Title: Transformers: The Manga Volume 02
Language: English
Story: Masumi Kaneda
Art: Ban Magami
Rating: 3.8/5
I have to say that flipping through an A5-ish sized manga brings back memories of my manga reading days (okay I mostly followed Sailor Moon back then) except that this is in English (and not Chinese thank goodness I don’t have to guess so many words anymore) so it makes for a much faster read! I borrowed the manga from a pair of young fans (you know who you are!) who very graciously lent me their copy, despite the fact that they’re quite enthralled by it as well.
Transformers: The Manga Volume 02 is a compilation of the original G1 Transformers manga series that was released back in the 80s. This volume features the Headmasters and Super God Masterforce series, as well as a gallery of artwork related to those two series. It is the second volume out of three volumes.
So first up – the art style. I mentioned previously that I liked the manga art style, especially since they make the Transformers look rather fluid. You’d think that as a black and white comic, it’d be difficult to identify the different Transformers right? But they’re actually fairly recognisable because the artist(s) make sure to emphasise their distinctive features. They are more crowd scenes in this volume though, and in those scenes the different Transformers can be hard to make out. But otherwise, I think the art style works better here than in some modern graphic novels.
Then there’s the art gallery! Okay it’s not so much an art gallery as it is a compilation of different illustrations made for Headmasters and Masterforce in TV Magazine. But it’s a nostalgic reminder of simpler times, when there was less artwork but the pieces were more detailed, and also the slightly retro style of the art. I perused the artwork a lot longer than I did the actual magazine itself. Yes, I would buy the art book if I knew where it was.
Also, I learnt something new about Masterforce! I never realised that the Pretenders (both Autobots & Decepticons) had a land-sea-air theme until I read this and realised that their Chokon power was explicitly tied to the alternate modes they took. I think it’s because the Pretenders transformed into… things, which could charitable be called “Cybertronian vehicles”, but really aren’t. I mean, they were supposed to fold and contort into shapes that fit their Pretender shells, so I can see why they did that. Plus they all kinda flew in the show. So yeah, it made me go and read up about them later on.
However, since the manga was supposed to run alongside the show (I think?), the stories weren’t always very coherent. It’s been a while since I watched Masterforce, so my memory of it is a little hazy. I could see how they could roughly fit into certain arcs of the show, but if you read the manga in isolation, it wouldn’t make very much sense. Maybe because I had heard about Victory and how that manga series told a very different story, so I expected that to be the same for Masterforce.
There are also too many humans in the series, especially for Masterforce. I get it for Masterforce though, the series is about humans with special powers who can combine with Transtectors to form the Transformers. But there were still too many human stories for the Headmasters portion. Also, why did they do a rehash of the “Sixshot is a good guy” story for the manga? I’d have preferred to have fewer humans in my Transformers, thank you very much. I’d read New Avengers or something if I wanted humans.
Overall, I think Transformers: The Manga Volume 02 is a solid addition to anyone’s manga library, especially since it covers the Headmasters and Masterforce series. It’s also a refreshing reminder of more innocent times, and that retro-ness does rub off you somewhat. I’ll buy the whole set when it’s out, that’s for sure (hopefully with some additions to the series).
Transformers: The Manga Volume 02 is available on Amazon.
This is an original article on marcusgohmarcusgoh.com
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I’m an independent scriptwriter who’s written for popular shows like Lion Mums, Crimewatch, Police & Thief, and Incredible Tales. I’m also a Transformers enthusiast and avid pop culture scholar. You can find me on social media as Optimarcus and on my site.
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