I have such mixed feelings about Cannon God Exaxxion. On the one hand, it has a pretty intense depiction of a sudden alien invasion and how the people of Earth might react to it, and a self-aware sense of juvenile humor that can be kind of fun. On the other hand, some of the sexual innuendo comes off as overly juvenile, and a lot of the book does feel like manga put together from a kit of standard parts, including giant robots, voluptuous women and obnoxious loner heroes. Still, while the first book doesn't quite work for me, there's enough fun and interesting stuff to recommend at least giving it a read and seeing if it coincides with your personal taste.
I read the first issue of Cannon God when it came out in serial format, and was surprised to find that I quite enjoyed it. In the first chapter, Sonoda establishes the Rinaldian presence on Earth, the characters who will drive the story and the technology that will turn "Gun" into a hero. Then he turns all of that on its ear by beginning the alien invasion, and the result is a strong and violent cliffhanger that points to the Rinaldians as fairly nasty adversaries even while pointing out that individual Rinaldians aren't necessarily evil.
What surprises me is that Sonoda is capable of more subtle storytelling, such as the moral relativism regarding the Rinaldians or the hopeless feeling of the Rinaldian invasion that leaves the reader feeling that humanity is pretty well screwed, and yet much of the story is given over to obvious and overblown storytelling instead. The sexual imagery, while cute in small doses, gets old really fast, and I've never understood the manga cliche that says someone running into someone else's boobs is so hilarious. And the "technical data" about the Exaxxion unit, including the size of its guns, seems to take off from a very casual understanding of guns and leap into the unbelievable exaggeration realm, making the statements about the power and prowess of the Exaxxion unit seem more goofy than impressive.
I have mixed feelings regarding one of the main characters of the book, Gun's grandfather. I like that he's being played as little better than the aliens, his conspiracy theories and ridiculing for same having turned him into an unforgiving and psychopathic bastard. What I'm not so sure about is that this seems to be played mostly for laughs rather than as a more disturbing notion, and I'm afraid that this disturbing behavior is going to turn out to be little more than a joke. Which will represent, to me at least, another missed opportunity in telling the story of an immensely powerful and smart alien race invading the Earth and being opposed by one person with powerful technology.
Exaxxion is a book that has a lot going for it, including plenty of over-the-top action and one of the most effective invasion stories I've read in comics. I also admit that the humor, while sometimes juvenile, is sometimes quite funny. However, overall the humor is overplayed and the more serious notions underplayed, and thus the tone doesn't quite match the potential that I think the book has.
