Manga Series: Destroy All Humans. They Can't Be Regenerated.
Finished the first volume of “Destroy All Humans. They Can’t Be Regenerated.” and I am looking forwarded to the second volume.
As someone who loves and hates the competitive scene. Coming second place or losing a match is tough to accept. Reading this manga was refreshing because it hits all of the “typical” events a “player” might express as they’re strategizing and playing a game. This series really spoke to me because when I played my first Trading Card Game (TCG) I really enjoyed the competitiveness and the randomness you encounter with each battle. Each player you meet has collected and built a style that is fascinating to see how it unfolds with each turn, and cards that are pulled. I mean when the card you need comes, and they hit. They hit.
Magic the Gathering (MTG) has been around before I was born. According to wiki, on August 5, 1993 the MTG TCG was released, and is due for it’s 32nd anniversary soon. With over 91,000 cards in its library there are almost endless combination of cards, and strategies you can come up with to defeat your opponent. I won’t be talking too much about the play style of “Commander” but it requires 100 cards, and none of them can be the same. I recently played “Commander” at a local store in Phoenix called Snapcasters Gaming. Originally I went there to play in a store event tournament for One Piece but there were not enough players to host the event. I met three players doing a free for all “Commander” battle, and it was the craziest thing I have ever seen. They asked me if I wanted to play and I couldn’t turn it down because they were willing to teach. I learned a lot from this Manga so learning MTG came a little easy for me. Using Lands as energy, and artifacts or “Mana Rocks” to play creatures, attaching equipment, and using sorcery spells was all explained in the book. The fact that the players explained, and shared information about powerful cards out there like Armageddon was so exciting BECAUSE I had just read about it! The battle format they use in this Manga seems to be Limited 40 cards, which seems to be the standard when playing in a tournament. Playing Commander was a lot of fun and if given another chance I would play again. Maybe just once a year… It’s a very long game… Unless you hit an infinite combo….
The story follows two protagonists who enjoy the trading card game called “Magic the Gathering”. Beginning in a junior high classroom, you learn and get a glimpse into the competitive mind of Hajime Kanou as he yells “black, black, black” is Man’s color since the beginning of time. Throughout the book there’s a lot of pictures of cards that are being played with readable text allowing the reader to indulge in the scripts that are actually written on the cards. The first volume was a bit of MTG history, and spoiler alert… beginning of a boy and girl relationship exploring, and connecting over a card game. I would highly suggest this book to any reader who is curious about what it’s like playing a card game, and want to “play” Magic the Gathering without having to actually play. The artwork is simplistic yet captures a strong design of the 90s.
With many expansions and millions of players the Author Katsura Ise, and the Illustrator Takuma Yokota did a great job at capturing the sophisticated world of this Trading Card Game.
I really look forward to reaching the second volume, and I hope to meet other readers who have read this series. It’s is an adorable story that shares a little bit of a romantic fantasy Katsura Ise may have had. (Author Credits in Vol 1).
Thank you for reading this short blog about myself and Destroy All Humans. They Can’t Be Regenerated. When the world ends. I pray you have someone there with you.