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Title: Buso Renkin
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| CONSUMER ADVICE |
This is not the worst manga that kids could be reading, but parents may want to keep in mind that this series contains comic violence, nudity, and sexual humor that is more suited for older teens. Fans of action may or may not like this series, depending on how far from reality they are willing to be removed from in order to take the action seriously. "Rurouni Kenshin" fans are not welcome, as this series will not blow you away. |
There are times when a critic loves of the book he is reading. There are times when the critic hates the book he is reading. There are times the critic feels he is over his head. There are times the critic is just plain confused about what he is to write. There are times a critic will sit in front of his computer for almost an hour, trying to think of something to say that is insightful, helpful, and above all, fun to read. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from my many years of writing reviews for movies, music, video games, and comic books, it’s that no matter what opinion you have, no matter how important you think what you are writing is, no matter how well you can articulate things, none of this matters if what you write isn’t entertaining. This is why many critics enjoy reviewing the bad stuff above the good stuff, because as much as we suffer during the process of reading/watching/playing the bad stuff, our reward comes because bad reviews are just a tad bit easier to write, and a heck of a lot more fun to read.
I therefore put this out here: “Buso Renkin” is a series that seems ripe for tearing apart, ridiculing, and dancing on it’s shredded ashes. But darn it, I just don’t know where to start. The story of “Buso Renkin” revolves around a typical high school shounen brat named Kazuki Muto, who is a nice kid but kind of annoying and is seen by teachers to have an uncontrollable spirit. One day, as he’s walking home from school, he sees a girl being attacked by a monster called a “homunculi,” and I swear to God I’ll make my best effort to explain what a homunculi is with a straight face later on in this review. He rescues a girl from the monster and, like all girls who are rescued by male high school students in these types of comics, she gives him mystical powers and a unique weapon. In this case the powers of that of alchemy, and the weapon is a giant, triangle sword known as a Buso Renkin.
The boy kills the homunculi and finds out that the girls name is Tokiko, who has made it her mission to seek out the homunculis and destroy them. So far I’m not sure who’s involved, the FBI or the CSI, but I do know the opposing force comes in the form of the (extremely flamboyant) antagonist Koshaku Chono, a high school student who also has a knack for alchemy and likes to dress up as a butterfly/moth, and goes by the surname of Papillon (there’s something I never thought I’d see myself writing). Papillon wants to take over the world or something to that extent, using butterflies and alchemy magic, and because the teachers are too busy grading papers and giving detention, it’s up to the high school students who have really cool swords to stop him. To say the story itself is not engaging would be obvious to the point of being ignorant, it’s outright silly. It makes no sense, the characters are not deep, the villains plans for taking over the world make no sense whatsoever, this is a series that was not meant to be taken seriously.
And truth be told, I get the feeling it was never intended to be taken seriously. “Buso Renkin” was written by Nobuhiro Watsuki, the same man who wrote the (much, much better) “Rurouni Kenshin,” and here he gives a story that seems to be not so much style over substance, but fun over drama. If the storyline sounds silly then the execution will seem even sillier. Having already written “Rurouni Kenshin” before, Watsuki pulls many elements from that series to this one. Like the aforementioned series, Kazuki has a sword in “Buso Renkin” (the Buso Renkin, in case you’re not taking notes). The Buso Renkin is a weapon I would best describe as a sword no serious sword maker would bother to make. Shaped like a triangle and being bigger then Kazuki, the Buso Renkin does not strike me as a sword that is easy to use. Watching Kazuki carry pull this thing out, it looks like Kazuki would barely be able to drag it behind him, much less fight with it.
The Sakabo was a unique sword in the fact that it was odd because the blade was on the opposite side of the curve, yet it was realistic because you could still kill with this sword, it was travel friendly, and (most importantly) you could fight with it. From the looks of things you could certainly kill someone with a Buso Renkin, but good luck swinging the stupid thing. In fact, good luck doing ANYTHING with the Buso Renkin! How this kid manages to stay alive fighting with this thing is anybodies guess, even for a series as goofy as this one. Looking back I realize I neglected to mention that, like Kenshin, Tokiko has a scar across her face. Does the scar having any significance to the story or her character, or is it a simple in-joke by author Watsuki? After five books I’ve yet to find out, but so far I find I don’t really care. Unlike Rurouni Kenshin, Harry Potter, and Escaflowne, no one has yet to make a big deal about the scar.
I figure if they don’t make a big deal about a scar from the get go, then the scar is more of a fashion statement then anything else. What is going to stick out the average reader are the odd scenes that are murky on whether or not they are supposed to be taken seriously or whether they are there as parody. One scene that sticks out is when the high school boys are in the bath house looking at each others penis’s. They all look, stare, and then comment on the uniqueness of each individuals penis. Later on in the book, during what appears to be a life or death struggle, one of the boys gives an inspirational friendship speech that revolves around the fact that everyone has seen each others penis. Now that I think about it, I remember reading a study that most five year olds are more comfortable when they are naked and gay. Did that last comment make any sense? Well, neither did this entire scene.
What is clear though is that Watsuki had a lot of fun making this series. The artwork itself will attest to that, as it’s vibrant, fluid, inventive, and just plain fun to look at. I don’t completely get what half of the stuff is, but I can’t deny it looks like it was a blast to create. Looking at the artwork the main problem with “Buso Renkin” becomes clear: This was a series that was more fun to create then it was to read. The series glows with originality and creativeness, but I can’t for the life of me find an emotional connection to the story. For that matter, the story is so confusing I also have trouble finding the fun in the series. And for what it’s worth, gay high school boys who dress up as butterflies do not trigger the proper reaction a major villain should provoke. I do tip my hat off to Watsuki though, for he’s created a series that is pure eye candy, pure fun, and pure nonsense. And for the life of me, that just takes the fun out of writing a bad review. Guess the jokes on me at the end of the day.
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