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HARUKAZE BITTER BOP, VOL. 1
TOKYOPOP
CARTOONIST: Court Betten
TRANSLATION: Christine Schilling
ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Kereth Cowe-Spigai
ISBN: 978-1-4278-0328-3; paperback; Comedy/Action; Rated “T” for “Teen-Age 13+”
192 pp., B&W, $9.99
Harukaze Bitter Bop, Vol. 1 gives us a high school hero in crisis. Chiyoharu Hasumi was basically the ringleader in a prank that went awry and resulted in a major fire at his school. He managed to get away, and his punishment was only suspension. His three pals, who stayed behind, were expelled from school.
Now, back in school, Chiyoharu is an outcast desperate to fit in again. Then, chance brings him two new acquaintances: the mysterious, seemingly indestructible, muscle man, Souza of the North Wind, and undercover high school Special Detective Kaede Tsubaki. With their arrival, the inscrutable mysteries of Chiyo’s distant childhood return, demanding that he confront them and unravel them. How does Souza play into that?
THE LOWDOWN: A high school comedy with rich swirls of action, Harukaze Bitter Bop is unique, but even more so quite flavorful. This manga’s garb is made of a few swatches of fantasy; in particularly, it almost resembles American comic books about teenage superheroes. For those steeped in anime, they will find references to Dragon Ball and Kinnikuman (according to the series editor).
Some, however, will find Harukaze Bitter Bop so enthralling because the entire thing is a series of mystery subplots, all joined into one huge knot. While the narrative begins a bit slowly, soon, it will have you racing across the book in hopes that at least a few of the next pages will offer answers. The reader won’t be disappointed, as there are answers, even while that which is unknown keeps getting bigger.
POSSIBLE AUDIENCE: With manga-ka, Court Betten’s almost American-style art and amusing, interesting characters, Harukaze Bitter Bop should appeal to a broad range of readers, even superhero comics readers with adventurous tastes.
B+
