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14-year-old Rin Amami is a talented dancer who had to abandon his dream of becoming a singer like his mother due to his deep, frog-like voice. However, a chance meeting with the idol group Beatmen offers him a new opportunity to revive his old dream.
Despite its unusual nature, his voice has a unique charm and captivating power, recognized by some as the legendary "Dragon Voice." Rin's fate becomes intertwined with the Beatmen members—Shino, Goh, Toshi, and Yuhgo—as the small-time idol agency RedShoes strives to bring them to the top!
(Source: Tokyopop)
Dragon Voice was partially published in English by Tokyopop, which released the first ten volumes from September 1, 2004, to February 1, 2008, before the publisher ceased operations.
First of all, let me state that this might be my least popular review. It concerns a manga that many people have never heard of, and among those who have, few consider it to be particularly good. Despite this, I must say that Dragon Voice is one of the most astonishingly enjoyable blends of group comedy and dynamics I've ever come across, so much so that I bought most of the volumes after the first from a regular, full-price store. Currently, I'm missing just three out of ten volumes (plus the conclusion that Tokyopop decided to put on hold). I don't spend my anime money frivolously; I only have around a $40-50 monthly budget for manga and anime shopping, and this is the series I'll gladly pay the full $12 price for. That said, please give my review a fair chance before dismissing it as unhelpful.
Story - A boy (whose mother has passed away) is inspired to chase his previously abandoned dreams after a fateful meeting with a group of people who have the jobs he aspires to. In the process, he meets the girl of his dreams (who also happens to be involved in what he dreams of doing).
...Yeah, I've never heard that one before either. Nonetheless, there are several specific innovations by the mangaka on this standard shonen theme that make Dragon Voice stand out. Firstly, the story revolves around J-pop music singing (a genre usually reserved for shojo-themed works). Note that this is not yaoi or shonen ai. Secondly, the young protagonist spends far less time learning how to defeat evil rival idols (who aren't even that evil, merely competing for the same thing as the heroes) than he does learning about proper teamwork with his teammates. The focus on the relationships within the original group of five forms the bulk of the manga, allowing the truly strong point of this manga—the character dynamics—to overshadow lame special technique scenes that some shonen series devolve into.
Characters - The characters in Dragon Voice, especially the five Beatmen, are some of the strongest I've ever encountered. But I don't mean strong in the traditional sense. Each main character deals with a different serious flaw. These flaws aren't played for laughs, nor do they make it seem improbable that these five individuals ever managed to form an idol band. Examples: One of the main characters was raised in a strictly traditional Kabuki household and hated being bound by its closed-mindedness. So he ran away from home and joined the Beatmen. Ironically, his experiences with his father's traditional style caused him to become equally closed-minded towards older dance styles, which becomes a problem for him later on. Another Beatman adheres to a strict "performance for the audience's pleasure" philosophy, believing that idols can't show when they're feeling down because it ruins things for the audience. This philosophy isn't just an ideal; it's directly relevant to him—he's asthmatic. Watching him struggle against his own body's weakness, which frequently shows up due to all the fancy smoke effects used in the music industry, is quite something.
Coping with trials can also be a great stepping stone for character growth, and Dragon Voice handles this exceedingly well, turning the characters into stepping stones for each other. The real fun of the serious half of the story comes from seeing how the Beatmen deal with their own flaws and each other's. Each Beatman is a strong individual character, so instead of being one big happy family under the leadership of the main character, they bounce off each other. It's heartwarming to watch them work together in their separate searches for another song and dance because you get to see in detail each of the five components that make up that final performance.
Enjoyment - Not to say that the Beatmen only interact for plot purposes. There's a lot of friendly teasing (supposedly male bonding) and outright hilarity that often ensues throughout the manga, with quirky mains and secondaries tormenting or squabbling over little day-to-day things.
Also, I must highlight that the dance scenes themselves are very detailed, and the songs actually have full lyrics. For a pop enthusiast like me, this was the icing on the cake—the dancing was depicted in stop-motion but didn't feel that way.
Art - Doesn't matter much so long as it doesn't suck. Realistically, art usually counts for about 2% of my normal rating. Moving on...
Overall - I fully recommend this manga to anyone who enjoys reading manga with excellent characters. It's of moderate length (11 volumes), keeps a good balance between comedy and drama, and you'll probably find at least one individual story you can sympathize with. A great read—I'm glad I picked it up.
it was the little sh*thead who forced his feelings on Kokoro AND fcking kissed her without her permission.
I wish Kippei would have punched these little dumba*s to the end of the earth.
He was bad talking about Kippei on how irresponsible he is but look at him he can't do anything and was jealous of him.
Good thing they settled, but man this was disgusting.
Also was Iris male demon lord in her past life?