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Description
From Tokyopop: For the first 14 years of his life, Yukio Tanaka has been one heck of a boring guy. He has no hobbies, weak taste in music, and only a small vestige of a personality. He yearns for an exciting life, but his shy, and somewhat neurotic personality makes him his own worst enemy. Little does he know that his life will be forever changed when he meets Ryusuke Minami, a wild and unpredictable 16-year old fresh from America, who happens to be in a rock-and-roll band named after his Frankenstein-like patched dog--Beck.
Type
Manga
Related Series
N/A
Associated Names
ベック 摇滚新乐团BECK Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad Mongolian Chop Squad
I started reading this manga and watching the anime at the same time. And I didn't expect to even like it, but I started and I wouldn't stop. I just started it yesterday and now I'm on volume 29, yeah all in one day. I really like it, and I recommend it. The characters develop very well(except for ryusuke and taira tho, taira stayed good the whole time, but I don't think ryusuke changed that much at all). All throughout the manga, I keep asking when Koyuki will ever grow taller, like real taller, haha. But I seriously do recommend it, if you haven't read it yet, read it now.
this manga made me feel a whole variation of emotion, from sadness to happiness to anger to disappointment...but the most important of all it can bring out the sense of wonder and awe out from a couple of page of just shots of the band and the fans and made my heart beat fast as if i was hearing the song at that moment.
out of hundreds of manga i had read, this is the most realistic group of 'nakama' i had ever read - there's no blind sense of loyalty or people putting up with other people for the convenience of the plot, but their friendship actually blossom slowly from a little seed to a very strong bond that will never be broken.
and the romance - well, the romance is beautiful. koyuki is possibly the most romantic guy ever. who the hell just drop everything and run to his lover's side just by hearing her name? their love ring true - there's no sappiness, no cheesiness, just undying love that's no need for hollow declaration but shown through their actions.
the only reason i don't give a 10 is because it's my policy to never give a full mark for anything.
I read the manga before the anime (and am very glad i did so) BUT (very important) I listened to the songs from the anime and almost always made a point to play them during the points that the songs played in the manga to better immerse myself into the story. It was a wonderful slice of life story that had great character development and a good romance that did a wonderful job of not overtaking the story while still being an integral part of the plot.
And while I might have liked to have seen Maho relate to the other characters more often, I do like the resolution to their relationship and the fact that the author made sure that the band was by far the most important aspect of the story.
The anime in comparison merely felt like a highlights reel of the first half of the story as many anime series do, And the broken engrish was a little tough to handle sometimes, Nonetheless, I am thankful for the music that came from it.
I kept hearing about this manga for so long, but reading short descriptions of it, it never really sounded interesting. I finally decided one day to take a look at this series, and I was amazed how much I enjoyed it. Some things are a bit weird later through the series, it starts to feel like things are completely forgotten. The character growth was really marvelous, but I kind of wish there was more background to the other characters (like families and past events) instead of just a couple of the mains.
The romance is not bad for a shounen slice of life genre, so I'm not disappointed by it. More I feel the mangaka only added romance when he felt like it.
Spoiler (highlight to view)
Even though it's no where to be seen, I think the end is supposed to imply that Maho and Koyouki are still together (whether they get married eventually doesn't really matter since this is shounen and not shoujo) but it seems that after the Avalon Festival, what happened was just forgotten. Koyouki ran off during the festival, without directions or good english, just to find Maho. They both are happy to see each other, and it makes me think that they're going to stay together but that's just how it stops with them. Than the series has another volume after that and ends without the continuation.
Great series overall whether you prefer shounen or shoujo!
Good manga, if you like coming of age stories infused with rock, read it.
Just a word of advice:
Before reading the manga, I'd advise you to watch the anime first. It really gives you a sense of each of the characters and their music, which is especially important when considering the fact that this manga centers around a band and its music.
One of my favorite mangas ( the anime is too ^^ ) It's true that the art start little shabby in the beginning but the story is great and i like the characters development as well as the main plot its,rly great I like the drama scenes alot they are well drawn. Well that's my opinion 10 for the manga i just can't bring myself to give it less ^^
I first started watching the anime; which the OST is really incredible. The manga is better, as always. It's very easy to read. I really like the gradually development of the characters. Althought they face many many obstacles, they never give up.
Spoiler (highlight to view)
Maho-Chan's leaving for UK really (for at least 4 years, it seems)broke my heart, but I kinda anticipated it. The Love Story between Koyuki and Maho was one aspect that hold the tension high. I don't know how a long-distance releationship can work for 4 years ?
I really liked how some characters were created after real life people: Eddie from Dying Breed==> -obviously- Kurt Cobain James Lee Walker (Leon Syke's uncle)==>John Lee Hooker (Blues guitarist) Jim Walsh==> Jim Jarmusch (The Director) Doggie(Leon Syke's Henchman)==> Snoop Doggy Dog (The Rapper)
Anyway, its even better than NANA, IMHO. It's a must read, even if you're even a little bit interested in Rock music. Other way, it's still a great manga. I finished chapter 92 and seems like this manga could last another 100 chapters. The story is still halfway and the band may be about to gain worldwide recognition. So why did I rated it an 8? Because people are giving out 9s & 10s too easily. A 10 should be almost impossible; a 9 should be given maybe one in a ten thousand.
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but the story is great and i like the characters development as well as the main plot its,rly great 
I like the drama scenes alot they are well drawn.
