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Toki Mishiba, Nobuto Nakajo, and Kazuo Saitou are recruited to participate in the Biz Game, a high-stakes version of capture the flag involving corporate secrets and vast sums of money. Initially, they view it as an eccentric yet enjoyable method to earn some cash. However, as the game progresses, they start noticing news reports about mysterious deaths, recognizing the victims as players from teams they have defeated. The gravity of the situation hits them when a losing player dies right before their eyes, making them realize that what's truly at stake is their own survival!
Bus Gamer was published in English by Tokyopop in September 2006.
As the trio delves deeper into the game, the lines between fun and danger blur, pushing them to confront the lethal consequences of their participation.
Wow... no reviews for this manga? Alright, I'll give it a shot.
I managed to get my hands on this manga around 2007 after learning it was a collection of chapters from an unfinished story. After reading the sole volume, I was heartbroken that the tale couldn't continue. The narrative and characters exhibited remarkable potential right from the start, sparking a desire to uncover more details. The artwork is pleasant and easy on the eyes, though many backgrounds appear quite plain and seem reminiscent of those from Initial D (apologies, John Lo).
In summary, should you come across this manga available for purchase (or simply decide to download it online), I would endorse giving it a read.
“Look, dude, it’s just a game, right?”
“Just a game. Sure. And death is just...a long nap.”
Bus Gamer is one of those cool ideas that never quite made it big; instead, it stayed as an obscure gem for Minekura fans to cherish. So, what's it all about?
*A spoiler-free review*
A death game. In 1999, the same year Bus Gamer began, a novel named Battle Royale was also published. Sharing many themes and concepts with it, Bus Gamer presents a death game set in an urban environment. With its core plot revolving around fighting for survival in predetermined locations, using your wits and surroundings to navigate tricky situations, and relying on yourself or teamwork until only one winner remains – this sounds like something that became hugely popular in the next decade. While not the first survival or death game by any means, given the ancient origins of the battle royale concept, Bus Gamer is undoubtedly among the pioneering new generation stories before the boom.
A prologue. As Minekura herself has mentioned, Bus Gamer: The Pilot Edition serves as a collection of ideas and a prologue to the longer series she envisioned. The Bus Gamer that ran from 2006 to 2009 is a reboot of this original and was intended to be the main series – unfortunately, it has been on hiatus ever since. The Pilot Edition plunges us into the action and manages to create a fairly coherent story with its existing chapters. Too bad the story ends just as the main players are introduced and we start to get somewhere.
Characters who have bite. It wouldn’t be a Minekura work if the story wasn’t filled with these charming, emotionally damaged, ass-kicking snark knights. Easy to like but harder to fully understand, Bus Gamer’s main characters Toki, Nobu, and Kaz are brought together to play a game where knowing whom to trust and when might be key to survival. The story offers some hints about their pasts and reasons for participating but doesn't have enough time to delve deeper into their characters. That said, the character interactions are really enjoyable, and the dialogue translation is guaranteed golden-age Tokyopop entertainment with mad one-liners.
Blatantly '90s. Mini discs, diskettes, flamboyant trench coats…welcome to the period drama, my dears. The setting could be any big city from that era, and the urban vibe is always subtly present without overshadowing the colorful characters. The goddess of pretty boys and girls is on a roll, and her art is always delightful to see. Also, bonus points to Minekura for having her characters play a Saiyuki game in the arcade.
Some degree of cult reputation? It would have been fascinating to see what kind of series Bus Gamer could have become had it not faced publication problems and the author’s personal issues. It has a simple idea, is easy to follow, and features interesting and likable characters. I would have loved to see more of it.
TL;DR
Bus Gamer: The Pilot Edition is the original Bus Gamer story, an action flick with survival game themes, a straightforward plot, engaging characters, and huge potential that never materialized. A must-read for Minekura devotees and recommended for experimental readers, '90s enthusiasts, and old-school death game fans.