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Reviewed by Michael Aronson “After the surprising identity of the woman in the white JUNK suit is revealed, Hiro saves the pop star Manami and her fans from a time bomb. Public opinion on the masked superman becomes more positive due to the incident and Hiro can finally enjoy this private life . . . or can he? His secret crush Ryoko goes missing and Hiro cannot find her, even with JUNK’s x-ray and thermograph search. Will he be able to rescue her in time?” And at last, Junk lives up to its name. This volume gets pretty damn creepy. Hiro’s not-quite girlfriend Ryoko gets kidnapped by a sick stalker with a doll fetish, and after he locks her in his basement, he wants her to play dress up. His twisted psychology is slowly revealed, and while his intentions are sort of harmless, his seedy means do him no favors. I’m sure Asamiya wanted to convey a really disturbed personality in the kidnapper, and to this end, he succeeded. But what does all this have to do with Hiro? Three quarters of the volume are spent on Ryoko dealing with the kidnapper while police make little progress in finding her and Hiro accomplishes even less. He’s all but absent in this volume, and the change of focus wouldn’t be a problem if he wasn’t supposed to be the star of the series! He’s barely done anything of significance thus far, only to be ditched for most of this volume. I thought this series was supposed to be a dark look at a selfish superhero character, yet none of that’s really continued at all. Something’s up with DrMaster this month, as this is the second book that betrays its rating. I know an Older Teen rating allows for some mature content, but this volume crosses the line. Aside from the kidnapper/stalk/doll fetishist, there’s a gratuitous shower scene, but that doesn’t compare to the sex scene between Hiro and . . . Ryoko’s mom? What?!? Where did that come from, and why does it occur at all? It would simply be mindblowingly odd if it wasn’t also inappropriate for the age rating. I don’t know what Junk is trying to be and I don’t think Asamiya has any clue either. Interested in writing for MangaLife? We're always looking for talented reviewers and columnists, so drop us a line! Charles Webb Editor-in-Chief, MangaLife.com |
1 September 2010
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