Koukenryoku Ouryoku Sousakan Nakabou Rintarou by Tetsuo Hara

Majin Tantei Nogami Neuro by Yuusei Matsui 

*AHEM* Sorry, a certain demon distracted me (yet again) from a prompt posting. I couldn't even find a zombie manga to do for Zombie Awareness Month in May, either! I've just been all over the place, the month was gone before I knew it. Ah well...




Koukenryoku Ouryoku Sousakan Nakabou Rintarou by Tetsuo Hara

Big Face is (c) Tetsuo Hara

Genre: Shonen (?)
Length: 2 Volumes – 19 Chapters



           Let's see if I can put to words this art, if you know Hokuto no Ken, AKA, Fist of the North Star, then I don't have to explain as it is the same mangaka, but for the rest of us… Its manly, beefs of all types dominate the pages with wide shoulders and necks like tree trunks. Heavy shading dramatically lights everyone, and tends to make for strange looking

foreheads. The caterpillar eyebrows don't help. Of course, they are all under lots of business stress so its understandable that they would be so sweaty, too. The hair is nicely detailed and, in most cases, very natural looking. Though the clothing has the same over dramatic shading as everything else it's well drawn suits of just about every type. Personally, I find this kind of art strangely mesmerizing, and while grouchy man faces may get boring to look at, put to good use in the humor. If anyone is put off by it, I'm not going to criticize, that's for sure, but the art is well done and its only the style it's self that can be objected to, really.
           With the Japanese economy in really poor shape, though the force of many foreign dignitaries, a special agency has been set up to help get it back into working order. The agency's name? The Misappropriation Enforcement Administration, and it will dig out politicians and other individuals who are misusing banks to line their own pockets. What sort of men work at such a slap dash place, one with out any sort of budget and a limited time, and what tactics will they use?
           If I had to sum up this manga in three words: Manly banking regulations. Luckily, I don't have to shorten it so much but, all the same, my art, plot summary, and whatever

other words I use to review this manga, cannot do this proper justice. Truthfully, I'm not sure who exactly would be interested in reading this anyway, so that also trips me up... I questioned the shonen of this because it seems more seinen in appeal, considering the subject and art style, and also the fact that there is boobs once or twice. That isn't the only thing that has me waffling on what to score and recommend Koukenryoku Ouryoku Sousakan Nakabou Rintarou. I mean, I got a lot of enjoyment out of this, but it is wordy and goes into the specifics of Japanese banking in ways I don't think even a regular Japanese person can understand completely. IT. IS. DENSE. On the other hand, the humor hits right at the gate and continues on through out. Rintaro is a bit of a silly sadist, and his switch flips are epic. Anytime you see a cigar come out of his suit pocket, you know stuff is about to go down. And heaven help anyone who mentions his parents! Rintaro just has to be sitting down somewhere, and you'll laugh; he's got such a strong presence, and not just because he's six feet wide, so that he makes all the technical stuff worth it. He has a bit of a Clark Kent/Superman thing going, too, that leads to a lot of strange situations, as well. Overall, the art and subject matter may seem daunting, but within the introduction is a man named John Climton (as seen in the picture above) who is a caricature of former President Bill Clinton, and if his inclusion does not tickle your funny bone in anyway, feel free to stop, because its just a sample of how ridiculous things get. It's basically super manly guys yelling and tricking middle aged bankers into giving up money they've stolen and embezzled amid a haze of cigar smoke. I will confess something, though, I always read everything when I'm reviewing a manga but I did not read two pages of this one. All the same, I think I can get a pass.




4/5 Probably niche, but I very much enjoyed it.