Review by Woodrow Phoenix
The World Robot Battle begins in the Australian desert, and hundreds of scientists, government officials and others gathered inside the enormous complex known as the Great Crocodile are anxious to see who will come out on top. Umataro Tenma has a lot invested in his and Hiroshi Ochanomizu’s latest prototype A107, known as U-Ran. There’s more at stake than just the prestige, money and premium lab time that would come from winning against the best brains in the world. If U-Ran can beat Mars, then… “You’re not gonna propose to Dr Lolo are you?” asks Ochanomizu. “Why do you need to defeat her robot in order to tell her your feelings?” “A GENIUS TYPE LIKE HER ONLY FALLS FOR HER SUPERIORS,” replies the desperately smitten Tenma.
Volume six of Atom: The Beginning is a long, all-out brawl as one hundred robots compete to fetch one of ten batons from a zone three kilometers from the start point. The battle zone is radio jammed to prevent any communication between the developers and their robots and there is a no-fly perimeter guarded by sixteen anti-air guns that will shoot down anything flying within one kilometer of the baton location. Only the camera drones high above the field of play can see everything and relay those pictures back to the stands. The tiny figure of U-Ran is completely lost among the massive robots around her and the developers from France, creators of the towering robot called Napoleon don’t hide their contempt: “Is it bring your kids to work day? Those robots look so feeble. Look at that tiny pink one!” But when round one begins U-Ran is the first to reach the no-fly zone and sprint over the rocky terrain to retrieve a baton, and then first back to the start point, to the utter astonishment of everyone watching.
Count Aaron Bremnar, creator of the sculpturally unusual robot North is unsurprised: “High power and small mass can produce the fastest maneuverability in the shortest time,” he observes. Dr Lolo’s Mars is second and North is third to return while in the no-fly zone the other robots smash each other to pieces fighting for the remaining batons. It’s looking great for Tenma and Ochanomizu until U-Ran’s overconfidence in her abilities leads her into big trouble against combat robots. How are the team going to prevent her helpless body being destroyed when they can’t reach her?
Tetsuro Kasahara’s fine-lined drawing of the action scenes would look great in colour, but in black and white it’s no small task for the reader to unravel what’s happening in his packed panels. Masami Yuuki’s script has enough twists in it to incentivise you to keep going, particularly when a frantic Ochanomizu makes an incredible discovery while trying to find a way to rescue U-Ran. Can the overlooked Six be the key to solving their predicament? The action and surprises continue in The Beginning 07.
