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Aliens Area #1
ALIENS AREA 1
弟妹たちと平穏に暮らしていた立浪辰己の生活は、突如現れた異星人の襲撃で一変する。辰己を窮地から救った男・写楽の目的は!? 彼の所属する組織“外5”とは一体…!? 新時代のSFクライムアクション、開幕!!
192 pages, Paperback
First published October 4, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 25, 2022
(Note: I did not read the actual tankobon, but rather read the individual chapters as they released on MangaPlus.)
At some point, I should start working on a list of canceled Weekly Shounen Jump manga I got to follow through their lifespans on MangaPlus, with my thoughts on each. Or, like, a chart, divided between "I'm sad this is gone," "wasted potential," and "good riddance." Aliens Area would fall somewhere between the first and second spots.
The premise of this manga is basically just Men in Black, with a light dressing of "battle shounen," but which ultimately ends up as more a slice-of-life for young bureaucrats. In the beginning, protagonist Tatsunami is granted an alien Implant that turns his right arm into... well, it really just looks like Haki-infused Gomu Gomu no Mi arm attacks from One Piece, except several hands can grow out of the arm as well. Otherwise, Section 5 agents have Equipment, which are special items that allow them to combat belligerent aliens, if necessary. Our secondary lead, who's actually basically the main guy, Sharaku, has an Implant in his forehead, which he just never uses because the manga was canceled, and instead uses a few Equipments. The potential exists for interesting fights, perhaps with the Equipment functioning as Hunter x Hunter Greed Island cards more than anything (or possibly Cursed Tools from Jujutsu Kaisen, but those are largely underutilized in that series, except by specialists), and with what I imagine would be a devolution into enemies with Implants, just as any "humans versus monsters" manga in Jump eventually becomes "humans versus humans." We can assume other aliens would have strange abilities natural to their races, but the only example we see is a guy who uses an Equipment lightsaber, who later reappears with a sort of Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.
Jump seems to be pretty cutthroat, so there are some pretty fucked-up expectations for new manga-ka. The worst for Aliens Area is that writers for battle manga are expected to rush through the opening beats right out of the gate. Actually, since I've started using MangaPlus in 2020, I have yet to see a new battle manga that hasn't gotten canceled (this is assuming Ginka & Glüna will die soon, and considering Tokyo Demon Bride Story to be less a strict action series, though I also expect it will be canceled...). I have no idea what the editors want, unless they just still want gag series and are doing some weird shit where they greenlight action series to let them die, rather than necessarily prioritize gag serializations. Hunter x Hunter has returned, but we can imagine Togashi will only go as far as a full volume's worth of chapters before hibernating again; One Piece, BnHA, Black Clover, Jujutsu, Undead Unluck, and Mashle are all assumed to be ending soon-ish; I don't know shit about Yozakura or Sakamoto other than that they "EXIST," as the meme goes; I love Elusive Samurai, but I think it doesn't do too well(?). Basically, you cannot take your time setting up a story and a world, and you cannot introduce a large gang of heavy-hitters (a la Kimetsu's Hashira) so early, and you can never have an "exam arc." Aliens Area tries all three.
I liked the action, and I liked the slower-paced non-combative missions, but it was clear early on that this manga would not survive, and so I set my expectations accordingly. The author did end up fumbling a bit as he tried to reach a suitable climax despite the lack of... pretty much anything, so I think the series will unfortunately slip my mind in the near future, unlike examples of "I really wish this had the chance to flesh some stuff out" manga in Neru or Red Hood, or especially Build King. At the end of the day, it's kind of funny to look back and realize Tatsunami only ever used his Implant like twice and Sharaku never used his. Very clear examples of "wasted potential."
One thing I've noticed about myself in recent months: I can accept a lot of mediocrity so long as no one else calls attention to it. Someone on /a/ pointed out how Naba would often do the same paneling technique where he would have a large vertical panel take up one-third the page, while the rest was filled by three or four horizontal panels. When it was said, it became difficult to ignore in later chapters. I think it cleared up by the end, or else I was able not to notice after a while....
The writing was on the wall for this manga's cancellation. Too many promotional materials misspelled the title as "Alines," including the cover of Jump. It was practically destined to die an early death.
At some point, I should start working on a list of canceled Weekly Shounen Jump manga I got to follow through their lifespans on MangaPlus, with my thoughts on each. Or, like, a chart, divided between "I'm sad this is gone," "wasted potential," and "good riddance." Aliens Area would fall somewhere between the first and second spots.
The premise of this manga is basically just Men in Black, with a light dressing of "battle shounen," but which ultimately ends up as more a slice-of-life for young bureaucrats. In the beginning, protagonist Tatsunami is granted an alien Implant that turns his right arm into... well, it really just looks like Haki-infused Gomu Gomu no Mi arm attacks from One Piece, except several hands can grow out of the arm as well. Otherwise, Section 5 agents have Equipment, which are special items that allow them to combat belligerent aliens, if necessary. Our secondary lead, who's actually basically the main guy, Sharaku, has an Implant in his forehead, which he just never uses because the manga was canceled, and instead uses a few Equipments. The potential exists for interesting fights, perhaps with the Equipment functioning as Hunter x Hunter Greed Island cards more than anything (or possibly Cursed Tools from Jujutsu Kaisen, but those are largely underutilized in that series, except by specialists), and with what I imagine would be a devolution into enemies with Implants, just as any "humans versus monsters" manga in Jump eventually becomes "humans versus humans." We can assume other aliens would have strange abilities natural to their races, but the only example we see is a guy who uses an Equipment lightsaber, who later reappears with a sort of Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.
Jump seems to be pretty cutthroat, so there are some pretty fucked-up expectations for new manga-ka. The worst for Aliens Area is that writers for battle manga are expected to rush through the opening beats right out of the gate. Actually, since I've started using MangaPlus in 2020, I have yet to see a new battle manga that hasn't gotten canceled (this is assuming Ginka & Glüna will die soon, and considering Tokyo Demon Bride Story to be less a strict action series, though I also expect it will be canceled...). I have no idea what the editors want, unless they just still want gag series and are doing some weird shit where they greenlight action series to let them die, rather than necessarily prioritize gag serializations. Hunter x Hunter has returned, but we can imagine Togashi will only go as far as a full volume's worth of chapters before hibernating again; One Piece, BnHA, Black Clover, Jujutsu, Undead Unluck, and Mashle are all assumed to be ending soon-ish; I don't know shit about Yozakura or Sakamoto other than that they "EXIST," as the meme goes; I love Elusive Samurai, but I think it doesn't do too well(?). Basically, you cannot take your time setting up a story and a world, and you cannot introduce a large gang of heavy-hitters (a la Kimetsu's Hashira) so early, and you can never have an "exam arc." Aliens Area tries all three.
I liked the action, and I liked the slower-paced non-combative missions, but it was clear early on that this manga would not survive, and so I set my expectations accordingly. The author did end up fumbling a bit as he tried to reach a suitable climax despite the lack of... pretty much anything, so I think the series will unfortunately slip my mind in the near future, unlike examples of "I really wish this had the chance to flesh some stuff out" manga in Neru or Red Hood, or especially Build King. At the end of the day, it's kind of funny to look back and realize Tatsunami only ever used his Implant like twice and Sharaku never used his. Very clear examples of "wasted potential."
One thing I've noticed about myself in recent months: I can accept a lot of mediocrity so long as no one else calls attention to it. Someone on /a/ pointed out how Naba would often do the same paneling technique where he would have a large vertical panel take up one-third the page, while the rest was filled by three or four horizontal panels. When it was said, it became difficult to ignore in later chapters. I think it cleared up by the end, or else I was able not to notice after a while....
The writing was on the wall for this manga's cancellation. Too many promotional materials misspelled the title as "Alines," including the cover of Jump. It was practically destined to die an early death.
June 13, 2022
really good, they all got yaoi hands.
July 22, 2022
This was a really good first volume. The art is impressive for how rough it is. Reminds me a bit of Jujutsu Kaisen or Demon Slayer in that regard. The characters seem cool, and I have to assume it's only a matter of time before we get some quality development.
October 23, 2022
It wasn't terrible. I enjoyed the world building, but the action scenes needed more to be desired. However this series was also cut short.
August 6, 2024
Amusing but laden with stereotypes. Let's see if it gets better.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews