Genre Sports
Age Rating For Older Teen
Price $7.99

The Devil Bats face off against the Chamelons--a team of ruthless delinquents. But when fragile Sena goes up against the Chameleon's sinister ace linebacker, who will be intimidating whom?

This volume of Eyeshield 21 is actually packed with a lot of things as we both get to an entire football match and the Devil Bat's recruitment drive--adding new, interesting characters to the cast. The first chapter's title, "Death of the Riceman", is an example of how the manga sets you up for one thing and throws you something else (yes, somebody dies, but I'm sure parents won't mind).

It's only now however that I noticed that the sound-effects have been translated into English, which is probably a good thing for English speakers but might seem turn off manga purists. Since I only mention sound effects now, they tend to become more prominent in this issue.

All the elements that make Eyeshield 21 successful is present here and you have the usual dose of action, comedy, and the seamless introduction of American Football rules so that even a luddite like me could understand the game. Juxtaposition is also utilized in this manga although it is not as effective as it was in the previous volume. The strength of this particular volume however is the characterization. Inagaki and Murata have been quite subtle and readers might easily miss details such as Hiruma showing a generous side of himself or Kurita commenting that the Shinryuji Nagas would most likely win the Kanagawa Tournament (a plot point that will become relevant at around 16 volumes down the line).

This is probably a good point for unfamiliar readers to jump in as it's more or less self-contained and gives you a sense of what the series is about.

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