Genre Sports
Age Rating For Older Teens
Price $7.99

The Devil Bats finagle their way into a game against the behemoth-like Taiyo Sphinx. The winners will get a chance to scrimmage against a high school championship team in the United States. Will Sena and crew be able to break down the Sphinx's invincible "pyramid" front line and send them crying home to their mummies?

Sometimes, you can tell how complex a particular manga title has become due to the summary on the front page. This particular volume of Eyeshield 21 squeezes in four different teams in one spread and throughout the entire book we catch a glimpse of four different American football teams, each with a unique aesthetic sense.

The manga starts out showcasing the match between the Ojo and Seibu, and then transitions to the the Devil Bats undergoing some training and eventually resolving a loose end from the third volume. The last few chapters begins the match against Taiyo Sphinx, an Egyptian-themed team. In truth, most of this particular volume sets up the beats for drama and we see various characters evolve. 

For the most part, the timely comedy that is characteristic of Eyeshield 21 thankfully prevents it from being cliche. The extras included is also particularly interesting. Aside from the short bios of seemingly-irrelevant characters at the end, we also catch a glimpse of the boxes of the various students at Deimon, the contents of which are indicative of their personalities. Overall this volume whets your appetite for the next one and gives readers some breathing room.

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