天地創造デザイン部 2 [Tenchi Souzou Design-bu 2]

Heaven's Design Team #2

by Hebi-Zou, Tsuta Suzuki, Tarako (Illustrator)

IT WASN'T MEANT TO BE THIS WAY!

After getting Kenta's crazy experiment under control, the Design Department goes back to the drawing board to tune up some old rejected submissions. The Client, seeing their work was good, then sends the team on a well-deserved vacation. But for this wacky crew, "relaxation time" is anything but!

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Comics, Humor, Graphic Novels, Animals, Fiction

143 pages, Paperback

First published June 20, 2018

About the author

Is a part-time lecturer in the Tokyo Institute of Technology.

Reviews

[Juho Pohjalainen · Rating 3 out of 5]

If the series takes place in the dawn of time, how are they already aware of modern-day cultural mores like food and architecture and prisons?

[D.T. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much better than the bore-fest of volume 1. I actually liked reading this. It was less of an animal encyclopedia (of course, animal facts abound) and focused more on the wacky design hijinks and characters. Next volume Ueda goes to Hell.

[Enairolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lors de la sortie du premier tome, je dois bien avouer que j’étais très curieuse. Le titre me paraissait vraiment prometteur et j’avais hâte de découvrir ce titre qui me paraissait un brin loufoque! J’ai beaucoup aimé le premier tome, c’est un titre frais, drôle, original et surtout un petit peu barjot sur les bords. C’est clairement le titre parfait pour nous faire passer un bon moment. J’aime l’idée de base de l’histoire, que l’on découvre comment sont crée les animaux. Et j’aime beaucoup les petites fiches entre chaque chapitre. C’est une jolie source d’informations, j’aime vraiment beaucoup!

Dans ce second tome, on retrouve les membres de l’équipe qui se démènent chaque jour pour répondre aux requêtes toujours plus extravagantes de Dieu, voilà que Kenta, le petit-fils de M. Saturne, gribouille sur les schémas dans la salle d’expérimentation. Il donne ainsi naissance à une créature monstrueuse par inadvertance ! C’est à présent aux concepteurs de trouver une solution pour arranger la situation…

Ce que j’aime le plus dans ce manga, c’est son côté ludique. Ça nous permet d’apprendre des tas de choses sur les différents animaux et je trouve ça vraiment chouette. Moi même, j’ai appris certaines choses pendant ma lecture, comme par exemple sur le fait que le caméléon ne change pas de couleurs en fonction d’où il se trouve. Enfin c’est plein de petites choses comme ça que je trouve hyper agréable à découvrir. Mais dans ce manga, j’aime aussi énormément les différents personnages. Ils me font tous rire à leurs manières. Parfois ils doivent faire face à des demandes farfelues de Dieu et ils se cassent littéralement la tête pour pouvoir créer des animaux digne de ce nom. J’ai adoré le moment où ils partent tous en vacances sur une île, le coup de l’enquête et du détective ça m’a vraiment fait beaucoup rire!

Je suis déjà impatiente de découvrir ce que le troisième tome nous réserve. Le côté drôle mais surtout ludique est très plaisant. Il nous permet d’étoffer nos connaissances et ça ne fait pas de mal. Au contraire, au moins on s’endors moins bête! Je suis fan des différents personnages, certains sont vraiment très drôles. J’adore le personnage de Mercure mais aussi celui de Vénus. Ils ont tous un petit quelque chose qui nous fait rire. Le principe de l’histoire, j’adhère totalement, c’est tellement original que ça en est excellent à lire!

[Jacob · Rating 3 out of 5]

V.2 is more of the same; if you liked v.1, you know what you're getting here. Only a few things of note:

1. One of my big complains with the first volume was the lack of citation. This volume provides a reference page, so that helps me to feel good about the type of research the author did. Most of the items on the reference page are in Japanese, so I can't really judge them, but the ones in English are solid science journals. That doesn't fix my worries about post-translation accuracy, but the reference page does make me happier.

2. V.2 is the end of the series, at least in terms of what has been published in English. Dunno if there was ever any more released in Japan. The way this volume ends makes me think that there was going to be more material--it's not really a cliffhanger (as that would imply that there was an actual plot to hang anything on) as much as it is a foreshadowing. We'll see if a third volume lands later this year, but if not it'll be OK. This was enjoyable enough, but a touch redundant and I don't imagine a third volume would fix that.

3. As with the first volume I recommend parents preview this before giving it to kids. In addition to the reproductive and religious elements of v.1, this one has some mildly violent imagery. Pretty tame by your average manga standards, but a whole chapter deals with a "murder" mystery, so you know... it's just a bit more mature feeling than earlier parts of the series.

[Stewart Tame · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise is simple--and off-the-wall: the Design Department are tasked with creating all of the creatures of the earth by the client (i.e. God, more of a Big Picture thinker who knows when to delegate.) Shimoda is the new angel on the block. He and his supervisor, Ueda, are liaisons between the client and the designers. They all have their own individual personalities and specialties–Mr. Saturn is best known for designing the horse, and approaches each new assignment with an eye towards its potential horse-ness. Mars is the engineer in charge of testing, and is quick to point out that, for instance, the 300 meter gorilla collapsed of heatstroke because increasing its height gave it enough extra mass that its body heat couldn't dissipate fast enough. By the end of the chapter, the problem is usually resolved, a new creature has been created, and we get a couple of pages detailing the real-life critters referenced in the story. It's a winning formula that seems full of endless possibility.

There's some light continuity–and this volume ends on somewhat of a cliffhanger–but, for the most part, these books can be read out of sequence without spoiling anything. The artwork is charming, and the writing sparkles in all the right ways. This is a light, fun manga, and I'm really enjoying it so far. Recommended!

[Nicholas Driscoll · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally read the second volume! I don't care much about the story, but it is a really fun way to learn about various animals and their surprising abilities! I have loved animals for a long time, and these books are just so fun! The story barely exists, and the characters (designers and engineers who create animal designs based on requests from God) are quirky and funny.

Some interesting stuff from this volume:

There is such a thing as a flying snake that can spread out its ribs and glide through the air. Wow.

Pandas have the organs of a carnivore, so even though they are basically herbivorous, they have some trouble actually digesting their bamboo diet!

There is a kind of single-celled organism that sort of has a single eye.

A kind of shark fossil apparently possessed a whorl of teeth that curls around in a circle. Weird.

Some squirrels attack snakes and roll around/bite discarded snake skins as a way to make themselves smell like snake. The odor then tends to make snakes avoid the squirrels. So the squirrels attack snakes as a way to keep snakes away...

Anyway, fun!

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Gods design animals for Earth! Each chapter focuses on 1-3 animals and the thoughtful creative process on the how and why an animal is the way they are. At the end of each chapter are bits of information about the animals mentioned.

It's really interesting how there's a God who sends an angel as an agent to Roman Gods in order to design creations for Him. I like how there's reason in the creation, making it a fun way of explaining the who, what, why, and how. The cast of characters are all likeable and have their quirks. They share the spotlight with their animal creations. The plot is linear so readers won't have to worry too much about having to read from the first book. Some new characters do get introduced but each volume includes a quick introduction for each person.

Give to middle schoolers and up who enjoy manga and like to learn along the way!

*Review for "Heaven's Design Team" volumes 1-6

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

So funny, so educational, so unique. I am really loving this series. The characters are interesting. The designs are even more interesting and the real life animals are just amazing. I have learned so many tidbits about several animals already just from reading the first and second volumes alone. I really cannot wait to see what other creatures will be designed in the rest of the series!

I really do not get some of the other reviews. If you do not like learning about the animals or why certain designs cannot exist in the real world, then why are you reading this manga??

[Alicia Schutter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imagine feeling like something is watching you in the shower to find a .....transparent fish staring at you (icefish). The divine calls for stripes and from it we get moray eels, zebras and pandas! But before this we get flamingos who secret red milk from the back of their throats...both males and females!! Also, elephants and flying snakes. But still no dragons and pegasus. Another fun set of challenges with the design team. So smart!

[Raechel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The design team is hard at work creating animals for their client. However, things never quite go as planned with their designs or the clients wishes. This is such an interesting idea for a series of what if god used heavenly designers (named after planets) to create all of the animals. A great way to talk about some of the unique animals.

[Adriana · Rating 5 out of 5]

As brilliant, funny, and informative as the first volume.
Plus, this one has some great insight into being a designer and the jokes are so true to life that it proves Hevi-Zou really does do a tremendous amount of research.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pleasantly surprised by the second volume. A bit more plot here to go along with all the really cool animal facts. Naturally I'm falling for the nonbinary Venus, as they seem to freak out about every little thing and make funny comments throughout. Looking forward to volume 3.

[Aurora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun volume!

[Rebo · Rating 4 out of 5]

If forgotten how much fun this series is... and I learned a few things, too! (I had no idea that moray eels had another mouth ala the “alien” creatures!)

[Pixel Queer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the art work so much! Again this is such a fun and educational manga. Love the queer representation!!

[Neveth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Continues to be amazing. I especially love the xenomorph

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the interplay of the designers and their designs. Was the sharknado really necessary? No, but it's fun!

[Loz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am really enjoying this. It's an irreverent chaotic educational romp.

[John Driscoll · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you liked volume 1, this is more of the same. If you didn't, why read volume 2?

[Andrea Nødtvedt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty aight

[Rebecca Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

[Mii · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still quite funny and informative, now with additional mystery/detective part

[Claire Wrobel · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite was how they described creating an elephant! So creative.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute and educational!

[RJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are so fun and SHOOOT I SHOULD'VE TAKEN NOTES FOR D&D HOMEBREW CREATURES

[Isabella · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the authors' creative ways or backwards designing our creatures to create these fun stories

[I Have No Standards When It Comes To Books]

DNF pg 30 or 12%

Due date

[Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pluto is now my favorite designer just because of the sharks.

[Vy Meow · Rating 5 out of 5]

25 Aug 2024
Lịch biển đâu mà thấy ớn!

[Cecelia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love how there is virtually no plot, and yet the volume still ended on a cliff-hanger??