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Reviewed by Kevin Hill Sometimes you take a chance on a comic, and the comic surprises you - it fills you with an infectious pleasure that you wouldn't mind feeling more often. Eyeshield 21 is, surprisingly, one such comic. It's curious that the only mainstream comics to tackle the US's favourite sports just happen to hail from Japan. First Harlem Beat tackled the world of basketball, then Whistle! threw in possibly the most played sport in the world, football (that's association football or 'soccer'), and now we have Eyeshield 21 representing American Football. The concept is a simple fare, following the tried-and-tested 'young boy meets new friends' style that you see in many of the Shonen Jump stories, this time telling the tale of the downtrodden (and somewhat lovesick) Sena, a first year high school kid who has major problems with being picked on. As if by magic, a unique skill appears: Sena can dodge, weave, and sprint fantastically well. Skills which don't go unnoticed by the captain of the school American Football team known as the Devil Bats. Thus starts a farce of unbelievably fun proportions. Sena's doormat characteristics start off as worrying, but once he meets up with Haruma, the captain, and Ryokan, the team's blocker, Sena starts to become far more likeable. By the end of the book, you can't help but root for the Devil Bats as they play their first match, especially when Sena is forced into the game by Hiruma. Does he choke? Ah, now that would be spoiling it for you, when you should be reading it already. Comment on this review of Eyeshield 21 v1 on the Manga Life Forums. |
6 October 2009
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