Hanger, Vol. 1
(Hanger: Shikkounin #1)
Hirotaka Kisaragi
Release: July 17, 2018
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In a futuristic Neo-Tokyo, crime is rising rapidly in the wake of a new generation of super-drugs capable of enhancing the user's physical and mental abilities. Hajime Tsukomo is a new recruit on a federal task force trained to go after these powered-up criminals. Now he must team up with Zeroichi, a so-called Hanger looking to reduce his own jail sentence in exchange for helping to take down these chemically-boosted bad guys. This is volume 1 of the series.
Review:
Last summer I went looking for more science fiction manga to read and had a hard time finding ones I was interested in. About a week into my search, I saw this volume up on Netgalley and decided to give it a try. I really enjoyed it! Like, I enjoyed it enough to request an ARC of the second volume as soon as it went up.
First up, lets talk about the illustrations. I loved the art style that the mangaka used! It's kind of that classic BL anime style but I really appreciated it. Nobody's hands were too big for their bodies and it didn't look too cartoonish. And I liked how none of the potential love interests looked like they were twelve. As much as I love BL/yaoi manga, that trend still kind of creeps me out.
I loved the world and the worldbuilding. The idea of a society that throws itself into finding a way to circumvent disease was a thrilling one and I'm always a sucker for a story that uses nanotech. I loved how the author took that miracle cure and gave it a dark side. I was fascinated by how the nano machines were used as an upper to make super powered criminals called Hangers. And the powers each person received were unique and varied. As were the consequences of gaining those powers. I think that was my favorite part of reading this manga; finding out what each Hanger's power was and the addiction that came with gaining it.
I really enjoyed the characters but I will admit that they weren't as fleshed out as I would have liked. But this is the first volume in a series so I'm interested to see and learn more about all of the characters as it continues. As of right now, the characters I really want to know more about are Hibiki and Hashima.
One thing that bothered me and took away from my enjoyment of this volume was how the author kept explaining what a Hanger was. I understand that when things are being serialized some things need to be reiterated in the next chapter but this was beat to death and was sometimes mentioned multiple times in a chapter.
Overall, I really liked it and I'm excited to carry on with the series. I can't wait to see where the author takes the story!
ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley.
1/2
3.5 / 5 Stars
Hanger Manga, Vol. 2
(Hanger: Shikkounin #2)
Hirotaka Kisaragi
Release: September 4, 2018
Goodreads Amazon
Review:
Wow! Okay. I knew I was going to enjoy this going into it but I didn't expect to end up loving it as much as I did. While I enjoyed the first volume in this series, I'm happy to say that this one was so much better. It took me a bit to figure out why but when I did everything made sense.
The difference between these first two volumes basically boils down to the fact that almost everything I had issues with in the first volume were nonexistent in this one. The repeated beating of the definition of Hanger was gone and things got definitely more fast-paced! I've decided that the first book was kind of sacrificed to introduce the world because, in comparison to this volume, nothing really happened.
Don't get me wrong. That setup is what made this one so much more enjoyable. It feels like the mangaka really got their feet underneath them and this beauty was the result. The plotting was significantly tighter and we got to see the relationship between Zeroichi and Hajime move forward. And thank god! Hajime learned to stick up for himself. But what I think made that all possible was the introduction of a main villain and his scheming. It seriously made all of the difference even though it was a bit creepy how dedicated and brainwashed his followers were.
I just really need volume three to come out soon and be in my hands. I need to know what happens next and because that was a mean place for the mangaka to end that volume. I'll definitely be getting the next volume as soon as it's out. Hopefully I'll be able to get an ARC of it.
ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley.
1/2
Hanger Manga, Vol. 2
(Hanger: Shikkounin #2)
Hirotaka Kisaragi
Release: September 4, 2018
Goodreads Amazon
In a futuristic Neo-Tokyo, crime is rising rapidly in the wake of a new generation of super-drugs capable of enhancing the user's physical and mental abilities. Hajime Tsukomo is a new recruit on a federal task force trained to go after these powered-up criminals. Now he must team up with Zeroichi, a so-called Hanger looking to reduce his own jail sentence in exchange for helping to take down these chemically-boosted bad guys. This is volume 2 of the series.
Review:
Wow! Okay. I knew I was going to enjoy this going into it but I didn't expect to end up loving it as much as I did. While I enjoyed the first volume in this series, I'm happy to say that this one was so much better. It took me a bit to figure out why but when I did everything made sense.
The difference between these first two volumes basically boils down to the fact that almost everything I had issues with in the first volume were nonexistent in this one. The repeated beating of the definition of Hanger was gone and things got definitely more fast-paced! I've decided that the first book was kind of sacrificed to introduce the world because, in comparison to this volume, nothing really happened.
Don't get me wrong. That setup is what made this one so much more enjoyable. It feels like the mangaka really got their feet underneath them and this beauty was the result. The plotting was significantly tighter and we got to see the relationship between Zeroichi and Hajime move forward. And thank god! Hajime learned to stick up for himself. But what I think made that all possible was the introduction of a main villain and his scheming. It seriously made all of the difference even though it was a bit creepy how dedicated and brainwashed his followers were.
I just really need volume three to come out soon and be in my hands. I need to know what happens next and because that was a mean place for the mangaka to end that volume. I'll definitely be getting the next volume as soon as it's out. Hopefully I'll be able to get an ARC of it.
ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley.
1/2
4.5 / 5 Stars
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