Kongou Banchou

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Well I have to say, the large amount of detailed action in this manga folks, is literally insane! For those who would be squeamish on blood and gore throughout the fighting scenes, I would highly advise you to read something else because the characters are constantly bumping into tons of fights lol.

When I first read the manga, I didn’t even realise it was made by the author of the well known series “7 Deadly Sins” like I’m surprised this shounen hasn’t gotten an anime adaption yet!

Nakaba-san really did well in creating a decent amount of character development by introducing a variety of Banchou’s ... throughout the story. The characters I really admired in this series were Hikyou (he’s like a father figure to the foster kiddos), Iai (yes he’s a bishounen but a smart one), Kenpei (yes I know be would be a dangerous husbando), the magician girls (both baes too) and Machine (he honestly has a good heart even if he’s portrayed as an “anti hero”). I’m also glad there wasn’t any annoying side characters in this like for example, Hinako would have been a great superhero if the author gave her a chance to shine more…

This series needs a sequel…period

If you're searching for a fun, easy, battle-based manga, Kongou Banchou is exactly what you're looking for. With only 114 chapters, it is of little commitment but looking at just how far you go in those 114 chapters - it's an insane journey that you won't want to put down.

Admittedly, things do get a little repetitive for the first half but character development isn't thrown out the window as we build up to an epic second half of the story. Twists and turns keep the story going as the stakes continually are raised.

The artwork is fairly easy to follow. There were few ... panels that I couldn't make out immediately what was going on. There's not many that I would qualify as "beautiful" but a story like this does not need that sort of artwork. In a "Fighting First" manga, it's so crucial to be able to follow battles and overall, Kongou Banchou does that really well. There are A LOT of fights in this manga so that easy to follow artwork is very helpful and noticeable to a reader

Most characters are one dimensional but their strengths are highlighted very well. Our main cast gets to grow more as character - which is to be expected - and each add one to three more layers throughout, depending on whom we are discussing.

Overall, this manga was very enjoyable, nothing that was perfect but it's something that I would still highly recommend due to its fast pace, good storytelling, and easy to follow battles.

Kongou Banchou is a manga that deserves your attention, it's a little gem forgotten by time. It's my pleasure to write a review about it. Let's get into it.

Story
Kongou Banchou's premise is very simple: a strange, very tall man appears in Tokyo, claiming that he will destroy the "23 District Project" and the people behind it (using his own fists, of course). One can argue that it's basic and generic battle shounen, lots of fights with small thugs until the final boss, put this on repeat and your manga is done, but don't get the wrong idea, it's a fine example of executing the formula ... to it's finest. The plot itself wasn't all that clear from the get go, but considering everything that happened till the end and how well paced the manga is, it's good in an overall view.

Art
Art is OK, the mangaka did a good job with the "80s like" style. Not really outstanding, but quite charming, not bad tho. What I really like is how unique his style can get, from his character designs to the basics of how anatomy and clothing work, it really grows on you.

Character
Character development is there, but not so often, just like backstory. It's pretty much what you'd expect from this type of manga (not so cheesy like true shounen classics like Hokuto no Ken, where usually only the protag and a few close friends get to grow) what really stands out here are the relations and interactions between both heroes and villains.

Enjoyment
Indeed the strongest point of the manga, there are quite a few twists to keep you hooked when there's no hype fighting scenes happening that will make you enjoy it from ch. 1 to ch. 114, finishing the manga in two or three days (well, at least I did).

Final Opinions
It's sad to see that this gem doesn't receive the deserved attention, it's truly an 80's MANga made nowadays. The gandiosity of this series can easily touch your heart, the characters and their personalities, the events and the brotherhood feeling are well placed to make you really feel what is happening on the pages. I really want this to be animated, but since there's only a small chance, I recommend people to read it, it's really, REALLY worth it.