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spottoSo I just read all fourteen volumes of the Beyblade manga! I've decided to review it. It won't be as long as my PPG review (season 2 is halfway done!) because my PPG review is ridiculously long, mostly my own comments on the manga and its comparison to the anime.
I'll start off by saying I like the Anime better. Why? Well, the manga is the original yes, and there are some things I do prefer there, there's a lot of things that the Anime had it doesn't, and also the Anime is the nostalgic one. It only makes sense :P
First of all any character besides the five main characters (Takao, Rei, Max, Kai, and Daichi) are basically personality-less characters who are only there to serve the purpose of making Takao better. The only exception I think is Tala (who actually got a backstory, something usually reserved for those five main characters and even then it isn't very emphasized!) I guess I shouldn't be so harsh, a lot of Daichi's friends had some personality, and even that Carlos dude (whatever his original Japanese name is I will never figure out) had some sort of personality, but still in the end everyone's motivation is to DEFEAT TAKAO!!!! Who is shoved into my face as the very super-awesome number-one main character of doom. I don't read shounen that much, especially the "advertise awesome spinning toys" type, but damn it doesn't help when you add A NEW CHARACTER (Daichi) who is basically his CLONE but more annoying.
What I did like though was the ending of the manga, not necessarily the whole epilogue with everyone in the future and their clone children, but how the final battle of the tournament between Kai and Takao was up in the air. You never learn who wins. Oh sure, Takao probably did, but the result of that battle isn't required for the story, the whole point of the story besides the "everyone-is-obsessed with toy tops" that is so obnoxiously planted in my face is that "the reason everyone got stronger is because we had rivals and friends who drove us to the top" something Kai finally learns at the end of the manga. Of course some people may be all like "WTF WE WENT THROUGH FOUR VOLUMES FOR THAT TOURNAMENT AND WE DON'T EVEN GET TO KNOW THE WINNER!?" I suppose in that way it might be a cop-out, except I don't care for the battles that much...
As for the characters themselves, Takao was more face-planty than usual in the manga, which I disliked. There were very few battles that DIDN'T involve Takao, and if it didn't involve him they were versus Daichi. The few fights that did exist though without Takao being the main character, OR Daichi is probably Kai vs. Rei, Rei vs. Max, and Kai vs. Max. (Gee do I see a pattern there?) Rei vs. Max kind of sucked, and Kai vs. Max was the battle Max got his Genbu/Draciel/bit-beast/whatever similar to the episode in the Anime. So the ONLY good battle that did NOT involve Takao was Kai vs. Rei.
I am forgetting fights like Kai vs. Gao, Kai vs. Robert , Rei vs. Tala....hmmm, I can't remember anymore. These ones were either Kai winning or Tala being monstrously strong. (I think the only time Takao ever decisively lost was against Tala...ACTUALLY, he decisively lost against him AGAIN eight volumes after! Sure Takao lost a bunch of times but it was only Tala that defeated him!) But again tons of minor characters get shafted...the biggest I think were the Saint Shields who were super awesome in the Anime. They had...a chapter, and are weaker than Team Psykick, appearing only at the beginning of the "V-Force" arc.
As for the MAIN characters...my opinion on Takao is already known. Kai is more or less the same, but I think in the manga he only turncoated once unlike the Anime where he jumps ship all the time :P. Also the manga does a good job of explaining a lot of supernatural things that happen, yes they are also supernatural explanations, but at least we know why they're all super-charged on-fire DBZ-like which popped out of NOWHERE in the Anime.
Rei is somewhat different from the Manga and Anime actually. He acted more like a cat, the original personality when he first shows up is more like him in the manga. The Anime just made him yawn at Takao for...some reason, I guess he felt like being a jackass, and also in the manga he shows up with then-ninja brother of Takao, not a stupid dude like Mr. Dickenson so his first appearance is MUCH cooler in the manga. Rei is shown sleeping a lot, and he's very very serious. Hell, I think he was actually cooler than Kai during the first few volumes, but the Anime took that away from him. Not only that but the most destructive/epic battle was not Kai vs. Takao (unless you count the first battle, but eh) because the one at the end of the manga never really showed the whole thing...no the most destrucive/epic was Takao vs. Rei.
Also when the White Tigers appear Rei is a lot more cool-headed, he was never nervous or unsure of himself in the Anime like here. Also there is none of this Kai or Rei or Max fighting big bad boss business. Takao battled Rai. Takao battled Michael. Takao battled everyone. Besides the leaders of each team the rest of them are just cheerleaders!
The only time ANYONE lost their holy/bit beast was Rei (unless you count Tala, but he was just there to serve the plot lol), and that was once, and he lost it in a much more noble manner than the Anime. It was Takao who was going to lose Dragoon to the Saint Shields, but Rei saved him with his Driger. Also Rei never moped around after losing him, he knew it was his fault he lost it because he wasn't strong enough, and his willpower to get his beast back was so great it ensued in the awesome Kai vs. Rei battle. Then of course as I mentioned before, the Takao vs. Rei battle that almost destroyed Rei...
Besides Rei being a lot more badass and even jerkass in the manga (he still hung around Takao and Max unlike Kai) my opinion of this isn't really much. I don't know which I like better but he did get lots of scenes and spotlight (well if we're NOT comparing with Takao) the main character shafted the most though? Max.
HE DIDN'T EVEN DO ANYTHING FOR THIRTEEN VOLUMES.
Sure he showed up, got his holy beast and lost to Kai but after that he just lost to everyone until finally he did something important in the Max vs. Takao battle near the end of the manga. He did fight Daichi too, but that ended in a draw and was mostly a Daichi-focused thing. Max was just there to be happy and stuff I guess. His only moment, a good moment too, was his battle vs. Takao which was quite cool...but otherwise NOTHING! Nothing at all!
I also think Rei had "reverse character derailment" in the Anime. His true personality from the manga showed up in G Revolution, nice Rei was a product of the Anime. Even then it didn't seem like him exactly in G Rev, so yeah.
Also Takao's bro is much less of a prick in the manga, lol. Basically the manga was MORE BEYBLADE and LESS CHARACTER which the Anime had a bit more of, but obviously the Beyblade part is incredibly relevant in the Anime. Oh yeah, 'Zeo" or Leon as his real name is is 1000x cooler in the manga. Kenny is also 1000x cooler in the manga. Also Takao isn't struck with "I WON THE CHAMPIONSHIP THREE TIMES!" syndrome, the first tournament is interrupted (By Tala, he wasn't the person you had to defeat to win) and the second you never actually see the ending (him and Kai). "Zeo" Leon wasn't actually in a tournament either, he was just a super suave rich kid who wanted to please his father. Awww. (He also wasn't a "I AM A BIG FAN OF TAKAO!" fanboy like the Anime, so he really was 1000x cooler in the manga.)
But yeah, if I had to give the manga a rating....probably two stars out of five. It simply felt like a shounen manga aimed at little boys. I read it for the nostalgia but some characters weren't what I knew them as, others barely even got named, and my favourite didn't even do anything, nonetheless the plot was a lot better. For people who are on the "DIE MARIAH/MAO" wagon...she was basically a cheerleader the entire time, maybe played once but I only remember her in like five panels in the entire manga. NO FEMALE CHARACTER GOT SPOTLIGHT AT ALL, in fact the most major female character was probably MATHILDA, you know the girl from the Barthez Battatlion or Soldiers or whatever they were called? It was nice though, I never expected her to actually have the most spotlight, and even then it wasn't that much. So if you like female characters (particularly Mariam, who didn't even get a LINE in the manga) the Anime is much, much better for that.
That is all from Spotto. Until next time! Probably the PPG review.
I'll start off by saying I like the Anime better. Why? Well, the manga is the original yes, and there are some things I do prefer there, there's a lot of things that the Anime had it doesn't, and also the Anime is the nostalgic one. It only makes sense :P
First of all any character besides the five main characters (Takao, Rei, Max, Kai, and Daichi) are basically personality-less characters who are only there to serve the purpose of making Takao better. The only exception I think is Tala (who actually got a backstory, something usually reserved for those five main characters and even then it isn't very emphasized!) I guess I shouldn't be so harsh, a lot of Daichi's friends had some personality, and even that Carlos dude (whatever his original Japanese name is I will never figure out) had some sort of personality, but still in the end everyone's motivation is to DEFEAT TAKAO!!!! Who is shoved into my face as the very super-awesome number-one main character of doom. I don't read shounen that much, especially the "advertise awesome spinning toys" type, but damn it doesn't help when you add A NEW CHARACTER (Daichi) who is basically his CLONE but more annoying.
What I did like though was the ending of the manga, not necessarily the whole epilogue with everyone in the future and their clone children, but how the final battle of the tournament between Kai and Takao was up in the air. You never learn who wins. Oh sure, Takao probably did, but the result of that battle isn't required for the story, the whole point of the story besides the "everyone-is-obsessed with toy tops" that is so obnoxiously planted in my face is that "the reason everyone got stronger is because we had rivals and friends who drove us to the top" something Kai finally learns at the end of the manga. Of course some people may be all like "WTF WE WENT THROUGH FOUR VOLUMES FOR THAT TOURNAMENT AND WE DON'T EVEN GET TO KNOW THE WINNER!?" I suppose in that way it might be a cop-out, except I don't care for the battles that much...
As for the characters themselves, Takao was more face-planty than usual in the manga, which I disliked. There were very few battles that DIDN'T involve Takao, and if it didn't involve him they were versus Daichi. The few fights that did exist though without Takao being the main character, OR Daichi is probably Kai vs. Rei, Rei vs. Max, and Kai vs. Max. (Gee do I see a pattern there?) Rei vs. Max kind of sucked, and Kai vs. Max was the battle Max got his Genbu/Draciel/bit-beast/whatever similar to the episode in the Anime. So the ONLY good battle that did NOT involve Takao was Kai vs. Rei.
I am forgetting fights like Kai vs. Gao, Kai vs. Robert , Rei vs. Tala....hmmm, I can't remember anymore. These ones were either Kai winning or Tala being monstrously strong. (I think the only time Takao ever decisively lost was against Tala...ACTUALLY, he decisively lost against him AGAIN eight volumes after! Sure Takao lost a bunch of times but it was only Tala that defeated him!) But again tons of minor characters get shafted...the biggest I think were the Saint Shields who were super awesome in the Anime. They had...a chapter, and are weaker than Team Psykick, appearing only at the beginning of the "V-Force" arc.
As for the MAIN characters...my opinion on Takao is already known. Kai is more or less the same, but I think in the manga he only turncoated once unlike the Anime where he jumps ship all the time :P. Also the manga does a good job of explaining a lot of supernatural things that happen, yes they are also supernatural explanations, but at least we know why they're all super-charged on-fire DBZ-like which popped out of NOWHERE in the Anime.
Rei is somewhat different from the Manga and Anime actually. He acted more like a cat, the original personality when he first shows up is more like him in the manga. The Anime just made him yawn at Takao for...some reason, I guess he felt like being a jackass, and also in the manga he shows up with then-ninja brother of Takao, not a stupid dude like Mr. Dickenson so his first appearance is MUCH cooler in the manga. Rei is shown sleeping a lot, and he's very very serious. Hell, I think he was actually cooler than Kai during the first few volumes, but the Anime took that away from him. Not only that but the most destructive/epic battle was not Kai vs. Takao (unless you count the first battle, but eh) because the one at the end of the manga never really showed the whole thing...no the most destrucive/epic was Takao vs. Rei.
Also when the White Tigers appear Rei is a lot more cool-headed, he was never nervous or unsure of himself in the Anime like here. Also there is none of this Kai or Rei or Max fighting big bad boss business. Takao battled Rai. Takao battled Michael. Takao battled everyone. Besides the leaders of each team the rest of them are just cheerleaders!
The only time ANYONE lost their holy/bit beast was Rei (unless you count Tala, but he was just there to serve the plot lol), and that was once, and he lost it in a much more noble manner than the Anime. It was Takao who was going to lose Dragoon to the Saint Shields, but Rei saved him with his Driger. Also Rei never moped around after losing him, he knew it was his fault he lost it because he wasn't strong enough, and his willpower to get his beast back was so great it ensued in the awesome Kai vs. Rei battle. Then of course as I mentioned before, the Takao vs. Rei battle that almost destroyed Rei...
Besides Rei being a lot more badass and even jerkass in the manga (he still hung around Takao and Max unlike Kai) my opinion of this isn't really much. I don't know which I like better but he did get lots of scenes and spotlight (well if we're NOT comparing with Takao) the main character shafted the most though? Max.
HE DIDN'T EVEN DO ANYTHING FOR THIRTEEN VOLUMES.
Sure he showed up, got his holy beast and lost to Kai but after that he just lost to everyone until finally he did something important in the Max vs. Takao battle near the end of the manga. He did fight Daichi too, but that ended in a draw and was mostly a Daichi-focused thing. Max was just there to be happy and stuff I guess. His only moment, a good moment too, was his battle vs. Takao which was quite cool...but otherwise NOTHING! Nothing at all!
I also think Rei had "reverse character derailment" in the Anime. His true personality from the manga showed up in G Revolution, nice Rei was a product of the Anime. Even then it didn't seem like him exactly in G Rev, so yeah.
Also Takao's bro is much less of a prick in the manga, lol. Basically the manga was MORE BEYBLADE and LESS CHARACTER which the Anime had a bit more of, but obviously the Beyblade part is incredibly relevant in the Anime. Oh yeah, 'Zeo" or Leon as his real name is is 1000x cooler in the manga. Kenny is also 1000x cooler in the manga. Also Takao isn't struck with "I WON THE CHAMPIONSHIP THREE TIMES!" syndrome, the first tournament is interrupted (By Tala, he wasn't the person you had to defeat to win) and the second you never actually see the ending (him and Kai). "Zeo" Leon wasn't actually in a tournament either, he was just a super suave rich kid who wanted to please his father. Awww. (He also wasn't a "I AM A BIG FAN OF TAKAO!" fanboy like the Anime, so he really was 1000x cooler in the manga.)
But yeah, if I had to give the manga a rating....probably two stars out of five. It simply felt like a shounen manga aimed at little boys. I read it for the nostalgia but some characters weren't what I knew them as, others barely even got named, and my favourite didn't even do anything, nonetheless the plot was a lot better. For people who are on the "DIE MARIAH/MAO" wagon...she was basically a cheerleader the entire time, maybe played once but I only remember her in like five panels in the entire manga. NO FEMALE CHARACTER GOT SPOTLIGHT AT ALL, in fact the most major female character was probably MATHILDA, you know the girl from the Barthez Battatlion or Soldiers or whatever they were called? It was nice though, I never expected her to actually have the most spotlight, and even then it wasn't that much. So if you like female characters (particularly Mariam, who didn't even get a LINE in the manga) the Anime is much, much better for that.
That is all from Spotto. Until next time! Probably the PPG review.
