; despite it being published via the Viz Kids imprint (which when attached to any series gives the impression of it being juvenile and easily ignorable), it has the ability to rise above it and become exceptional.

Review # 2 was written on 2009-03-25 00:00:00 Tee Dixon Sanshiro has never left his home town, until he a stranger named Fue, invites him to play a game called BakéGyamon. He learns that there's only one winner and that winner gets one wish, but he dosn't care about the wish all he wants is to have a adventure just like his dad. Sanshiro remined me of a charater from Bleeh the charaters name is Ichihgo. Sanshiro didn't give up or let anyone bring him down when everyone tolled him he couldn't win, he still continued anyway and won. When Ichihgo was in battle he didn't let his apponet get to him he wouldn't let them win even when his chances looked bad. I give this book 5 stars be use I thought it was hilarious. The character was always so happy makeing it funny. I would recomend this book to anyone who likes comic books.