Customer Reviews

Mega Man Gigamix Volume 3 TP

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I've been a fan of Mr. Ariga's work before UDON blessed us with republishings in English. Of course I was floored that this series became available --and then added upon!-- after years of it's apparant conclusion! As far as we know, this is the conclusion, but one never knows what the future may hold for the Blue Bomber (boo! hiss! capcom politics), as Mr. Ariga still connects with fans to this day, and we frequently get little gems of his work in popular Rock-culture, such as the RockMan9 Arrange Album.

While this is an awesome book, and I recommend all volumes, I cannot recommend this book as your first. Unlike the MegaMix series, which was like "mini episodes" in each book, the GigaMix series is similar to a "mini series", in it's own right. I don't want to spoil anything, so won't, but understand that this *VERY loosely* follows the MegaMan plots, timeline, and elements, and is a REMIX-- Meaning this is Mr. Ariga's take on the games, his views, his observations on how the robots would behave and their personalities, so purists or likers of the original content and designs may object to some of his work. I, personally, welcome his take on the characters, though at times, disapprove of some of his artistic views (PharaohMan, for example, ended up looking like Anakaris!). With that said, even if you know all about the games, go in order, as you'll only confuse yourself if you stray, ESPECIALLY in GigaMix.

I really enjoyed this final book, though in reading, knew it was the last, and really hoped for more. My only complaint is that the MegaMix series had additional content like 4-panel mini comics, Robot Master descriptions, and interviews. Giga has bupkis. Again, start with the MegaMix series, and conclude it with this, the GigaMix series.

Hitoshi Ariga's Megamix/Gigamix series is truly a great read, to say the least. Being a MegaMan fan who is familiar with the characters of the series, I enjoyed seeing Ariga's attempt to create a comic series that centered around the Blue Bomber's adventures. Instead of merely copying storylines from the games and recreating them in a comic book format, he puts his own creative twist on every character throughout the series (most notabe: Copy Mega Man, Skull Man and the Stardroids). Gigamix Volume 3 is the end of his Megamix/Gigamix series, and I must say: there couldn't be a better possible way to end the series like this. It is, in my honest opinion, the best entry in the entire series.

Just like the third volume of the Megamix series, MegaMan Gigamix Volume 3 has one long story as opposed to having two separate stories in the volume. "To a Shining Morrow" is the longest story in the series, and follows directly after the events in the two stories from Volume 2. The Stardroids continue their reign of terror as shown in the previous volume, and this time we get to see their most menacing attack yet: the inclusion of the secret weapon, Dark Moon. We continue seeing the struggle of MegaMan and his friends (and former foes) in their attempts to defeat the extremely powerful Stardroids and the mysterious entity Dark Moon. In some ways, this story reminded me of Green Lantern comics mainly because of its strong sci-fi influence.

However, I must say this in regards to the story: although I feel that it started off great and ended great, I honestly thought the final battle involving MegaMan felt somewhat anti-climatic. I won't give any serious spoilers, but I will say this: it felt almost too short and the end of the battle was abrupt. Other than that, this story is pretty much perfect.

Ariga ends his series on a fantastic note. The stories have much action and drama, and there is humor in the stories that help serve as comedic relief. They have a little of something for everyone, and I can guarantee this: anyone who is a fan of MegaMan such as myself will enjoy these stories.

As another reviewer mentioned, we really don't get a lot of bonus features in the Gigamix volumes. Sure, we get afterthoughts by Hitoshi Ariga which is nice, but the Megamix series had much more such as humorous comic strips written by Ariga, character profiles, and interviews with the creator of MegaMan, Keiji Inafune. But I won't complain, considering we at least have an easy access to reading these great manga comics now. It is still an excellent product that certainly deserves a 5-star rating. Thanks for giving us an English translation of the Megamix/Gigamix series, Udon! I sure do hope we get more English translations of other manga comic series, especially the Mega Man X manga series.