A review of O-Parts Hunter Volumes 1

O-Parts Hunter, is written by Seishi Kishimoto, the brother of, guess who? Masashi Kishimoto of Naruto fame. The art is very similar to Masashi's Naruto, but that's beside the point. Seishi has been called a copycat of Naruto's art, but well, they're brothers! Some think that O-Parts Hunter is a knock-off of Naruto. Boy are you mistaken.

O-Parts Hunter is about Jio Freed, a young boy with a tragic past. He only trusts two things, himself, and money! He has an odd encounter with Ruby Crescent, a treasure hunter. She falls from the sky. Ruby tells Jio about the O-Parts, items from an ancient civilization, that people have newly discovered. Unfortunately, not everyone can use O-Parts, only O-Parts Traction's, or OPTs, can use them.

While Jio is with Ruby, he meets up with an enemy who calls himself, "Satan", but it is then revealed that Satan lies within Jio. When Satan breaks free the number 6, the Roman numeral for six and the kanji for six appear on Jio's forehead, along with his eyes turning red and his hair becoming silver. After the defeat Jio has a run in with his childhood friend Jin, whose parents were killed by Satan, so now he hates Jio. They have an immensely interesting fight and Jin wins, but now sees Jio as a true friend.

Now, the story may not seem too original. but it still makes a great read. In my opinion if you like, Naruto, YuYu Hakasho, D. Gray Man,or HunterxHunter, then you might want to not read it, it seems to be a mash up of the four, but it is quite different. The manga is based on the Kabbalah religion and has some Christian references.

Now for the similarities to Naruto...

Both main characters have tragic pasts, and are shunned. They both have markings on their cheeks (Jio's fangs, and Naruto's whiskers). Also they both have wild outfits, but that's pretty standard in Shounen manga. Oh yeah, and they both have a female lead. The good part is that Ruby Crescent has more guts than Sakura Haruno, who spends her time chasing Sasuke. Ruby can at least be useful. She can decipher intent texts and she is an excellent friend to Jo.

So in conclusion, O-Parts Hunter is a great read for people who think Naruto is too juvenile for them. It is licensed by Viz Media and can be found at Borders, Barns and Nobe, Waldenbooks, and other bookstores. So if you like this review go pick it up.