MJ Review: Battle of the Bands

[Jason]

Title: Battle of the Bands
Mangaka: Steve Buccellato
Originally Serialized in: none—original English language title
Genre: harem manga
Licensed by: TOKYOPOP
Price: $9.99

Led Salad is in big trouble: the popular girl band’s roadie is quitting just as they’re getting ready to start a new world tour. Now they have to break in a new roadie, but their manager’s choice, Chet, is a dud with a capital D. He can’t even manage to pack their weapons in the right bag! Will Chet be able to survive working for a quartet of super hot girls as they fight their way to the top of the music charts, or will his ineptitude cause them to plummet like a lead balloon?

Buccellato doesn’t waste any time getting to the action in his harem manga. The volume opens with a huge battle in New York City between Led Salad and their fans and hometown favorites Mousehorse and their fans. The fight gives him lots of opportunities for humorous banter, cheap shots, and fan service, but the strength of his writing and art are such that the prologue also serves to introduce the main characters, set the scene, and address the plot conflict.

Not being a person who ever thought to read a harem manga, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed touring with Led Salad. The girls are hot, but also intelligent, and Chet isn’t so much a loser as a guy with abysmal taste in both women and song lyrics. None of the characters are developed fully, but you do get a sense of who they are and how they interact with one another. The setting is not fully explained, but doesn’t really need to be. Basically, it’s a world like our own, except that the bands, and their fans, literally fight over popularity. The fights have a cartoonish quality which makes them all the more humorous.

Buccellato’s art has an Archie comics, all-American feel to it which perfectly fits his story. He is especially adept at drawing fight scenes, making them clear enough to follow, but detailed enough to give a real sense of movement. He is also willing to stretch a joke over several panels to pace it just right and his pages are laid out in a fluid and attractive manner. Occasionally, his characters’ features are a little too similar to easily tell them apart, but that doesn’t happen often. TOKYOPOP has done a top-notch job with the printing. The black and white art is clear and never fuzzy and text isn’t lost in the gutter between the pages. The cover image is colorful and fits the story perfectly. Best of all, there aren’t too many supplemental pages at the end and those that are there are informative, rather than filler.

Though he doesn’t break much new ground, Buccellato’s manga is funny and interesting. He wraps up almost all details at the end, but leaves just enough hanging to give fans hope for a sequel.

Reviewed by: Snowcleo
Proofed by: riseabove77
Edited by: Firedog