So Beck is this one manga about rock music. I had always assumed it was about that rock star, Beck. But apparently Beck is some Frankenweenie-style dog. Also, after reading the first volume, I have no still idea what the “Mongolian Chop Squad” is a reference to…
Story:
Yukio Tanaka is a really boring middle school kid. He listens to lame Okinawan music, sleeps through class, spies on the swim team, and is generally, a loser. But things are starting to look up. For one thing, his old childhood friend, Izumi Ishiguro, is starting to talk to him again. She’s the #1 idol in the school, so that’s a good thing.
Through a series of random encounters, Yukio is introduced to Ryusuke Minami, and his dog Beck. Ryusuke was apparently in a super hot band called “Dying Breed” and he’s on a mission to create the world’s greatest rock band. Slowly but surely, Yukio’s life is beginning to get more interesting…
Analysis:
Beck is a pretty funky manga. It fits somewhere between a realistic drama and a surreal indie manga. From the patched up Beck biting Yukio every chance he gets to the weird fights that the characters have in English, everything seems like it could be happening in a dream sequence. The dialogue is really wacky at times, which amounts to humor, even if it’s not intended. Though I think a lot of it is supposed to be funny.
The story itself is really anti-Japanese culture and pro-American culture. Japanese culture stresses conformity while American culture is all about individuality. The characters in Beck all seem to be rejecting the Japanese way of life in order to form a bitchin’ rock band!
What you end up with is a really interesting manga that feels Japanese, but not. It still retains a lot of Japanese humor and wackiness, too. I have a feeling the manga will get more interesting as we get to know the characters better.
There’s also (maybe?) a weird love triangle going with Izumi liking Ryusuke, Yukio liking Izumi, and maybe Ryusuke’s sister Maho liking Yukio? Although right now she hates him. But hey, it’s Japan, every girl is a possible tsundere…
Character Designs and Art:
The character designs also follow the general weirdness of the manga. The characters are drawn in this pseudo-realistic sort of way. They don’t look realistic, but they look more realistic than most manga characters… And yet, there’s still a strong element of cartoonyness in them. It’s hard to explain.
The art’s different too. The panel setup is very interesting. A lot of times the female characters will take up a half page with their full body figures. Hey, these kids are in middle school! Don’t tempt me, mangaka!
Conclusion:
So yeah, Beck is weird. But weird is good. And Beck is about music (somewhat), which is also good. I had a good time reading this first volume. If anything, Beck is a very original manga. I’ve also got a copy of the first volume of the DVD, so I think I’ll try watching that soon. Hopefully it’ll be just as weird and enjoyable.
Many thanks to Tokyopop for sending me a review copy of Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad Volume 1!
5 replies on “Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad Vol. 1 – Manga Review”
I really recommend the anime–although I haven’t read the manga–it was fantastic. Be warned though, the Engrish Ryusuke, and other characters speak is teeerrrrrible.
Yeah, I just finished watching the anime (look for a review in the near future) and Ryusuke totally has a sick lisp when he talks in Engrish.
Ryuusuke’s lisp and his Engrish are two totally awesome components that blend perfectly like two snakes f@cking. That’s how you know it’s good.
When Beck’s first CD is released in the US, the band’s name is given as “Mongolian Chop Squad” as it would have more impact than “Beck”. But that wasn’t the worst thing that happened without notice to the band when that CD was released….
I was lucky enough to see the entire anime series on TV ahead of time (since one of Canada’s music video and entertainment stations decided to take a risk with FUNi) and in my opinion, Beck’s one of the best series’ around and I definitely agree with the fact that it’s “different.”
The anime and manga also seem to be different from one another, with MadHouse giving more of a badass feel to the story with some very stylistic animation where-as the manga seems to focus on more of a crazy humourous style.
In addition, FUNimation did an amazing job with the dub such that it’s hard to watch the original version anymore, especially when lyrics and singing are concerned. I would actually recommend the dub over the subtitled version, though I’m sure some people would like the “original” feel more, since it deals with music.