Air Gear

    (Del Rey, 2006-2015)
™ and ©

Air Gear is one great comic, manga or otherwise. With a theme that crosses over to one of North America’s most popular pastimes among the target age group, Air Gear tells the story of Itsuki Minami, the toughest kid at Higashi Junior High School, who lives with the Noyamano sisters. A “dangerous” character, he leads his school to victory over a threatening West Side gang. Things go poorly until his roommates teach him “Air Tricks” to clean the school of the West Side gangsters. Those skates are cool—almost like something out of Rollerball!

The story and art by Ito Oguri captivated my son and kept him reading from start to finish. Unlike some other manga art, Ito’s style is clean and easy to follow. His kinetic style is reminiscent of Jose Luis Garcia Lopez and Gil Kane mixed with Marshall Rogers’ imaginative panel design.

Air Gear is one of the most popular titles in Japan and, as North American readers pick up on this, it will soon decorate the bookshelves and desks of manga fans everywhere.

— Tim Lasiuta
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