Ratman 2
Posted: February 20, 2011 Filed under: Ratman 1 Comment »Sekihiko Inui – Tokyopop – 2010 – 7+ volumes
The second volume did not disappoint. I love nearly everything about this series. The plot, the sense of humor, the fact that the silliness can sometimes be incredibly cool, the twisted moral message I know it’s building up to, and I even like the main character learning by trial and error how to be a good bad guy in a world of super-corrupt heroes.
The second half of the book focuses on a story where Shuto goes to a hero awards ceremony and gets to meet all the people he’s been idolizing. This, of course, goes wrong when he has to transform into Ratman and break up an extremely destructive fight between a drunk sentai team, then tough out a fire set by a character that did it to make himself look good and Ratman into more of a villain. It’s a great story, and it shows the balance between humor and drama perfectly. There are lots of silly heroes running around doing silly things, and Shuto reacts appropriately. But ultimately, it’s a story about how Shuto, a “hero” outside the organization and supposedly working as a bad guy, is way more of a hero than any of the guys that do it for a living. He’s also just a short high school kid, which drives it home that much harder.
The first half of the book looks more at Shuto trying to do good as Ratman. Strangely, this book is devoid of “evil” tasks that Ratman performs for his organization, but Shuto doesn’t help Ratman much himself as his do-gooding often turns into compromising situations. The fact that Ratman is really sinister looking also doesn’t help any, and many people actively resist his aid.
I don’t have that much to add that I didn’t say last time. This is a wonderful series. It’s nothing too amazing or flashy, but I love sentai stories, and this is exactly why: they are absurd while often spinning a wonderful story amid all the humor. This and Heroes Are Extinct are the best in English (and yes, I will plug Heroes Are Extinct any chance I get). I wish they were more popular.
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