Beck

Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad
19 Volumes (Continuing in Japan)
Licensed by Tokyopop

Topic: Music, Drama

Summary:
Tanaka Yukio led a boring average school-life until one day, he met Ryusuke. Ryusuke was a wild 16 year-old, living on the edge with very little respect for the rules. Though Tanaka was afraid of Ryusuke, he couldn't deny Ryusuke's mysterious charm and found himself drawn to Ryusuke. After watching the performance of Ryusuke's band, he's inspired to begin learning the guitar. However Tanaka's greatest musical talent is not his playing, it's his singing, and that powerful voice will pull together an amazing band.

Comments:
This series is quite dramatic, and at some points, over the top. Yet for the most part the story flows along at a decent pace, and the drama makes the band's chemistry all that more powerful. The characters are very well fleshed out, full of realistic character flaws and elaborate backstories, which actually play a role in the current story. I would have given this a higher score but the story's first few volumes have too much development and not enough actual plot progression so it's difficult to keep interested. If you can make it to the formation of Beck, you're in for a treat.

Rating: 8.0/10.0