A review by cyanide_latte
Rustblaster by Yana Toboso

adventurous hopeful mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

At present I don't have a ton to say about this oneshot manga, but it was definitely a fun story and felt like a speedrun of something that could have been longer than a single volume. Admittedly I don't know much about this, but anyone who does: did Yana intend this to be just a oneshot, or was it intended to be a miniseries she ended up having to make into a single volume due to publishing constraints? If anyone knows the answer to this, I'd appreciate hearing about it!

I do feel like this series also leans in the direction that a lot of the characters' relationships could be read in various queer ways, but I do like that Team 6 has a similar kind of dynamic to the 2003 animated Teen Titans or to the Big Hero 6 team of superheroes. Not that every character fits the same set of archetypes across all the properties, but there's a certain energy, a certain type of group dynamic present here with these characters that I really enjoy seeing, and that's easily what I appreciate most in this manga when I compare it to Yana's work in Black Butler or Twisted Wonderland.