Van Von Hunter Trilogy

*I am going to re-read all three and do a complete trilogy review. I’ve got Sailor Moon & Revolutionary Girl Utena to do first!* 7/30/19

Note:

I absolutely LOVE Van Von Hunter. Both the original web comic, and this short three volume series. I really wish they’d start updating again, because the comic is pure hilarity! If you like to laugh, you’ll love Van Von Hunter. It parodies a lot of different things–especially in the third volume. It’s simply classic.

Just of for your general information, they are making a live action film of Van Von Hunter. I don’t know how good it’s gonna be, but I think I’ll check it out when it’s released just to see. I’m always weary of live action anything…I saw Death Note in theatres, and…it was okay. Not my favorite, I much prefered the manga. But it was entertaining, so all you Death Note movie fans, please don’t flame me!

You can go to Youtube to see some clips. Here’s an example I found: Van Von Hunter.

I’ve gotten off task again! Here we go! Van Von Hunter, Volume 1!

*This review has spoilers. Nothing major, but a few. Proceed with caution!*

Van Von Hunter, Volume 1-Highly Recommended

Mangaka: Mike Schwark and Ron Kaulfersch
Copyright: 2005
Genre: Shounen? Action, Fantasy, Comedy

Summary:

Van Von Hunter is an evil-fighting extraordinaire. Though kind of an air head, he’s always mangaged to vanquish the evil he sets his eyes on. Along with his trusty amnesiac sidekick, Side Kick, the two set out to stop the semi-evil Flaming Prince from using the Ebon…thingy and taking over once more the land of Dikay.

Pros and Cons: Story and Content

Characters:

The characters in this manga are well developed: at least their personalities are. You get a feel for them very quickly and come to expect what their reaction will be.

The characters are also very funny. Full of sarcasm, and witty. I really liked Sidekick the best. Not gonna lie, she’s probably the best character in this volume. I like Von Hunter, but he’s not my fav. In fact, I think I liked the Flaming Prince next best 😛 Sorry Von!

Only real downside with the characters is that they don’t do much growth. In fact, this will be true for the whole “trilogy.” That’s part of what’s indearing about them, but at the same time, it’d be nice for a little expansion. And although I know it’s a running gag that Sidekick has no idea about her background, I’d like to see who she really is revealed some time. As of yet, this has not happened. Though I have not finished the online web comic…and they seem to have completely forgotten about it. Darn! I want them to update! Grrrrr >:(

There is one other thing that didn’t settle quite right with me. All the characters share the same type of humor. I guess I mean to say, they all had like good one liners or the same voice when using sarcasm. Characters can be funny in a unique way…with different styles, just like anyone else. These characters were not. Still, they made me laugh all the same, so there’s nothing I can really get forbearing over when it comes to this little criticism. I liked the humor all the same.

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Story:

The story’s fine. There’s not much to it, because it’s kind of a parody, but it’s certainly entertaining. The great thing is that it spoofs a ton of things–harkens back to stuff that really only nerds can get…well, except the whole Wizard of Oz reference, I guess anyone could get that (119.) But the great thing, is that a lot of comedy you don’t have to be into role playing to get–in fact, I think the manga’s great because unlike the web comic, there are less gaming references and more manga/anime allusions: so readers are still enjoying the parodies. And then there’s just the good ole fashion politically incorrect jokes that make you chuckle–the Flaming Prince really being the running gag (117-18.) And hey, I love everyone, so please don’t flame me (pun intended) because I thought this was funny. I figure, if you can’t laugh at yourself, then you’re too high strung. And I laugh at myself and ALL THE TIME…and others laugh at me, too. For various reasons which we won’t get into.

Besides the humor, there are other good qualities to this first volume. You’ve got some things you can relate to in the story line. Epic quests, good verses evil, major villains, and we reach a resolution at the end. It’s got everything a good fantasy story needs. Plus, you get all kinds of bonus material at the end–and a sneak peek at the next volume.

Cons to the story? Well, it does kinda jump around a lot. And normally, I like that, but I think it’s emplored a tad bit too much. Sometimes I had to go back and read what’d happened before to catch up…

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and yes, I’m a little slow since I had to do that, but you can build up suspense without jumping around all the time. That’s my only complaint, though, because it was overall done really well.

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Pros and Cons: Art

I liked the artwork. I mean, it’s one of the best non-Japanese manga I’ve read. Seriously. A  lot of times, you’ll get manga where it’s close, but you can really really tell it’s not Japanese or Korean even. But these guys are pros. You can still subtly tell it’s not Japanese, but it’s so darn good, that you have to look hard. I think detail is the main difference between a lot of American manga and Japanese manga. Compare the detail in backgrounds and buildings from Van Von Hunter with that of, say Yu Watase’s Absolute Boyfriend. You can see a difference. Doesn’t mean Von Hunter‘s bad–what it lacks in detail, it makes up in story and pretty good art. Better than my own work, so I can’t complain! But the subtlties are there.

A better example of lack of detail can be found on page 140. Take a look at Beast’s…uh…kilt? Or loin cloth. I haven’t decided which it is. I say kilt since it’s plaid, but it’s missing a sporran, so I dunno. But anyway, if you look, you’ll see the pattern is pretty much just pasted on there–it doesn’t change direction to fit in with folds, and it’s not shaded other than there the pen was used to add lined shading. This could be remedied laying the screen tone in a different direction for the folds in some places, or by changing the direction of the pattern in Photoshop or whatever software you’re using (supposing it was done on the computer.) A top screen tone of darker dots could have added a little bit of shading to add depth to the folds. The work is great, I love the art–but with a little extra detail, it could be even better than great. That’s my only real “con” with the art. I find it to be great, otherwise. And, again, it’s better than my own manga–though I’m certainly trying to improve! I put more energy into my comic book, I’m afraid, than I do my web comic. I wonder if I’ve improved any, all the same?

Well, I guess that’s it for the pros and cons. Time to conclude this beast and finally get it posted!

Conclusion:

I don’t think I’ve stressed enough how much I enjoy this manga. I find myself rolling on the floor laughing–even if I’ve read it not too long ago. Really, it’s such and enjoyable read, I give this one the Highly Recommended mark! See for yourself, and give it a go! You won’t regret it.

Van Von Hunter Trilogy-Highly Recommended!

Citations:

*These should be indented…but I’m stupid
and can’t figure out how to do it. Sorry!*

Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 6th ed. New York: The Modern Language Association of America, 2003.

Harman, William and Hugh Holman. A Handbook to Literature. 9th ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2003.

Schwark, Mike and Ron Kaulfersch. Van Von Hunter. Vol. 1. Hamburg: Tokyopop, 2005.