I know, it took me a while. Be thankful though you Mega Tokyo fans, because here's the review I originally wanted to write about, oh, 400 comics in:
I don't understand the appeal of this comic. It's unfunny, uninteresting, and completely nonsensical. Why should I care about these characters? Why did I ever agree to review this comic? And what's probably the most important question, for the abundance of tasteless fools who seem to love this crap, why oh why are you wasting so much time on this when there are so many better comics out there? Mega Tokyo is overrated garbage, I'm glad I didn't waste my time reading the whole thing.
And now that is not the review I am going to present here, because despite my dislike of the comic and total lack of desire to read further than I had at comic 400, I stuck to my illusion of reviewer integrity. I always read the whole comic, ALWAYS, even when I don't like it. This was yet another example of why I do.
There's a disclaimer due here, it has to do with what I view as my first responsibility as a reviewer: to be honest with the reader and myself. In this case I have to inform anyone reading this that I am not an Anime or Manga fan and Mega Tokyo is clearly a comic designed to appeal to those people who are. Because of that I am pretty certain that there are a lot of subtleties worked into the webcomic that I simply don't get (personal note: I have no desire to either). This means that I might not be the best person to review this webcomic because I don't completely understand the medium that it is presented in. If we were talking Dominic Deegan or some other more western Anime-style comic I'd feel a bit more sure of myself here, but I'm aware of my own limitations. Am I going to review the comic anyway? Of course I am!
Mega Tokyo started off as yet another gamer-humor comic and that made it nauseating from the start for me. I mean, come on, I just had to review Ctrl+Alt+Del and people are clamoring for the Penny Arcade review, can't I get away from this genre for more than one review? Thankfully I was able to before too long once I reached the point where Fred Gallagher took over principal control of the comic. In fact it was the history behind the webcomic that kept me interested during those early stages. It was Gallagher who took the joint creation from co-founder Rodney Caston and took it in a new direction all on his own and to his credit I think it is what makes Mega Tokyo unique.
And I definitely feel like this is a unique piece of work, which is both good and bad. The one drawback to Mega Tokyo, and the major point of criticism from people other than myself, is that it is so very very slow moving. From what I can tell at this point in the story the timeline has progressed maybe two weeks in a comic that has been running since 2000. The reason this creates such a problem is because the beginning of the story has to set up everything that comes after it and it takes FOREVER to get there. That's why I was in incredible suffering when I was working through the early parts of the comic, it just had no page turning moment, it was transitioning from Caston-Gallagher to just Gallagher and I really wanted to abandon ship along the way.
The positive side of the uniqueness of Mega Tokyo is that it really has created this unusual universe where we having clashes between slice-of-life drama and absurd adventure stories. Our protagonists, Piro and Largo, represent these two conflicting sides that meld (successfully and unsuccessfully) from time to time. I found Piro, with his passive and self-deprecating manner, to be the character I immediately liked. He'd extremely fun to root for because you really anticipate him shooting himself in the foot at every turn despite the reader's ability to see he really isn't as inept as he seems. Gallagher creates the perfect love interest for Piro in Kimiko, who has a similarly passive nature but like Piro sees the strength in other people. They end up providing excellent supports for one another while at the same time having that frustrating "will they or won't they" relationship.
Largo did not appeal to me at all in the beginning. He is the absurdity of the comic, constantly anticipating zombie invasions, attacks from "t3h 3vil," and speaking in l33t. I never was a fan of that abomination of the English language, but Gallagher made me laugh at it's usage and eventually at Largo too, because he ends up not being such a lunatic annoyance as say, Ethan from Ctrl+Alt+Del. For one, he's not wrong about the potential zombie or 'zilla attacks, these are apparently standard events scheduled by a special Tokyo police branch (incidentally I can't decide if I think this is a mildly racist representation of the Japanese or just a funny homage). For two, Largo develops a depth of character that doesn't conflict with his craziness, he grows incrementally enough that I totally believe his presentation all the time. Largo even gets his own love interest and I totally bought it, if anything I would argue that Largo's development is Gallagher's greatest accomplishment.
The underlying issue is how much you have to slog through to get to the enjoyable parts of the piece. This isn't like Order of the Stick, which remains compelling and funny in every comic. I laughed out loud at scenes in Mega Tokyo, but that happened maybe one in every ten pages and each joke seemed to require a familiarity with previous characters or events that was built over the extremely plodding and methodical presentation of the story. I'm not saying there isn't a payoff to trudging along with Gallagher, but you have to wonder how many people are really willing to suffer through it to get to the goods (well, you don't really because he has a big fanbase, but I'm trying to make a point here!). Are there compelling moments and really great romantic interactions? Absolutely. Gallagher is telling a good tale, but it is the method of telling it that I disagree with. Also, it is a good and unique story, but not a great one. If there was one comic that comes to mind by comparison, it would be Marry Me, which was a much more straightforward love story that didn't have nearly the depth of Mega Tokyo, but also didn't suffer from getting in it's own way. At times it seems like Mega Tokyo works against itself and it's plot by being too willing to take it's time.
Which is where a distinction ought to be made between Mega Tokyo and other webcomics. I already compared it to Order of the Stick and I want to revisit that comparison. Order of the Stick is weaving a complex and interesting story while maintaining a level of consistent humor. As a result you can read Order of the Stick every time a new update comes out and enjoy it, but Mega Tokyo requires a different approach in my eyes. Mega Tokyo is a webcomic that should be digested in chunks. Wait a month, go back, read all the pages that have been updated, wait another month. I don't think I could put it down as a comic I read daily because I think it would lose my interest. But, if I were to check it monthly instead, well by then enough may have happened to truly have pulled me in and I'm willing to wait around for more. There are these moments in Mega Tokyo, the philosophizing ones, that were my favorite. They get right to the nature of gaming and what our relationships with our games and the characters are and it was at those times that I really felt like Mega Tokyo was doing something special. Still, that doesn't help the pacing and it doesn't make me feel like I need to check it at every update. Because the value of the comic is so contingent on building up to the big moments carefully and without any rush I don't think it is really designed to be read the second it updates, but Gallagher may disagree with me there.
And really this is where we can see the varying types of webcomics out there. I would argue Drowtales is another comic that really focuses on long arcs that should be digested in chunks. Jack probably fits that mold as well, though I find myself checking it daily anyway. This is a good sign, because it means webcomics have evolved away from the standard newspaper funnies format to really use the freedom the internet gives them. That's not a knock against the webcomics that aim to be one-shots and it isn't a pat on the back to the ones that break the formula, it just means we are living in a time where webcomics are really becoming excellent and are doing so in all kinds of ways. I'm going to take this tangent and write an actual article about it, because right now I am veering off-topic.
Back to Mega Tokyo. I haven't touched on everything I want to and were getting lengthy here so let me try to sum up some points. The plot, or really plots, are mostly interesting despite the density and pacing. The artwork varies from extremely cool and interesting to frustrating and confusing, but I certainly think the design is original. Finally, though I am notorious in my dislike for guest strips, the ones containing the infamous Shirt-Guy Dom are hysterical, I actually enjoyed every single one, so that's something new I suppose.
At the end of the day do I recommend Mega Tokyo? It really depends. I certainly wouldn't offer it up to someone who isn't willing to spend a LOT of time reading over the archive. Anyone with a short attention span is not going to take the time to get everything they could out of it. Personally, I would suggest fans of Anime read it because I believe it really is intended for them first and foremost. However, if you are a gamer, especially an RPG or MMORPG gamer, then I would strongly encourage you to read this comic. Even if you don't love it, even if it doesn't grab you, there are some truly intriguing observations about the experience of role-playing in here that any RPG fan should read about at some point. On a more personal note, this was the perfect example of why I make myself read the whole comic and I really am glad I did. Can you imagine if I wrote the original review? Would any of you ever read these reviews again?
Give Mega Tokyo a spin at http://megatokyo.com/
Kevin and Kell is coming up next, almost done reading that. I'll also be putting up something about the evolution of comics and webcomics and their interrelation, though I don't know if it will be in Off-Topic Discussion or User Reviews, but I will use the Webcomic Review tagline so that you can find it if you want.
As always, thanks for reading.
I don't understand the appeal of this comic. It's unfunny, uninteresting, and completely nonsensical. Why should I care about these characters? Why did I ever agree to review this comic? And what's probably the most important question, for the abundance of tasteless fools who seem to love this crap, why oh why are you wasting so much time on this when there are so many better comics out there? Mega Tokyo is overrated garbage, I'm glad I didn't waste my time reading the whole thing.
And now that is not the review I am going to present here, because despite my dislike of the comic and total lack of desire to read further than I had at comic 400, I stuck to my illusion of reviewer integrity. I always read the whole comic, ALWAYS, even when I don't like it. This was yet another example of why I do.
There's a disclaimer due here, it has to do with what I view as my first responsibility as a reviewer: to be honest with the reader and myself. In this case I have to inform anyone reading this that I am not an Anime or Manga fan and Mega Tokyo is clearly a comic designed to appeal to those people who are. Because of that I am pretty certain that there are a lot of subtleties worked into the webcomic that I simply don't get (personal note: I have no desire to either). This means that I might not be the best person to review this webcomic because I don't completely understand the medium that it is presented in. If we were talking Dominic Deegan or some other more western Anime-style comic I'd feel a bit more sure of myself here, but I'm aware of my own limitations. Am I going to review the comic anyway? Of course I am!
Mega Tokyo started off as yet another gamer-humor comic and that made it nauseating from the start for me. I mean, come on, I just had to review Ctrl+Alt+Del and people are clamoring for the Penny Arcade review, can't I get away from this genre for more than one review? Thankfully I was able to before too long once I reached the point where Fred Gallagher took over principal control of the comic. In fact it was the history behind the webcomic that kept me interested during those early stages. It was Gallagher who took the joint creation from co-founder Rodney Caston and took it in a new direction all on his own and to his credit I think it is what makes Mega Tokyo unique.
And I definitely feel like this is a unique piece of work, which is both good and bad. The one drawback to Mega Tokyo, and the major point of criticism from people other than myself, is that it is so very very slow moving. From what I can tell at this point in the story the timeline has progressed maybe two weeks in a comic that has been running since 2000. The reason this creates such a problem is because the beginning of the story has to set up everything that comes after it and it takes FOREVER to get there. That's why I was in incredible suffering when I was working through the early parts of the comic, it just had no page turning moment, it was transitioning from Caston-Gallagher to just Gallagher and I really wanted to abandon ship along the way.
The positive side of the uniqueness of Mega Tokyo is that it really has created this unusual universe where we having clashes between slice-of-life drama and absurd adventure stories. Our protagonists, Piro and Largo, represent these two conflicting sides that meld (successfully and unsuccessfully) from time to time. I found Piro, with his passive and self-deprecating manner, to be the character I immediately liked. He'd extremely fun to root for because you really anticipate him shooting himself in the foot at every turn despite the reader's ability to see he really isn't as inept as he seems. Gallagher creates the perfect love interest for Piro in Kimiko, who has a similarly passive nature but like Piro sees the strength in other people. They end up providing excellent supports for one another while at the same time having that frustrating "will they or won't they" relationship.
Largo did not appeal to me at all in the beginning. He is the absurdity of the comic, constantly anticipating zombie invasions, attacks from "t3h 3vil," and speaking in l33t. I never was a fan of that abomination of the English language, but Gallagher made me laugh at it's usage and eventually at Largo too, because he ends up not being such a lunatic annoyance as say, Ethan from Ctrl+Alt+Del. For one, he's not wrong about the potential zombie or 'zilla attacks, these are apparently standard events scheduled by a special Tokyo police branch (incidentally I can't decide if I think this is a mildly racist representation of the Japanese or just a funny homage). For two, Largo develops a depth of character that doesn't conflict with his craziness, he grows incrementally enough that I totally believe his presentation all the time. Largo even gets his own love interest and I totally bought it, if anything I would argue that Largo's development is Gallagher's greatest accomplishment.
The underlying issue is how much you have to slog through to get to the enjoyable parts of the piece. This isn't like Order of the Stick, which remains compelling and funny in every comic. I laughed out loud at scenes in Mega Tokyo, but that happened maybe one in every ten pages and each joke seemed to require a familiarity with previous characters or events that was built over the extremely plodding and methodical presentation of the story. I'm not saying there isn't a payoff to trudging along with Gallagher, but you have to wonder how many people are really willing to suffer through it to get to the goods (well, you don't really because he has a big fanbase, but I'm trying to make a point here!). Are there compelling moments and really great romantic interactions? Absolutely. Gallagher is telling a good tale, but it is the method of telling it that I disagree with. Also, it is a good and unique story, but not a great one. If there was one comic that comes to mind by comparison, it would be Marry Me, which was a much more straightforward love story that didn't have nearly the depth of Mega Tokyo, but also didn't suffer from getting in it's own way. At times it seems like Mega Tokyo works against itself and it's plot by being too willing to take it's time.
Which is where a distinction ought to be made between Mega Tokyo and other webcomics. I already compared it to Order of the Stick and I want to revisit that comparison. Order of the Stick is weaving a complex and interesting story while maintaining a level of consistent humor. As a result you can read Order of the Stick every time a new update comes out and enjoy it, but Mega Tokyo requires a different approach in my eyes. Mega Tokyo is a webcomic that should be digested in chunks. Wait a month, go back, read all the pages that have been updated, wait another month. I don't think I could put it down as a comic I read daily because I think it would lose my interest. But, if I were to check it monthly instead, well by then enough may have happened to truly have pulled me in and I'm willing to wait around for more. There are these moments in Mega Tokyo, the philosophizing ones, that were my favorite. They get right to the nature of gaming and what our relationships with our games and the characters are and it was at those times that I really felt like Mega Tokyo was doing something special. Still, that doesn't help the pacing and it doesn't make me feel like I need to check it at every update. Because the value of the comic is so contingent on building up to the big moments carefully and without any rush I don't think it is really designed to be read the second it updates, but Gallagher may disagree with me there.
And really this is where we can see the varying types of webcomics out there. I would argue Drowtales is another comic that really focuses on long arcs that should be digested in chunks. Jack probably fits that mold as well, though I find myself checking it daily anyway. This is a good sign, because it means webcomics have evolved away from the standard newspaper funnies format to really use the freedom the internet gives them. That's not a knock against the webcomics that aim to be one-shots and it isn't a pat on the back to the ones that break the formula, it just means we are living in a time where webcomics are really becoming excellent and are doing so in all kinds of ways. I'm going to take this tangent and write an actual article about it, because right now I am veering off-topic.
Back to Mega Tokyo. I haven't touched on everything I want to and were getting lengthy here so let me try to sum up some points. The plot, or really plots, are mostly interesting despite the density and pacing. The artwork varies from extremely cool and interesting to frustrating and confusing, but I certainly think the design is original. Finally, though I am notorious in my dislike for guest strips, the ones containing the infamous Shirt-Guy Dom are hysterical, I actually enjoyed every single one, so that's something new I suppose.
At the end of the day do I recommend Mega Tokyo? It really depends. I certainly wouldn't offer it up to someone who isn't willing to spend a LOT of time reading over the archive. Anyone with a short attention span is not going to take the time to get everything they could out of it. Personally, I would suggest fans of Anime read it because I believe it really is intended for them first and foremost. However, if you are a gamer, especially an RPG or MMORPG gamer, then I would strongly encourage you to read this comic. Even if you don't love it, even if it doesn't grab you, there are some truly intriguing observations about the experience of role-playing in here that any RPG fan should read about at some point. On a more personal note, this was the perfect example of why I make myself read the whole comic and I really am glad I did. Can you imagine if I wrote the original review? Would any of you ever read these reviews again?
Give Mega Tokyo a spin at http://megatokyo.com/
Kevin and Kell is coming up next, almost done reading that. I'll also be putting up something about the evolution of comics and webcomics and their interrelation, though I don't know if it will be in Off-Topic Discussion or User Reviews, but I will use the Webcomic Review tagline so that you can find it if you want.
As always, thanks for reading.