Monsters and manga are a combination of goats that have become a staple in pop culture. Much of this is due in part to the same series Kaiju No. 8which sets the bar high with its twist on older actors, serving as an iconoclast for the well-trodden youth who are exclusively allowed to play starring roles in shonen series.
But another series approaching its winning formula, deserving of praise as its star begins to rise, is Rai Rai Raian overlooked Viz Media manga rich in gag-comedy charm and a seductively seductive story hidden beneath the charm of its beautiful girl wearing an even more beautiful kaiju design.
Rai Rai Rai (translates to “Lightning Lightning”), written by Yoshiaki, a post-apocalyptic sci-fi action comic series. In 2052, the world is rapidly rising after an alien invasion a hundred years ago. Now, organizations are tasked with cleaning up the remaining alien monsters called varmints.
The series follows our protagonist, Sumire Ichigaya, an 18-year-old woman who, after being kidnapped by aliens, gains the power to transform into a kaiju. At this point, you don’t have to look very hard to think that its basis is a gender-dependent type. Kaiju No. 8i only trade domestic kaiju for local kaiju. And, yes. That’s a lot of entry for you, but as the series progresses, Rai Rai Rai clauses itself from being a series of twins to Kaiju No. 8 in interesting ways you should get in on the ground floor now before it really takes off or gets canceled (GO TO THE WORLD).
This is not a spoiler for the series twist, but what Rai Rai Rai do more than just be a type”Kaiju No.8 manga it’s over, here’s the same thing” is a recommendation that can come to readers that, despite feeling like a community of the main manga area, it still manages to dig its feet and hold firm as a series that should be read for its own merits. Dragon Ballcomedy time, Ranma 1/2 again Kaiju No. 8‘s aesthetics, and suggestive A gun again The Chainsaw ManThe cooling rule is to eliminate it.
For another, Rai Rai Rai harkens back to the soft, rounded character designs of the grainy manga series. Sumire’s ponytail look is very high Ramna 1/2—new style manga like The Gokurakugai again Dandadan cleverly folded into their DNA, because creator Rumiko Takahashi is worth emulating. Yet the series is not only interesting; layer the edge which reminds us, of course, Kaiju No. 8but also The Chainsaw Man.
That boundary is most clearly seen in the varmint-killing military organization Sumire is forced to join, Raiden, where operatives in slick plug suits enhance one’s combat abilities—always a plus in any sci-fi series. But the wise Sumire, Rai Rai RaiThe crybaby hero—born backwards, forced into isolation—endures the story by insisting as a loveable ball bearing his own doom.
Anyway Rai Rai RaiA deceptively beautiful veneer, the series delves into difficult themes. Chief among them is the physical abuse Sumire experiences at the hands of her mother, her parents’ heavy debts, and the exploitative jobs she takes to help them out of it.
He’s a Denji-like person, risking himself to get paid so much that Raiden doesn’t have to worry about hiding that they’re using him as a big secret. You’d think this would all come together in his kaiju transformation like something out of Q Hayashida. Say it’s dark the draft. Instead, we have a nice twist: Sumire’s kaiju form is like an overstuffed plushy (or Labubu). Proving his struggle to suppress the atomic spirit Godzilla-style, only comes across as a symbol that the citizens can embrace rather than fear (look at him A gun pose), feels closer to Superman’s higher levels of optimism than the edgy poster boys of shonen manga often portray.
Most importantly, though only about 40 chapters deep, Rai Rai Rai finds an appealing balance between gag-manga humor and its battle-shonen‑meets‑horror aesthetic. In the same way that Magilumiere Co. LTD. open riffs My Hero High School again Sailor Moon proving that girls can lead this series without looking like Hot Topic knockoffs, Rai Rai Rai it pushes the oddly winning combination of a cute girl in a cute kaiju suit fighting for her life as something that doesn’t feel out of place but fresh. It’s a mile-a-minute physical comedy that knows what makes kaiju media cool and leans heavily on that, with gritty battles, terrifying kaiju designs, and sharp critiques of rah-rah military obedience, making its fluff sound not only appealing but subversive and important.
The manga industry has been cut short, with countless promising series canceled before they even started. Especially when women are in their institutions, often their survival depends on word of mouth to prevail long enough to reach their full potential—as we’ve seen with articles like Love Bullet.
I hope, Rai Rai Rai sparks fly like that, because I want to see Yoshiaki keep cooking. It recently introduced a Steel Gear rising-the code muscle grandma as a new antagonist character, and it would be a shame if this series ended up being another “could have been” fake.
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