爆音列島

BAKUON RETTOU

MANGA

STATUS
COMPLETE
VOLUMES
18
RELEASE
November 24, 2012
CHAPTERS
105

DESCRIPTION

In the 80s, the parents of Kaze Takashi move to a quiet area of Tokyo in order to save the young man from the bad influence of his friends. In class, Takashi does not take long to make new friends and they soon invite him to meet with their gang, the Zeros. Takashi comes to love motorcycles and gets involved with the gang. What has he got himself into and is he ready to face the consequences?

CAST

Takashi Kase
Kazuya Akegawa
Shinji Miyamoto
Shoji Goto
Shoko Ishikawa
Kuwahara
Kengo Ooki
Ayase
Yuko
Mitsuhiko Komiya

CHAPTERS

REVIEWS

nephilimk
90/100
Nothing like some good ol delinquents
Delinquents is a subgenre of manga that deals with the shenanigans of teens rebelling with the intent of finding their purpose in life. While not so popular in the medium of anime, it is one of the most recognisable, if not popular genres of manga, with several magazines across different demographics dabbling with them, aiming to find the next hit. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that 2 of the 3 most popular manga running during Shounen Jump’s golden age, happened to have delinquent leads in it. And while the halcyon days are now far behind (usually seen to be somewhere between the late 1980s and 90s), modern works such as Beelzebub and Tokyo Revengers forward the cause of these brash and passionate brats and gals.

And while a lot of these series often resort to an over-the-top testosterone approach in terms of execution, which is quite entertaining in its own way, don’t be surprised to find series which tackle these rebels in a much more humane and subtle way. The focus of our review today is one such series.

Written by Takahashi Tsutomu from 2002 to 2012, this is quite possibly his finest work I’ve read so far. He himself was a former bosozoku, a subculture revolving around customized bikes and rigid social hierarchies (a whole other topic in itself) and his work oozes with a sense of personality and intimacy, which is unlike his other works.

Bakuon Rettou is the story of Takashi Kaze, as he grows into his own as a bosozoku in the Zeros. Growing in somewhat of a dysfunctional family, Takashi is wallowing in indolence as he seeks to find some sort of spark which would move him from this state of stupor. All of this changes when he first discovers the Zeros. A bosozoku gang like any other, their sense of majesty and dignity stupefies him as he finds kids not older than him, conducting themselves with great poise and maturity. Intent on being like the “cool kids”, our impressionable MC joins them as a grunt. The stage is set and it is up to Takashi to deliver the goods.

What then follows is hands down some of the most realistic character growth that can be found in the medium, as we see Takashi grow as an individual with each experience. Each encounter, be it positive or negative only serves to solidify his beliefs and be an example for the younger members of zeros. His initial sense of being a rebel to escape his mundane life transforms into a sense of authority, a will, if you will of what makes him, him. And as we see get to see this metamorphosis unfolding in front of our eyes, the story ends with him passing on the mantle to kids, who were just like him all those years ago.

The story itself plays out in a rather straightforward way for the most part. Takashi navigates from one situation to another and behaves like any other teen placed in such a situation. Where it shines though is in the sense of atmosphere that Tsutomu conjures up. People familiar with his other works should know that he excels at this, but rarely has it felt so poignant as in this work. It could very well be that given his involvement with such groups in the past, there is a sense of authenticity to it which feels incredibly cathartic to us as the readers. And it is in this atmosphere that we find ourselves transported to that place, at that time when bosozoku ruled supreme on the roads of Japan.

Takashi as a lead is quite plain. Born in a broken home and having no opinions of his own, he is far from the usual stereotype that is associated with delinquent leads. But the one thing that is similar is the urge to struggle against the status quo and to grow as an individual. And in this, he is one of the finest delinquent protagonists out there. Not all his choices are satisfying and often tend to be wrong when seen from society’s point of view. But all of these only end up serving to strengthen his convictions as he grows into a more responsible role in the gang, leading to the glorious climax of the manga.

The art of the manga is absolutely gorgeous. I have already touched upon the sense of atmosphere that oozes throughout the manga, but Tsutomu’s sincerity is for all to see. Rarely have I been moved by motorbikes and his mastery of the craft brings these bikes to life. The engines roar loudly, the atmosphere is palpable and the delinquents are ready to leave their mark on history. And this is just some of the incredibly powerful moments that Tsutomu manages to create in his manga.

In this nostalgic and transient piece, we come to the realization that even if one day we grow up and have to move on from the things that defined us, we have a duty to pass on the torch to the next generation, who will struggle in turn. And thus, life goes on! It is with this intent that I write this review, to shed light on a gem of a series, to pass the mantle on to future readers of this work. Oh! And while you are at it, do check out God Speed You! Black Emperor. It is a documentary which sheds light into a Bosozoku group called Black Emperor.
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Cirruuss
95/100
Life from the outside of Society...
So Welcome, it's been awhile since I last did one of these Reviews. So there are a lot of things I want to talk about in this Short Essay, basically I want to explain why I think "Bakuon Rettou" is a great Manga.

I. First Thoughts:
Before I even read Bakuon Rettou I thought it was just another one of these "edgy" life dramas that somewhat focus on a Gang. From the Outside, it looks like a somewhat decent Manga from the 2000s that just got forgotten in the mass of the medium. But if you dig a little deeper, this Manga unfolds, and soon you find yourself hooked on this journey with no Tomorrow in sight, and that is what makes Bakuon Rettou so interesting. There might be this Goal in the sights of our Protagonist, but it's never a defined thing, it's more like an idea of this Lifestyle almost, the total "Delinquent". Someone who has been exiled by Society and follows his own rules. Someone who has lost his ties to his former self in order to completely focus on his Passion. Some would call these People Idiots, Maniacs or maybe even Criminals, but for me these People are one thing, Patriots.

II. The Protagonist:
Takashi Kase is just a Kid, 14 Years of Age who together with his Parents moves to a quite Neighbourhood of Tokyo, after getting in trouble at his old School. The idea was to isolate Takashi from his former self in order to get him back to society, this plan however is short-lived. He soon gets in contact with even more people that are Exiles from Society, a bunch of Kids from his new School get to him and tell him about this Gang, and his interest is awoken. He makes efforts to join this gang and soon gets in, however the Gang Life is not as easy as it might seem, he gets left behind and beaten up by a Rival Gang. But Takashi isn't going to run away, no the opposite is the case, he dedicates his life to this thing, this idea of being a Gang Member, Takashi becomes a part of the "Zeros". This is the Introduction to our Protagonist, and now we follow Takashi through his Life. We basically grow up beside him and deal with all the hardships that might come our way together, it almost creates this illusion that feels like we ourselves, the reader joined this gang and is a Mutual of Takashi. We get to understand his Character more from that, and we get to see everything he goes on, maybe good things like getting his first own bike or bad things like the first Breakup between him and his Girlfriend. Furthermore, we get to resonate with Takashi which is a great way to see him grow, he starts out as this brat that always plays the big tough guy, to this loveable young man that wants nothing more than to live the way he wants to live.

III. The Art:
For a Manga that was created from 2002 onwards this Manga has some astonishing Artwork, and it would be a shame not to talk about it in this Review, so here take a look for yourself, some of my favorite Panels.

...of course these contain mild Spoilers so watch out if you want to experience the Story totally blind, well then lets move on from here.

IV. The Summary:
So to conclude my thoughts on this Manga as a whole, I want to share some of my thoughts after I fully read the Series. Well all in all it's just a really fun thing to read, maybe this Philosophy aspect that I introduced earlier isn't for you, and you just want some Delinquent Manga that satisfies you with good art and some action scenes, then this Manga is still recommendable. And if you want a bit of Romance and Drama then this Manga got you covered too, there isn't a lot that Bakuon Rettou lacks. Even though I never thought it would turn into this sort of Manga I genially enjoy the turn of events and now even enjoy it more than I first thought I would, for me, it quickly has became one of my Favorite Manga and I want to raise awareness for this almost "forgotten" Gem. And that was it my hopefully interesting Review on Bakuon Rettou and trust me I have barely scraped the surface of Content, it packs more than you think and if you won't trust me just try it for yourself, I'm pretty sure you will most likely not be disappointed by this recommendation of a guy you probably don't even know, well I don't want to take up more of your time than I already have, so this is it, Bye.
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