Young Meguru continues his MMA training in the wake of his first book defeats. But his new teacher’s a GIRL – ewwww! And he’s got a new sparring partner – who’s also a GIRL! Groooossss - cootie alert!
I knows, I so sillypants. And, like the first volume, the second All-Rounder Meguru is just all-round ok. I like Hiroki Endo’s art – his fight choreography is on point – but the character designs are a bit indistinct so it’s hard to tell people apart in general. There’s also the predictable changing room joke, now girls are in the mix, with Meguru accidentally wandering into the girls’ changing room – ho hum.
It’s also not the most driving storyline. Meguru and co. train, they fight, repeat. There’s no real urgency or stakes. Also there isn’t much to these characters and I’d have liked a bit more of who they were outside of the dojo. The fights themselves are very realistic too so, unless you’re really into MMA, the technique isn’t likely to mean much to you and might come off as somewhat mundane.
But I liked the new characters, Maria the teacher and Maki the teenage kickboxer – Maria especially is a lot of fun. And the action is quite engaging for the most part – good thing too as it makes up the bulk of the book! I really got into the final fight between Maki and Kaoru, so it came as a bit of a shock that the book ends right when things between them get interesting – definitely have the third book to hand if you want to see what happens next!
All-Rounder Meguru’s not the most exciting martial arts manga but it’s not bad either – though it’s definitely a series that’s for fight fans only!
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