Subtle, this book ain't. The folks behind Tomb Raider could learn a thing or two about bust size and blatantly unnecessary sexualization from Kenichi Sonoda. The cover sums up this book's appeal pretty clearly: plenty of T&A with more phallic imagery than you can shake a... ahem, stick at. It's a shame such sex-oriented visuals are the focus of this book, though, as behind it all, there's a complex, political sci-fi story to be found.
In the not-too distant future, the Earth has been invaded by the alien Riofaldians, but they've suddenly met with some powerful resistance in the form of a giant robot weapon dubbed Exaxxion by the man who discovered it years ago. The robot suit is actually one of the Riofaldians' weapons, left on Earth two millenia ago, and now it's being piloted by the teenage Hoichi. He soon learns of the weapon's origins from his grandfather, but his mind is preoccupied with the fate of his mother Reiko and Akane, his young love interest. Meanwhile, Reiko, outfitted with nanotechnology, plans an escape from the Riofaldian headquarters.
The art here is both impressive and irksome. The creator has injected a remarkable level of detail and energy into the storytelling, but he's also injected a fair bit in the way of silicone, it would seem. The impossibly busty virtual-reality assistant depicted on the cover is just the beginning. Did we really need to see a pubescent girl taking a piss, only to be interrupted by a prehensile communication device that slides up her smock? Does the Reiko panty shot add anything to the story? Of course not. Every female character wears tight-fitting clothing while the men's bodies are concealed quite well. Titillation seems to be the primary goal here, and storytelling second.
Our first glimpse of the robot suit is of its oddly phallic legs plunging into the ocean. And the giant bullet? Please. The first scene in this book is a shapely female alien being bound by a gang of mercenaries. I'm struck by these uncomfortable choices in the book.
Behind it all, though, lies an intriguing and complex story. I was surprised at how accessible the story was, and at its heart, this book is an examination of war and the socio-political impact of an invasion on a society. Science fiction is always at its strongest when commenting on our own world, and Kenichi Sonoda would be doing just that... if he wasn't drawing the reader's attention toward a softcore quality.
Note: This comic book was not among this week's new releases.
