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Bus Gamer 1999-2001 The Pilot Edition
"When Toki, Nobuto and Kazuo are hired to play the "Biz" game, company secrets and insane amounts of money collide in a frenzied competition that starts out as an innovative way to win cash. But as the game goes on, the players are ushered into a world filled with mystery ... deceit ... and murder. Suddenly they realize what is truly at stake-- their very lives!"--P. [4] of cover.
248 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
3 people are currently reading
163 people want to read
About the author
Kazuya Minekura
213 books190 followersKazuya Minekura (峰倉かずや Minekura Kazuya, born March 23, 1975) is a Japanese manga artist most known for the Saiyuki series. Her other manga series include Wild Adapter, Shiritsu Araiso Koto Gakko Seitokai Shikkobu (Araiso Private School Student Council Executive Committee), and Stigma. Stigma is notable for being a full-color work, unusual as manga is generally drawn in black and white.
She had an illness that affected her writing from 2004–2007, which caused her to have a hysterectomy. On 28 September 2010, she went on Hiatus to undergo surgery for ameloblastoma on the right half of her upper jawbone. On 31 December 2010, she reported her surgery was successful after removing the tumor on her right upper jawbone and is currently resting and being fitted with artificial prosthetics to reconstruct the area where her bones were removed.
She had an illness that affected her writing from 2004–2007, which caused her to have a hysterectomy. On 28 September 2010, she went on Hiatus to undergo surgery for ameloblastoma on the right half of her upper jawbone. On 31 December 2010, she reported her surgery was successful after removing the tumor on her right upper jawbone and is currently resting and being fitted with artificial prosthetics to reconstruct the area where her bones were removed.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
January 2, 2018
More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/
Bus Gamer (Bus = Biz) is a fun and action-packed thriller of three young guys caught up in a strange corporate espionage game. The art is solid (though the boys sure do dress swanky for losers desperate for money) and action scenes are easy to follow. The author strikes a good balance between humor, intrigue, and mystery. This has several story arcs but note that as of writing, the author has not published any further stories in the series.Story: Mishiba, Nakajyo, and Saitoh are three very different guys who all have the same problem: they desperately needed money and so agreed to play a corporate espionage game. What started as a simple "Team A vs Team B" scenario where one protects a disk of 'secrets' and the other attempts to steal it, soon became very serious. People are dying, corporations are suddenly going bankrupt, and the game has taken a very sinister turn. None of the guys know what they signed up for but they do know one thing: they must continue to win or the consequences could be fatal.
The three main characters didn't know each other before teaming up and so we get to see all kinds of hints as to why they all want the money so bad that they didn't ask questions before joining. We have the hacker/conscience of the group, the loner, and the morally ambiguous one. There are flashbacks of scary things in their past but in this volume we aren't given anything substantive. Most of the stories deal with the Bus/Biz game and how it plays out.
The art is solid, as expected of Minekura. It's a shame the story wasn't continued, though, especially since this ends on a cliffhanger.
January 24, 2009
Bus Gamer 1999-2001: The Pilot Edition by Kazuya Minekura collects all the Bus Gamer that's already been published and has a note at the end that she'd like to get back to these guys someday but it probably won't be soon. But what's here is cool and worth it, with the ending making you interested in seeing more while not being cliffhangery enough to make you "Argh!" In Bus Gamer teams compete in a game with $3 million each as the final prize for the last, winner three-person team. Shadowy business organizations set the rules. As time goes on the stakes get higher and the game is more dangerous, but our three protagonists in Team AAA are in too deep and need the money too much to quit. (They each have reasons for needing that much money but you won't find out here.) Besides, they're not sure they'd be allowed to escape alive.
Team AAA was put together out of strangers, so part of the volume is them getting slowly comfortable with each other. Nobuto resembles Saiyuki's Gojyo (especially in the black & white drawings)--though we can't see his eyes through his hair--and tomcats around like Gojyo but doesn't have the same warmth. Nobuto has a kind of snarky, torturing big brother thing going on with the exuberant and naive Kazuo, who's the source of much of the humor here. Kazuo also serves as the audience surrogate, since he's the guy who is phased by having a gun turned on him, unlike the rest of his team. Toki is the mysterious, mostly stonefaced badass, though he sure dresses kinky, not that I'm complaining, and a bit weirdly at times. Minekura does like to deliver on the eye candy. But the cowboy hats...!
The stats on him mention that needlework is one of Toki's hobbies. *snicker*
One character on an opposing team looks a lot like Banri, which distracted me.
But I recommend Bus Gamer 1999-2001: The Pilot Edition. It's dark and funny and involving. If Minekura gets back to Team AAA someday, I'll follow it.
Team AAA was put together out of strangers, so part of the volume is them getting slowly comfortable with each other. Nobuto resembles Saiyuki's Gojyo (especially in the black & white drawings)--though we can't see his eyes through his hair--and tomcats around like Gojyo but doesn't have the same warmth. Nobuto has a kind of snarky, torturing big brother thing going on with the exuberant and naive Kazuo, who's the source of much of the humor here. Kazuo also serves as the audience surrogate, since he's the guy who is phased by having a gun turned on him, unlike the rest of his team. Toki is the mysterious, mostly stonefaced badass, though he sure dresses kinky, not that I'm complaining, and a bit weirdly at times. Minekura does like to deliver on the eye candy. But the cowboy hats...!
The stats on him mention that needlework is one of Toki's hobbies. *snicker*
One character on an opposing team looks a lot like Banri, which distracted me.
But I recommend Bus Gamer 1999-2001: The Pilot Edition. It's dark and funny and involving. If Minekura gets back to Team AAA someday, I'll follow it.
November 29, 2020
Having never read a manga before, it was difficult to know what to expect. I really enjoy high concept 'game' scenarios like Battle Royale and The Genius Game so this was a natural progression,although it does end somewhat abruptly, apparently owing to the creator's difficulty with serialisation. So this is all there is!
It takes a bit of time to get going but the plot is straightforward enough to follow and entertaining throughout. It becomes more comedic as it progresses, the characters becoming more defined and familiar, and the artist clearly having fun with her concept. And then it stops. What's here is good but it does leave you yearning for more. The author says they plan to continue it but since this was apparently released in 2008, I won't be holding my breath.
It takes a bit of time to get going but the plot is straightforward enough to follow and entertaining throughout. It becomes more comedic as it progresses, the characters becoming more defined and familiar, and the artist clearly having fun with her concept. And then it stops. What's here is good but it does leave you yearning for more. The author says they plan to continue it but since this was apparently released in 2008, I won't be holding my breath.
March 16, 2017
Saiyuki, Kazuya Minekura's longest running and most famous work, is very nostalgic to me. Bus Gamer has a similar art style, similar characters, similar interactions and the same general feel to it, with a decidedly different setting and story. The Biz Game starts off familiar and, admittedly, slightly tired, but the story picks up once the rules are changed near the end of this volume.
Sadly, this series was shortlived. We'll never know the end of it until such blessed day that the mangaka is given the opportunity (and good health) to continue. In the mean time, I'll keep rereading this "pilot edition".
Sadly, this series was shortlived. We'll never know the end of it until such blessed day that the mangaka is given the opportunity (and good health) to continue. In the mean time, I'll keep rereading this "pilot edition".
May 11, 2014
man it's been awhile since i got to read new minekura!
new to me anyways, this is a bit old but i hadn't known of it til a friend loaned me the volume
anyways the plot is you've got these three guys pulled together to play a game of corporate keepaway for a prize of three million dollars. this volume mostly focuses on them starting to pull a little closer as a team and realizing that the game is for literal life and death stakes
the game itself is not all that exciting but ehhh. it's like liar game, the point is more to get you invested in the characters. why are three students so desperate for money they're willing to risk their lives?
...well okay when i put it that way the first thing i think is student loans but i don't think japan is quite so bad about impoverishing anyone who wants higher education? i might be wrong, i mean lbr everything i know about japanese universities is from manga and somehow none of those stories seem to focus on people who look at the state of their debit and credit with a growing sense of horror
actually nvm, i googled some and japan definitely has its' student debt problems. but none of these guys have graduated so i think they are probably not feeling the pressure yet!
well uhh moving on from THAT fascinating digression, i liked the characters! especially kazuo, he's cute. he's just kinda freaked out at the part where he is a guy people shoot at now, okay??? how are toki and nobuta so chill about this????
minekura claims she plans to continue this at some point and i hope it happens. the volume ended at an interesting place. 3.5 stars
new to me anyways, this is a bit old but i hadn't known of it til a friend loaned me the volume
anyways the plot is you've got these three guys pulled together to play a game of corporate keepaway for a prize of three million dollars. this volume mostly focuses on them starting to pull a little closer as a team and realizing that the game is for literal life and death stakes
the game itself is not all that exciting but ehhh. it's like liar game, the point is more to get you invested in the characters. why are three students so desperate for money they're willing to risk their lives?
...well okay when i put it that way the first thing i think is student loans but i don't think japan is quite so bad about impoverishing anyone who wants higher education? i might be wrong, i mean lbr everything i know about japanese universities is from manga and somehow none of those stories seem to focus on people who look at the state of their debit and credit with a growing sense of horror
actually nvm, i googled some and japan definitely has its' student debt problems. but none of these guys have graduated so i think they are probably not feeling the pressure yet!
well uhh moving on from THAT fascinating digression, i liked the characters! especially kazuo, he's cute. he's just kinda freaked out at the part where he is a guy people shoot at now, okay??? how are toki and nobuta so chill about this????
minekura claims she plans to continue this at some point and i hope it happens. the volume ended at an interesting place. 3.5 stars
April 11, 2008
Toki, Nobuto, and Kazuo make up team AAA in the "Biz" game--in which companies gamble corporate secrets on the performance of their hired teams. But as the stakes of the game rise, team AAA begins to realize the full extent of what they've gotten themselves into. This series is currently on hiatus in Japan, and this edition features what's available thus far. I like the central characters very much, especially Kazuo (who is adorable); the mix of humor, violence, and angsty backstory strikes me as very Minekura. This series also features good Minekura art, as opposed to the slightly dated stuff you find in the earliest volumes of Saiyuki.
February 17, 2016
I liked it a lot! The characters are all unique individuals, and the art makes it easy to tell them apart. The nail-biting moments of the "game" kept me engaged the whole way through. The lady cop gets my sympathy! My only complaint is that the fight scenes can be a little hard to follow, possibly due to the angles chosen for the shots shown.
August 7, 2011
Génial, j'aime les dessins, les personnages sont attachants, Kazuo me fait bien marrer, l'histoire tient en haleine, c'est bien rythmé... j'aime !!! (bon ce serait bien qu'il y ait une suite par contre parce que là on reste un peu sur sa fin... à la fin...)
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May 20, 2008An older Minekura title. A game turned voilent as three men fight for their lives.
November 3, 2009
Interactions between characters were very enjoyable. Good sense of humor.
March 3, 2012
I really wish the mangaka would continue this series, but I think that it's a lost cause at this point...
October 25, 2013
Didn't like it, the drawing and flow of the story was not smooth. The Plot while interesting was not developed well. Also with it being dropped after just one volume means inconclusive ending.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews