Manga Review: King of Cards Volume 1 by Makoto Tateno
First-year high school student Manami Minami wants to play the collectible card game “Chaos” with her cousin Tamotsu Kazama, who’s the president of their school’s gaming club. She randomly picks a beginner’s set to purchase–which turns out to be an out of print one with the super rare card Sahgan the Sorcerer. Now she’s constantly facing challenges from more experienced players who want her awesome card!
This shoujo (girl’s) manga is an attempt to cash in on the collectible card game craze. But it’s not based on a real game, which allows the author to just make up the rules as she goes along. Chaos works somewhat on poker rules, where you try to create a hand with the highest value, usually using sets of related cards. Sahgan, in addition to being powerful itself, is also something of a joker card that’s usable with many combinations. Apparently, it also has an ante rule, which makes it easier to get an opponent’s niftiest cards if you win.
There’s three chapters of the storyline in this first issue. Manami goes up against a rich girl who tosses cards that are “weak” in the trash; a boy who loves angels and is bored with always winning but hates to lose; and brothers who use cheap tactics with garbage cards. Manami is more lucky than skilled, having key cards loaned to her by friends, and being inspired by apparently prophetic dreams in which she meet Sahgan himself.
Also in this volume is “Crisis 9”, about a girl who meets up with people she met on an internet bulletin board. Some of them are nice. Unfortunately, there’s also been a rash of animal killings, ramping up from 1 to 8. (Perhaps fortunately, the killer tries to rules lawyer “9”.) The girl has a surprising connection to her dead father that resolves the crisis. It’s a big mood swing from the card games story.
The art is okay, but the characters are pretty stock. There’s not a lot of room for personality growth.
Recommended primarily for card game fans who’d like to see a pretty girl as the main character.
