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Reviewed by Michael Aronson “Detective Fujiwara is keeping a close watch on Hiro as he moves to his own apartment. This does little to stifle Hiro’s many extracurricular activities, one of which is a secret meeting with his girlfriend’s mother. He also manages to punish the kid slandering the “man in the black suit” on the internet by using Junk’s technology to crack the user information on the internet forum. But when Hiro finds out a fanatic is planning to ruin his favorite idol’s concert, he decides to use his power for good.” The second volume of Junk shows marginal improvement over the first. Hiro’s still unabashedly unlikable, the art’s still hit and miss, and the mystery doesn’t get enough development, but the series is gradually shaping up. If Hiro is supposed to be the story’s hero, he sure doesn’t act the part, but I’ve already curbed my expectations. He’s about as much a hero as Death Note’s Light Yagami is a hero – that is, more of a villain, really. Hiro’s most decisive action in this volume is to hunt down an anonymous message board poster who talks trash about his alter ego on message boards. Where Jay and Silent Bob once made a mockery of this desire for vengeance, Junk actually tries to play it straight. It doesn’t so much succeed or fail as it informs the reader that this isn’t a typical hero story. His actions may be incredibly off-kilter, even disturbing, but it makes him interesting. For all our second-guessing as to what could happen if dangerous weapons fell into the wrong hands, Junk may be exploring such a scenario by empowering a self-destructive teen with superpowers. His motivations are all self-serving in nature, seeking appeasement either in pleasure or retribution. A clear-cut plot has yet to present itself, but the seeds are there. It’s a shame then that for such moody and intense art, action scenes are conveyed so poorly. In fact, any action – both subtle and explosive – is vague and unclear, which puts a damper on the last page revelation. It’s pretty obvious what’s being revealed, and the story hasn’t been very subtle with its foreshadowing, but the visuals at the end don’t deliver the punch they’re miming. Junk isn’t the most satisfying reading experience, but I must admit that I’m excited by the potential. I’ve never actually seen a convincing examination of “power and responsibility” rejected by a protagonist before. The problem is, I’m not entirely convinced that Junk is attempting such a premise. Comment on this review of JUNK: Record of the Last Hero v2 on the Manga Life Forums. |
6 October 2009
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