Manga Review: Junk: Record of the Last Hero, Vols. 1-2

Junk: Record of the Last Hero, Vols. 1-2

By Kia Asamiya
Published by Dr Master
Rating: Older Teen (15+)

As someone who reads superhero comics, I can find some value in Junk. The cover jacket says volume one is supposed to tell the main character’s origin, while volume two is where the main plot takes off. However, having read the first two volumes, as far as I can tell, the story of how the main character ends up as a vigilante hero with a powerful suit of armor remains ongoing – that is, if he indeed becomes a hero. As of volume three, he remains a mostly-obnoxious character whose moral compass has yet to be pointed in the right direction.

Hiro is your average teenage male, consumed by anger, resentment towards his parents, sexual urges and materialism. One day, Hiro receives a package in the mail, which resembles a cell phone, only it can be installed in his computer. After registering the device, called Junk, on the internet, he finds himself fitted with a fancy black suit, which grants him enhanced strength, agility, and other powers (and which resembles what the heroes in the latter episodes of Robotech wore).

Like Spiderman’s alter ego Peter Parker, Hiro initially decides to use Junk to live out power fantasies, such as getting revenge on bullies. On his first night with the suit, he also beats up some robbers, but one gets the impression he is joyriding as opposed to being fueled by the drive to do good.

There is inevitably some great tragedy, which Hiro may have unwittingly caused. Afterward, his life seemingly changed forever, he finds himself face-to-face with a woman wearing a white, but otherwise identical-looking Junk suit. This Junk, who appears to be a hero, wants to know if Hiro will use his newfound powers to become “a devil… or a god?”

The wit of Kia Asamiya’s Junk – which otherwise lives up to its name – is even after this pivotal moment, when Hiro should have realized that with great power comes great responsibility, he chooses not to follow the virtuous path. Instead, he tells the other Junk he’s going to be a devil, serving only himself. This means using the suit to terrorize whoever ticks him off. However, there is the faintest glimpse of redemption: helping protect a pop diva named Manami, whom Hiro is obsessed with, and whose public events tend to draw bomb threats.

Considering at least four more volumes of this series are out there, it’s too early to say if Hiro will end up a hero or a villain. But I don’t think it’s too early to say this series could have been executed better. The main problem is the art; Asamiya employs lots of different panel shapes and angles, but the result is storytelling that is hard to follow at times. There also seems to be lots of unnecessary word balloons, which is a shame since Asamiya’s renderings of people and backdrops are, on the whole, not bad. But they would pack more punch if given greater room to breathe.

On the bright side, the second volume ends with a decent twist, so I will keep reading to see where the story goes. Also, I find myself in awe of Asamiya’s pandering to the series’ male, fifteen-and-older target demographic: sleek metal suits; lots of stuff blowing up; gratuitous female nudity. There’s even a sexual scenario that flares up somewhere between the two volumes, which although unexpected, fits within the internal logic of this series.

Volumes one and two of Junk: Record of the Last Hero are available now.