The Bottom Line
As new action/suspense series from the creator of Get-Backers, Psycho Busters Volume 1 delivers an entertaining take on the "psychic teens on the run" plotline. The story moves at a fast clip with exciting fight scenes and very few 'dead spots.' The fanservice / cheesecake shots can seem gratuitous, but it lightens the mood in what would otherwise be a heavy, downer read. All in all, an entertaining ride that's worth sticking around for more in Volume 2.
Pros
- Exciting, entertaining and action-packed fight scenes
- Crisp, clear and well-drawn art and storytelling
- Interesting villains and intriguing set up for future plot twists
- Likeable super-powered characters that X-Men fans will enjoy
Cons
- Plot treads familiar ground, offering few surprises
- Art is well-done, but not especially innovative or memorable
- Includes some gratuitous nudity and underwear shots
Description
- Original Title: Psycho Busters (Japan)
- Author: Yuya Aoki
Artist: Akinari Nao - Publishers:
Del Rey Manga (US)
Kodansha (Japan) - ISBN: 978-0-345-49935-6
- Cover Price: $10.95 US / $13.95 CANADA
- Age Rating:
OT – Older Teens, Age 16+
for violent fight scenes, some suggestive nudity
More about content ratings. - Manga Genres:
- Shonen (Boys') Manga
- Action / Adventure
- Mystery / Suspense
- Paranormal / Supernatural
- Science Fiction
- US Publication Date: October 30, 2007 Japan Publication Date: 2006
- Book Description: 224 pages, black and white illustrations
- More Manga by Yuya Aoki:
Guide Review - Psycho Busters Volume 1
In Psycho Busters Volume 1, we meet Kakeru, an average high school boy. He goes to school, he plays video games, his hormones are raging and he's just a little bored with his ordinary life. His life veers off the rails when nude teen girl 'ghost' appears in his room asking him for his help. No, not that kind of assistance… More like the "Obi-Wan Kenobi, you must help me" kind of thing.
Ayano is a "psychic," who can do astral projection. Kakeru finds out that Ayano and her fellow psychics Joi and Xiao Long are on the run from a mysterious, heavily-armed group they call "Farmers." As the psychics explain it, the Farmers either harvest 'wild' psychics like Ayano and her friends for purposes as yet underdetermined – or they "cultivate" or develop / enhance psychics with drugs.
When Kakeru is singled out by Joi, the leader of the runaway psychics, Joi tells him, "You're going to save the world." Kakeru has almost no time to be skeptical as he's immediately plunged into the psychics' world, and ends up battling Farmers and their super-powered psychic pawns. In the process, he discovers that he might have the abilities to fight, survive and maybe even 'save the world.'
"Psychic teens on the run" is a familiar storyline, both in manga and Western comics (see Akira or X-Men). Psycho Busters doesn't deliver too many innovations in its story or its art, but it does do what it does very well. The story moves at a fast clip. It delivers some exciting fight scenes and deftly sets up tantalizing teasers for future plot twists.
There's also a fair amount of "fanservice" or gratuitous nudity, but it's mostly done in the spirit of fun, to lighten the mood in what would have otherwise been a pretty heavy story. All in all, Psycho Busters Volume 1 is an entertaining ride that's worth sticking around for Volume 2.
