[hongster]

Author/Artist: Kaise Sosuke
Genre: Action, adventure, comedy, ecchi
Number of Volumes: 7 (complete)
Note: This review covers Volumes 1-7

Summary: Rushuna is a blonde and very beautiful Senshi (gun expert) that travels through the world with one purpose. This is to make the world a peaceful place by instead of fighting with weapons, taking away the people´s will to fight by giving them a smile. Although she doesn't want to fight, she is forced to and shows amazing gun skills. In this journey she meets Yajiro, a Mercenary that uses a sword to fight and joins her on her journey. Taken from Tokyopop

Review: Grenadier is a short manga series stretching through 7 volumes and it does a fine job being a short series. The 3 main characters: Rushuna Tendo, Yarjiro Kojima, and Mikan Kurenai; are given the most attention in terms of character development, although Rushuna is the main focal point of the manga. Each of the main characters have their stories told through flashbacks, so you do get an idea of each character; their personality and their role in the storyline. The one main gripe about character development is that, it takes a while for readers to find out information on Yarjiro and Rushuna (especially Rushuna, as her story is unfold in the final volume of the series).

The art is done fairly well as each of the main characters are distinguishable by their unique features, although the same cannot be said about some of the other characters as they are similar copies of other characters of the series. Rushuna is given the most attention and it clearly shows as she is the best designed female character. There are some scenes that could have been more refined and detailed to better display the art. Other than that, the artwork is detailed for the most part and grainy in some.

This manga also features many fights involving guns, machines and swords, which does a fine job displaying the action. Most of the action featured involves Rushuna displaying her unique gun skills and the different techniques she uses to defeat her opponents. Also, each opponent features unique weapons themselves (sans 1 opponent who uses a gun). This feature is one of the highlights that the manga features, especially for those who do not like seeing the same type of fights in a manga series. However, the action is not always clear as there are many scenes that are difficult to tell due to image not being clear or there is just too much action in one scene.

Finally, this manga features many scenes of fanservice, most of them devoted to Rushuna showing off her "busty" figure. This is demonstrated in the following: Rushuna reloads by moving her breasts; Rushuna is constantly having her clothes ripped in battle; Rushuna frequently takes baths; Rushuna wearing provocative clothing (due to the situation she is in). Fans of ecchi will enjoy this aspect of the manga, though those who are looking for a straight-up action/adventure manga will be disappointed to know that these scenes pop-up in every volume.

Personal Comments: The manga is definitely the better version when comparing it to the anime (since the story is more refined); however, the action is far more better in the anime as the action is captured on screen, rather than being on a book where the images are small and not clear at times. The amount of fanservice did get in the way, but it did not distract too much from the action involved. The one thing that this manga did not do so well is, not letting readers know about Rushuna Tendo until the final volume. Being the main character of the series, Rushuna's story should have been covered early on, at least letting readers understand her role in the manga. Even with these short comings, I have enjoyed reading the series thus far and I am really glad how the manga ended than the ending of the anime. (If you want to know how it ended, PM me and I'll tell you).

Final Score: 4 out of 5 Stars

Availability: Tokyopop
Scanlators: NCIS

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[LordDante000]

I read this but found the manga to be a little dark--in some regards to the anime. Nice review.

[kmurry]

I have seen the anime, but I look forward to reading the manga, where would be a good place to download?