Jing: King of Bandits, Volume 1 by Yuichi Kumakura, Carol Fox, Kong Chang, Yuichi Kumakura (Illustrator)

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Library Journal

In this fantasy adventure in the mold of Akira Toriyama's original "Dragon Ball" series (as opposed to the more combat-oriented sequel Dragon Ball Z), a young male hero-headstrong young Jing, heir of a legendary family of bandits-journeys through a strange world of anthropomorphic animals and powerful menaces in search of treasure. This series scores points over "Dragon Ball" with its slightly more mature approach and its more sophisticated and detailed artwork (and though many of Kumakura's figures are as cartoony as Toriyama's, Kumakura's girls are much more appealing). In this volume, the second of seven, Jing, aided by his wisecracking bird sidekick, Kir, takes on the ruler of a clock-filled city where tardiness is punishable by death and is then hired to transport four cute and fuzzy living bombs through a sea of living magma. Kumakura's wild imagination fills the book with such sights as an attack squad of sleepy rooster-men, imps stomping Clockwork Grapes, and all manner of architectural and mechanical craziness. This manga inspired an anime counterpart, also available in the United States. Tokyopop rates this for "Ages 7+"; it's probably best placed in teen collections. For most libraries. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.