Gunparade March volume 1

Today's book review is on Gunparade March volume 1 by Hiroyuki Sanada. It is 204 pages long and is published by ADV Manga. The cover has the two main characters on it looking at the reader. The intended reader is someone who likes manga stories with mechs in them and unearthly monsters.There is mild foul language, mild sexuality and mild violence in this manga. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

 From the back of the book- The Beginning of the End?

The world changed in 1945-  and not for the better. And otherworldly Invasion Beset the battle-weary inhabitants of Earth at the close of the Pacific War. Droves of phantom beasts sought to annihilate the human race, but when faced with a common enemy, the nations of the world pulled together and fought back. 50 years later, these Alien Invaders continue to menace Humanity, pushing them even closer to Extinction. A major assault decimated the Japanese military, thus forcing it's good citizens to pay the ultimate price-  enlist their teenage sons and daughters so that the human race can have a chance to survive. This is the story of the humanoid walking tank unit 5121, a group of teens who, rather than lead lives of ordinary high school students, take up arms to ensure the survival of mankind. The battle for existence begins here, and Gunparade March. 

 Review-  This is a slow to start manga with a lot of world-building and some character building but not enough  for the depth of the story. The basic premise is that teenage children are piloting Mecha robots to fight monsters, that's a good premise but there are so many unanswered questions in this first volume that the last two volumes are going to have to do a lot of heavy lifting. We don't understand who's pulling the strings to put these kids on the front lines or why, we don't understand where the Phantom Beast came from or even what they really are.  We have two main characters; one is a young man who has chosen to join the mecha unit for unknown reasons and the other is a young woman who joined it because she wants to uphold her family's high ideals. The monsters are interesting and I look forward to learning more about them. The action scenes are fast and but not very clearly Illustrated so there is some confusion about what's really going on. I hope that that is cleared up in the later volumes. As the series is only three volumes long I'm not sure how much they can do in the next two volumes to help clear up these concerns. I would recommend this manga if you are a fan of Mecha anime.

I give this manga Three stars out of Five. I get nothing for my review and I bought this manga with my own money.