JUNK: Record of the Last Hero Vol. 2

Reviewed by Von Jared Omo
July 27, 2007

Artist: Kevin Miller Author: Kia Asamiya Publisher: DrMaster Publications Website: Click Here

After applying for a black JUNK suit on the internet, getting revenge on the bullies that tortured him, and accidentally blowing up his home and killing his parents, high school student Hiro finds himself starting over and contemplating on whether he should use his powers for good or evil. Hiro discovers that a white JUNK suit is owned by a woman during the night they fought. With the insurance Hiro obtains after his parents’ death, he buys a new place for himself and spends a lot of time on his own. He finds on the news that the government thinks that the people in the JUNK suits are terrorists, and on the internet, he finds a kid slandering “the man in the black JUNK suit.” Hiro uses the suit’s technology to find this kid and teach him a lesson, which he does by blowing up a part of his home. If slandering was not enough, Hiro is also being closely watched by Detective Fujiwara who suspects Hiro as one of the people in the JUNK suits. Because of this, Hiro becomes more subtle about his activities, one of which is a secret meeting with his girlfriend’s mother. One day as Hiro visits an online forum for his favorite singer Manami, he discovers that someone is planning to ruin the concert. Hiro attends the concert to make sure nothing goes wrong. During one of the songs, Hiro finds the person involved, morphs into his JUNK suit, and brings him to the catwalk above the stage. Not only does the person pass out, but he encounters the woman in the white JUNK suit. They agree that the priority should be Manami’s safety and decide not to fight. The man wakes up and tells them that he is an accomplice and not the one in charge of the plan to ruin Manami’s concert. Since he is not the one in charge, they let him go. Just then, the power of the white JUNK suit starts to die out. The woman tells Hiro that she knows it is him who is in the black suit. Hiro then demands the woman in the white suit to reveal her identity to him so they could be even. As the woman turns around, her identity leaves Hiro star struck.

The panels are drawn very clearly and give enough detail to make the reader easily know what is going on and where it is happening. The only thing I had thought seemed a little awkward was the way some of the faces were drawn on some panels. On the panels where the faces were just penciled, it seems like all the characters had the same shape and characteristics on their faces. However, on the panels where the faces were given a shadow effect, the faces look nicely done. The cover of the manga is not that colorful nor does it have that many images. It just contains the face of the JUNK suit in somewhat of a blue color. As for the dialogue, it does not contain any corny or over dramatic lines, which is a very good thing. The dialogue contains some perverted humor as well as seen in the pages where Hiro looks on the internet to find out what people are saying about the black and white JUNK suit. Also, the manga contains some nude images which may seem a little inappropriate to minors. The story is great but some of the art could use a little improvement.

The story is good and has a fair share of plot twists. Hiro seems like the kind of character that does not know what he wants and he lets his emotions get the best of him, which may get him into a lot of trouble. I believe that people will like the story and enjoy Hiro’s journey into becoming a hero through the JUNK suit. The only problem I had with the manga was, again, the drawing of some of the faces. The faces of the girls would somewhat look like the boys’ faces. Despite that, the overall art is well done. Also, the cover could use a little more color. I believe that this manga will stand the test of time due to its story and characters and I believe more people will get into this manga.