Destroy All Humans. They Can't Be Regenerated. A Magic: The Gathering Manga, Vol. 5: Limited edition Magic: The Gathering card included in first printing!

すべての人類を破壊する。それらは再生できない。[Subete no jinrui wo hakai suru. Sorera wa saisei dekinai.] #5

by Takuma Yokota (Illustrator), Katsura Ise

It’s the nineties at Tokiwagi Middle School. And for gamers like Hajime Kano, after the release of Magic: The Gathering, nothing will ever be the same again!

Happy New Year, 1999! It's the Grand Prix Kyoto, the year’s first big Magic: The Gathering tournament, where players assemble from all over the country to test their skills and prove their worth. Hajime Kano will be up against mighty foes—but he’ll also encounter a challenge of a different sort: an unexpected romance!

Genres: Manga, Comics, Fiction, Romance, Fantasy, Shonen, Japan

202 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2020

Reviews

[Mark]

By any reasonable measure, this is a story for me. Dipped and fried in the inescapable nostalgia of the late 90s - console whipping boy the 3DO gets name dropped, of all things - it remains a treat seeing what will come up next.

Now, if you don’t have the attachment, as I mention every review, you can safely drop your rating by a notch or two. I think this has a certain level of merit on its own, but it’s also gleefully treating my eyeballs to a Revolutionary Girl Utena reference. I cannot separate the two sides.

Poor Hajime is in the middle of a love triangle without really knowing it. After my grousing about stupid boys fighting over a girl last time, I was greatly satisfied when I saw the scenario get inverted with the grudge match that closes this volume out.

Mind you, this is a contest that has already been decided. And that’s fine - I like Hajime and Emi together quite a bit and her comforting him in this volume when he’s feeling especially down is one of the best moments in the book. She really does care about him.

The irony of the situation is that Yakumo and Hajime technically have more in common - pretty sure they’re listening to the same song at different times here - and Yakumo’s got a good reason to like Hajime, as it turns out.

But that doesn’t necessarily translate to affection, as it happens, so Yakumo is trying and getting her small wins, but she’s definitely coming up short in more than just her height.

Most of the action settles around a tournament in Kyoto and Hajime gets some intense training that he hopes will lead him to victory. But, as we have often seen, there’s always a bigger fish out there. And a more annoying one.

Hajime’s struggles are always interesting because he IS getting better, he’s just not good enough. Which can be a little rough to take when you’re young and learning, and he’s both. I think the emotional core of the volume is rock solid.

Otherwise, I also quite enjoyed how the art on the Magic cards was translated to certain poses by the characters. It’s a small detail, but this does integrate its corporate sponsorship rather well. It’s a (much) less polished Hikaru no Go.

4 stars - still really enjoy this and watching the games play out. I think it’s easy enough for the neophyte to follow and for those of us thoroughly steeped in the game and the era, well, it’s an easy recommendation.

[Bill Fish]

An interesting love triangle! Magic and affairs of the heart seem to go together. Who would have thought?

[Jiro Dreams of Suchy]

Ok, the fun of young love and the passion you feel for your interests at that age is a great combo to play off each other. I love the battles, the giant monsters are great, and the behind the scenes tournament etiquette. I wonder if Emi likes Kano or just thinks he’s a good friend, I also wonder what his thoughts are on Yakumo. This is a fun little story!

[Robin]

pretty easily the best volume so far, imo. though it couldn't have been that without all the built up history to get you to care about the characters, so it's more like it's finally cashing the checks it's been writing for itself in the past four volumes.

[Aaron Meyer]

I really like the relationship Yakumo and Kano have been developing. Although I am definitely in Emi's corner I just think Yakumo and Kano would do well together too. This volume was really fun, the Kyoto Grand Prix was intense for everyone and with that cliffhanger ending, well we shall see next volume!

[Escape Into Dreams Gaby]

Es geht weiter mit Hajime, Emi & Co. Besonders das große Turnier steht diesmal im Mittelpunkt und sorgt für einige packende Duelle. Die Magic-Duelle sind wie gewohnt toll und lebendig dargestellt. Durch die Zeichnungen von Takuma Yokota sind die Szenen sehr dynamisch und detailreich gestaltet und machen die Kämpfe wie gewohnt spannend. Würde man die Kämpfe nicht so zeichnen, wären sie ziemlich langweilig, aber so sind sie wirklich toll! Kreaturen und Zauber werden lebendig wie in echten Schlachten!!

Gleichzeitig entwickeln sich aber auch die Charaktere bzw. deren Gefühle weiter. Ich liebe es wenn Hajime und Emi teilweise so tollpatschig miteinander umgehen. Zwischen den Charakteren entwickeln sich neue Gefühle und Missverständnisse, wodurch neben den spannenden Duellen auch jede Menge persönliches Drama entsteht. (Wer liebt Drama nicht?) Dadurch fühlt sich der Manga nicht wie eine reine Geschichte über ein Kartenspiel an, sondern bekommt eine schöne Mischung aus Sport-/Wettkampf-Manga und Romance.

Ich bin immer noch positiv überrascht von der Reihe und mag vorallem Emi und Hajime sehr gern! Auf jeden Fall wieder vollste Empfehlung meinerseits!

[Joseph R.]

After celebrating the New Year by visiting a shrine and wishing for good luck in the coming year, our cast of characters gears up for a big Magic: The Gathering competition in Kyoto. The national event is a chance for Hajime Kano to play against the greatest players in the country. The two women interested in him, Emi Sawatari and Yakumo Suwabara, are also attending though neither knows right away. They are in the open competition, a different category from Kano's Limited Format. The tournaments are held over three days. The romantic drama takes a back seat to the Magic play, but not much of one.

This is more of the same from previous volumes. I am starting to get lost in the technicalities of the rules of the game, even with footnotes on terms. Many of the cards are not really described and are a bit hard to read in the manga format. Still, the story is interesting enough to keep me going, even though they have all but dropped the apocalyptic worries from earlier books.

Mildly recommended.

[Eric Kallenborn]

If you’re not familiar with Destroy All Humans, it’s a Magic the Gathering maga set in the late 90s.

Each volume comes with a classic MTG card with unique art to the book series.

The book follows a group of three MTG obsessed middle schoolers as they navigate life and relationships, while playing a TON of Magic.

As an MTG player since ‘94, I enjoy the book series and its dedication to showcasing the game as it was during that time period. With that being said, if you do not know the game, this book series would be tough to follow. There are notes about the game on lots of pages for you to follow along, but still, lots might go over your head.

Take that all in consideration as you determine if you should read the book. If it’s not for you, might make a great gift for the young person in your life that plays MTG.

[Shiritaku]

Ich war direkt wieder voll drin! Der Manga hat einfach was magisches an sich, das einen total in den Bann zieht, ein jedes Mal aufs Neue! 😍🔥 Zuerst treffen wir Hajime, der zu Neujahr auf Yakumo trifft. Die beiden und Emi bereiten sich auf das große Turnier in Kyoto vor - der Hauptteil wird dann auch den Grandprix gewidmet - für die Mädchen geht es aber nicht nur um Magic, sondern natürlich auch im einen Jungen.. und so entbrennen gleich mehrere Schlachten!! 🔥
Super spannend, fesselnd und mitreißend! Ich kann gar nicht in Worte fassen, wie mich jeder Band so begeistern kann, haha. Zwar hab ich bisher selbst noch nicht Magic gespielt, aber es ist einfach super faszinierend, dem Schauspiel beizuwohnen. Natürlich endet der Band auch mit einem kleinen (fiesen) Cliffhanger.. aaaaber! Band 6 liegt schon bereit, muhahaha! 😈

[Steffany .O (coffee over apples)]

I love my children so much 💖 They are so stinking cute! This volume was everything I want out of this series: Dramatic yu-gi-oh combat style battles that really only take place in their heads cause my babies are just little extra nerds, silly shenanigans, cute romance and lots of MTG. I am an avid magic player so it is so much fun to see the cards I am familiar with in action. I can see how if someone is not too familiar with the mechanics, the battles might be a little confusing because things like proirity are not clearly explained. But me? I had a blast!

My lil nerds went to their first limited tournament and did so well. good job, babes. Kano took his eventual loss so to heart that he didn't stick around to cheer on Emi, boo, don't be a stinker 😝 But she is too busy battling her middle school friends and rival in loooooove for her crush so lol go off my lil dorky princess 🥰

[Wilson]

This is already the 5th volume, and the story is only getting more interesting. As much as I would like to note things I liked, I also do not want to spoil it. I usually get digital, but this one is well worth sticking with I am getting physical copies. I also like that there are free promo cards related to the story. I am hooked and can’t wait to see where this goes!

[Catdaga Coughlan]

Continuación de la historia salseante que gira en torno a partidas de magic. Esta vez nos encontramos en un campeonato importante en Kioto, bastante intenso todo, también me ha gustado que ha habido mucha tensión y bastantes partidas intensas.
8/10

[ChaosStrolling]

This was great! Some excellent games with awesome full pages of creatures. There’s a good amount of Yakumo in this one which I loved. There’s also finally some confessions that have been long since needing to happen. Ready to see Kano pick himself up.
Chapters 17-20

[eliseinwanderbook]

Il triangolo che non mi aspettavo 🌚

[Joe Stivala]

I enjoyed it gave me that nostalgia of being back in the 1990's

[Alex]

Light read. Nothing much more, but still enjoyable.

[Kathleen]

How will our heroes fare at the Kyoto Grand Prix tournament? Pretty well, for their age!

[Jack King]

Story is getting very exciting, the love triangle is even more interesting knowing which way the feelings are going

[Callum Woodward]

Incredible ending shot

[Louis Fritz v]

The Tournament in Kyoto Begins

Excellent build up for Kyoto tournament and new challengers. Only major downside is the suspenseful ending which requires the next volume.

[Laura ♡]

I feel like more should've happened in this volume, ended quite abruptly. Overall still enjoyable and ready to read the next one.

[Katie with a blog]

THE GIRLS ARE FIGHTING!!!!!!!!!

[José Manuel]

Esta serie es maravillosa