Genre Sports
Age Rating For Older Teens
Price $7.99
The second game of the season finds Sena and the Devilbats lined up against the champion White Knights. Big and ferocious, the Knights feature a squad of the toughest kids in high school. Will Sena wimp out of this one or will he break through the Knights' defense to see daylight? And what's the deal with the Devilbats' center? Will we ever find out why his head is shaped like a chestnut?
The second volume of this series leaves little breathing space as we quickly make the transition from one exciting match to another. Re-reading this title, one is really impressed at how the manga is handled. The transition from comedy to seriousness and vice versa is deftly handled and there's several interesting juxtaposed scenes that not only serve to highlight the drama but the characterizations as well.
This particular volume also gives a real introduction to what will be the Devil Bat's rivals, the White Knights, but astute and dedicated fans will also notice how another team is seeded into the story. One of the better techniques in manga is usually not to just focus on the protagonists of the series but on their enemies as well and Eyeshield 21 is no exception as we see not only witness the development of the Devil Bats team but that of the White Knights as well.
As can be expected, there's lots of sports action but and if you're unaware of the rules of American football, have no fear as this manga slowly teaches you the rules. Eyeshield 21 contains the usual extras such as some comedic segments at the start of each chapter and some "extra material" at the end which gives the background of some obscure characters that make an appearance. There's also an opening spread at the beginning that gives a quick introduction to the characters and a quick recap (only one volume so far!) of the events that have recently transpired.
The only word of warning I have is that this volume ends in a cliffhanger so you might want to keep a copy of the next volume handy when reading this.
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