Crimson Hero V. 1

When it comes to sports related titles I am not the biggest fan of the genre.
I am not excited by the thought of reviewing sports related video games. I am not the most thrilled of individuals when it comes to sports related titles, though I do have a few on my reviewing plate that I am going to look over soon like Hoop Days and Princess Nine for starters.
In short (I know, too late) I am not the sports title type of reviewer, and yet here I am reviewing Crimson Hero from VIZ (your taste of female volleyball action). Why am I reviewing Crimson Hero? Because it is one of a few titles from a certain VIZ anthology title I am hyped about.
That title? That would be the continousouly reviewed Shojo Beat, which I review monthly. The points of interest being my favorite reads known as Crimson Hero (this) and Nana (and Aishiteruze Baby which I am talking about in my Shojo Beat V. 2, Issue #3 review).
Yeah, for a sports related title it has gotten me at the first time I saw this which held me tight and solid, which is why I’ll tell you why you’ll find much to love about Mitsuba Takanashi’s Crimson Hero!
Meet Nobara Sumiyoshi (age 15), but don’t get too close because she’s barely into the first chapter of the book and already she’s suffering from a case of a bad day. Her family seems to run an old fashioned Japanese restaurant, and they have these high ambitions for Nobara to inherit the role of “young mistress” over at the family biz, which burns Nobara right up and she wants nothing to do with it.
She has no degree of “feminine” self, and being the “young mistress” of the family biz is something she feels is a thing her younger (more petite and feminine) younger sister would be better at… but then again if Nobara is so hellbent against the job considering it a nasty affair smoozing up to middle aged men and women like some hostess bar then why the hell would she wish to hoist that on her little sister… sheesh!
Anyway first the difficulties prior to the meltdown.
She has enrolled in Crimson Field, a school with an aces volleyball team… only it’s the MALE team that is aces, the female team has fallen apart and disintergrated. Worse, it looks like Nobara’s mom is hellbent to make sure the girls’ volleyball team never rises again by funneling money into the school to keep it dead.
That’s when Nobara attempts to try it her mom’s way for a compromise, but things fall apart fast and she runs away from home ending up as the new “den mom” of the boy’s volleyball team.
But this is just one step towards the resurrection of the girls’ volleyball team, which will one day (and one Graphic Novel) rise from the ashes and be reborn. This is the first step, next Graphic Novel will be step two and the imminent return of the girls’ team… be there.
Ok, time for breakdown because you know you want to.
Crimson Hero Breakdown the 1st
What’s Hot?
When I first saw Crimson Hero in Shojo Beat I was not a fan of many of the sports themed titles, yes, but that changed when it came to Crimson Hero because once I got into it I found it a habit I had to continue. A solid intense read that really gets you going, you’ll find yourself falling for Takanashi’s volleyball slammer like nobody’s business which is a good thing since this is a good solid read worth getting into.
Mitsuba Takanashi is on top of her game with Crimson Hero, finding a convert to her way of sports shoujo that sells itself to it’s readers, including this sports naysayer who usually doesn’t have much nice to say about sports related titles. And, really, if a not so sports friendly reviewer like me can become so entranced by Crimson Hero you should be as similarly entranced once you get ahold of this and really get into it.
A solid, intense, beautiful fun and gripping read. A title for you even if you are not the most outgoing fan of volleyball or sports manga in general.
What’s Not?
I really can’t think of a thing that is wrong about this title. Really. No, not me.
Moments to Remember?
Once again it’s another one of those well rounded and well shaped reads that is memorable as a whole, just so you know. Cool. This is cool. Nuff said.
What to Ignore?
(blank stare)… eh? What is there to ignore? Well… actually me, because I’m about to rant.
Why is it you NEVER EVER EVER EVER see a Sports themed video game based on titles like Crimson Hero anyway? Like Princess Nine given the EA Sports MLB treatment, or Hoop Days meets 2KSports’ NBA franchise. Something like that. Can’t somebody make a Sports video game that ties into a sports title like this which can actually be fun and interesting to play? How hard can it… oh, wait, most titles based on TV Series (Anime or Live Action) usually end up sucking so I can see why it’d be so hard. Never mind.
Overall?
Crimson Hero is, in my opinion, a rare gem of a read in the Sports related genre theme of titles that is worth looking into , and worth picking up. Fans of volleyball will want to check this out. Non fans of volleyball should be able to get into this because this is about more than just volleyball, though volleyball is the lifeblood of Nobara and the other girls of the team. A solid recommendable read, worth your time and effort to check out ASAP. Check it out, you’ll be glad you did.