Psycho Busters Manga
© Del Rey
Mania Grade: C
Manga: Psycho Busters Volume 1
Rating: Teen (13+)
Story By: Yuya Aoki
Art By: Rando Ayamine
Publisher: Del Rey
Price: $9.95
Manga: Psycho Busters Volume 1
Rating: Teen (13+)
Story By: Yuya Aoki
Art By: Rando Ayamine
Publisher: Del Rey
Price: $9.95
Manga Review: Psycho Busters Vol. 1
By: Nadia OxfordReview Date: Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Sometimes manga-to-novel adaptations (or vice versa) offer a nice surprise when the book turns out to be more interesting than the manga (or again, vice versa). Tokyopop's Calling You is of particular note: the manga was a mediocre affair, but the light novel adaptation put the previously unlikeable characters in a very different light.
Unfortunately, the light novel that inspired the Psycho Busters manga is afflicted by a more common circumstance: it's as average and unmemorable as its manga offshoot.
Fourteen-year-old Kakeru is an average boy who gets a less-than-average reprieve from his annoying family when they decide to vacation in Hawaii and leave him behind. Within hours of his famiily's departure, things begin to happen. A ghostly naked girl shows up in his room and informs him he's been named the saviour of her ragtag band of friends, psychic runaways from a Government facility known as the Greenhouse. Kakeru has no idea why he's been called upon, nor does he know the identity of his transparent caller, but it seems as if he does carry latent psychic powers (of course) that he was unaware of. When fellow psychics from the Greenhouse are sent to hunt down Kakeru and his friends, he discovers a great deal about himself.
The Psycho Busters light novel is less than two hundred pages with large print and illustrations, but it drags on. It's not a particularly exciting story and the writing is amateurish. The prose halts every ten lines to describe exactly how the characters feel about being chased by crazy people. It's safe to say that anyone would not appreciate being chased by psychopaths, particularly psychic psychopaths.
Events proceed as predicted and develop into a non-thrilling climax. The end hints at more school-age hijinks to come, not surprising as the novel is only volume one in a series.
Neither the Psycho Busters manga or light novel will rock your world. It might be a good read for a younger kid, aside from a few bad words here and there. The rough language hardly adds the adult touch Psyco Busters desperately reaches for, so don't feel too bad about handing it over to a youngster if they're old enough not to be shocked by what daddy yells at the television when his baseball team is losing.
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