The story in this Osamu Tezuka manga is serviceable. The dialogue feels forced and unnatural, often featuring silly conversations. While this could partly be due to translation, I believe the original script is the main culprit. Overall, the story is average but fulfills its purpose and remains engaging throughout.

The highlight of the manga is undoubtedly the artwork. Despite the characters featuring the classic Osamu Tezuka style, the Decander and its various forms are visually impressive and intriguingly designed. These life forms are larger than life, occupying significant portions of the page and creating an imposing presence, a quality shared by Thunder Mask.

The manga is rich in detail, clearly reflecting the extensive work hours invested in its creation. No aspect of the art is neglected. There's beautifully drawn sound effects, incredible linework to signify movement & indicate tension as well as enhance character mood and expression. There's massive amounts of beautifully used linework for all purposes. I was seriously impressed with the use of linework in the manga.

The ing is diverse and experimental, featuring a wide range of layouts. From typical two-page spreads to characters breaking out of s due to their size, uniquely shaped s, and instances where characters literally break through s to signify urgency to scenes where there's tiny variations in movement/expression shown.

This is really a masterclass in various aspects of manga art. It's evident the creator takes pride in his work, striving to produce a piece worthy of his name.

The action scenes are also very entertaining with a satisfying to read flow.

However, there are a few criticisms regarding the artwork in two scenes. The opening scene of Nagoya, with city lights reflecting on the road, is poorly executed. The reflections are unrealistic, and the cars are also badly drawn in that scene. Additionally, a scene depicting a petrified city fails to convincingly portray buildings turned to stone.

I wish this had been released in crisper HQ scans but I am grateful to Jammin' Scans for making it accessible.