Almost as soon as it was published in Shonen GanGan as a one-shot, Soul Eater became wildly popular in Japan with fans clamoring for more. However, B.ichi was actually Atsushi Ohkubo’s debut series.
In an alternate world there are dokeshis who have special abilities and are generally hated by the rest of the world. B. Ichi (B壱; B.One) is about one named Shotaro with the ability to take on the power of any animal whose bone he puts in his mouth. He is searching for his childhood best friend Emine when he meets Mana and Yohei, who decide to help him out when the other dokeshis run amok.
What seemed like an enjoyable, interesting story quickly seemed to fall apart as the author became more interested in introducing a lot of side characters with wacky, weird abilities rather than sticking with those of the main characters. Shotaro’s search for Emine becomes little less than an afterthought, though we are given a few flashes of him that feel like they’re only there to make sure we remember he’s a part of the story. It almost felt at a lot of points like an old-school RPG where just when you think you’re getting somewhere, another lame boss pops out of the woodwork for you to fight. Just when the plot seemed to be getting back on track and interesting again in Volume 4, the story ends with a quick reveal and an “ending” that was obviously set up so a sequel could be written.
If you’re a big fan of Soul Eater, I suggest you read this series (possibly via a library) so that you can use it to gauge how far Ohkubo has come as a manga-ka. Otherwise, just head straight to Soul Eater.
Filed under: manga Tagged: | atsushi ohkubo, b.ichi, debuts, manga, shōnen
cool.. B.Ichi .. i think Im gonna read this one