Maken x Another is a manga adaptation of the video game of the same name by ATLUS. The manga was illustrated and written by Q Hasahada who is well known for the Dorhedo series, it was also the debut of said mangaka. I have not played the game as of this writing, but I have done a lot of research into the lore of the game as well as the game development for the review. The game was originally meant for the Sega Dreamcast because that time, ATLUS was feeling pigeonholed into just SMT alone and when the Dreamcast was released, Maken X was developed as a way to create something new outside of the SMT series.
Similar toSMT, there are elements of mythos, in this case Chinese Mythology.The art was a pretty good translation from game to manga format.The atmosphere felt just like the game with its mix of sci fi supernatural elements.The manga does something different expanding on the relationships of the characters and also more on the brain jacking aspect.You are not going to get motion sickness from reading this book unlike the game where it was pretty notorious due to Japanese consumers not being adjusted to first person stuff at the time.
The story is about political conflict in the near future and focuses on Kay, a woman who has the ability to take possession of human souls and control them in combat. She must survive the deadly world while fighting dangerous creatures called “images” which are negative emotion based thoughts and must try to survive as new challenges arise.
The manga is fairly short compared to the original game from what I looked up online. It can be finished in a single sit through and it does its best to make use of its run time trying to get as much as the important plot point as it possibly can with its fast pacing. The action was generally good and the manga was enjoyable.
It gets 4 out of 5 stars.
ATLUS should really consider bringing this series back especially given how well they’ve been doing with their SMT games and even outside of it, from Catherine to 13 Sentenials.
If I do get a Sega Dreamcast and I can find a copy of this game at a decent price, or if ATLUS remakes it for next gen consoles, I will certainly try to obtain a copy and provide a review.