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Megatokyo Omnibus
Megatokyo celebrates years of successful web and print publication with the massive and economical Megatokyo Omnibus edition! Featuring the first three volumes of Fred Gallagher's popular otaku/gamer/fantasy/zombie/romance story! Join irrepressible otaku, Piro, and his game-obsessed freakazoid friend, Largo, on their unexpected adventures while stranded in Japan. They may not find love, but they'll definitely find mayhem!
576 pages, Paperback
First published April 17, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 10, 2015
MegaTokyo is often juvenile, amateurish and silly. It is also refreshing, touching, and insightful. Fred Gallagher writes and draws this English manga that revolves around two twenty-something American fanboys/gamers who find themselves stranded in Tokyo. Originally a web comic, MegaTokyo was picked up by Dark Horse Comics and published into a printed mangas. Omnibus #1 collects chapters "0" - 4 with lots of extra content.
The story starts with Piro and Largo attempting to sneak into the E3 gaming convention, which is open to video game industry insiders only. Frustrated, Piro makes an impromptu decision to fly to Tokyo to get his fix of gaming and comics. He drags a drunk Largo along, who wakes up during the flight. Once in Japan, the boys go on a wild spending spree. Completely broke, they are forced to find a way to sustain themselves until they can save enough money to fly home. What follows is a journey of self-discovery and the questioning of priorities for Piro. The real world collides with the fantastic; while Piro works in a game store, struggling to save money, Largo embarks on a beer-fueled fantasy ride involving zombies, ninjas, giant monsters, and robots. Along the way they meet other young people who are questioning the paths their lives are taking. They also meet some people who just want to mess with their heads. Fanboys are so easy to mess with!
I had never heard of MegaTokyo beforeI picked up Omnibus 1. I was looking for a new manga to read. Being unfamiliar with the series gave me the pleasure of seeing how Gallagher's artwork blossom, as well as the emotional complexity the storyline takes on over time. The artwork is deliberately sketchy and un-inked, the background details lighter than the people. The early comics are presented in a basic four-panel layout.Gradually,Gallagher employs a multi-panel layout, as well as some occasional stunning full-page artwork.
MegTokyo pokes not-so-gentle but loving fun at manga and all its tropes, as well as Japanese popular culture, all from the perspective of an otaku, which I think is Japanse for fanboy/nerd. Portions of pure escapist fantasy mix with insights on life as Piro begins to mature.
This book makes me want to take up a pencil and learn how to draw manga. I began reading this book as soon as I brought it home, and plowed through to the end. Now that I've read it, I kinda miss Piro, Largo and all my new friends. :) I need Omnibus #2, STAT!
The story starts with Piro and Largo attempting to sneak into the E3 gaming convention, which is open to video game industry insiders only. Frustrated, Piro makes an impromptu decision to fly to Tokyo to get his fix of gaming and comics. He drags a drunk Largo along, who wakes up during the flight. Once in Japan, the boys go on a wild spending spree. Completely broke, they are forced to find a way to sustain themselves until they can save enough money to fly home. What follows is a journey of self-discovery and the questioning of priorities for Piro. The real world collides with the fantastic; while Piro works in a game store, struggling to save money, Largo embarks on a beer-fueled fantasy ride involving zombies, ninjas, giant monsters, and robots. Along the way they meet other young people who are questioning the paths their lives are taking. They also meet some people who just want to mess with their heads. Fanboys are so easy to mess with!
I had never heard of MegaTokyo beforeI picked up Omnibus 1. I was looking for a new manga to read. Being unfamiliar with the series gave me the pleasure of seeing how Gallagher's artwork blossom, as well as the emotional complexity the storyline takes on over time. The artwork is deliberately sketchy and un-inked, the background details lighter than the people. The early comics are presented in a basic four-panel layout.Gradually,Gallagher employs a multi-panel layout, as well as some occasional stunning full-page artwork.
MegTokyo pokes not-so-gentle but loving fun at manga and all its tropes, as well as Japanese popular culture, all from the perspective of an otaku, which I think is Japanse for fanboy/nerd. Portions of pure escapist fantasy mix with insights on life as Piro begins to mature.
This book makes me want to take up a pencil and learn how to draw manga. I began reading this book as soon as I brought it home, and plowed through to the end. Now that I've read it, I kinda miss Piro, Largo and all my new friends. :) I need Omnibus #2, STAT!
May 4, 2022
Lots of fun, I started reading it because of the leet speak, but find the “two realities” format fantastic. Largo makes me laugh a lot, while Piro makes me cringe a lot. Sweet and sour I guess. The online comments, especially early ones from Rodney, are great. This manga does make me wonder how many weirdos are teaching English in Japan. I bet none are as good as “Great Teacher Largo” and his Mortal Kombat Visa.
Also did not know the whole dating sim thing existed until I read this. Otaku’s can get pretty wacky, pretty fast. Ditto for the L33t. Enjoy.
Also did not know the whole dating sim thing existed until I read this. Otaku’s can get pretty wacky, pretty fast. Ditto for the L33t. Enjoy.
November 27, 2018
I enjoyed it, felt it ended too soon.
March 10, 2017
I used to read this online, when it was first coming out and liked it. I rediscovered it lately by finding "vol. 3" at the library, which didn't have any of the other volumes so I bought the omnibuses.
This gamer/manga comic is a perfect mix of cute/emotional & funny. It is a little scattered, and the omnibus tries to remedy the original scatteredness by taking out the "stand-alone" episodes and placing them at the end. I think I would have preferred if they had left them within the story-line. I feel like the hodge-podgeyness of the original was charming and the goofy one-off jokey episodes balanced the more emotional "drama"-y storyline well. This first omnibus ends with what I have already read, so I am looking forward to reading the next.
This gamer/manga comic is a perfect mix of cute/emotional & funny. It is a little scattered, and the omnibus tries to remedy the original scatteredness by taking out the "stand-alone" episodes and placing them at the end. I think I would have preferred if they had left them within the story-line. I feel like the hodge-podgeyness of the original was charming and the goofy one-off jokey episodes balanced the more emotional "drama"-y storyline well. This first omnibus ends with what I have already read, so I am looking forward to reading the next.
February 22, 2016
Not longer, mind you, but just larger. I understand that the individual books are released in the tiny manga format to fit in with all the other manga out there, but for a special omnibus volume like this I wish they'd gone with a larger format. Fred (the artist/author) draws at a much larger scale and all that wonderful detail gets lost in the tiny books and frankly as I get older my eyes wouldn't mind if the lettering was large enough to read without a magnifier.
The content is great and I love to see how Fred's artwork and storytelling has developed over the years, and the special omake he wrote for this book is worth the price itself. I just wish it was larger
The content is great and I love to see how Fred's artwork and storytelling has developed over the years, and the special omake he wrote for this book is worth the price itself. I just wish it was larger
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews