PREFACE
In a world
unlike any you have ever seen, people live in a dark age ruled by
fear and powerful monsters called Vandels. Only one force can stand
up to the Vandels and give humanity a fighting chance: the Busters.
Using skill and magic the Busters fight and help bring peace and
security to all.
Young Beet is enamored of the Zenon Warriors, a local Buster
gang, and spends his days following in their shadows. Both blessed
and cursed with the ability to be awake for three days straight
(followed by a whole day of sleep) the peculiar child makes a
contract with the Busters and sets off to serve justice and save the
world. But in the aftermath of one tragic night Beet finds himself
alone on his quest and even more determined to become the best
Vandel Buster there is.
MANGA VISION TEST
ARTWORK:
I always think of this bold drawing style as being particularly
shonen. Everything is dark lines and stark spaces that pop off the
page adding to the excitement of the story. I don’t always care
for the exaggerated weird faces the characters make but it doesn't
detract too much from my enjoyment. The monsters (Vandels) really
make me think of other series like Dragonball Z, Ultimate Muscle,
and such. Don’t expect super scary or slimy tentacle-y
things to fight. This is definitely a young boy’s mind translated
well onto paper.
SOUND EFFECTS: The effects have all been
translated into English and are often quite large in the frame.
However, sparing use keeps them from overpowering the action (most
of the time). The world Beet and his companions inhabit is largely
silent. All you get is the occasional significant noise or
sound to get your attention. Even the battles are not cluttered up
with written garbage. I found it a nice change from the overly wordy
effects some series prefer.
EDITS: There
is nothing obvious missing from Beet and if anything was edited it
was probably gore or violence but I have a feeling that since it was
meant for a younger audience you are probably getting it all.
EXTRAS: I really liked the author/ artist note
at the beginning where Riku Sanjo and Koji Inada briefly set up that
the world inhabited by Beet is vastly different from our own. This
is backed up even further by the “Beet the World” guide at the
back where they take the time to break down terms, weapons, even the
Buster Guild for the reader to understand. It’s very clear a lot
went into to creating the world of Beet and it’s really nice to be
able to get a good look at things you may or may not have considered
about how the world works.
BOOK REPORT
STORY:
Since the world Beet inhabits has so many monsters and other things
not found in our own realm, it takes a while to really let go and
get into the story. You have to take quite a bit at face value until
you read the guide at the back as far as what’s going on. The
story is definitely tight but Riku Sanjo jumps perhaps too far into
the action too early at the expense of exposition. It was well worth
the second reading and spending a few minutes in the guide to get
the full gist of the story.
TRANSLATION: As usual, Viz does an admirable
job of letting characters speak naturally. As a child Beet
“sounds” like one, even when he is trying to act like a grown
up. The Zenon Warriors are a bit too fond of rambling explanations
but the aura of medial knights on a quest that surrounds them helps
carry it off. The Vandels, as expected, expound dramatically- but
what else would you expect from hideous, evil demon-monster things!
CHARACTERS: Beet is a boy with energy to burn.
He has the ability to stay awake for three days and nights- working,
playing, or fighting monsters. The down side is that on his day to
sleep he will collapse anywhere, even in the middle of a battle.
Growing up in the Dark Age as an orphan Beet hasn’t had an easy
life but his devotion to the ideals of peace and justice drive him
to take the dangerous job as a Buster, especially when his idols the
Zenon Warriors disappear without a trace, under mysterious
circumstances. He vanishes himself for three years before turning up
suddenly in his home village: ready to fight for justice.
Paola was raised alongside Beet by her
innkeeper parents. She is a friend, companion, and tormentor to the
impetuous Beet. Paola is willful and strong and exceptionally
devoted to her family and friends. When her village is set upon by
Vandels and her father injured, she makes her own contract with the
Busters and does her best to keep her town safe, while earning the
money she needs to support her family. When Beet returns after his
three year absence she is overwhelmed at the changes in her
childhood friend.
Beltorze, also called the King of Tragedy, is a
powerful Vandel. He tracks down the Zenon Warriors and tries to
destroy them by exploiting their greatest weakness- Beet. He wants
to rule the world but the internal conflicts of the Vandels have
mired his ambition in petty squabbling. Destroying a famous band of
Vandel Busters like Zenon’s group will help put his domination
plans back on the right path, if he succeeds.
Zenon, Laio, Cruss, Alside, Bluezam are the
five men known collectively as the Zenon Warriors. They travel the
countryside destroying Vandels and making the world safer despite
the poor treatment they receive from various villagers. These strong
fighters each possess a mystical weapon called a Saiga. Pure energy
of the spirit Saiga can manifest as a physical weapon like a lance,
shield, or sword and is carried (in energy form) inside the
Buster’s body until needed. In their last known battle the Zenon
Warriors faced off against their greatest enemy Beltorze and
vanished without a trace. Only Beet knows their true fate and he’s
not telling.
FANSERVICE:
The fanservice for Beet comes mainly in the form of the guide to
Beet the World at the end of the manga. Here you get to see what the
author and artist were thinking about as they formed the characters
and the world around them. There is a little information about many
things, though I was disappointed by the lack of character profiles.
Those would have been really more useful than the heavy-duty Saiga
info and the Buster branding system, at least for the first volume
but in any case, it gives you a real glimpse into what goes on
behind the scenes and all the things to consider when making a manga.
FOOTNOTES:
It
took two readings and some time with the guide to really draw me
into the world of Beet the Vandel Buster but when I finally caught
onto everything I enjoyed myself. For a manga aimed at the young
adult male population I found it surprisingly complicated, not that
there weren’t plenty of tedium breaking battle scenes, but the
purpose of Beet appears to be more than to simply move the character
from one battle to the next. He has a goal, a purpose in life, and a
personality. Add into the mix a strong, independent female figure
and it make for a fun, exciting read.
I both like and dislike the bold drawing style.
I like it because it had strength and energy, things feel exciting
and there is good flow. I dislike it however, because of the
tendency towards exaggerated expressions and unpleasant creatures.
Squished faces and tongues hanging out really don’t add a thing to
the story for me.
It’s clear that both Riku Sanjo and Koji
Inada cared a great deal about this project. They created a well
fleshed world and despite jumping too far into the action and losing
the exposition made a cohesive story that you want to keep reading.
For me, Beet was a bit outside my usual shonen
reading tastes. I prefer a sports manga to a battle one but I found
enough points of interest to keep reading. The inclusion of Paola as
a strong, independent woman, who is taking care of her family at a
very young age, made this a worthwhile read for me. Too often girls
get relegated to sideline- lovesick- pansies who want to be taken
care of and worshipped. I’m all for putting women on pedestals but
I think they should earn the right to be there first. Paola does
that and more. I’m looking forward to reading further volumes and
watching both her and Beet progress on their journey. I hope I
won’t be disappointed.
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