SUPER ROBOT TAISEN OG: DIVINE WARS - RECORD OF ATX REVIEW

SUPER ROBOT TAISEN OG - DIVINE WARS- RECORD OF ATX

Review by Jeremias de Leon

After taking a break last week, it's time to get another review out there; and not only is there a new review, it's time to come back to manga this week. Super Robot Taisen OG – Divine Wars – Record of ATX is the subject for review.

Story:

Super Robot Taisen OG – Divine Wars – Record of ATX (from here on simply called “SRW: OG”) is about a man named Kyosuke Nanbu and his squad, the ATX team; who are as follows: the bubbly and flirtatious Excellen Browning, the young hotshot Brooklyn “Bullet” Luckfield, and their boss, the self proclaimed “sword that cleaves evil” Sanger Zonvolt. The manga, for the most part, follows the story for Kyosuke in the game Super Robot Taisen Original Generation. (Quick side note: in the first Original Generation, you were able to pick to follow either Kyosuke Nanbu's story or Ryuusei Date's story) The story starts off with a scientist named Bian Zoldark claiming that aliens are going to invade Earth and that the Earth needs to be strong and unified to fight against them. He calls his group the Divine Crusaders and declares war on the Earth Federation. Some colonies in space called themselves the United Colony Corps and allied themselves with Bian to fight agains the Earth Federation. The story at this point is very reminiscent of the original Mobile Suit Gundam series. But after the defeat of Bian Zoldark, which happens sooner than one would expect, the real enemy appears. They are called the “aerogaters” and indeed are not from Earth. The ATX team and some allies that defect after the defeat of the Divine Crusaders join together to fight off the new alien threat.

At first, the story is somewhat slow since it has to give out information the reader needs to know like who exactly the characters are and what the robot are and what they can do. But after the 3^rd chapter of the first volume, the manga really begins to pick up and get interesting. The action picks up a lot and the characters really get to shine with their personalities and how they react to what they're going through during the wars. The story really does start to get interesting even if it does take a while to build up to. Though the manga and the game are really more about the awesome mecha action, it isn't mindless. The mangaka (artist/writer of manga) Tatsunosuke Yatsufusa really tries to make SRW: OG more than fan service and mech porn. Scenes when certain characters are brainwashed and the horrified reactions of their allies or another part of the manga where the ATX team believe their leader to be dead show that these characters are not one dimensional.

Art:

The art style for SRW: OG is perfect for a manga such as this. The characters are drawn with features that are cartoon like but they also are all drawn like they have mass, weight and volume to them as if they're not simply drawings on paper. The same with the mecha. The female characters are all drawn as if to amplify their attractiveness, even more so than in the games. Excellen was always Miss Fan-service in the games so she is drawn like she always is. But even characters like the Indian yoga instructor, who also happens to be a mechanic, Radha is drawn sexier than normal. This might be a plus for some readers or a downside to others, who will wonder why all the female characters seem to give fan-service. Although it might still be alright for those who don't like excessive fan-service since the manga, more than anything else, shows giant robots fighting than the women.

The art is quite detailed as well. As it should be for a science fiction manga, all of the machinery, robots, battleships, tanks and etcetera are drawn convincingly and with enough details that make the reader believe they can be built. The backgrounds are really detailed as well, be it a small room or a forest it can always be seen that the characters are in unique places that exist in that universe and not in some magical place where a long hallway or a lot of trees can appear when necessary.

Characters:

There are a lot of characters in SRW: OG. In the interest of keeping this article a managable length, only the protagonists will be mentioned. Each of them have their own quirks and some of them can be downright zany. On the ATX team, Excellen Browning likes to flirt with almost everyone, be they male or female. Sanger Zonvolt is so serious and stern it's almost like he is a caricature of himself. Brooklyn Luckfield is a hot-blooded young pilot who has a lot of heart and is a very strong person. Kyosuke Nanbu, the main character, is the strong silent type. He doesn't waste time giving speeches and he doesn't hesitate to do what needs to be done.

The other characters that are important are the SRX team (which featured the other playable main character in the video game) are Ryuusei Date, a mecha loving otaku who got to become what he loves most, a pilot for a giant robot. Raidiese F. Fujiwara, a cold calculating man, and Aya Kobayashi, the captain of the SRX team, a woman who has a good heart and does what she can to help her teammates.

Other characters show up throughout the manga as antagonists and on the side of the heroes or as antagonists then on the side of the heroes; which is quite common in Super Robot Wars, actually. Each one has a memorable personality. Whether it's through the way they speak, the actions they take or even by the way they dress there's bound to be not just one but at least 2 or more characters that will leave an impression and become a favorite.

Verdict:

So this manga obviously isn't bad. But is it worth tracking down to read, or should it just be remembered as something that didn't suck?

Read it, if you have a friend that's a fan of the Super Robot Wars series and are really interested in learning about the Original Generation universe but don't want to play really long strategy RPG games, this is perfect. It takes you through the story of Kyosuke's route in the game pretty much as it happened in the game. The art is great, the action is phenomenal and besides the first volume being longer than the rest of the volumes, isn't really that long of a series at five volumes.

For the final score, for an adaptation of a game it's a bit different. If you are a fan of the video games this manga gets an 8.5 If you're not a fan and just looking at it as a manga, it's probably a 7.5, or a solid 8.

Sidebar: Some advice to those that want to know about the Original Generation universe but don't want to play the games it's my recommendation to read this manga and to track down the anime Super Robot Wars OG: Divine Wars to cover both Kyosuke and Ryuusei's story in the first Original Generation game then watch the anime Super Robot Wars OG: The Inspector to cover the second game.