Story By: Shinya Umemura & Takumi Fukui
Art By: Azychika
English Publisher: Viz Media
Japanese Publisher: Coamix
Original Magazine: Monthly Comic Zenon
English Release Date: January 18, 2022
Since the dawn of recorded history and literature, humankind has to come to ask a question that has been asked for centuries; Who would win in a fight?
What if Alexander the Great faced Sun Tzu in warfare? What if Goku faced the mighty Superman? Could my dad beat up your dad?
With the exception of the latter (because obviously he can), humanity has used these scenarios as the source of debate, discussion, and water cooler talk. From the real and the mythical, to heroes and villains, this topic has led to many fun scenarios to take shape, and it’s these very concepts that Record of Ragnarok is based upon.
Imagine if every religious pantheon actually existed, acting as a council to decide whether humanity will live for another millennia or cease to exist. As the gods are about to declare our extinction, a valkyrie named Brunhilde comes to humanity's defense and challenges the gods to Ragnarok, a 13 versus 13 tournament of gods and humans to decide the fate of the human race.
It’s an incredibly straightforward premise that the writing duo Shinya Umemura and Takumi Fukui present here, but the potential is astounding as we learn the potential matchups. With Gods like Thor taking on legendary heroes like Lu Bu from Three Kingdoms era of China, and future combatants like Nostradamus, Heracles, Anubis, and Adam (yes, from the actual Bible), the excitement for the next volume is already building for me.
When it comes to manga, or really any media I consume, I tend to gravitate to stories with depth and greater philosophical themes. Even the simplest appearing shonen battle manga can tackle topics like the value of human connection, loneliness, loss, and a multitude of other concepts while acting as a fun escape for the reader.
That being said, I would be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy a series that lets me shut my brain off and just bask myself in a spectacle of insane fights. This has led me to discover series like the anime adaptations of Kengan Asura and Baki: The Grappler on Netflix. While those series were entertaining, the main problem came from their animation quality frankly being a mixed bag. Throw in less than stellar sound design and questionable CGI, the action that these series provided lost a lot of impact that I was sure that the original manga presented
This is actually what led me to reading Record of Ragnarok instead of watching the anime, despite their being more content. After reading it, I can say that it checks those boxes spectacularly.
Imagine if every religious pantheon actually existed, acting as a council to decide whether humanity will live for another millennia or cease to exist. As the gods are about to declare our extinction, a Valkyrie named Brunhilde comes to humanity's defense and challenges the gods to Ragnarok, a 13 versus 13 tournament of gods and humans to decide the fate of the human race.itement for the next volume is already building for me. for some, sometimes even for myself, but this series knows what kind of story it is presenting. It’s meant to be a series of crazy fights with these exaggerated personifications of gods and warriors and I think the art matches that energy very well.
That isn’t to say there isn’t thought put behind the setting or the concepts, as they use actual mythology to set up the tournament. For example, Heimdall in Norse Mythology is meant to be one who will signal Ragnarok with his Gjallahorn. He not only signals every match this way, but also acts in the classic role as tournament announcer. There are small instances like this throughout, and there are even brief stories of each fighter's legend presented almost as the beginning of each battle.
Granted there isn’t really anything with a lot of depth within this story and that is partly because we are still so early on in the narrative. Even if this manga doesn’t introduce a greater conflict outside of the tournament, I’m not sure it really needs one to keep me engaged. This series has established, literally in four chapters, an identity that makes it unique.
With an engaging concept, eye-catching artwork and action, and an understanding of how to build hype by combining the two together, Record of Ragnarok is surely an action set piece to keep on your reading list.
Comentários