NoaIzumiManga Review: Burst Angel
May 25th 2009 19:39
Meg and Jo have come to Tokyo, and are just trying to make an honest living (or as honest as possible, anyway). But trouble seems to keep finding them as they have to deal with gangs, assassins, crazy scientists, and even a ghost! Not to mention Sei, the strange lady with an interest in Jo.
Like the long-awaited Burst Angel OVA, the long-awaited Burst Angel manga is a prequel, in this case the story of Jo and Meg’s adventures after arriving in Tokyo. They take odd jobs to get by, and Jo’s combat skills give them something of a reputation as go-to girls. But this sometimes attracts unwanted attention, including attention from some of Jo’s old enemies.
The manga rewrites history a little. The anime showed Sei’s recruiting of Jo and Meg, which was relatively straight-forward. Here, it’s more complex, and Sei is very reluctant to bring in Meg (if you’ve seen the anime, you know why), but eventually relents when it becomes obvious that Meg and Jo are an inseparable team.
The books also further explore Jo and Meg’s relationship. In the anime, it’s obvious that Jo and Meg are pretty close. In the graphic novels, you see the development of that closeness. The manga series is a little more racy as well. In the anime, it’s possible to see them as just close friends. In the manga, it’s definitely more than that; at least, Meg would very much like it to be more than that, although Jo is much slower to come around.
One other (welcome) difference is how Meg is portrayed. In the anime, she was kind of useless, always getting captured and making Jo and Sei’s lives much more complicated than they needed to be. It was obvious that Jo cared for her and I doubt the male fans had any complaints, but you couldn’t help wondering why Sei bothered to keep paying this girl. In the manga, she’s the brains of the team. She has no combat skills to speak of, but she’s got street smarts, and it’s apparent that Jo would be lost in this world without her. Meg is sort of like Jo’s manager, making her essential even if she does get kidnapped from time to time.
The drawing style of Burst Angel is rather simple, but it works. The artist makes good choice of a “semi-chibi” style, which especially does wonders for Sei, who looks surprisingly cute here. And Amy looks even more adorable than usual.
Great moments: Meg’s schoolgirl fantasies about her and Jo.
Summary: Somewhat lighter in tone than the anime, but still delivers on the action. A good addition to the Burst Angel series. Grade: B plus.
Age rating: 15 and up. Violence, fan service, nudity in the third volume.
The manga rewrites history a little. The anime showed Sei’s recruiting of Jo and Meg, which was relatively straight-forward. Here, it’s more complex, and Sei is very reluctant to bring in Meg (if you’ve seen the anime, you know why), but eventually relents when it becomes obvious that Meg and Jo are an inseparable team.
The books also further explore Jo and Meg’s relationship. In the anime, it’s obvious that Jo and Meg are pretty close. In the graphic novels, you see the development of that closeness. The manga series is a little more racy as well. In the anime, it’s possible to see them as just close friends. In the manga, it’s definitely more than that; at least, Meg would very much like it to be more than that, although Jo is much slower to come around.
One other (welcome) difference is how Meg is portrayed. In the anime, she was kind of useless, always getting captured and making Jo and Sei’s lives much more complicated than they needed to be. It was obvious that Jo cared for her and I doubt the male fans had any complaints, but you couldn’t help wondering why Sei bothered to keep paying this girl. In the manga, she’s the brains of the team. She has no combat skills to speak of, but she’s got street smarts, and it’s apparent that Jo would be lost in this world without her. Meg is sort of like Jo’s manager, making her essential even if she does get kidnapped from time to time.
The drawing style of Burst Angel is rather simple, but it works. The artist makes good choice of a “semi-chibi” style, which especially does wonders for Sei, who looks surprisingly cute here. And Amy looks even more adorable than usual.
Great moments: Meg’s schoolgirl fantasies about her and Jo.
Summary: Somewhat lighter in tone than the anime, but still delivers on the action. A good addition to the Burst Angel series. Grade: B plus.
Age rating: 15 and up. Violence, fan service, nudity in the third volume.
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