Book Review: Destroy All Humans Vol. 1 by K. Ise and T. Yokota

Destroy All Humans, They Can't Be Regenerated Volume 1 written by Katsura Ise and illustrated by Takuma Yokota

Hajime Kano is a nerdy middle-school student in 1998 Japan. The new, hot craze is Magic: The Gathering (MTG), a trading card game set in a fantasy realm. Players fight one-on-one with constructed decks. Kano is the star player in his grade and wishes he was the star student. The real academic star is Emi Sawatari, his rival since she transferred into his elementary school. She always comes out ahead and is completely aloof to his competitive and nerdy nature. She complains that he's cluttering up a school room with "non-essentials" like MTG cards. The next weekend, he goes to a neighboring city where a shop hosts MTG tournaments. It's his first time there, so he's both awkward and amazed. The shop's star player hasn't been beat that day so he decides to try his "all black" deck against her. He wins the first round but she comes back in the second round. Before it's finished, he drops his D20 (a 20-sided die used to track health). They both go to the floor to pick it up. He knocks his hat off and she recognizes him after he's already realized who she is...Emi Sawatari! They strike up a friendship based on their fascination with the card game.

This book provides a nice twist on the usual school-based manga. Typically the school is weird or overly specific or the interest is in the school's sports team. Here, the school is just a social setting that creates a contrast between Kano and Sawatari that is countered by their afterschool hobby. I don't have nostalgia for MTG (I've never played it). Even so, this story is charming.

Recommended.