X-Men: The Manga - Remastered, Vol. 2

X-Men The Manga - Remastered

by Hiroshi Higuchi, Hiroshi Higuchi, Hirofumi Ichikawa

It’s time for the full The Animated Series experience! The global television sensation is back on TV screens and back on shelves with this classic manga adaptation. Newly remastered and presented in a deluxe edition, this ultimate X-Men collector’s item completes the two-volume set!

Genres: Manga, Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, X Men, Superheroes, Fantasy

512 pages, Paperback

Published March 11, 2025

Reviews

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

My thanks to NetGalley and VIZ Media LLC for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.

Sometimes having different artists in an omnibus is refreshing and at other times, it merely highlights how some of the artists completely missed the boat with their interpretation of the characters and boots the reader out of the story.

Unfortunately with this volume, the later was the end result. The artwork that was bad was so abysmal that it overshadowed any ok to decent artwork and if there was any amazing artwork, the bad blinded me to the good.

The storyline...was it from the OG cartoon, because if it was, I need to re-assess my love for the series from my childhood. It was bad.

I didn't hate this but it isn't one I recommend except to those desperate for X-Men and want to try it in manga format.

2, this had so much wasted potential, stars.

[Martin Maenza · Rating 3 out of 5]

VIZ Media provided an early galley for review.

We're back again with the follow up to last year's volume 1 of the Manga reprints of the retelling of the 90's X-Men: The Animated Series tales. The seven issues in this volume take us through the end of season 1 of the show and the start of season 2.

The artwork this time relies even heavier on the manga styles of the time, taking the original source material and making it into something of its own. One of the issues reminds me a bit of the Astro Boy cartoons from the 60's, for example, and plays up the humor aspects quite a bit. Takes like this put a new spin on the old story lines.

Once more there are several pages in the back of bonus features. These include character profiles and detailed discussions about certain mutant powers.

[Graham Butler · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fine for what it is. The new edition is gorgeous, but the project itself from the 90s is just odd. It's a straight retelling of the Fox cartoon, but significantly truncated and it end as it sets up a new arc. Would have been much, much better as its own story, but I guess this was cheaper than dubbing the cartoon...? 

[Anthony Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

X-men animated series in manga form! Every chapter is by a different artist just like volume 1 which gives you a cool experience!

[emily trawick · Rating 4 out of 5]

It only took like three months for my library to get in Xmen Vol. 2! Yay! While Vol. 1 seemed to follow the ‘92 show pretty much episode to episode verbatim, Vol. 2 was a little different. While I haven’t seen all of the Xmen show, it seems like the first couple of chapters of Vol. 2 were stand alones. That being said, I kind of did enjoy it. At this point, the Xmen are all set up, and we can kind of just enjoy seeing them in action.

However! The last three-ish chapters did all connect to each other, whereas the first four really didn’t. There’s an interesting time-travel storyline that I definitely enjoyed.

As far as the book as a whole, there were soooooo many new characters (Mystique, Bishop, Apocalypse). The final chapter ends with the return of a character, and then the introduction of an unnamed character that I didn’t recognize. I personally didn’t love that the volume ends with introducing a pretty important plot line AND the intro of a new villain, but I suppose that means I should finish the show.

Lastly, I gotta give a shoutout to the art in both Vol 1 and 2. Each chapter (13 total) is illustrated by a different artist, and it was such a joy to see the different interpretations and styles.

Anyways, love love love. Such a good intro to the world of Xmen as someone who only knew them from MVC2. 3.9/5.

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm sad that this seems to be the end of the series. There's so many wonderful episodes of the cartoon that I would have loved to see adapted in manga style. The entire Phoenix saga, Rogue's backstory, my fave Nightcrawler... And much more immediately, the last chapter ends on a serious cliffhanger. Of course anyone who has Disney+ can see the entire cartoon this manga is based on, which I highly recommend doing anyways.

This volume is as much of a nostalgia bomb for me as the first. I remember these episodes so clearly that I can hear the dialog in my head, though I think a few more liberties were taken in this volume. Probably an adaptation thing in places, like Rogue using Mom instead of Mama. The art is still variable, with some artists feeling like a more natural fit than others. I still wonder if this has much of an audience outside of nostalgia, but that's probably enough.

[Love, Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was definitely an action packed rollercoaster with some really fun story lines. I particularly liked the time travel one as it reminded me of Days of Future Past, could this be the basis story for that? It portrayed Wolverine quite difierently then they usually do, as he was a bit more humorous in this one and I'm not sure if I liked that or not tbh. I also really liked the anti mutant story line towards the end and the return of one of the previous characters from vol.1 now turned evil? It was well written and timed. I'm hoping there will be more from this series, my guess is the next volume will be green lol.
Oh we also saw colossus and juggernaut which was fun!
My only complaint with the manga over all was how PG it feels. Like no one ever gets hurt or sustains injuries besides a head bump or two. And the villains are very tame/ easy to defeat.

[Nicolo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection concluded the X-Men The Manga: Remastered series, which continued the premium production values started with the first volume. The Remastered series collected all 14 chapters of the X-Men manga, an adaptation of the first season of the X-Men: The Animated Series plus one chapter of the first episode of the second season. Therein laid the problem.

Since it ends on massive cliffhanger, it remains unresolved. I'm not certain if the manga adapted the entirety of the second season. I think that lone last chapter is all that was adapted from the second season.

So, unlike the first volume which pretty much could stand on its own, this second volume has that gaping hole of a cliffhanger. That explains why the former rated 5 stars, while the second 4 stars. This gives the entire series an average of 4.5 stars.

Overall, still an excellent build for this collection, and I really enjoy seeing the X-Men, a quintessentially American property, imagined by Japanese manga artists.

[Shireen Hakim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not enjoy this volume as much as the first, namely because of the silly facial illustrations. This volume deals with ominous plotlines, villains and violence but the intensity clashes with the goofy faces: Apocalypse looks like a clown Tin man, Rogue looks like a kitten and I won't even comment on Jubilee.
It was also difficult to follow the action sequences especially between Rogue and Mystique. I skipped the last two chapters since I'm not familiar with Bishop and I think Morph is irrelevant. Lastly, I don't see how Apocalypse was defeated merely by Rogue taking away Archangel's anger..maybe I missed something.

Thank you Viz Media and NetGalley for the digital review copy.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

The X-Men team returns from Genosha to find the school and mansion destroyed! Tracking sown the culprit they met Colossus for the first time. They they followed Professor X overseas to Muir Island and ended up confronting Apocalypse. Then the X-Men get a visitor from the future trying to prevent a disaster from occurring. But then a senator is kidnapped by the Sentinels. The final chapter brings back Morph to end the book on a cliffhanger.

Thanks Netgalley and Viz Media for a chance to read this title!

[Rob Marney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this volume. The editors did a great job matching the artists with the tone of each episode, from broad comedy to horny to shonen battle to dark and sketchy, and the overall quality has much improved. The plot is still a bare bones distilled version of a kid's TV show, but it has a satisfying wrap-up that matches right about where the best of the animated series ended. Don't expect much from this retread of extremely common stories like Days of Future Past and you will be pleasantly surprised.

[Norman Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Based on the 1990s animated series, this re-imagination of the X-Men saga pares down the overblown and confusing continuity into something an ordinary reader can enjoy. The action flows fast yet there is a sense of order that makes it intelligible. The various artists have varying styles, some better than others, but it all seems to flow together well. The X-Men are drawn more youthfully than in American comics. Sometimes the fight scenes are messy and hard to parse. Another drawback is that, even after over five hundred pages, the book ends on a cliffhanger.

[Joe LaConte · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story of Jubilee continued! This book is great for a fun, easy to read time. It feels similar to the original Pokemon Adventures manga, but obviously through the lens of the X-Men. Every hero feels well represented and have fun interactions together. The hero I believe wasn't utilized well was Gambit. He is a compelling character in his stories who is relegated to a comic relief during what feels like it should have higher stakes.

On a small note, this series truly should have continued. To end on that cliffhanger without a follow up is criminal.

[Chad · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was just plain awful. Most of the art is terrible. The best chapters are only passable. If you're older than 7 or so, you're probably going to say this was written for babies. The dialogue and story are written so poorly. You can tell zero effort was put into this and they just wanted to push it out due to the success of the cartoon. It also ends mid-story which is annoying for an omnibus.

[Nolan Buro · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you spent the 1990's watching the X-Men Animated Series on repeat, using VHS tapes you got by begging your parents to buy them for you at Pizza Hut, you will LOVE THIS. If you love Jim Lee X-Men and love manga, I think you'd like this a lot. If neither of those is your life and interests, I'm not sure what this book can offer you.

[Matthew Fleming · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another solid compilation of the manga adapted from the animated series. It's very well-drawn and consistently entertaining, with the only downside being that it perhaps talks down to the hard-core fans a tad.

[John Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Between the two volumes of this manga you get a faithful adaptation of the first fourteen episodes of X-Men The Animated Series.

[Kota · Rating 2 out of 5]

*very* abrupt ending - but meh. Other than that it worked.

[Elsie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peak aswell