LBX (Little Battlers Experience) Vol 2 (Manga Review)

Reviewed by: Young Jeohn

Title - LBX (Little Battlers Experience) Volume 2
Author/Illustrator - Hideaki Fujii
Pages - 184

STORY

In the year 2050, LBX robots have taken over the title of the most popular and hottest toy around. This is the story of Van Yamano, the son of an LBX designer who suddenly finds himself in possession of an un-identified LBX with the key to saving the world. Can he and his friends stop the forces of evil from stealing this secret for their own sinister uses?

In this volume, Van's quest to save his father continues as he endures hellish training (with help from the Counter Intelligence Organization), to win the LBX World Tournament. The stakes are huge, because hidden inside the grand prize is the key to the secret blueprints that would enable the evil organization, the New Dawn Raisers, to take over the world. They want it very badly, and Van is determined to stop them at any cost.

Fight after fight, Van and his friends Amy and Kaz are challenged by harder, deadlier enemies until they meet their match in Nils Richter. Nils and his group are a strange bunch, but they don't realize until it's too late that he's an artificially enhanced human created by the New Dawn Raisers. His enhanced powers ultimately force Amy and Kaz to sacrifice their LBX's to save Van, who now stands all alone. How will he defeat Nils? Will he even survive to meet his arch enemy, the undefeated and most feared of LBX's? But first, he has to fight tooth and nail to get past Nils...

The world of LBX

LBX, short for Little Battlers Experience, are small robots made of fortified cardboard and the size of a large McDonalds coffee cup (20 oz size). They are remote controlled by what look like cell phones.

All arguments are settled by LBX robot duels, with the winners left standing and the opposition destroyed to nothing. Upgrades in weapons, armor and shields enable higher attack damage and better defense. It's very much like a Pokemon or Yu-Gi-Oh game where you fight to win.

ART

The character and mech designs are good with great facial expressions. Background art is lacking (very little in the way of trees and buildings), though explosions and action lines are well drawn, giving a great feel for the truck that's coming this way, a weapon slashing that way, and bombs demolishing the building across the street.

CONCLUSION

LBX volume 2 is a fun read, keeping in mind this comic is geared for the young reader. It's a linear story that makes the most sense to people who've already read the first volume, but anyone can pick up the second volume and follow along since the story has clear winners and losers, good guys and bad guys.

Adults reading this manga will have a laugh once they realize that the very thought of using robots the size of a can of Campbell's tomato soup to destroy a shopping center is just absurd (and strangely funny) at the same time. The artist presents these LBX's as bigger-than-life and does a great job at hiding this fact (within reason) with artwork that's very well done.

FINAL SCORE

7 out of 10 / B