After the excellent seinen horror Purgatory Girl, Omaké Books editions offer you this time to discover a universe mixing both political intrigue and scum of the fields in Ban le Bouseux !
Ban the dungeon
Ban the Mudgepody is a shonen of Tsukawaki Nagahisa and Nanjou Yoshimi. The 4-volume series is completed in Japan. In France, the first was released by Omaké Books in September 2021. The second volume will be released on November 11.
"Mashio is a handsome young man, rich and ambitious. Currently Japan's youngest minister, he aspires to follow in the footsteps of his father, the current prime minister. But what no one knows is that throughout his childhood and adolescence, Mashio was just a thug spreading terror in his small country town. And that, Ban, his great rival of always, is determined to remind him of his origins, faith of dungeons!"
Two distinct worlds
Contrary to what one might imagine when one associates Japan and scum, our story does not take place in a large Japanese metropolis, quite the contrary. Indeed, our scenario takes place in the Japanese countryside, which we recognize quite quickly. Indeed, whether by its graphics or by the dialogues of some characters speaking patois, we are immersed in a world far from the capital. And the contrast with the Japanese political world is all the more striking! Indeed, our story begins with the speech of a young Japanese minister, Mashio, accompanied by the American ambassador in a coastal village. The young man's opinion of the villagers is revolting. He denigrates them, belittles them lower than earth and he would not hesitate to reduce everything to ashes if he had the power. It is hard to imagine that this man once lived in this village and is destined to become the future Prime Minister of Japan. Moreover, a conspiracy seems to be underway with the United States. Indeed, in addition to the Japanese political class, we meet quite quickly the American president, who is none other than the father of the ambassador. Here again, the difference is felt: secret order, power and manipulation seem to be part of the game, far from the concerns of the villagers. And on the other side, we have Ban, a brawling high school student coming out of nowhere. At first glance, everything seems to oppose our two protagonists. One is an influential person and the other a vulgar scum. However, it would seem that the reality is not so simple.
A well-maintained mystery!
Indeed, we do not know exactly what it is. Ban suggested that Mashio was not snow-white and had a questionable past. However, we do not know more. Indeed, given that our two men know each other and given Mashio's reaction when Ban attacks him, our minister is probably a former thug. And that's when a lot of questions came to mind. Why is Ban going after Mashio? What is the link with the United States? Why does Mashio hate his village so much? At the end of this first volume, we do not have the answers to our questions and new ones are added to the list. But mystery is not everything. Indeed, the author alternates, in addition to this, action, violence and some more serious scenes. Indeed, this first volume is very rhythmic, especially by the different fight scenes. Although some actions seem surreal, the scenes are very fluid and do not shock at all. The pencil stroke allows us to imagine the brutality of the fights and the power of certain blows. In addition, some details are brought to the graphic level, which makes the discovery of the scenario even more attractive. We must admit to having been surprised and conquered by this first volume. The author was able to captivate our attention from the first boxes. The scenario holds the road and comes out of the atmosphere that we know only too well in this kind of series. The graphics are also very pleasant and allow you to enjoy the story. A very nice discovery at the end of the year. Whether you are a fan of political intrigues or fighting, this first volume should satisfy you.
