is a Japanese
manga
Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
written by Hideki Kakinuma and illustrated by Yusuke Tsurugi with character designs by Eeji Komatsu. It was serialized in ''
Dengeki Comic Gao!
, also known as ''Dengeki Gao!'' was a Japanese shōnen manga magazine that primarily contained manga and information about series featuring bishōjo characters. It was published from December 1992 to February 2008 by MediaWorks (publisher), Medi ...
''. The manga was licensed in English by
ComicsOne
ComicsOne Corp. was an American distributor of Asian Comics (manga, manhwa, and manhua), established in 1999. ComicsOne was based in Fremont, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. ComicsOne also served as the distributor for videos and merc ...
before the license was transferred to
DrMaster
DrMaster Publications Inc. was an American distributor of manga and manhua with offices in the United States, Republic of China and Japan. It was headquartered in Fremont, California.
It began strictly as a printer of manga, and entered the pu ...
.
Manga
The manga was released by
MediaWorks between February 27, 2003 and February 27, 2004. The English release of the manga released the first of three ''
tankōbon
is the Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or cultur ...
'' volumes on April 5, 2005.
Volume listing
Novels
The manga has been adapted into 5 novels, all written by Hideki Kakinuma and illustrated by Eeji Komatsu. The first three volumes were published in English by
DrMaster
DrMaster Publications Inc. was an American distributor of manga and manhua with offices in the United States, Republic of China and Japan. It was headquartered in Fremont, California.
It began strictly as a printer of manga, and entered the pu ...
.
Drama CDs
In January and March 2003, two ''Junk Force'' audio drama CDs were released by
King Records in Japan. These CDs featured both new material and adaptations of stories featured in the manga and the novels. Professional
voice actors
Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...
were cast and possibly intended to be retained had the planned anime series reached fruition. The CDs are out of print.
The cast included:
*
Sōichirō Hoshi
is a Japanese voice actor and singer affiliated with Arts Vision. Some of his major anime roles include Son Goku in ''Saiyuki'', Kira Yamato in ''Gundam Seed'', ''Gundam Seed Destiny'', Kazuki Fuuchouin in ''GetBackers'', Masaru Daimon in ''Di ...
- Louis
*
Nana Mizuki
is a Japanese voice actress, singer and narrator from Niihama, Ehime. She is represented by the agency StarCrew. Mizuki was trained as an enka singer, releasing one single under her birth name, Nana Kondō, in 1993 and made her debut as a voice ...
- Liza
*
Yū Asakawa
is a Japanese voice actress from Tokyo, Japan. She also provides the voice samples for Crypton Future Media's Vocaloid character, Megurine Luka. Asakawa is currently a freelance voice actress and was previously attached to Arts Vision (as of Oct ...
- Wooty
*
Ai Shimizu
is a Japanese voice actress and professional wrestler. She has a career as a singer, signed to Lantis. She has released 14 singles (including joint and character singles) and four albums. She covered Yumi Matsutoya's " Toki o Kakeru Shōjo" as ...
- Mill
*
Hisayo Mochizuki
The ''Tokyo Mew Mew'' manga and anime series features a cast of characters designed by Mia Ikumi. The series takes place in Tokyo, Japan, where five adolescent girls, called Mew Mews, are infused with the DNA of endangered species to combat alien ...
- Mamet
Reception
Mania.com's Eduardo M. Chavez commends the manga on character design and the translation of sound effects.
Theron Martin at
Anime News Network
Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and oth ...
commends the novel for "good extrapolation of future military tech" but criticises it for the author's "unsophisticated writing style". Mania.com's Mike Dungan criticises the poor translation done by
DrMaster
DrMaster Publications Inc. was an American distributor of manga and manhua with offices in the United States, Republic of China and Japan. It was headquartered in Fremont, California.
It began strictly as a printer of manga, and entered the pu ...
. However, he commends the author for putting "mecha-fanservice" into the novel.
References
External links
*{{ann, manga, 3002
2003 Japanese novels
2003 manga
Action anime and manga
ASCII Media Works manga
Kadokawa Dwango franchises
ComicsOne titles
Light novels
Shōnen manga