High school can be full of cliques, bullies, arguments, tests and all sorts of other uncool elements. But have you ever been to a school where almost every second is spent fighting? If not, I suggest you step inside the world of Tenjho Tenge, created by manga-ka Oh! great. He also created Air Gear.
Todo Academy isn’t your typical Tokyo high school. It’s ruled by fighting, and The Executive Council (and the teachers) intend to keep it that way. Intimidating and dangerous, they practically rule the academy. But there’s another group - The Juken Club - whose members aren’t so focused on fighting…at least compared to everyone else. Throw a few supernatural elements into the mix, add some family drama, and you’ve got a recipe for ‘Tenjho Tenge’.
Some of the things to watch out for are: crazy brawls, near-death battles, relationship drama, ripped teachers (?), special fighting moves and supernatural swords.
After reading the first six volumes, I asked myself: “Is an entire manga series dedicated to fighting worth it?” My answer was “Yes…and no”.
Basically, Tenjho Tenge is one big fight, with some unique characters thrown into the mix. If you can follow panel after panel of devastating bouts of violence, you’ll probably enjoy it. Personally, I think the artwork is really strong and there are some interesting stories that are revealed between battles. But overall, I found it difficult to relate to any of the characters and found the violence a little repetitive after a while.
On a side note, there has been some controversy regarding editing that was done for the English release of the manga. I will admit - there are quite a few edits that were made to the artwork. The original Japanese version features much more ‘naughtiness’ (i.e. nudity and stuff) than the English one. I will say that the edits are seamless - even if you’ve seen the original.
Volumes 1-6
I decided to break up my review into multiple volumes, since the series is basically one big ‘fighting manga™’.
- Volume One, Fights 1-6 - We find out that Todo Academy is basically one big fighting school. This volumes focuses on the conflict between The Executive Committe (the villains) and The Juken Club (the heroes).
- Volume Two, Fights 7-12 - Juken Club members Nagi and Bob attend Natsume’s training sessions so they can learn how to fight. The Executive Committee declares war on the Juken Club…and chaos ensues.
- Volume Three, Fights 13-19 - The Juken Club versus Executive Committee! Bob has a chance to get out of the fight if he joins the committee…
- Volume Four, Fights 20-26 - Nagi and Bob become small-time celebrities at school…cause they survived a fight with Mitsuomi!
- Volume Five, Fights 27-33 - Aya now has possession of the mystical sword, and we find out how dangerous she really is.
- Volume Six, Fights 34-39 - After some problems with the Katana Club, Shin creates the Juken Club. Unfortunately, nobody wants to join it! Maya and Mistuomi finally join, but things quickly get complicated!
Characters
Goodies - the ‘heroes’
- Souichiro Nagi - He’s a considered a reject…maybe because he’s a member of the Demon Exorcist family. His ’special move’ is the Dragon’s Fist, which lets him use other people’s powers against them.
- Bob Makihara - Bob is Souichiro’s best friend. His ’special move’ is the martial art of Capoeira.
- Maya Natsume - Maya is the leader of the Juken Club. She’s busty and is very skilled in various martial arts. Her siblings each possess the power of the Dragon’s Eye, but she doesn’t. However, she does have Reiki - a super-all-powerful cursed sword. At first, she appears as a little kid to help save her energy.
- Aya Natsume - Aya is Maya’s younger sister. She’s a little more clueless with her powers though…
- Shin Natsume - Maya and Aya’s dead brother who was driven insane and died. He was the original leader of the Executive Council. He also founded Team KATANA and the Juken Club.
- Masataka Takayanagi - Mitsuomi’s younger brother. He’s shy and low-key, but he’s a crazy-mad opponent in the heat of battle.
- Kagesada Sugano - He prefers to hide instead of fight and is a big wuss.
Baddies - the ‘villains’
- Mitsuomi Takayanagi - President of the Executive Council. His ’special moves’ only last three minutes or so at a time.
- Emi Isuzu - She’s vice president of the Executive Council. Her superpower is kinda unusual…she can manipulate fat to make her look skinny. You don’t want to know where she hides her fighting knives…
- Bunshichi Tawara - He was once a top-tier fighter, but not anymore. He’s now the Executive Council’s adviser (i.e. slimeball). His goal in life seems to be avoiding fights. When he does fight, he’s dangerous though, so watch out!
- ShirÅ Tagami - He’s a follower of BushidÅ. His ’special move’ is BÅjutsu, which uses a hybrid bÅ that turns into a sansetsukon.
Character Design
There are a lot of uniquely-designed characters in Tenjho Tenge. Oh! great has taken great care (ha ha) to make the Juken Club members and Executive Club gang unique.
Art
The art is tight-tight-tight! Linework is crisp, clean and sharp…with just the right amount of screen tones. I especially like the use of ’special effects’ during the fight scenes, which help create a sense of motion.
Rating
Tenjho Tenge, Volumes One - Six gets 2 outta 4 Hammies!
Retail Info
- Publisher: CMX
- Retail Price: $9.99 each volume
- Language: English
Additional Reading
Official Tenjho Tenge Manga Site
