Review by C.J. Bunce
The first English edition of a popular Japanese story is coming to your local comic shop tomorrow. In the new manga Gizmo Riser (available here at Amazon) you meet Kuro, a young stonemason at the literal bottom of the pit of his fantasy society. Get ready for a Japanese flip of the French comic Snowpiercer in a tale that conjures both Logan’s Run and City of Ember. It’s the latest story of subterranean fiction–yep, there’s actually centuries of stories out there to make it a trope–you can even take it back to Plato’s allegory of the cave.
Roku Souna adds in a sci-fi tech gauntlet and the result is an action-filled journey literally about rising up in society from the bottom.
Why do so many manga stories have literal titles? It’s been part of the culture of the medium since the beginning. Nothing could be more literal than the title Gizmo Riser. Kuro’s claw is a “gizmo” in the English sense, and the “riser” is Kuro, one of a storied group of people who use gizmos–tech gadgets that give you power or strength–to rise up from one level of the complex underground city of Ulnaria to the next.
Kuro’s father left him the gizmo that gave him his name–a set of powerful gloves. Kuro’s uncle Zack sacrifices himself to allow his young nephew the opportunity to climb upward where it is believed there is a sun. They both sneak off where Zack shows him his first glimpse at the Moon and the stars. Is it even possible to get out of a place where Kuro is too weak to work and provide as much output as others? Zack sets Kuro on a path upward, through a successive ensemble of helpers. But who can Kuro trust, and who wants him dead before he levels up?
This first volume follows Kuro on his journey to a hatch on the very roof of his known world. This is a well-trodden sci-fi genre in the West, the distinction here the video game-esque, frenetic young shonen hero who is making the journey.
Fans of the style of art seen in nekketsu stories will see a bridge of styles and concepts, like those found in Akira, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Naruto but with more seinen oriented adult themes. This is a book where Roko Souna’s artwork would be better in color. It’s also a better read in a hard copy than digital, as the tiny action elements often require you to move the book back and forth to really track all that is happening. Often the comic book sound effects, which are shown in both the original Japanese bold fonts and the English translation, need to be studied to follow all the action. I’m still not sure I follow all the action going on in this panel:
It’s an interesting beginning, a new realm for shonen stories and a new take on allegory fiction for fans of Snowpiercer. Volume 1 of Gizmo Riser is available for order now here at Amazon, available tomorrow. Or add it to your pull list at Elite Comics or your local comic shop today.
