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Junk: Record of the Last Hero #1
Junk: Record of the Last Hero: Volume 1
One day high school student Hiro decides to apply as a monitor for a new gadget called JUNK. Soon he recieves a strange looking device in the mail. Upon activation, Hiro is encased in a powered armor JUNK suit granting him incredible strength, speed and agility. However, Hiro's repeat abuse at the hands of the school bullies leaves him hungry for revenge... not super heroism.
Paperback
First published December 1, 2006
About the author
Kia Asamiya
435 books27 followersKia Asamiya(麻宮 騎亜, born in 1963) is the pen-name of a popular Japanese manga artist whose work spans multiple genres and appeals to diverse audiences (1990s).
He is well-known for using influences from American comics, television, and movies in his work, and describes himself as a big fan of both Batman and Star Wars. One of the most widely-published Japanese manga-ka, nearly all of his stories have been translated into other languages, including English. His two most successful and popular manga series to-date are Nadesico and Silent Möbius.
Prior to becoming a manga artist, Asamiya graduated from the Tokyo Designer School, and then worked as a character designer for a number of anime series, and even designed models for some of the later Godzilla movies (1980s). For this career, he used a different pen-name, Michitaka Kikuchi (菊地 道隆), and maintained the two professional identities separately for many years. Several of the anime series that he worked on were very popular both inside and outside of Japan, most notably including Sonic Soldier Borgman. Even after focusing primarily on his manga career, Asamiya continued to do character designs and creative consultation on anime series based on his stories, occasionally under the Kikuchi name.
In the early 2000s, Asamiya has shifted his focus from teenage and young-adult stories to stories designed for children and for an American audience. In the former case, he credits his young children as a motivation, but in the latter case, he points to a long-standing desire to work with his favorite American characters. To that end, he has worked on projects with Image Comics, Marvel Comics, and DC Comics, as well as developing a manga adaptation of the movie, "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace".
While many Japanese artists (and artists in general) are quite reclusive, Asamiya often makes an effort to be available to his fans. He maintains a website with news and information about his studio, Studio TRON (named after the Disney movie TRON). He also aids and assists his Official Fan Club by sending them regular announcements and limited-edition merchandise. Despite these actions, he shunned all public photography, and had the often-hilarious habit of depicting himself with a placeholder sign for a face. It has become a trademark feature of his books that instead of a picture of the artist, there is an elaborately decorated rectangle sporting the words "Now Printing".
He is well-known for using influences from American comics, television, and movies in his work, and describes himself as a big fan of both Batman and Star Wars. One of the most widely-published Japanese manga-ka, nearly all of his stories have been translated into other languages, including English. His two most successful and popular manga series to-date are Nadesico and Silent Möbius.
Prior to becoming a manga artist, Asamiya graduated from the Tokyo Designer School, and then worked as a character designer for a number of anime series, and even designed models for some of the later Godzilla movies (1980s). For this career, he used a different pen-name, Michitaka Kikuchi (菊地 道隆), and maintained the two professional identities separately for many years. Several of the anime series that he worked on were very popular both inside and outside of Japan, most notably including Sonic Soldier Borgman. Even after focusing primarily on his manga career, Asamiya continued to do character designs and creative consultation on anime series based on his stories, occasionally under the Kikuchi name.
In the early 2000s, Asamiya has shifted his focus from teenage and young-adult stories to stories designed for children and for an American audience. In the former case, he credits his young children as a motivation, but in the latter case, he points to a long-standing desire to work with his favorite American characters. To that end, he has worked on projects with Image Comics, Marvel Comics, and DC Comics, as well as developing a manga adaptation of the movie, "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace".
While many Japanese artists (and artists in general) are quite reclusive, Asamiya often makes an effort to be available to his fans. He maintains a website with news and information about his studio, Studio TRON (named after the Disney movie TRON). He also aids and assists his Official Fan Club by sending them regular announcements and limited-edition merchandise. Despite these actions, he shunned all public photography, and had the often-hilarious habit of depicting himself with a placeholder sign for a face. It has become a trademark feature of his books that instead of a picture of the artist, there is an elaborately decorated rectangle sporting the words "Now Printing".
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 25, 2008
Junk: Record of the Last Hero is awful. I've only read the first volume, but I can just tell. I must insist no one else read it, even though I know this is a completely unobscure series that millions are just clamoring to get their hands on.
The main character is utterly unlikable. Not because he's the bad guy, I have no problem with that as shown by my massive love for the series Death Note - Light is basically an egomaniacal genius with a god-complex, but he's still likable on some level, or at least interesting. But Hiro, the antagonist here, is just a boring, selfish moron. He has no real reason to use the power he's granted by this special suit he receives in the mail. He claims to be a god, but doesn't do anything but beat people up and destroy things, whilst being really emo.
Did I mention he's a moron? He goes to an autograph signing of his favorite singer, gets to meet her and all, but doesn't actually get her signature because their session is interrupted in the middle by her security due to some ruckus happening outside the building. The ever brilliant Hiro thinks to himself Oh snap! I shall get my autograph no matter what, puts his suit on, and heads out with the intention of making his idol feel safe enough to continue with her special appearance. Naturally, the only real solution is to knock signs off the top of buildings into the intersection where the crazy man is, because obviously a knife-wielding drug addict threatening to kill himself is way more dangerous than a dude in a costume causing mass destruction to the area.
His only friend is his cousin, who basically looks like him with long hair, which makes the fact that he pretty much tries to rape her even more disturbing. Oh, and she's stupid, too. Something happens that makes it so her parents invite him to stay at their house for a while, all after the near-molestation, and she basically says to him 'I know you tried to force yourself on me, but I'm totally cool with that, because you're in a bad situation right now. And it's okay that you'll now be living in my house, it won't be awkward or scary for me at all.'
The dialogue is repetitive, with a cop that has to get in something along the lines of "I WILL ARREST YOU!" every time he appears. Perhaps it's the translation, but at times the characters' thoughts and speeches make very little sense. For instance, Hiro's aunt makes him breakfast, and when he finishes, he tells her "Thanks for the food," and his aunt's thought bubble says "Well, he's blunt." What?
This manga is just a really hot mess, and is best avoided. Unless you do it for the lulz.
The main character is utterly unlikable. Not because he's the bad guy, I have no problem with that as shown by my massive love for the series Death Note - Light is basically an egomaniacal genius with a god-complex, but he's still likable on some level, or at least interesting. But Hiro, the antagonist here, is just a boring, selfish moron. He has no real reason to use the power he's granted by this special suit he receives in the mail. He claims to be a god, but doesn't do anything but beat people up and destroy things, whilst being really emo.
Did I mention he's a moron? He goes to an autograph signing of his favorite singer, gets to meet her and all, but doesn't actually get her signature because their session is interrupted in the middle by her security due to some ruckus happening outside the building. The ever brilliant Hiro thinks to himself Oh snap! I shall get my autograph no matter what, puts his suit on, and heads out with the intention of making his idol feel safe enough to continue with her special appearance. Naturally, the only real solution is to knock signs off the top of buildings into the intersection where the crazy man is, because obviously a knife-wielding drug addict threatening to kill himself is way more dangerous than a dude in a costume causing mass destruction to the area.
His only friend is his cousin, who basically looks like him with long hair, which makes the fact that he pretty much tries to rape her even more disturbing. Oh, and she's stupid, too. Something happens that makes it so her parents invite him to stay at their house for a while, all after the near-molestation, and she basically says to him 'I know you tried to force yourself on me, but I'm totally cool with that, because you're in a bad situation right now. And it's okay that you'll now be living in my house, it won't be awkward or scary for me at all.'
The dialogue is repetitive, with a cop that has to get in something along the lines of "I WILL ARREST YOU!" every time he appears. Perhaps it's the translation, but at times the characters' thoughts and speeches make very little sense. For instance, Hiro's aunt makes him breakfast, and when he finishes, he tells her "Thanks for the food," and his aunt's thought bubble says "Well, he's blunt." What?
This manga is just a really hot mess, and is best avoided. Unless you do it for the lulz.
March 28, 2008
Ok this is an interesting manga. The main character is a hikikomori who is a bit of a shut in following some pretty extreme bullying by some kids at school. He applies for and is accepted into a trial program for a super suit. The suit itself can run for 1 hr but requires 8 hrs to recharge itself. The suit gives him super powers of strength and seemingly invulnerability. Instead of fighting crime and being a good guy though he uses the suit to inflict harm on those that attacked him and in the process continues to make a mess out of his life.
He even has a run in with another suit wearer that seems to know who he is although he doesnt know who she is.
He even has a run in with another suit wearer that seems to know who he is although he doesnt know who she is.
December 15, 2024
I'm always up for obscure superhero stories, new and interesting takes on the format, or deconstructions of the genre, so when I saw the first two volumes of Junk at Half-Price Books for five bucks each, I figured I'd give it a try. Sadly, it turned out to be none of those things.
Junk is essentially the story of what would happen if you gave a super suit to an incel. Hiro is a completely irredeemable human being. He has no job, is dropping out of school, is actively hostile to everyone in his life who (for some reason) cares about him, isn't very smart, and yet feels like the world owes him everything. He's such a sociopath, that after he's the direct cause of an accident that kills his parents, one of his first thoughts is, "well, the ticket I had to see my favorite pop idol burned up in the house, but now I've got an inheritance, so I can buy another one off of eBay." Our hero, ladies and gentlemen. And that's not even getting into the attempted rape.
But this is ostensibly a story about superheroes, right? So let's talk about that. Hiro gets his suit by entering a drawing on a website which will only have two winners. And he's so dumb and/or unobservant, that he assumes the drawing is for some kind of action figure. Instead, he gets sent a superhero kit in the mail, that generates a suit for an hour at a time that gives him super strength and toughness. And of course the other suit goes to someone else in the general area, and of course that other person is a lady, and of course Hiro sees her as standing in the way of everything that he wants to do with his newfound powers.
And what does he want to do with those newfound powers? Well, pretty much just cause massive property damage and loss of life, really. At one point, he gets so petty and delusional, that he tries to stop his pop idol crush from canceling the autograph session she was holding, by donning his suit and trying to subdue the drug addict outside the venue who's posing a danger to himself and others...but dropping a scaffolding on him from a tall building. And then he gets pissy because the lady superhero shows up first and steals his thunder.
The side characters aren't much better, being thinner than the paper they're printed on. The art is...an acquired taste, if you're charitable. And even the translation is sub-par, peppered with errors like "convenient store" instead of convenience store.
There is really nothing to recommend Junk to anyone, unless you're writing a paper on superhero tropes and you need examples of failed attempts at subversions or something. Even though I own the second volume of this, I think I'd be hard-pressed to ever read it after how bad this one is.
Junk is essentially the story of what would happen if you gave a super suit to an incel. Hiro is a completely irredeemable human being. He has no job, is dropping out of school, is actively hostile to everyone in his life who (for some reason) cares about him, isn't very smart, and yet feels like the world owes him everything. He's such a sociopath, that after he's the direct cause of an accident that kills his parents, one of his first thoughts is, "well, the ticket I had to see my favorite pop idol burned up in the house, but now I've got an inheritance, so I can buy another one off of eBay." Our hero, ladies and gentlemen. And that's not even getting into the attempted rape.
But this is ostensibly a story about superheroes, right? So let's talk about that. Hiro gets his suit by entering a drawing on a website which will only have two winners. And he's so dumb and/or unobservant, that he assumes the drawing is for some kind of action figure. Instead, he gets sent a superhero kit in the mail, that generates a suit for an hour at a time that gives him super strength and toughness. And of course the other suit goes to someone else in the general area, and of course that other person is a lady, and of course Hiro sees her as standing in the way of everything that he wants to do with his newfound powers.
And what does he want to do with those newfound powers? Well, pretty much just cause massive property damage and loss of life, really. At one point, he gets so petty and delusional, that he tries to stop his pop idol crush from canceling the autograph session she was holding, by donning his suit and trying to subdue the drug addict outside the venue who's posing a danger to himself and others...but dropping a scaffolding on him from a tall building. And then he gets pissy because the lady superhero shows up first and steals his thunder.
The side characters aren't much better, being thinner than the paper they're printed on. The art is...an acquired taste, if you're charitable. And even the translation is sub-par, peppered with errors like "convenient store" instead of convenience store.
There is really nothing to recommend Junk to anyone, unless you're writing a paper on superhero tropes and you need examples of failed attempts at subversions or something. Even though I own the second volume of this, I think I'd be hard-pressed to ever read it after how bad this one is.
September 1, 2019
There actually is manga that I simply do not like.... and taki it from person who does most often like something about manga that she reads. -I do skip some too as some don't interest me the slightest. This should have since it falls into scifi, combat suits, fighting and hopefully good story category... Except that it fails in story from the beginning. We get unlikable little piece of *head as main character, characters who are trying to be kind for him being treated like absolute carbage and cleared out of the way by this uber selfish little crap who, once he gets a powersuit ( spoilers ) decides that he can do whatever he wants. He is being tried to potray as hikikomori.... Yea, right and you wish. No hikikomori can be that unlikable or unrelatable as this blockhead is. His motives why he is like that is written and illustrated poorly. I dunno is it Kia Asiamya's very first manga ever. Even his past about how he became locked up in his room, skipping school makes absolutely no sense. He got bullied sometime as a kid that made him so spooked by outside world that he never ever stepped outside of his room ever again.... One being bullied by various people since first grade up to trade school.... you know, I really can't relate to what he's gone through. It also amazes me that his statistic parents haven't tried to help him. He does have a childhood friend ( cliche ) though he triest to assault her in his own room to have his way with her without no reason. Whatever this dude does, he has no reason to do it.
Point is that usually there's good reason why some manga character is like it. Even if they are going mental or power hungry. This main character has no reason to anything what he does and how the does it. Not even to excist.
One star for cool looking cover and combat suits. As for illustrations... most focus is on combat suits and on combats. Rest makes me wonder if it is artist's first manga.
Point is that usually there's good reason why some manga character is like it. Even if they are going mental or power hungry. This main character has no reason to anything what he does and how the does it. Not even to excist.
One star for cool looking cover and combat suits. As for illustrations... most focus is on combat suits and on combats. Rest makes me wonder if it is artist's first manga.
March 3, 2009
confusing
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews