Thunder 3, Vol.1

Gr 9 Up–When Pyontaro and his two friends boot up a disc they borrowed from their teacher, a disc that allegedly connects to another dimension, the trio known in their world as “the small three” get sucked into another universe. This universe resembles their own in many ways, except for the way the humans look, or how the boys now seem to be indestructible; and then, of course, the alien creatures roaming the streets. When these strange lifeforms abduct Pyontaro’s younger sister Futaba, the small three will have to figure out not only how to rescue her, but how to return home once and for all. This series opener does a fantastic job intentionally presenting itself as a mundane slice-of-life story before ­hitting the gas and never ­looking back. While veteran manga ­readers will probably be able to discern other titles that influenced this plot, that should not detract from the experience and acts more as a strength than a weakness. Readers will walk away with tons of questions, and correspondingly, excitement for future releases. The contrasting art styles between dimensions look great in their own ways, specifically the hyperrealist ­dimension. Mangaka Ikeda cleverly unites the converging styles by navigating readers through a premise that interweaves the threads. There are a handful of references to pornography from the adolescent leads, but nothing to derail all the good this debut brings to the table.