Reviews for BakeGyamon, Volume 5

The average rating for BakeGyamon, Volume 5 based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2010-10-16 00:00:00 Ja Mac Originally posted here at Anime Radius. It's hard to believe that Bakegyamon is over, but it is, and fans of the series will not be disappointed at its conclusion. It has everything that made the series so remarkable and so enjoyable since it started, that gallimaufry of vibrantly laid out action scenes and dramatic tension alongside moments of humor and warmth illustrated through Mitsuhisa Tamura's vividly classic shonen art style. Every page leading up to the main finale is not wasted. Some might call putting the Great Escape challenge in the middle of the volume a misstep, but it's actually quite a good move on Tamura's part, a big reminder that while Sanshiro was away, the backwards games were still going on, and that despite his return nothing has changed. A little depressing if you think about it, but that's how it is. The best thing about the series finale of Bakegyamon is that no one is forgotten. All of the players alongside Sanshiro come back in some part, and although everyone might not play as big a part as characters like London or Sayaka, the fact that the manga-ka even remembered to bring them back in any capacity given the size of the cast is pretty admirable of him. Of course, the main star of the series is Sanshiro, and it is in this volume that he officially becomes the shonen hero of the series by making all the tough decisions and putting everything on the line to do the right thing: saving his friends and releasing the monsters captured and turned into cards by Neid and Demon Mask. In turn, Demon Mask's own character is put on the line, as we get some vital looks into his own aspirations for being the Bakegyamon champion forever. His inner motivations may seem a bit saccharine in flavor, but set against the rest of the series it makes so much sense. After all, Bakegyamon is about figuring out who you are through your own adventures in the outside world. As Sanshiro gets away from his isolated island background and meets more and more people, the true selves of all the competitors come to light in ways that never would have happened in isolation. Demon Mask, as the villain, is the figure in isolation that doesn't grow as a person because he refuses to interact with others except to fight them. In the end, everyone wants to not be alone, but they all go about it in different ways and it is Sanshiro's way that wins over Demon Mask's: greeting each day with an open heart and each person as a potential friend. For a manga targeted at young children, that's not a bad message to end on. At the end of the day, Bakegyamon is the kind of shonen manga I'd give to anyone and expect them to enjoy it: the shonen fan; the non-shonen fan; the hesitant reader; the young manga reader; the older manga reader; anyone. Everyone can read this series and get something out of it; it just so happens that something is really awesome. In five volumes, Tamura created a world of puzzles and mischief, and then slowly pulled the kiddy veneer off to reveal its true nature, one with a slightly sinister edge. She gave us a hero in the form of Sanshiro, a hero that contained spirit and bravery and some naivety who wasn't afraid to fight for what he believed in or to make friends with total strangers. His innocence about the backwards games became our innocence; his shock over the real reason for the geki fu cards became our own shock. And let's be honest, if you were walking along a park path and Kimidori and Sanshiro came along and invited you to play games with them, who wouldn't go with them? I certainly would. If that is not a testament to how wonderful Bakegyamon is. (Now Viz, how about licensing Mitsuhisa Tamura's other work, Yellow Dragon ga Arawareta? It's only two volumes and I'd buy both no matter what. Just saying!)

Review # 2 was written on 2018-07-22 00:00:00 Shamsolmali Kashani Sanshiro may have been defeated and is now out of the game, but if Demon Mask thinks him and the monsters helping him are going to just back down, then he has another thing coming! Tamura brings this enjoyably colourful and heartwarming series to a close with a fantastic entry full of action and emotion. The time has come for this game to finally gets its last curtain call!