The all-powerful Dark Stone -- a magical stone and ruler of the dark side -- awakes after a fifty-year-long respite and falls into the hands of Demon Card, an evil organization bent on world domination. Only one thing can resist the Dark Stone`s evil powers: a sacred stone called Rave. Demon Card dispatches an assassin after the Rave Master; a man called Shiba and the only living person with the power to use the sacred stone. Mortally wounded in the assault, Shiba is distressed to learn that he no longer has control over Rave. Will this mean that the world will pass over to the dark side?But wait! Shiba was not alone. Next to him stands a boy called Haru. Miraculously, the boy rekindles life in the sacred stone when he takes Rave in his hands and becomes its chosen successor. With his friends by his side Haru sets out on a quest to locate the other four remaining Raves that supposedly exist somewhere in the world. Only with these other sacred stones can the evil Demon Card -- more awesome a foe than ever could be imagined -- be finally vanquished.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
Enter the love interest,
This review is from: Rave Master, Vol. 2 (Paperback)
"Rave Master Volume 2" is when Hiro Mashima starts to form an actual storyline, despite a wealth of the Ordinary Boy Gets Strange Powers/Big Sword And Sets Out To Save The World cliches. He also starts introducing a supporting cast -- including a love interest -- and some slightly more menacing bad guys who promise to make Haru's journey a pretty unpleasant one.
Haru and Plue make it to Hip Hop City (I am not kidding), where Plue's gluttony causes trouble -- he ends up in a vicious dog race full of deadly traps. While trying to rescue him, Haru encounters a young girl named Elie who's bet all her money on Plue's success so she can escape the city. But unfortunately the new Rave Master has gotten the attention of the local Demon Card kingpin Georco -- and his only chance of escaping in one piece may lie with Elie. Then it's back to the big problem: getting Haru's sword fixed by the great blacksmith Musica. But their search turns up two different Musicas, both claiming to be the only one -- one is an alcoholic old man, and the other is the punky young leader of the Silver Rhythm Gang. Unfortunately, that gets them the attention of ANOTHER Demon Card member, and this one makes Georco look like a featherweight. It's pretty much a requirement in a manga like this one that there be a love interest -- in this case it's Elie, a very enthusiastic gambler who can't remember anything about her past. Woo, lots of potential in that. And Mashima also introduces the "Han Solo" of this series -- a flirtatious, hard-fighting young man with a special talent with silver. Of the three main characters thus far (not including Plue) he's the most intriguing. Haru is still rather underfleshed -- he's a manga hero archetype outline that hasn't been colored in yet, but he's slowly growing beyond the "my sister told me" boy from the sticks. As for Plue... well, he'll never make it in dog races. And after a glacial first volume, Mashima's main plot is picking up steam -- everything is moving faster and more smoothly. It hasn't quite broken free of the overhanging genre cliches (big swords with powers! Little magical talismans! Hero triumphing from sheer guts!), but Mashima is starting to handle them with more confidence and flair -- and the fight scenes are starting to become a lot more interesting, especially since the Dark Bring powers are getting a lot flashier. And at the same time, he seems to be injecting more successful humor that doesn't center on Plue -- Elie's casually destructive ways, her belief that Plue is a bug, and Musica's unsuccessful attempts at flirting. Some of it does fall flat, though -- Georco is just an embarrassment as a bad guy. Seriously, what's with the ridiculous "hip hop bishop" outfit? "Rave Master Volume 2" shows a gradual upswing in Hiro Mashima's action manga, especially with the introduction of two promising characters. Makes it worth checking out what happens in number three.
3.0 out of 5 stars
LOOKING FOR MUSICA,
By Sesho "www.sesho.libsyn.com" (Pasadena, TX USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Rave Master, Vol. 2 (Paperback)
Haru, along with Plue, has sailed to the main continent of Song after spending most of his young life living a carefree existence. Now he is the Rave Master, the only person that can defeat the evil Demon Card organization with its Dark Bring users. But before he can start an offensive against them, Haru must repair the 10 Powers Sword after breaking it in battle last volume. The only craftsman capable of fixing it is the legendary blacksmith named Musica. Their main problem is that they have no idea where to find him. The first city they reach is Hip Hop Town, which is controlled by Demon Card. It's easy to get into the city but you can't leave unless you pay Demon Card a high fine. In other words, the city is like a prison, and you have to bribe your way out of it. It doesn't take long for Haru to get into a jam when Plue is kidnapped and entered into a dog race run by Georco, the main rep of Demon Card in Hip Hop Town. While trying to rescue Plue, Haru makes a new friend, a girl named Elie, who bets all of her money on the most unlikely candidate to win a dog race....Plue!
The main thing that stuck out about this second volume of Rave Master was the wickedly awful job James Lucas Jones did with the English adaptation. There was just too much ghetto eubonic rapper language spread throughout this book. Haru's favorite phrase seems to be "Aw, Snap!". "Dawg" gets used way too much, "Ain't no thang" makes an appearance, and "You goin down" and other phrases bring "down" the language even worse. Of course, I've listed only a few phrases. Oddly enough, a 1950s "Daddy-o" even slips in. Even the backstory and preview page are written in horribly rhymed rap lyrics capped off by a "Word to your mother!". Oh my Lord, the attempt at appealing to street culture comes off as so pathetically bad. This language was cliched and goofy even back in 2003 when this book was first printed. It's even goofier now. The funny thing about Rave Master is that it uses musical terminology heavily without being in the least about music. None of the characters introduced so far play an instrument or sing. So I'm wondering why there is so much emphasis on musical words without music being an important part of the story. In fact, it's non existent. If you can get past the bad English, Volume 2 is a bit more entertaining that the first volume, and also a bit funnier. Elie seems like she's going to be an interesting character. In fact, the oveall characterization seems a bit better than such a book deserves. I checked out the first two volumes of this series from my local library. I can read these books but Rave Master isn't good enough to spend money on...at least so far.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting, but dialogue slips up some.,
By
This review is from: Rave Master, Vol. 2 (Paperback)
Hiro Mashima, Rave Master, vol. 2 (Tokyopop, 1999)
Mashima goes over the top with the silly dialogue in book 2, depositing Haru and Plue in Hip-Hop Town on the mainland, with all the horrible dialect one would expect. Thankfully, they escape the town and keep heading for Punk Street, where Haru's first quest will commence, not too far into the volume. Every hero needs a band of sidekicks (at least in the world of manga), and we meet a few likely candidates here; who's just a transient, but fun, minor character and who goes on? (Actually, reading the preview at the end of Vol. 1 will tell you that-- so don't until later.) Series slips a bit in this volume, but still not bad. ***
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