Ultraman Manga: Chapter Seven Review

Volume Two of the Ultraman Manga starts here. The previous chapter was by far the best and most important. We learned that the Alien menace was actually a resurrected Bemular. That was probably one of the most shocking twists I've ever read. This manga literally grabbed this weak kaiju from the very first episode and placed him here with dialogue and a new look. The other interesting thing? The final few pages introduced another familiar character...Alien Z-Ton. Now the manga was really going with its plot. This chapter serves as a much needed explanation of a few things. It's severely short, (17 pages) but has probably the best dialogue yet.

Shinjiro goes to see his father, whom is still unconscious. Soon Ito brings him to the Alien Z-Ton that goes by the name of AI-DE. Ever wonder why aliens haven't attacked for 40 years? We learn that here. Now Shin is called to be the next Ultraman. First off, I love the call-backs to that final episode of the Original Series. The references really help deepen the story. In just a few pages, this Alien Z-Ton has already become of the best characters of the series yet. Sadly Shin doesn't really deepen as a character here, this is just him being shocked and asking questions. He hasn't left average territory yet. This chapter is also the shortest, being just 17 pages. Thankfully there's enough satisfying content, which is really thanks to Z-Ton's dialogue and imposing stature. The art really does this guy justice. Now the manga is asking the reader a question. Is this alien really good? Or fooling everyone? Ito seems to trust him. It's stuff like that which adds to the mystery element of the story. The main thing established here is that there are aliens living among the humans, and that Bemular has somehow resurrected himself into a new form. Good stuff, though hopefully we'll see some monsters in their more kaiju-like designs soon. (Not that I don't like the aliens of course.)

Overall, despite being really short, Chapter 7 of the Ultraman Manga gives the reader some very interesting info. We get a few answers, which leads to more questions. Alien Z-Ton was definitely the highlight, I hope he becomes a regular in the story. If the ending is any indication, we're still in the prologue stage, for it looks like Shinjiro is about to finally become Ultraman. I'll be looking forward to seeing how things play out in Chapter 8.

4.5/5