Transformers: The Manga, Vol. 3

Transformers: The Manga #3

by Masumi Kaneda, Ban Magami (Illustrator)

Originally serialized in Japan’s TV Magazine, these classic stories from the Generation 1 era of Transformers are now available in English for the first time!

The Autobots and the Decepticons have been locked in a brutal civil war for eons, and now their battle has come to Earth! The Autobots seek peace and coexistence, while the Decepticons seek power and control. Earth and its populace are caught in the middle as these mighty factions go head-to-head. Transformers took the world by storm shortly after their debut, and these previously uncollected stories were a vital part of that takeover!

The final volume of The Manga is here! This deluxe volume collects three classic stories and a beautiful art gallery. “Victory” is the tale of the legendary battle between Starsaber and Deszaras. In “Zone,” the Nine Great Generals run wild. And in “The Battle Stars,” Super Megatron attempts to feed on planet Earth, but Optimus Prime stands in his way!

Genres: Manga, Science Fiction

378 pages, Hardcover

Published October 13, 2020

Reviews

[Khurram · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was quite disappointed with this volume. The art work is great, the story is quite childish, and the action is your usual you have seen on mech battle you have seen everything in thing in this book.

I was going to give this book 2 stars, but the artwork especially the illustrations after the main stories are great. There are 3 main stories in this volume, 8 mini chapters of the first Voctory story. Then the next story is written from left to right. So you have to skip to page 208 then read page 176 (the page number still run on the manga right to left). The final story is probobly my favourite as it has the Transformers I recognise the most, though Optimus Prime is called Star Conway.

The artwork just edged this to 3 stars from 2 for me, I would not recomend this unless you are like and just prefer to finish of you collection as you have the previous 2 volumes.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

The four Manga series collected in this volume were originally directed towards an audience of TV-watching Japanese children between the ages of 5 and 10 in the 1980s, and it shows. Still, for what it is, it is very charming. This is a high quality reproduction of the original stories. Every chapter ends with a silly power-rangers-esque finishing move. The book itself ends with a heartfelt note from Ban Magami, the primary artist for all three volumes.

The real reason for picking up this volume is that it contains series that were not adapted for animation: Battlestars and Operation Combination, the final vestiges of Japanese G1 Transformers. Victory, Zone, and Battlestars all have full manga chapters (though Zone is printed in such a way that it is read left-to-right, to preserve how it was originally published). Additional "story pages" are given for each series, and Operation Combination is presented solely as a series of story pages.

Battlestars and Operation Combination are very short, sparsely detailed, and can be understood no better by reading this volume than by reading about the plot on the wiki. If you are expecting explanations for what Ultra Megatron is, or what Grandus's personality is like, you will be disappointed.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

So... These are not good.
If you're not a die-hard Transformer fan, I'd advise you to hard pass on these.

These stories do not make sense. Characters show up to win, conversations are next to unfollowable and the stakes here, even though they're trying to be huge, never seem like they matter. I never worried for one character, because I couldn't keep anyone straight.

The art galleries are kind of pretty? They were my favourite part of the volume anyway.

As a Transformers fan I'm glad I'm able to own these niche comics, as I'm sure they're impossible to find outside of these new releases. However, like I said, they're not good and they don't make much sense.

[Seven Pesos · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked it. Saying that I didn't buy this for the plot is extremely suspect considering the artwork featured in this book depicting a 12 (?) year-old boy close-to-nude scrubbing a big Autobot clean. Very suspect, hmmm. Despite the title, this book is mostly an art-book for the Japanese Transformers franchise with a third of the book being stories. The bonus art is incredible. I wonder if it's fair to say "bonus" when the bonus material takes up the majority of the book? The stories are (frankly) stupid and for kids, but I had a fun time reading them with Saturday-morning-cartoon voices and giving them ironic soundtracks in my head.

[Mike Esposito · Rating 3 out of 5]

5-6/10
Is this a very deep book? Is there characterization? No. BUT if you enjoy super robot anime, you’ll have a lot of fun with this volume of the manga. There’s a lot of giant robots fighting evil giant robots, transforming and combining, having names like Deathsaurus and Star Saber. I quite enjoyed all of the art, it had that distinct late 80s anime aesthetic. The art gallery at the end of each story is filled with gorgeous drawings that even provide short bursts of story. Vapid, but fun.

[Anthony Wendel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume covers the Transformers Victory and Zone series. On top of adding more elements to Victory such as more human characters (which I feel would have actually really helped the overall story) it also takes the time to expand on what would have happened with Zone if it was a full series with various 1-2 page illustrations. Overall a great way to expand the history of Transformers to the non-Japanese audience.

[I.D. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Are you a six year old Japanese kid in 1987? If not, then this won’t be for you. The art is fine but tue comic itself is so random and childish that unless you are a super fan there’s really no reason to read this.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was strange to say the least. The translation was horrible. For example the Decepticons wear breastplate armor and they translated it breastplate. The book format was was right to left (like a manga should be) and left to right to tell a different story. It was really confusing.

[Susan :3 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love art style, need more context for plot holes ✨

[Owen Hatherley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kawaii Transformers, for (Japanese) kids, very silly and in places very charming: so much peace and love!

[The Loco Librarian · Rating 2 out of 5]

So boring. I'll be happy if I never have to read another Transformers books in my lifetime.
At least things exploded a lot and there was cool fighting.