Volume: 1 (of 7+)
Creator: Yuki Tabata
Format: Unflipped
Original Publisher: SHUEISHA
US Publisher: VIZ
Release Date: 6/7/16
Pages: 192
ISBN: 1421587181
MSRP: $9.99
Genre: Shonen Jump
Rated: T (For Teen)
Description: Asta is a young boy who dreams of becoming the greatest mage in the kingdom. Only one problem-he can't use any magic! Luckily for Asta, he receives the incredibly rare five-leaf clover grimoire that gives him the power of anti-magic. Can someone who can't use magic really become the Wizard King? One thing's for sure-Asta will never give up!
Young Asta was born with no magic ability in a world where magic is everything. In order to prove his strength and keep a promise with his friend, Asta dreams of becoming the greatest mage in the land, the Wizard King!
Contains Pages 1-7:
- Page 1: The Boy's Vow
- Page 2: The Magic Knights Entrance Exam
- Page 3: The Road to the Wizard King
- Page 4: The Black Bulls
- Page 5: The Other New Member
- Page 6: Go! Go! First Mission
- Page 7: Beast
Review:
Cover: The cover features our two main rivals, Asta and Yuno. Yuno is in the background, holding is Grimoire out. Asta appears to be coming out of the pages of the open Grimoire, about ready to swing his sword at the series title. That being stated, The series title is across the middle of the cover, in white lettering. Under it is the volume number in green. The mangaka is located across the bottom.
The spine from top-to-bottom contains the Shonen Jump brand logo, the series title, the volume number, the mangaka, an image of Asta (the one used on the front cover), and the VIZ company logo.
The back cover has a brown cloth like background. There is an image of our leads, and the nun and children from the orphanage on the top. The series title is underneath it, followed by the volume's title "The Boy's Vow." Under that is the volume summary.
I love how the front cover is represented. It has great imaging that can appeal to new and old fans of the series who have either bought this title blindly or read the chapters in the issue of Shonen Jump magazine. My main issue is with the rest of the cover. I wished the image on the back cover was a bit bigger. The back cover is pretty sparse; there's lot of room for more to be added here and its a shame to not show more of the color art on the back cover.
Artwork: This is a shonen title, so the artwork is a bit on the rougher tone in terms of art style, as most series that are shonen need to be more tempting for a male audience to read. The artists style reminds me of a cross between Claymore and Berserk in terms of the feel. It is not as dark as Berserk though, due to it being serialized in a teen boy magazine. My only complaint however is the comedic moments when the characters presented sometimes have weird moments where there is another head of their's in the corner as they argue with another character on page. Besides that though, I really do love the art style.
Translation: Character names, locations, spells, attacks, and what little cultural references this series has are left intact. The sound effects have been changed to English lettering.
Extras: There are tons of character bios. There's also a afterword section, which is rare in the Shonen Jump line of mangas. And there is a page that talks about the creator's assistants who help him on the series.
Content (Warning: May Contain Spoilers): Our story begins with two teens, who were found as boys by a church and raised in the church as orphans with other children. Their names are Asta and Yuno. Asta, our main character, has dreams of one day becoming the Wizard King, the only problem is, in a world full of magic, he has none. Yuno on the other hand is filled to the brim with this magic energy, and on the day they were supposed to have a ceremony to see how powerful they were (its a ritual all teens go through at one stage in their life), Yuno receives a rare Four-Leaf clover Grimoire. Asta doesn't even get one. Yuno vows he will be the Wizard King.
Later that day, Yuno is attacked by an thief wanting his Grimoire for himself. Asta uses his physical abilities to try and help but he is no match for the thief, that is until he finally gets his very own Grimoire, a Black Five-Leaf Clover. This type of Grimoire is known to be sent from the devil himself, and because Asta has no magic, the Grimoire gives him the ability to dispel all spells. Asta then defeats the thief, and Yuno and him make a pact to try their best to become the Wizard King.
Next we move on to the day when Wizards must compete in front of several guild leaders in hope of getting picked by a guild so they can continue on in their wizard training. Yuno surpasses everyone in skill and all the guild leaders want him for their team. Yuno chooses to go to the Golden Dawn guild. When Asta is judged, only the Black Bulls choose to accept him into their guild, so he goes with them instead of having to wait another year for the tournament to come back around.
As Asta joins his guild, he meets all of his new guild mates. They are all delinquents in some way or form and the other guilds practically look down on the Black Bulls; this doesn't mean they are not a strong guild however. He is eventually put on a trial membership until he can beat a member, Magna Swing. Magna really doesn't pose much of a threat to Asta however with his magic nullifying abilities. There is one other new member that joined that day as well, a female named Noelle Silva. She comes from royalty but can't actually seem to control the magic that she has.
Eventually the Guild Leader, Yami, sends Asta, Magna, and Noelle out on a mission. They must go to a town and help the mayor kill boars. When they arrive, the town is covered in mist. Asta uses his magic to dispel the mist, as it is magic and is only covering the town itself. When the mist clears a heretic mage known as Heath Grice and his group of mages has all the villagers in the center of town, about to execute them with icicles from above. Magna and Asta manage to save the villagers from death, while Noelle tries to get them to safety. The mayor has already died by this evil mage and the volume ends with Asta about to go on the offensive.
By far this was a very entertaining read. It hit a lot of high points in my book and I honestly loved everything about it. It reminds me of some of the earlier shonen jump titles, before they got too long and repetitive. That's not to say this series won't eventually get like that, but for now I have to admit, I have fallen in love with the characters and the story. If your a fan of stuff like Fairy Tail, this is a definite read. It's a bit darker then Fairy Tail in nature, but it still is very fun! I definitely will be on the lookout for when V.02 is released!
Objectionable Content:
Later that day, Yuno is attacked by an thief wanting his Grimoire for himself. Asta uses his physical abilities to try and help but he is no match for the thief, that is until he finally gets his very own Grimoire, a Black Five-Leaf Clover. This type of Grimoire is known to be sent from the devil himself, and because Asta has no magic, the Grimoire gives him the ability to dispel all spells. Asta then defeats the thief, and Yuno and him make a pact to try their best to become the Wizard King.
Next we move on to the day when Wizards must compete in front of several guild leaders in hope of getting picked by a guild so they can continue on in their wizard training. Yuno surpasses everyone in skill and all the guild leaders want him for their team. Yuno chooses to go to the Golden Dawn guild. When Asta is judged, only the Black Bulls choose to accept him into their guild, so he goes with them instead of having to wait another year for the tournament to come back around.
As Asta joins his guild, he meets all of his new guild mates. They are all delinquents in some way or form and the other guilds practically look down on the Black Bulls; this doesn't mean they are not a strong guild however. He is eventually put on a trial membership until he can beat a member, Magna Swing. Magna really doesn't pose much of a threat to Asta however with his magic nullifying abilities. There is one other new member that joined that day as well, a female named Noelle Silva. She comes from royalty but can't actually seem to control the magic that she has.
Eventually the Guild Leader, Yami, sends Asta, Magna, and Noelle out on a mission. They must go to a town and help the mayor kill boars. When they arrive, the town is covered in mist. Asta uses his magic to dispel the mist, as it is magic and is only covering the town itself. When the mist clears a heretic mage known as Heath Grice and his group of mages has all the villagers in the center of town, about to execute them with icicles from above. Magna and Asta manage to save the villagers from death, while Noelle tries to get them to safety. The mayor has already died by this evil mage and the volume ends with Asta about to go on the offensive.
By far this was a very entertaining read. It hit a lot of high points in my book and I honestly loved everything about it. It reminds me of some of the earlier shonen jump titles, before they got too long and repetitive. That's not to say this series won't eventually get like that, but for now I have to admit, I have fallen in love with the characters and the story. If your a fan of stuff like Fairy Tail, this is a definite read. It's a bit darker then Fairy Tail in nature, but it still is very fun! I definitely will be on the lookout for when V.02 is released!
Objectionable Content:
- Language: No
- Violence: Yes
- Nudity: No
- Sexual Situations: No
Score:
Where Purchased: Barnes and Nobles
Original Review Date: 7/12/16
- Cover: 7/10
- Artwork: 7/10
- Translation: 8/10
- Extras: 10/10
- Story: 8/10
Where Purchased: Barnes and Nobles
Original Review Date: 7/12/16
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