EX Home | Email | Search | Prev. Page | Contents | Next Page
Vol 2 Issue 7
[MANGA REVIEWS]

Eat-man
— by Mark L. Johnson

In North America, many fans have probably never heard about EAT-MAN, even though it completed a full television run in Japan. However, Viz decided to bring over this manga rendition of the story and market it as an "action-packed post-apocalyptic fantasy tale" in the same vein as BATTLE ANGEL ALITA.
   The story does take place in a futuristic setting, and revolves around the adventures of Bolt Crank, better known as EAT-MAN. Eat-man's claim to originality fame is the ability of this "explorer" to absorb the capabilities of any weapon he eats. He is often found chewing on screws or bolts when he idles.
   The plot in this adventure starts off with a random kingdom hiring Bolt's services to deliver a crystal orb to the Devil King, who has been reigning terror on the people, in order to appease him. Along with Bolt they send their "best explorer" to guide him, who happens
to be a cute young girl named Roan. Thus, this first issue mainly deals with the interaction between these two unlikely partners as they travel to meet this Devil King. Bolt himself is cool, experienced, wears dark shades, takes Roan along reluctantly, and generally trashes all who stand in his way. Roan is ultra-cute, completely inexperienced, and gets a crush on Bolt. Most of the first issue has Bolt digging Roan out of trouble.
   The plot is rather unoriginal, but has a light humorous tone combined with the standard action. The art style is very clear and consistent, and the manga style shows up well in black and white.
   Although Bolt's ability is new, I found that the rest of the story elements so far have been overly done by many before. However, I found it an enjoyable read, even though it was very simple. I was particularly attracted to the clear but detailed art, and found the characters to be very likeable.
   EAT-MAN is definitely another solid, though unoriginal, chapter in this genre, and fans of light futuristic adventures with a soft spot for tough heroes and cute sidekicks should give it a read.

  EAT-MAN
© Akihito Yoshitomi
Story and Art by Akihito Yoshitomi
English Adaptation by Yuji Onike
(6-issue series) Issue 1 - B&W
33 pages
Viz Manga Heroes
Monthly $2.95 USA / $4.00 CAN


EX Home | Email | Search | back | Contents | Next Page