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Gen #1
GEN 1
Indie manga from the Tokyo Underground, four hard-lined stories are presented in the first of GEN. Wolf is the emotional story of a young man that heads to the city to avenge his childhood abandonment. VS Aliens is the story of an average student duped (or not?) into going on a wild alien chase. A mysterious masked stranger in KAMEN holds secrets to hidden powers to protect innocents from massacre. And a young woman explores her psyche in the metaphysical journey of Souls.
150 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
August 12, 2013
The first part of the book is about a young boy name Naoto maybe in his early twenties. Who wants to kill someone. The author is not going into detail into who the person is he wants to murder. But I have an idea...I believe it's his father.
The second part of the book is broken into two or three Alien Battles. The first part is about a girl who thinks one of the girls at the school name Sana Sakum is an alien. She confines in a one of her class mates (who is post to a fairy exterminator).
In battle 2 Kitaro confronts Sana about being a alien. Sana then takes great offense to the accusation, and denies it.
In battle 3 Sana admits that she think she is a alien, and the weird girl with the glass, claims she spotted a UFO.
The next little short story is about a man with a mask. To my knowledge there is no name given to this man. He is wearing a mask he can't take off because if he does he can die. And to make matters worse the towns people want to attack him. Lol. It's funny because they ask him to take off the mask and if he dont they are going to kill him. So that ends weird.
The the last and final story in the while manga it's called Empty Shell. Its about this lady who job is to go around and release the souls of the dead, that are trapped here on earth.
All the stories are very short and interesting. All of the stories have their own originality and uniqueness. So far I love this book, but my favorite story of all is the Empty Shell and VS Aliens.
The second part of the book is broken into two or three Alien Battles. The first part is about a girl who thinks one of the girls at the school name Sana Sakum is an alien. She confines in a one of her class mates (who is post to a fairy exterminator).
In battle 2 Kitaro confronts Sana about being a alien. Sana then takes great offense to the accusation, and denies it.
In battle 3 Sana admits that she think she is a alien, and the weird girl with the glass, claims she spotted a UFO.
The next little short story is about a man with a mask. To my knowledge there is no name given to this man. He is wearing a mask he can't take off because if he does he can die. And to make matters worse the towns people want to attack him. Lol. It's funny because they ask him to take off the mask and if he dont they are going to kill him. So that ends weird.
The the last and final story in the while manga it's called Empty Shell. Its about this lady who job is to go around and release the souls of the dead, that are trapped here on earth.
All the stories are very short and interesting. All of the stories have their own originality and uniqueness. So far I love this book, but my favorite story of all is the Empty Shell and VS Aliens.
April 19, 2014
Gen feels confounding, all-over-the-place, and so blooming Japanese. Maybe it's because of my limited knowledge and lexicon of manga, maybe its the Japanese-reading-style, which I did know about, and was tediously hard to manoeuvre, especially on a Kindle Fire. Whatever the problem was, I found Gen #1 annoying. The artwork is dexterously executed, and apt plots are weaved throughout. Yet, I just didn't like it and I doubt I'll buy the second Gen.
March 28, 2013
It looks like the stories will continue in subsequent vols. (I hope!) I liked all of them but was a little confused because they all seemed to end so abruptly.
September 8, 2013
Gen is a type of manga I’ve never read before, indie and an anthology. This particular manga series has four stories that each have its own art style and vibe. It’s a good mix of stories and while it’s a bit hit or miss I still enjoy them enough that I will continue reading the series.
Wolf by Shige Nakamura is story focused on Naoto, a young man with a really large chip on his shoulder. His father abandoned his family and he wants revenge. Overall it’s a decent story and engaging enough, however if this story had been on its own I probably would not have bothered with it as it’s not really my type of manga.The art style reminds me of the older anime styles, where more realism is involved.
VS Aliens is an odd little gem of story. I really like the quirky nature it has and so far it’s a kind of upbeat story, so it balances out the first story’s seriousness. What would you do if someone came up to you and asked for help because one of your classmates is an alien? Laugh? Yeah, good answer but this actually turns out to be more than a cooky joke even though it’s incredibly fun to read.
Kamen by Gunya Mihara is a fantasy type story with a lot of mystery. A man wakes up in a place he doesn’t know with a mask attached to his face…a mask that warns him not to take it off. For those who have watch anime shows it feels a bit like a fuedal era Bleach so far, but seeing as the story doesn’t have a ton of time to truly devlop that could definitely change. I like concept for this one and I’m super curious about the characters and the mask.
And finally Souls by Arisa Karino…which is my least favorite of the four. The art style is very jarring and a bit odd as I’ve never encounter a style like it before. I also had a tough time keeping up with what exactly was happening in the story, due partially to the fact that two of the characters looked similar to me and it took me a few re-reads to realize who was talking to whom. I’m not really invested in this overall storyline but it is an interesting concept centered around putting souls to rest.
Overall it’s a decent manga and added with the fact that it was a freebie I do plan on continuing this one. Manga is not cheap so it’s nice to find one in my current price range (yes, free is my price range right now). For those who just want a causal manga I recommend this.
Wolf by Shige Nakamura is story focused on Naoto, a young man with a really large chip on his shoulder. His father abandoned his family and he wants revenge. Overall it’s a decent story and engaging enough, however if this story had been on its own I probably would not have bothered with it as it’s not really my type of manga.The art style reminds me of the older anime styles, where more realism is involved.
VS Aliens is an odd little gem of story. I really like the quirky nature it has and so far it’s a kind of upbeat story, so it balances out the first story’s seriousness. What would you do if someone came up to you and asked for help because one of your classmates is an alien? Laugh? Yeah, good answer but this actually turns out to be more than a cooky joke even though it’s incredibly fun to read.
Kamen by Gunya Mihara is a fantasy type story with a lot of mystery. A man wakes up in a place he doesn’t know with a mask attached to his face…a mask that warns him not to take it off. For those who have watch anime shows it feels a bit like a fuedal era Bleach so far, but seeing as the story doesn’t have a ton of time to truly devlop that could definitely change. I like concept for this one and I’m super curious about the characters and the mask.
And finally Souls by Arisa Karino…which is my least favorite of the four. The art style is very jarring and a bit odd as I’ve never encounter a style like it before. I also had a tough time keeping up with what exactly was happening in the story, due partially to the fact that two of the characters looked similar to me and it took me a few re-reads to realize who was talking to whom. I’m not really invested in this overall storyline but it is an interesting concept centered around putting souls to rest.
Overall it’s a decent manga and added with the fact that it was a freebie I do plan on continuing this one. Manga is not cheap so it’s nice to find one in my current price range (yes, free is my price range right now). For those who just want a causal manga I recommend this.
January 28, 2015
I found this manga as a free read on iBooks.
It's a collection of first 'chapters' of 4 different stories so you will need to follow each volume as its released to continue the story. There were 2 stories I quite enjoyed, Wolf and Kamen.
Wolf has a nice start to the story, although I have seen nicer manga art, this one isn't too bad. It seems that the artist has moments were the frames are nicely done and others seem like they were fillers. The characters themselves seem fun although I hope that the story won't develop into a cliche theme that usually follows characters with abandonment issues.
VS Alien was a little too high-school-drama for me although the art was really nice. It appealed to my teenage brother so I assume that is the age target
I fell in love with the artwork for Kamen. The mask was nice although I had a flashback to Bleach. The story didn't move much past a little teaser so this mainly the reason why I'm getting Gen 2.
Souls started in what I felt was the middle of a story. It was so broken up that you actually have to try to piece together what is going on. I'm not sure if that was intentional and doing so overshadowed the fact that the art was nice. The fact the the story jumped around too much seemed to kill it. I hope the next edition clears it up since it might be something interesting.
It's a collection of first 'chapters' of 4 different stories so you will need to follow each volume as its released to continue the story. There were 2 stories I quite enjoyed, Wolf and Kamen.
Wolf has a nice start to the story, although I have seen nicer manga art, this one isn't too bad. It seems that the artist has moments were the frames are nicely done and others seem like they were fillers. The characters themselves seem fun although I hope that the story won't develop into a cliche theme that usually follows characters with abandonment issues.
VS Alien was a little too high-school-drama for me although the art was really nice. It appealed to my teenage brother so I assume that is the age target
I fell in love with the artwork for Kamen. The mask was nice although I had a flashback to Bleach. The story didn't move much past a little teaser so this mainly the reason why I'm getting Gen 2.
Souls started in what I felt was the middle of a story. It was so broken up that you actually have to try to piece together what is going on. I'm not sure if that was intentional and doing so overshadowed the fact that the art was nice. The fact the the story jumped around too much seemed to kill it. I hope the next edition clears it up since it might be something interesting.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 16, 2013
This is a review of the Kindle version. Great manga anthology for people who like their manga off the beaten path. There are four series in this book:
Kamen-Masked, mute man with a talking mask gets wrapped up in samurai intrigue.
Vs Aliens-Could a classmate really be an alien in disguise?
Souls-Strange woman helps people in spiritual need resolve their problems.
Wolf-retro sports manga about an angry young man meeting a sumo wannabe on a train.
The Kindle version of this issue was free at this time, and even if they had charged for it, it would be well worth it. It feels a little like the anti-Shonen Jump; there doesn't feel like much in the way of filler, and they aren't typical shoujo or shonen titles. Later volumes introduce new stories and conclude old ones, and I liked it so much I downloaded and bought up to issue seven so far.
The Kindle version was fine. It was actually readable to a point on a tiny phone screen, and on a tablet is very readable with no real conversion issues. Try it out!
Kamen-Masked, mute man with a talking mask gets wrapped up in samurai intrigue.
Vs Aliens-Could a classmate really be an alien in disguise?
Souls-Strange woman helps people in spiritual need resolve their problems.
Wolf-retro sports manga about an angry young man meeting a sumo wannabe on a train.
The Kindle version of this issue was free at this time, and even if they had charged for it, it would be well worth it. It feels a little like the anti-Shonen Jump; there doesn't feel like much in the way of filler, and they aren't typical shoujo or shonen titles. Later volumes introduce new stories and conclude old ones, and I liked it so much I downloaded and bought up to issue seven so far.
The Kindle version was fine. It was actually readable to a point on a tiny phone screen, and on a tablet is very readable with no real conversion issues. Try it out!
February 24, 2014
I found this as a free download.
This is a collection of manga stories. They are not full stories, but the start of stories so more of a preview collection. The artwork ranged from fairly simplistic to quite well done. All were in the manga style of course. Stories ranged from straight-forward to could be interesting to what is going on here.
If you have seen any of my other reviews about manga books, you will have heard that I keep trying them but just don't seem to get them for the most part. This collection didn't really change anything about my attitude towards manga.
As was pointed out to me, I should not have called this a preview collection. It is simply the first issue of a collection of varied manga stories.(I was trying to use preview to mean it was giving a glimpse of things to come.) But I stick by my take on this issue. It doesn't appeal to me enough to make me want to get the following issues even though one or two of the stories could prove interesting.
This is a collection of manga stories. They are not full stories, but the start of stories so more of a preview collection. The artwork ranged from fairly simplistic to quite well done. All were in the manga style of course. Stories ranged from straight-forward to could be interesting to what is going on here.
If you have seen any of my other reviews about manga books, you will have heard that I keep trying them but just don't seem to get them for the most part. This collection didn't really change anything about my attitude towards manga.
As was pointed out to me, I should not have called this a preview collection. It is simply the first issue of a collection of varied manga stories.(I was trying to use preview to mean it was giving a glimpse of things to come.) But I stick by my take on this issue. It doesn't appeal to me enough to make me want to get the following issues even though one or two of the stories could prove interesting.
April 24, 2014
I have been wanting to read a Manga for a while. A good one. I got a couple recommendations from people I trust and was/am going to read those. But this one was free on Kindle. So I decided to give it a try. I thought it was just one book. It's not. There are like, 5 different stories in here. While I only thought that one of them was bad, all the others stopped just as I was starting to enjoy them. And the one that I found the most interesting? It was the shortest. Yeah, annoying. This definitely wasn't the worst thing I have ever read, but I wish that it was contained to one story. I guess all I can say is I got what I paid for.
May 19, 2014
It's sort of cool to have a manga magazine for Kindle, especially since so many of the issues are free. I used to read Shonen Jump and Shoujo Beat, so reading this is fun, especially because the stories in this magazine aren't tied to a specific genre. That being said, Vs. Aliens is the only story that I really liked of the four included. It was cute, cheery, and genuinely friendly, with nice art, which I like in a manga. None of the stories are actively bad, though, so I'm probably going to read all of the free issues and see how I feel about it after that.
September 24, 2013
This manga book was very lets say a bit difffent. Why well this book has more than one story but, other than that it was pretty good. With diffrent variety of storys comes really intresting plots like the one with the masked man. It has this old kind of texture which you dont really see alot and i like the mystery sorounding the main character. Overall this book was good with its unique style of having diffrent storys.
July 25, 2014
Good, but frustrating!
Good, but frustrating!
there are several stories in this book, and I think all of them good, and smartly drawn. but they all have the same sin- they all stop at the climax of the story! I suppose this is to encourage sales of the next book, or perhaps spark interest into a single title run. but oh, is it vexing!!!
that aside, it's a nice selection, and a good quick read
Good, but frustrating!
there are several stories in this book, and I think all of them good, and smartly drawn. but they all have the same sin- they all stop at the climax of the story! I suppose this is to encourage sales of the next book, or perhaps spark interest into a single title run. but oh, is it vexing!!!
that aside, it's a nice selection, and a good quick read
April 1, 2013
I wish this had more of just one story rather than a bunch of pieces, but it was interesting to read. Drawings were good as well. It's a fast read, and if the next books continue the stories, it could be a good one. But after reading this one, I didn't really feel like reading more because I didn't get enough of any one story to want more.
July 5, 2013
Three stories in one. Was surprised at how violent they are, though I am sure there are many that are worse. Find these a bit hard to read. When someone is punching someone or fighting=g with them =, they have all these goofy little symbols. Just reinforced something I already knew. I am not a grpahic novel type of person.
September 2, 2020
I downloaded it for free on my kindle, so you'd think I couldn't really complain...but, it was bad. The illustrations were terrible, the story’s boring and even though this was #1, in a seemingly unfortunate series, it seemed unthoughtful, lost and unfinished.
Don't bother or waste 10 minutes of your life like I did.
Don't bother or waste 10 minutes of your life like I did.
August 24, 2014
I downloaded this for free on my Kindle. It's a manga containing four different stories. All of the stories were very short, presumably they each continue in the next volume. I didn't find any of the stories of particular interest, and I was less than thrilled with the illustrations. I doubt I will continue with this manga series.
February 15, 2014
This was interesting and different. I actually liked the anthology feel to this, and think that each tale cut off in about the right place to keep it both interesting and understandable. I felt that 'Souls' was the weakest and least engaging, and am still unsure as the how I feel about 'Kamen'. A good read and I will definitely try to read on.
August 16, 2018
This might be difficult for some people to read if they are not familiar with serialized manga style. The book actually contains the beginnings of 4 separate stories. 3 of them were pretty good, but 1 of them is the first few chapter of Vs. Aliens, which starts out ok, but is actually one of the dumbest most pointless mangas I have ever read. Skip that one and read the other 3.
November 28, 2013
Some stories more interesting than others. Dunno how to feel about it yet. Very intrigued to know where the story about the guy with the mask is going. Mainly reviewing this so I dont forget the name of the volume.
December 24, 2012
It was really good I look forward to reading more
March 13, 2013
Interesting read. Looking forward to reading the other volumes.
April 18, 2013
The stories are enthralling.
July 21, 2013
Interesting.
July 28, 2013
Wolf -- 4 stars (for a short story)
VS Aliens - 2 stars (I'm so done with aliens)
KAMEN -- 1 star (Bleach meets Inuyasha, seen it before)
Souls -- 4 stars (reminded me of Hell Girl!)
VS Aliens - 2 stars (I'm so done with aliens)
KAMEN -- 1 star (Bleach meets Inuyasha, seen it before)
Souls -- 4 stars (reminded me of Hell Girl!)
December 31, 2013
Interesting book!
I wasn't sure what I was going to read by the description but the art is good and it's free!!!! the storylines are pretty well thought out but I do wish for more.
I wasn't sure what I was going to read by the description but the art is good and it's free!!!! the storylines are pretty well thought out but I do wish for more.
January 19, 2014
The problem with anthologies is that you have some good and some bad. Basically gave it this score because it was more bad than good. I'd recommend getting it for the Nook, where it's free.
April 26, 2015
I really liked these short story lines but I thought they were too short. I found myself wanting to know more. Some seemed like a fragment of a story instead of a complete short.
July 28, 2015
I was kind of confused the whole time. Ultimately I don't blame the stories, I just just don't think this underground indie Manga thing is for me.
September 1, 2020
Four very good stories, each unfinished for the next volume. All 4 stories caught my attention and held it to the finish. I would be very much interested in reading the finish of each story.
February 2, 2013
2.5 Stars overall
Wolf- 2 Stars
VS Aliens- 3 Stars
KAMEN- 2 Stars
Souls- 4 Stars
Wolf- 2 Stars
VS Aliens- 3 Stars
KAMEN- 2 Stars
Souls- 4 Stars
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews