Shounen Level E by Togashi Yoshihiro

[Kaiten]

Level E
By: Togashi Yoshihiro
Genre: Sci-fi, comedy
Serialized In: Weekly Shonen Jump
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Serialized between YuYu Hakusho and Hunter x Hunter, Level E features a more realistic art style (mostly) and more humor than it's more famous predecessor and follow up. Really four short stories over three volumes, connected by the framing story of aliens living on Earth unbeknownst to Earthlings and the character of Baka Ouji, a wickedly intelligent alien with the worst possible personality. Fans of Hunter x Hunter and YuYu must read.

Read the manga? Watch the new anime!

 

[Hamy]

Ah one of my favorite shounens, huge fan of Togashi, and this work while not as long as Yuu Yuu Hakusho or HXH nor is it an action fantasy series is still quite solid. The dead pan humor of Level-E is what I love about this series. Its why the prince really cracked me up as he would tell jokes or have comedy set up in the most serious manner only to completely fool you the way he does with all the characters. The build up of jokes, the first chapters especially, really pays off with making you laugh out loud.

Moreover, though it may not be like HXH or Yuu Yuu one gets to see most of the themes and elements that Togashi used in Yuu Yuu and would refine in HXH, the aliens of the final chapter especially are reminiscent of being a proto-type for the Chimera Arc of HXH. The video games - dragon quest especially - are a nice ode to the gaming era of the 90's while it may seem dated to some 00's gamers I think the nostalgia of some of the popular games really puts a smile on you.

Long story short I love this series

 

[Kaiten]

I still have one volume left to read so I can't take a complete perspective. The humor is great, anything involving the Baka-Ouji is really funny, especially the battle manga parody of the color rangers chapters. Which also happened to be a prototype for Greed Island. There was mention of Nen in that arc too. I've just started the last arc, I see the similarities to the Chimera Ants, though these seem much less sinister.

So far I also love it, hardly surprising since I'm a big Hunter x Hunter fan. I've never read YuYu but now I think I have too.

 

[Hamy]

I still have one volume left to read so I can't take a complete perspective. The humor is great, anything involving the Baka-Ouji is really funny, especially the battle manga parody of the color rangers chapters. Which also happened to be a prototype for Greed Island. There was mention of Nen in that arc too. I've just started the last arc, I see the similarities to the Chimera Ants, though these seem much less sinister.

So far I also love it, hardly surprising since I'm a big Hunter x Hunter fan. I've never read YuYu but now I think I have too.

One of the best things about Level-E is how it exemplifies Togashi's best trait in manga. Namely his ability to adapt the zeitgeist of the time - Sentai, Video Games, Aliens (duh Men in Black :P, but meh aliens have always been a popular topic), and Baseball - so well into the types of narratives he makes that it does feel organic rather than tacked on (you see this in HXH too with the use of internet at one point and cellphone! Of course in YYH its not as prominent until the Sensui arc).

 

[Kaiten]

For a short series he really did meld a lot of styles and influences. The color ranger arc was my favorite, it almost felt like a parody, not just of sentai but of post-Dragonball tournament manga. The baseball arc was my least favorite part. The idea was good but the team trapped in the sub-conscious felt strained to me. My favorite character was Kraft, if my sig didn't make it obvious enough

 

[Hamy]

For a short series he really did meld a lot of styles and influences. The color ranger arc was my favorite, it almost felt like a parody, not just of sentai but of post-Dragonball tournament manga. The baseball arc was my least favorite part. The idea was good but the team trapped in the sub-conscious felt strained to me. My favorite character was Kraft, if my sig didn't make it obvious enough

Yeah, I agree the baseball part really was rather weak - though not uncharacteristic given again that we do see his love of these sort of sub-conscious psychology that he does employ - and the sentai arc was fun. I didn't just see it as dragon-ball but the stronger reference was Dragon Quest in case you didn't notice, and DQ is notorious for Togashi since he's even put off deadlines just to play that game.

 

[Kaiten]

He is legendary for timing hiatus for around new Dragon Quest

I definitely got the RPG references in the second part of color rangers. The town people who only had one thing to say, the evil overlord who didn't understand love, pre-defined mission paths. It reminded me of Greed Island, though that seems more tribute this seemed more of a parody. The only disappointment was that they didn't fight tons of random, weak enemies to power up.