Mech Cadet Yu Vol. 1 by Greg Pak, illustrated by Takeshi Miyzawa
Special thanks to BOOM!Studios for sending a copy for review.
Summary:
Once a year, giant robots from outer space come to Earth and bond with young cadets from the elite Sky Corps Academy to defend the world from the terrifying aliens known as the Sharg. It’s a great honor to be chosen, but this year…well, the wrong kid was picked. Greg Pak (Totally Awesome Hulk) and Takeshi Miyazawa (Ms. Marvel) team up for an action-packed and heartfelt underdog story about the true makings of heroism and friendship in the face of overwhelming odds. Collects issues #1-4 and an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the making of Mech Cadet Yu, including the comic short story that inspired the series (Goodreads).
Thoughts:
I loved this within the first couple of minutes I started reading and I devoured it in one sitting.
The fact that Mech Cadet Yu stars an Asian character along with a diverse set of side characters absolutely elated me. This is a hidden gem amongst graphic novel releases this year, and I highly recommend it to everyone. Needless to say, I’ll be pushing this into the hands of students when they ask me for a book to read.
There are similarities between this title and the very well-known Gundam Wing and Pacific Rim series, so plot-wise, there’s nothing we haven’t seen before. This is about an ordinary boy who works as janitorial staff along with his mother. He then stumbles upon a stray mech and instantly creates a special bond that thrusts him into the Cadet Academy. Sounds familiar? The plot is a recycled version of ones we’ve seen, but for some reason, I don’t find it tedious or uninspiring; in fact, I think the exact opposite. What makes this graphic novel so good is a combination of many things: the strong plot with interesting characters, the gorgeous artwork, and the thrilling action sequences. There’s a smooth flow between each scene which creates a fluid progression of the storyline and dialogue. At times, the action scenes were a bit on the messy side and it caused the story to advance too quickly in these pages, but it didn’t deter me from reading.
I loved every character depicted in this graphic novel, but my favourite other than the mechs is Stanford’s mom. Despite not being featured for a majority of the plot, her character still somehow shines. I liked seeing the creators bring her into scenes. This shows how important the bond between her and Stanford is and I appreciated seeing that mother/son relationship grow. Also, I liked how the creators decided to have her work a blue collared job to support the family; this aspect about her alone is realistic to many Asian families who have immigrated to North America with the father staying behind to work in Asia. I also liked how Pak incorporated a Cantonese translation into the dialogue between Stanford and his mother. I haven’t seen this written into graphic novels before. Even without saying much about her history, readers learn plenty just from her steady presence. Now that’s some excellent story-telling right there.
Another character I liked was Park. She’s not just your typical antagonist as her actions were very much influenced by her domineering father. I thought it was brilliant that Greg Pak decided to change her character, who was initially written as a male in the original comic, to a female with strong characteristics and a compelling backstory yet to be revealed. We get a few peeks about what makes act her so jealously towards Stanford in this volume, but there’s plenty more behind her hostility.
For the next volume, I’d love to find out more about the mechs that come to Los Robos. Volume one didn’t touch on the history behind why this occurs, or why the characters are living in a dystopian world, so this will absolutely keep me reading and following this series. Now, if only they can option the rights for a TV series *hint hint.*
Mech Cadet Yu deserves so much recognition for its diversity, fascinating plotline, and striking artistry. I cannot wait for volume 2.
Reviewed by Ms. Lee.