Print Review: Rave Master volumes 1-5

Review Rave Master volumes 1-5Written by WarpshadowRating fair

I know there are a lot of Naruto fans out there but I think I like the shonen adventure genre as much as the next anime fan if not more. Thus I can say with confidence that Rave Master is trite and boring.

Fifty years ago a great war was fought and on the side of light the greatest weapons was the Rave. Since then sword saint Shiba has sought to find a successor to the Rave. Shiba thinks that he may have found that person in Haru Glory, a young man living on garage island. Unfortunately there is no time for Haru to grow into his skills as the Demon Card organization has caught up to Shiba and has orders to kill all that oppose them. Will Haru be able to master the Rave in time to fend off the Demon Card and their weapons, the Dark Bring?

The shonen adventure genre of anime and manga has a bit of a sordid reputation of being flat thematically. It is stories like Rave Master that give the genre it’s reputation; as far as I have read the story consists or a blaringly generic shonen hero fighting pointlessly evil bad guys. The elements that make this story technically different from it’s bretheren such as the weird dog Pluie and how all the towns are named after music are gimmicks rather than things that would make Rave Master fresh and interesting. In conclusion Rave Master is a manga that I really can’t recommend unless you like shonen adventure enough to enjoy it’s lesser works.