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Psyren vol. 16 (manga review)

Posted by :Patches On : May 4, 2014
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Category: Reviews

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Psyren 16Title: Psyren vol. 16

Author/Artist: Toshiaki Iwashiro

Distributor: Viz Media

American Release Date: May 6th, 2014

Format: Manga

Genre: Action, Supernatural, Shonen

Publisher Age Rating: T+ for older teen

Overall Personal Rating: A-

 

Synopsis:

Miroku Amagi is in the habit of using his powers to toy with the lives of other humans, but Ageha isn’t going to stand for it anymore. What will happen when the two foes pit their incredible powers against each other?

Ageha’s fellow Psionists and the Elmore Wood gang attack W.I.S.E’s capital to rescue their friends, and Kyle and the others find themselves in a desperate struggle for their lives against the Star Commanders. Fortunately, the long-lost Oboro appears just in time, as do Matsuri and Kagetora, who have finally made it to Psyren. As the melee intensifies, Ageha confronts Miroku Amagi alone to settle the score once and for all.

This is it, the final volume. Don’t miss the action.

 

Commentary:

Psyren 16 does something that very few series manage pull off with their final volumes and that is the ability to bring it home and have it all make sense. The story unfolds and an action packed battle that reveals everything but at the same time leaves the door open for more interpretations to come. I’m not saying that you will walk away not feeling satisfied or left feeling like something is missing. Rather, I believe you will find this volume very well developed and properly completed.

I love the way Ageha manages to take on Miroku Amagi and unravel his entire plan. The others do their best and are able to stand their found, but it all comes down to Ageha and how well he can do. I can say that the way this final battle is put together comes across well and compared the rest of the series it stands out as the best so far and of course it should be.

Overall Grade: A-

Psyren has been a tail of two cites for me. I found the early volumes to be rather slow to develop and the pacing was way off. As the story developed things really came together. This brings us to the final volume where everything needs to come together and sure enough they do. The pacing was just right and the way it is wrapped up was done in a rather nice job, even if it could have been a little cleaner I still really enjoyed it. Toshaki Iwashiro managed to create a rich and action packed world. For anyone thinking about taking on this series all I can say is stick with it the final product stands along side other series like FMA or even Bleach with it only being shorter. This is truly a top notch shonen series and worth a try.

Psyren vol. 15 (manga review)

Posted by :Patches On : February 18, 2014
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Category: Reviews

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Psyren 15Title: Psyren vol. 15

Author/Artist: Toshiaki Iwashiro

Distributor: Viz Media

American Release Date: March 4th, 2014

Format: Manga

Genre: Action, Supernatural, Comedy

Publisher Age Rating: T+ for older teen

Overall Personal Rating: B+

 Synopsis:

Ageha and his fellow Psionists and Elmore Wood launch an attack on Astral Nava to rescue their kidnapped friends and confront Miroku Amagi once and for all. The Star Commanders are formidable opponents, but Ageha’s team gets a boost from some surprise reinforcements. As the ferocious battles rage, Miroku begins to set his ultimate plan in motion: the creation of an entirely new species to replace the human race!

Is it possible that Ageha and the others have the power and understanding that will remove this threat to human kind?

Commentary:

As we get closer to the final battle and conclusion of the series things are really heating up. We are discovering new things about these unusual fighters and at the same time getting a better picture of the secrets hidden behind the curtain.  Volume 15 of Psyren is decently action packed and some surprising heroes arrive on the scene, but the question that remain is if the new found power of Ageha’s give him the edge or does it just make him feel better about his chances. The stage is being set and the simple fact is that this is where Psyren locks itself into the stereotypical shonen mode. I was expecting more surprises in this volume and a few twist, but things are lining up just as expected and in a way I am a tad bit disappointed.  I know that it is hard to bring a series to its climax without falling back on some tried and true plot devices and I sincerely hope that the final volume gives us the true twist that this fine series deserves.

The pacing in this volume is relatively strong which makes it very easy to read and follow. The battle sequences do not get overly complex and confusing and that too helps the reader stay focused on what is really happening. The clean battles are very important to this stage of the story because when there are so many things being introduced to help the series make its final moves many creators get crazy and loose control of their editing abilities. Toshiaki Iwashiro does a great job of staying focused and on top of the action.

Overall Grade: B+

Psyren, is one of those series that has it all from the wayward teen ager turned ultimate hero to the crazed evil person who wants to recreate humanity just to prove a point. The heroes are everywhere and for Psyren I see even some of the minor characters as having some true strength and reason for being not just for filler and canon fader as the story progresses. Much about this series opens plenty of door for great story telling and for this next to last volume I feel like Toshiaki Iwashiro fell back on some rather tired cliché elements. On the other hand Toshiaki does a great job of not mudding the water with over complicated battle scenes and that may just be the best part of the volume. All in all volume of 15 of Psyren is strong enough to propel us into the final volume and keep us guessing on what will really happen.