Oct 21, 2024
Buronson is a horrible writer; let's get that out of the way. Being a frequent collaborator with Ikegami, who is my favorite artist ever, has caused me to read many of his stories. For the most part, it’s the same rinsed-and-repeated story over and over again, with varying levels of quality, but they are mostly fun to read.
Like many of Buronson's stories, Heat centres around the Yakuza, Japanese mafia, police corruption, etc. Except this time, the characters are just so damn boring. The MC is your typical Buronson protagonist, but he lacks any originality; his motives are... just motives. I honestly don't know how to
...
talk about this guy—he is so dull, boring, and has no sense of urgency, even when people he loves are about to be killed, raped, or arrested. By far, he is the worst MC Buronson has written, with actions that are baffling and stupid even by Buronson standards.
And yeah, as far as actions go in this manga, they are painfully stupid. I get it: this is the trademark Buronson x Ikegami experience (with Sanctuary being the exception). Have a cool-looking badass man, make him strong as hell, and let him run loose in an extremely unrealistic, over-the-top action manga that, while it can be dumb, is a whole lot of fun. For the most part, I’m down for that—except in Heat (and possibly Lord, but that's a review for another time).
I dropped the manga at chapter 93. A slight SPOILER: this girl gets kidnapped; she's close to the MC, and the dude who kidnapped her is insufferable. Knowing how Buronson writes, I know where that character is eventually going. Anyways, he doesn't (fully) rape her or hurt her physically (not that much, anyway), and then a few chapters later, after the MC does nothing, he finally beats the dude up and lets him.. go?. Oh, but guess what? He doesn't free the girl, even though he could have easily done so. No, instead she goes back to the dude who kidnapped her ON HER OWN! Make it make sense. I feel like I am just growing too mature for idiotic stories like this, hence why I am not enjoying it. I don't know anymore.
Okay, so if I hate the story that much, why is my score a 5? Well, Ikegami continues to prove to me that he's the best to ever do it. The art is PHENOMENAL. I love the city landscapes he used to create in his older work, and while that was very much improved upon later in things like Begin, Heat still looks fantastic—except for a small pet peeve I have with facial expressions and the face orientation in a good number of the panels.
Some Ikegami fanboys like me might know that he struggles to draw faces when they are facing left. He does it just fine facing right, but when it's done facing left, it needs to be drawn and mirrored. Over the years, I have read enough of his work to start picking up on when that is the case, and for some reason, it is very prevalent in Heat. Since I know about it, I simply cannot ignore it—or my brain decides not to ignore it. Either way, I am not deducting points for that; it’s just worth noting that it's there and it's annoying.
Should you skip Heat? I don't care.
Should you start with Heat? Don't care either.
You should do whatever you want, but I will say that Buronson x Ikegami, they did much better manga together. There is the goddamn masterpiece that is Sanctuary with better yakuza and mafia elements, insane over the top political intrigue and a beautiful heartbreaking ending to make the entire thing perfect. Strain is also a very solid choice.
Anyways, my negative feelings about this manga may entirely stem from the fact that I have read a lot of the duo's works and you might love Heat if this is your first time reading one of their works, but for me, that is not the case. Rant over.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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