Review: MECH CADET YU #1

MECH CADET YU #1
Written by Greg Pak
Art by Takeshi Miyazawa, Triona Farrell, and Simon Bowland
Published by BOOM! Studios
Release Date: August 2, 2017

Sixty years ago, Skip Tanaka found the first ever Robo Mech and began to protect our planet with it. Today, the best and brightest from all over the United States join the Sky Corps in the hopes of being chosen by a Robo Mech. Who will be chosen to be the next round of Robo Mech pilots? Find out in this first issue of Mech Cadet Yu!

Pak fantastically situates his universe, explaining clearly the history behind the Robo Mechs in this world and how people are chosen. I love how you can tell how the world has been shaped by the Robo Mechs and their alien opponents. It makes you wonder if the sharg would have come to earth at all if not for the Robo Mechs.

The reader instantly feels empathy for Stanford, the underdog protagonist of this tale. His hardworking nature and want to become part of those piloting Robo Mechs against his slim chances make him endearing.

His relationship with his Robo Mech is adorable as well. They have this instant, innocent chemistry, something that harkens back to the feeling you have when you watch the relationship between Hogarth and his robot in the Iron Giant. I’m excited to see how they’ll fair amongst the well-trained cadet teams, see how deep their bond will grow.

Miyazawa’s art is so beautiful. I love how subtle the facial expressions are, how little it takes for Miyazawa to portray deep and cutting emotions. I love the foils between Stanford and Park. Park always has good posture, she always has a confidence in her stance, she feels like the perfect cadet. Standford seems short for his age, is always slumping and portraying himself as uncertain of whether he can truly be what he dreams of becoming. It’s nice getting that from the way they’re drawn.

I also love the style of the mechs. It really feels like a mecha manga or anime like Gundam or Neon Genesis Evangelion. I love the human-like qualities of the robots that come from a distant world as well as the subsequent coldness of the manmade robots. It’s a nice juxtaposition and feels almost ironic.

The colors by Farrell are perfect. There’s this sleekness to them, this almost too polished tone that the colors bring that works perfectly for what the comic is setting up. Because while the way they chose cadets sounds good on paper, there does seem to be something inherently wrong with it when you look deeper into it.

Oh my gosh, Read this. Read it now. It’s so good! If you’ve been looking for a good mecha underdog story with some awesome characters and a hint of Iron Giant, this comic is perfect for you!

The Verdict: 10/10

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