When we are talking about Mecha stuff, usually it goes to how kewl the so called mecha-prototype is and how it will beat any opponent in front of it. And never forget the "chosen one" who can operate the mecha-prototype.

This one started like that. But, it adds a beautiful dilemma of human choice, between friends and self-interest, between following order, or following your own ideals. Not only MC, but also any key players around the MC, which really made the plot so dynamic and unpredictable. This is not about the MC trying to save the world just because... but it's about the MC tried to keep being sane after making difficult choice all the time.

The comment below who gave 1 point and no explanation... why bother posting review in the first place, ahaha. But well, you succeed to bait me to post this comment. So, congratulations...

One of the most "alive" mecha manga I ever read.

Don't even bother to read this.

It starts out promising, but then degenerates into mecha battles where I couldn't even tell who is who since all the robots look the same! 90% is made of mecha battles, 4% chit-chats, 4% side characters background, and only 2% focuses on main characters backgrounds.

What I like to see is some other types of battles such as hand to hand combats and technology developments. This series is about magic power, yet so few of it's use has been explained or show or how the MC struggles to live in a world of magic where he is unable to do so. Instead the author rushes through these parts and focuses too much on mecha battles.

The fight tends to drag on and just when I thought a fight was finally over, they decide to challenge their own team mate for a match in the middle of an enemy invasion! That is just too much. But around chapter 50, the series starts to pick up again. I still read it, but I could do without.

lot have been said about this manga
but one thing is certain it is intentionally rage material
the way some characters are shown doing harm to each other, friends family (elements of NTR) and innocent .. thats controversial yes
this manga is between shounen and seinen on one side its too mature for a shounen
and on another sometimes its not deep enought for a seinen (there are shallow seinens too)

... Last updated on November 1st, 2012, 2:01am

i wish they put some more thought into some of the scenes, i mean there are parts where it's suppose to have lots of emotions in it but i feel like the author just rushed it, it just became fighting nonstop...and it's not all that great since the fighting parts barely have any dialogue in it...

In the beginning of the plot everything was interesting. The protagonist's personality, his lack of "magic", his relationship with the other major characters, his mecha, the backgrounds of other characters, and the fight scenes had so much potential. But soon I found myself just flipping through the pages trying to find something that interested me. I admit that the fight scenes are detailed and well done but they are too frequent and too long. I would much rather read about the characters and their development. I wished the author had focused more on those aspects of the plot rather than the action scenes, especially with Girghe's character. So much about his personality and past was left unanswered.

I plan to finish reading this manga but in all honesty I just don't find myself that interested. It may just be because I tire of the fighting scenes or because I haven't really fallen in love with the characters. I just hope in the upcoming chapters the author will shift his focus toward the characters more.

I have ONE criticism, and it is an important one: Others may not have this problem but at times I have trouble comprehending what's happening during a battle. Which Golem [the mecha in this series] dealt which blow, which character is piloting this golem, wait, didn't he just lose a leg... this was most difficult at the beginning probably because I couldn't differentiate the designs at the time. I still had some small trouble later, though, and would have to go over previous pages to figure out which golem belonged to the main char and which to the enemy. I'll probably watch the movies later [though the story has been changed a little for the sake of condensing it] so i can better appreciate the action scenes, which were still awesome, by the way. *will write about positives later, too sleepy* Because of the above, it may not deserve a 10/10 but I'm quite enthralled by this series nonetheless.

Also, it seems that the name should actually be Broken Blade, as it is with the official translation, as it is how a couple of characters refer to the main golem, first as a criticism, later in reference to the dorsal fin and a weird form of praise.

edit March 2024, it's been literally 10 years since I read this (left off vol13 ch69) when I mostly stopped reading manga for a long time. But I remember this series DOES drop off in quality when the mc gets a traumatic event that changes his personality. And the fanservice goes up. Idk what to rate, it though, cos I don't remember enough. I used to rate it 9.5, for now I'll bump it down to 8.5

... Last updated on March 25th, 2024, 4:38am

Generally a pretty good manga, it has a very nice start and it often is emotionally engaging, but it does get a bit too generic after a couple volumes. The finish of the war (around chapter 50) is great though, and has regained it's high quality from the beginning that was lost to the mainstream shounen adjustments. I'll give it an eight of ten.

Edit after vol 6:
Unfortunately, the manga has gone downhill from promising starting point toward generic shounen. Originally promising characters haven't been developing, but rather regressed toward stereotypes. Main cast has been joined by a dozen of side characters, who so far haven't been playing any significant role whatsoever. I'll keep reading, but I've reduced my originally high rating accordingly.

First look after 2nd volume:
Even though Break Blade is classified as Shounen in Manga Updates' database, it has rather subtle, mature and contemporary themes in characterization. This was a pleasant surprise for me.

Take for example how Lygato is shunning away from world due to his self-deprecation, Hozul's yearning to escape his responsibilities as a monarch, Shigwen's escape from her withering marriage through dedication to work. And of course Shigwen's subdued feelings towards Lygato. I love the way how these things are often conveyed in a somewhat subtle (though sometimes a bit underlined) manner: gazes, daydreams, expressions of face and stature.

And all of that comes with the other good stuff (in my book), which are action, mecha and a fantasy setting. Actually, these things remind me a bit of Xenogears... I hope the story gets as deep too. It would be exhilarating to have both style and substance in the same package, instead of mere brainless "WE NAKAMA! GO KILL BAD GUYS WITH NEW SUPER ATTACK!"-escapism that many Shounen series regress to.

Art seems passable. Backgrounds look often rather simplistic. Mecha designs appear to be neat, but it's kinda hard to tell for sure from the scans.

To sum it up, Break Blade (or rather Broken Blade) seems to be quite a promising series. I've only read two first volumes, but it has a very polished and well thought-out feeling. I sincerely hope Break Blade keeps going strong.

... Last updated on July 7th, 2010, 7:46am