Webcomic Book Club Full Reviews of MegaTokyo by Fred Gallagher

Due to unforseen complications, I probably won't have time to review MegaTokyo at all, suffice to say that I find it a blindingly unfunny celebration of a dorky fandom with repetitive art and petty sarcasm in place of meaningful or funny dialogue. And l33tspeak. Review by Cobra Mon Apr 04 2005 07:27 AM

Review of "MegaTokyo" (based on the first 163 pages) ((Note to Bar Gamer: Maybe I misunderstood your comment about there being "no navigable Archives page", but the archives dropdown was there on every page and very easy to use.)) Imagine being a pop music critic in 1978 and doing your best to evaluate the hottest artists. But there's one big problem, the top acts are all doing disco and you just don't dig that music. Are you so "out of it" that you just shouldn't even be reviewing music? That's how I feel when trying to review a comic like "MegaTokyo", or really any of the enormously popular webcomics that focus on video games. I don't play video games. It ain't my subculture, so gaming jokes do nothing for me. You can make great comics about anything, including video games, if you are able to strike a more universal chord. "Mac Hall" had a similar video game influence, but it also had several sequences with much broader appeal, as well as amazing artwork. The artwork in "MegaTokyo" (though intentionally sketchy) was often nice, but nothing spectacular. It certainly wasn't as dynamic as actual Japanese manga or striking, like the expressive colors of "Mac Hall". The girls were all anime-style cute, but cute girls aren't enough to hold my interest in a webcomic. "MegaTokyo" features two aimless twenty-something's who are into manga and video games and wind up stranded in Tokyo. Largo is a beer-obsessed, pure id type and Piro is a sensitive artist type with assorted pretty females intersecting his life. I only read the first 163 installments of "MegaTokyo" and gave up. Maybe it gets a lot better, but there are more promising things out there to read. These characters just weren't interesting to me. They had little depth, and I didn't get into the juvenile humor. The story was very slow and the tone jerked awkwardly between Largo's over-the-top slapstick (zombies, explosions and robot girls) and Piro's self-conscious meandering. I fully admit that I am not the intended audience for MegaTokyo and don't consider my review particularly useful. Why is "MegaTokyo" so much more popular than the dozens of other webcomics about aimless, twenty-something gamers? I have no idea. But there's a thriving fan community out there who could give you insight into its distinctive appeal. Reading the "MegaTokyo" archives almost seemed like viewing snapshots of a party that may have been fun if you were there at the time, but does little to interest a current reader. Review by The Phantom Critic Sun Mar 27 2005 08:07 PM

Woooot! MT is getting reviewed! ^_^ Ye gods, where do I begin... Ok, first off, to really understand MT, one has to seperate it into two distinct timelines. "When Largo was here," and "After Largo left." As any artist can tell you, anyone who helps write or draw a certain project has undeniable influence about what goes on in said project. Such was the case of Largo/Rodney Caston, co-creator of Megatokyo. So, really, this needs to be two reviews. Also, I'm doing the Overall bit first, so ha. "When Largo Was Here" Overall: Chapters 0, 1, and 2 were created during Largo's stay, and certain people loved it. Giant lizards, ninja, women that broke bones and shattered egos with ease, and other slapstick humor. The plots were only four-panels long, about as long as the average male's attention span. No offense, guys. There was much poking at the gaming, anime, and particularly the RPG genre, and there was much fun to be had. Art: Remember the first comic of many other webcomics? They were horrible, uncleaned scribbles, almost like a child's crayon scrawl, compared to the clean lines and styles of today's artwork. Many of today's webcomic artists look back at their first comic, and think, 'Wow, I've improved a LOT!' Not so with Megatokyo. Fred's first comic is clean, has a certain uncomplicated style, and both of the main characters are clearly recognizable beyond different haircuts. Sadly, this is not the case for Fred's women, but hey, he got better. Sadly... his main characters have not changed in style very much. More detailed faces, longer bangs on Piro, the change to flat lines for frowning glares for Largo... That's about it. Characters: Rather immersive character development here, especially with the Darkly Cute Goth Girl, Miho. Who is Miho? Where did she come from? What is her purpose? Just WHAT is that girl thinking?! Is she a 'good guy' or a 'bad guy'? Introducing way-cool characters like Erika, Junpei, and Ping only make it better. Piro and Largo, sadly enough, get almost no development, because of how well they fit the stereotype of the gaming geek, but they manage to have fun within that boundry, nonetheless. Plot: All over the fnording place. Think spaghetti. Bring a score-card. Plots such as: Whine about getting home, tease John Romero, dig through dumpsters and living in parks, get injured, get a job, meet new and interesting people, stare at girls, get consciences, rescue said consciences, tease the RPG industry, and this is just chapters 0 and 1. Don't even GET me into Chapter 2. It's wild... "After Largo/Rodney Caston left." Overall: Style, art, mood, and tone changed slowly, gradually, but inevitably, after Largo/Rodney left because of creative disagreements, but they split friendily and legally, and Fred's not giving out any details beyond that. The tease. XD *AHEM!* The slapstick retreated before the face of a deeper plot, more realistic characters, and more female characters. some people may describe it, as "it has gone from a 'guy's comic' to a 'girl's comic.'" To those of us in the RPG world, we might say, "from Solid Snake cool, to Final Fantasy sweet." Well, I LIKE Final Fantasy, and I hold one particular 'girl's anime' rather highly on my list of all-time favorite anime, so this change did not bother me in the least. It obviously bothered some people, made some people shrug and plow on, and it made even more people squeal with fan-girlish joy. Such is life. That's not to say the humor is no longer there, it's just more condensed. Largo running over fanboys in a Mr. Muffin cart while in a Bunny suit can STILL crack me up, anyday. Cool taglines also provide some of the humor quota. Ah, Junpei. Always playing the "straight man"... XDDD Characters: More girls, girls, and girls. Chapter 3 and up, we are seeing the introduction and growth of more and more female characters, and what male characters there are either get with the times, or leave. Or, in Piro's case, flounders about trying to figure out what the booger happened, and how to adapt. But I have faith in the boy. ^_^ Some boys never become men, and some readers couldn't adapt to the new style. Largo, for instance, grows a LOT in Chapters 5 and 6. But the girls don't have it all their way, as Kimiko, Piro's tentative love-interest, gets her first big role, but angsts muchly. In fact, there is a LOT of angst in the new Megatokyo. But Spiderman had angst, and it was GOOD angst. We have yet too see if Fred decides there's been enough suspense-building, and pulls out the good angst. But I hold out for hope. :3 Art: Fred quit his job, and started doing Megatokyo full-time. This shows in his art, as we begin to see lots of cool backgrounds, lots of stylish dresses on the women, and T-shirts that a guy would kill to have on the male characters. And indeed, they are purchaseable in the MegaGear store. Oh, and much EndGames art. Worship the EndGames art. WORSHIP IT! Plot: The spaghetti starts getting twirled around the proverbial fork, and seemingly separate threads begin tying together. The forums exploded when the mother of a certain main character was revealed to have a past with another certain main character, and this happened again, and again. Like having meatballs in your spaghetti. Plot twists galore, and more threads are spawned, and tie up. The mood of the strips begin to follow the focus of who the strip is about. If it is about Largo, the mood is tense, suspicious, and whacky. If it is about Piro, the mood is confused, apathetic, and slightly lazy. More moods for the different girls that become the focus, like Erika and Kimiko. Extras: Ranging from the horrifying "Shirt-Guy Dom" strips to the uber-sweet "MegaWinter Nights/Endgames" specials, to the "Leave It to Seraphim" omake and "Dead Piro Days," this comic has NO recap strips, no breakings of the fourth wall, and no Cast, Story, or easily navigatable Archives page... O_O;; For the last, some people just go out and buy the books, but they only go up to Chapter 4... More than half of what is on the site, and way more than enough to get you hooked. Final grade: A- The public does not lie, and Megatokyo is into it's third printed volume, which came out 3rd favorite manga in February, according to Bookscan and ICv2. On the online side, servers are bought and moved as the forums grow and bandwidth is repeatedly hogged. I just wish Fred would keep to his promises of updating 3/week, and get with the good angst. Also, he gets a lower grade for inflicting us with Shirt-Guy Dom strips and, to a lesser extent, Dead Piro Days. Bad, Fred. Bad. XDDD Review by Bar Gamer Sat Mar 26 2005 10:58 PM

It's been a while since I last read Megatokyo, but I remember it quite clearly. The art of this comic has always been one of the better ones. Hand-drawn and sketchy, but it works well. You'll always be able to recognize the artist's works anywhere. And...that's erm... the good part... The other good part is well... the beginning of the comic. When the Rodney guy was around writing the story; it flourished. Period. It was just a great, exciting, funny comic to read. Then he left and the story basically became a bunch of typical anime chicks surrounding the main character. In the end, I am very disappointed that something so good is completely ruined, in my honest opinion. I just point and laugh at it nowadays. It is... failure. Review by Cave Sat Mar 26 2005 02:48 PM

I'm going to borrow Benor's format here, since I think it works well. Art: Megatokyo (MT) is crisp, clean, and consistant. It's very simplistic and anime with a bit more detail on non-people elements, especially clothing. Especially women's clothing. When the artist uses color (such as in the gallery), its use is a treat to the eye. Story: MT fails here. The comic starts well enough with some drive, to not spoil the plot I'll simply sum it as an unfortunate set of cirumstance the main characters seek to overcome. Once on their way, they seem to meander, the comic falls into a day to day progression. I've nothing against a comic with no real definitive plot, but MT feels like it's trying to include a story without ever really getting anywhere. This day to day story is typically split between one of the main characters angsting over teenage romance, or the other being wacky and leet in some mindset that's amusing yet grating. Characters: The characters grounded in reality are easy to empathize with. The others exagerate quirks and add a comical element. Both are good, but neither evolve. What you see is what you get, and given a dozen comics you could predict any of their reactions to any scenario. Extras: The artist angsts a lot, so much that other webcomics really started to poke fun at it. Updates are fairly often, 3/week, but inconsistant depending on the artist's mood. Overall: MT never stuck to me. The motivation was wishy-washy, the alternating l33tness and fawning/angst wore thin. The art is nice, but not enough. The way the artist portrays the females also feels a little.. creepy? Stalker-ish? It's hard to define, but it is there. When I read the comic, I feel like I'm 'in on it', and that turns me off. If you like a light anime romance and don't mind the details, MT may be for you. The comic is very popular, so you wouldn't be alone. Personally it'll never find a spot on my bookmarks. Review by Re Mon Mar 21 2005 05:15 AM

Visitor Reviews & Comments

I, personally, liked Megatokyo, and continue to like it to this day. I don't exactly know why I like it, but I do. The artwork, characters, and genreal plot seem to appeal to me. Megatokyo will pwn j00 all! Review by Anna Thu Dec 01 2005 10:47 PM

It's a boring soap opera for anime nerds who never talk to girls before or go outside. The two-dimensional girls pretty much show that the author really needs to get going out more. Yes, I know he is married. Girls in Japan are not going to fall over some idiot who has watched Ranma 1/2 on a daily basis. Review by J. Christ Fri Nov 04 2005 08:30 AM

Being a much more recent megatokyo fan I can't say I saw the evoltion of the quick moving plotlines or slapstick humor but having whipped through 700+ comics in the archives in 2 days I can definatly see a quick evolution in the strip. Megatokyo as you can see from some of the main reviews is a hit and miss comic for many. For me the stunning artwork and deep character developement got me hooked into the megatokyo scene. One character in particular that interested me was Piro. Unlike the upbeat and slightly insane Largo, Piro is calm and much more contemplative. His struggles with his own self-esteem and the situations around him are addictive and he's a character that's hard not to root for. I reccomend that all webcomic readers should find a few hours and truck through the archives to see if Meagtokyo will hook you in like it has me and thousands of others. Review by snow surfer Mon Oct 17 2005 01:31 AM

A mere addendum to what has said before, indeed a reiteration. The loss of "Rodney / Largo" is a minor disappointment, and you can see a change in direction. Think Red Dwarf's most recent series when half of the Grant-Naylor team split up. This has lead to Piro recycling a lot of jokes. Fortunately for him, this is one of the things that helps to tie the comic together, counter-balancing its slow and rambling development. I think part of the problem is that, being character driven, Piro is stuck in a familiar serialist's quandry - he has spent a lot of time getting the characters where he wants them to be, but now he fears reaching the end of the journey - it would be the end of the comic, and thus the end of his job. By going into "soap opera" territory, which is what character driven writing epitomises, an author is obliged to rotate characters, bring more in, revise them, etc etc. - this does not necessarily lend itself to a web-comic format (where a single artist has to conceive of, incorporate, and repeatedly sketch distinctive individuals) and is only common in the longest running of animés. Think how many variations of Pokémon there were before Ash got pushed out of the leading role, and think how many times Dragonball got reinvented (DB, DBZ, Goku's various levels of Super Saiyan, various Goku-clone children in the form of Gohan and Gotenks, and then Goku as a child, etc etc). For someone as attatched to his characters as Piro obviously is - significant dynamic changes of direction are anathema. Piro is thus very fortunate that the early (Largoesque) installments serve as a hook, as without that initial raw and zany bite it wouldn't've achieved the popularity it now enjoys. Whether Piro can maintain the synergy of the earlier comics remains to be seen; while the relationships of the characters go on, actual events in the most recent chapters seem to be light on the ground. No doubt when a good idea hits him, Piro will have one or more of his characters enter into a whacky series of adventures that recaptures the mood that has of late been lost. That is the true test of a good artist (in the creative, rather than the aesthetic sense) - being able to keep a project edgy and with direction. It is a shame he can't beg his audience for "whacky" suggestions for one off plot-events (being kidnapped by games designers, etc. Being placed under some kind of geas or onus to action) which would give him fertile ground on which to maintain the character development in his own way, whilst maintaining the radical innovation he seems more and more reluctant to engage in. As for the community, I avoid it. It is easy to see why it would be a mecca for the disaffected and geeky. However, in their mitigation, I'd say that a former reviewer's criticism that they spend vast amounts of time speculating is unfair - the comic turnover is very slow, and no doubt speculation helps kill the time between events. In the previous (complete) chapter, several months were dedicated to one drinking spree. Earlier in the comic, a serious bender in which Largo relates a full scale zombie invasion only took one week to produce. As the pace of the comic slows, it is inevitable that speculation will increase. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy MT, I find the characters engrossing and provocative. But without plot as a vehicle for them, the result can only be increasing self-indulgence. The "Circuity" omake, whilst beautiful in a minimalist sort of way, smacked of this. It also seemed to suggest a yearning to move away from what his project has become. Maybe it is symptomatic of prevarication, avoiding going back to grinding out comics which he can tell are "fillers" until the next big thing presents itself infront of him. The lack of colouring is also nothing to be afraid of, incidently. You may as well demand Dr Strangelove be coloured. It is worth reading, certainly, and reading it is rewarding. But the most recent chapters (the current fragment and the previous one) have somewhat degenerated into mildly generic angsty melodrama, and as such could be taken out of the Megatokyo framework and found in any chick-strip. Piro has gone "back to basics" a few times, in my opinion, and as such it is only a matter of time before he picks himself up and revitalises his current situation. At least, I hope so. Review by Ace42 Thu Aug 18 2005 11:51 PM

Roger, respect or not, it is their opinion and they are entitled to it. I personally enjoyed Megatokyo allot during the days of Largo. In fact I was probably one of its first readers and stumbled upon in when they published their first strips. Of course when Largo left, Fred/Piro took it to a new direction it alienated a lot of its former readers (including me) but attracted a new bunch fans. Although rumors run amok about the politics between the real life Largo and Piro. I totally respect Fred for what he has done with Megatokyo. He turned it into a hobby into a business that attracts some of the most hard core manga otaku out there. Many say that Megatokyo's momentum and hook is the first 120 pages where largo was there co writing MT. I only agree halfway, its true, largo's writing was that yin that balanced Piro's yang and there was certainly a great chemistry between the two but I think the newer plot (or the lack of it) has actually a certain charm of its own. I mean if it was so awful like many of the MT bashers say, they it would not last very long and continue to be successful as it is. For those seeking a story, don't, you'll just pull out all your hair because it doesn’t have one, its appeal is more character driven and the day to day interaction with all the characters is what gives MT all its charm. As for the forums, I totally agree with Piroko. A forum community that is featured in Something Awful's Weekend web definitely has something wrong with it on a very deep and disturbing level. At least these are the kind of obsessive otaku fans that will pay Fred wads of cash for MT merchandize so it’s all good for Fred G's business. Review by Abigail Tue Jun 21 2005 05:13 AM

Bar Gamer- I'de have to say I agree with you totally on the subject of MegaTokyo! There are two very distinct ages of Megatokyo: With Largo, Without Largo. I've been stuck on Megatokyo since the beginning of chapter 2, and currently have all the books in production, and have long since gotten my younger siblings in on the action. Rodney was so very, very funny in the poke-at-things-in-the-industry way. It was all very entertaining, especially to people who knew what he was talking about. He was a one-comic humor writer. And much fun was it. It's funny, because Fred Gallagher is so-- soo-- Shoujo. Just the way he writes things, he's such a shoujo writer. One thing I've always loved about MT was fred's way of now nessicarily making whatever joke-of-the-day funny, but making the current situation of the characters funny. And much fun is it. I think what bugs people about it is that it changed slowly, but in a very big way. The people it may have appealed to in the beginning it may not appeal to anymore. And it bothers them that once they got to the end of the archive, it's not what they expected. I've had to adjust to the changes myself, and come to realize that although the feeling of the story has changed, it's still Megatokyo, and I love it still the same. Also- no one can deny the impact Megatokyo has had on the webcomics industry. I mean, this guy is huge. I follow along now not just because I think the story is good, but because Fred is one of the first people to be able to take this idea of posting comics online and actually make a living off of it. Now I want to see what's going to happen not just with Piro, gamer stranded in Tokyo, but Piro, comic artist who has made a difference. Review by Chiparoo Mon Jun 06 2005 06:18 PM

I am a fairly recent fan of Megatokyo, and I would just like to say a few things about it. The art, in my opinion, works very well. The artist has a distinct style and has made significant improvements since the beginning. The overall presentation of it is, indeed, not perfect, but gets the point across clearly and effectively. The story is the weakest part of MT, and it does move rather slowly, but there is a real plotline without any holes (that I've noticed, at least), and it's very solid. It's very shoujo, yes, but I don't think that detracts. To those of you who dislike the strip after Rodney Caston left, I disagree. Yes, the comic resulted in far more laughs while he was still there, but as Fred Gallagher explains, they wanted the strip to go in different directions. Caston wanted it to stay funny and random, and Gallagher wanted to have a real story. Unfortunately, it is a cliche story that I wish were more original. The characters are very solid, although their development is slow. I think the reason MT is so popular is because of how easy it is for the majority of the readership to connect with the characters. Sidenote: the people in the forums are kind of insane, but I honestly believe there are more fans outside of the forums than in, and you shouldn't lump all people of a group into one just because the ones you know of are nuts. I don't know of any online comic that I would give a 9 or 10 out of ten, but this is one of the best I've read, so I would give it an 8. Review by Miruku Sat May 14 2005 11:54 AM

A review of MT, one of the most boring webcomics in production. Art: The art is hand drawen black and white. Its better than stick figures but believe me, it would work much better in color. Community: This category is essentially about the people who like it and people on the site's forum's. They are hopeless assholes. Beleive me. They spend ALL DAY specualting on the forums about what is going to happen next. They also nit pick very much and go as far as to re-read every strip in the archive for clues. The fans have NO LIFE AT ALL. They also bicker about pointless things (what kind of shoes are those, is that a dagger or bow staff, and other things definitly not worth the time to figure out). They laugh at the stupidest jokes. They even go as far as to write insipid poetry about the characters. The MT community is the definition of lifeless fanboys. Story: The story was charming until Rodney turned everything on to Fred. That happened about 120 strips into the story (there are now 697 strips as of 4/13/05). It was explained in the above reviews so I wont get to far into it. But let me say this: IT PROGRESSES SLOWLY! We have gone 700 strips and you could still sum up most of what has happened in about 3 paragraphs. I am not kidding here. OVERALL: 4/10 Reading Megatokyo is more of a chore than a way to kill time. And dont you DARE join the forums. Review by Piroko Wed Apr 13 2005 05:32 PM

I dont know what these other people are talking about, the story is funny for a long time, after a while though, when rodney or whatever stops writing, then it isnt as funny, but overall it is still good, i would Highly recommend this story to anyone who likes funny/love/action(kinda) animes. I do believe it is good and it deserve respect that isnt shown in these reviews. (Srry if i made spelling errors, not my best subject hope you read it) Review by Roger Tue Apr 05 2005 12:06 PM

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