Volumes: 5 (2-in-1) Omnibuses (Complete but very OOP), 10/10 (Digital Complete)
Shounen (reads like)
Genre: Fighting, Comedy, Friendship, Romance, Scifi
Summary: One morning college student Yuuhi Amamiya wakes up to find a talking lizard in his room and a power ring on his finger. He is told he was chosen to be one of 12 Knights to protect the Princess and save the earth from the evil wizard. Up in the sky, a gigantic hammer hangs above the Earth, waiting for the strange outcome of this life or death battle.
At first Yuuhi wants nothing to do with his destiny, thanks to his abusive Grandfather, who always punished him. His grandfather always told him not to make any friends or any enemies either, so Yuuhi has avoided making any relationships at all. He would rather see this rotten world destroyed. Upon meeting the Princess, he finds out that she too wants to destroy the world- after saving it first. They make a pact to destroy the world together after saving it first with the other Knights. But when the time comes, can he really do it? Is there anything worth living for in this awful world?
Review: This is a strange manga. Back in the day when it first was translated, it was really controversial in a love it or hate it way, particularly for the beginning. The beginning is a deliberate trope subverting story and stars a main character who seems to know he’s the protagonist of a Shounen manga and acts accordingly. So there’s a lot of the humor that plays on subverting these tropes and tossing in the whole antihero thing into the mix. A lot of readers disliked this as well as the artwork, which is admittedly on somewhat on the crude and simplistic side.
Personally, I thought it was wickedly funny, but I can see how it wouldn’t fit everyone’s tastes. That being said, as time went on this series eventually became very popular as it found its audience and also is one of the highest rated complete series that is still available on Crunchyroll manga.
After the initial comedic start, the story takes a dark turn, and then after a while, the story basically settles in a more typical Shounen pattern of defeating enemies, getting stronger, while revealing more and more of the backstories of each character as they train together.
The characters are the other half of the controversy. They all start kind of flat and generic at first but as time goes on, they fill out more and become more interesting and have more depth. I can’t say they all get equal treatment though, after all there are 12 Knights plus the Princess, the Wizard and the Wizard’s minions, so some get much more time in the spotlight than others.
Recommended: All in all, it’s a strong story about growing up, making peace with the things you can’t change, the value of making friendships and loving others. My only complaint was mostly how the beginning comedy evaporated part way through the series and it became 100% serious. Also he’s a great writer IMO, but not a very good artist. But still, it’s a great read and definitely worth a try for most Shounen readers and some Seinen readers.
Age Rating: PG13: for some poorly drawn fan service, underwear shots and mild nudity. Also a moderate amount of violence but not that graphic.
Other works by this mangaka in English: (from most to least popular): Spirit Circle, Planet With, Trigun Multiple Bullets (1 story in a tribute anthology)
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