MANGA REVIEW | "X-Men: The Manga: Remastered" - Volume One
In the 1990s, no one had a hotter Saturday morning block like Fox Kids. From kid-friendly programming like Bobby’s World and Dog City to Eek! the Cat and Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?, the shows on there were the epitome of cool and fun. However, no show could hold a candle to the one comic book-based series that’s still one of the most beloved from its time: X-Men: The Animated Series. The story, the action, and even its iconic theme song were a perfect mixture of everything that made it a phenomenal family-friendly cartoon.
Naturally, that popularity would lead to having its own comic book. In 1994, two years into the cartoon’s run, Bamboo Comics began running a manga adaptation of the show, with a foray of artists and writers taking to task the beloved mutants. Now more than 30 years later, X-Men: The Manga gets a well-deserved glow-up in a special remastered release. Even after all of this time, Charles Xavier’s crew still kicks a whole lot of ass!
Much like the cartoon, X-Men: The Manga begins with the induction of Jubilee into the team. Fearing she’s being ostracized by her own adopted parents, Jubilee runs away in hopes of having her own normal life. But even when she tries to hide, there’s no escaping the likes of Gambit, Jean Grey, and Cyclops. The good news is that they have her back; the bad news is that the government doesn’t.
Thus begins the struggle of where the mutants can find a place in society. Charles Xavier aims to find true peace and coexistence with regular humanity, something that Beast attempts to talk about when he’s put on trial. In the other corner, Magneto finds no place where humans and mutants can see eye-to-eye, instead taking a road more violent and threatening. It’s a story where an oppressed group tries its best to assimilate, but the rest of the world wants to push them away and even jail them. (Sound familiar, America?)
But there’s something Magneto and his team doesn’t have: a Wolverine! Okay, Magneto may have a Sabretooth, but we can argue for day on end whether or not they stand on equal footing. Even in X-Men: The Manga, it’s easy to see why Wolverine is the fan favorite. Logan’s an anti-hero, goes by his own rules, and only plays along with the other X-Men when there’s no other choice. And when he’s on the pages, the spotlight belongs to him.
That’s not to say the others lack charisma. Gambit is just as entertaining with his Cajun vibes, whereas Storm is purely powerful with every sentence she utters. Cyclops is — as always — the goody two-shoes, and Jean Grey is secretly pining for a guy with more…let’s say claws. As for Jubilee, she has a bit more of a presence and reason to be a part of the X-Men here than she did in the cartoon. Not only is she no longer a whiny teen, but she’s got some real muscle behind both her powers and her brains.
Of course, X-Men: The Manga takes little time to start snuffing out members of Xavier’s crew. It’s a situation that pushes Wolverine into becoming more of a team player, even though he will still have his lone wolf moments. (A chapter where he goes to the tundra and befriends the natives there is a key example of how he learns to be both a better person and hero.) On top of that, it pushes Xavier himself to protect his team, humanity, and even those who consider them enemies.
Much like the animated series, it also allows the X-Men to have some sort of fun with one another. Whether it’s Gambit impressing the ladies with his card skills or Jean & Cyclops going on a date, there’s enough here to show that not every waking moment of these mutants isn’t them watching their sixes. Wolverine is also just as lovable as an asshole here as in the show, spouting one-liners and getting in the face of both ally and enemy with a delightful sneer on his masked face. (Even when it winds up being a trap, it’s also fun seeing the mutants attempting to relax on a much-needed vacation.)
Although there are six different manga authors taking control of these seven stories, there’s strong consistency between them story-wise. They follow the original cartoon and its messages, whilst sprinkling a little shonen manga magic and even some visual gags to fit with the Japanese audience. Even if the authors have their own drawing style, they all still feel akin to how X-Men should be presented. Sometimes it takes a clean route with its looks, whereas there are times it goes drown a rough-around-the-edges path. Whatever the style, it fits well both when mutants are battling and when things are calm.
The first remastered volume of X-Men: The Manga is a strong reminder of why Wolverine and company ruled over 1990s family-friendly animation. It may be sad that much of the story is still relevant, but one hopes that the right person with plenty of power can one day take the message it implements and apply it to the real world. Those who have fond memories of the cartoon will no doubt dive deep into this version of a Marvel classic with ease. However, if you’re not at all familiar with what Fox Kids gave wide-eyed kids every Saturday morning from 1992-1997, then I cannot recommend reading X-Men: The Manga enough!
FINAL GRADE:
Promotional consideration provided by Chantelle Sturt of VIZ Media.
