Product Information Title:  JUNK: Record of the Last Hero (7 volumes) Author:  Kia Asamiya Artist:  Kia Asamiya Publisher:  Dr. Master Publications Year of Publication:  2007-2008 List Price:  $9.95 each Genre:  Action,hero Rating:  15+
	xNAF Manga Scorecard Storyline: C Art: B xNAF Recommendation: Read

The story is rather typical: a high school boy receives superhuman powers, and has to decide how to use it--for good or for evil.  The student in question, Hiro, is no ordinary student.  After being bullied by kids in school, and suffering a rather traumatic experience, Hiro simply stopped going to school, spending his waking hours in his room, and surfing on the internet.  One day he comes across a website offering a special gadget to the first applicants, and ended up with a JUNK suit in the mail.  This suit enhances his strength, and protects his skin, like a suit of armor.  With it, Hiro uses his power for evil, and has to learn to deal with the consequences. . .

With such a pedestrian storyline, if JUNK: Record of the Last Hero was by any obscure or unknown author or artist, I would not give this title a second glance.  But Kia Asamiya is a well respected manga author, and I dug deeper into JUNK on the basis of the author's reputation alone.  Yet, I find myself dissatisfied upon reading the last pages of the seventh volume of JUNK.  You see, I find the story extremely problematic.  JUNK jumps back and forth between Hiro the experimental JUNK user, and the organization that created the suit.  In the mean time, Hiro has to deal with other JUNK users, and their takes on how the power of the JUNK suit should be utilized.  Ultimately, the story devolves into typical anti-government conspiracy, and offers a rather unimaginative ending or resolution to the storyline.

In some volumes of JUNK, there is a heavy dose of sex and violence.  Therefore, I think a 17+ rating rather than the publisher's 15+ would be more appropriate.

JUNK: Record of the Last Hero is a decent read for the conflicts among the JUNK users and the action scenes.  But it's not worth spending money on unless you're a Kia Asamiya fan.