Versus is the latest manga written by ONE of One-Punch Man and Mob Psycho 100 fame. The art is by Kyoutarou Azuma, and the project is organized by bose. Kodansha recently released the first volume in North America on October 15, 2024.
I was so excited when I saw that one of my favorite manga authors, ONE, is getting a new series published in English. I absolutely love One-Punch Man and Mob Psycho 100. ONE is one of the funniest mangaka working today—his works are all clever, strange, and subversive. His works are insta-buys for me.
I ordered the first volume of Versus from my local comic shop and read through it as soon as it arrived.
I didn’t know much into Versus, and that was for the best. The title is generic, which I think does it a disservice, but based on the cover, it seemed to me like ONE was taking on the fantasy genre, which was an exciting departure.
I won’t spoil the premise of Versus yet, as that being revealed throughout Vol. 1 is the enjoyable part. I’ll speak more about it below in a spoilers section below, but let me first dive into my thoughts without spoilers.
The concept of Versus is incredibly unique and interesting. That is the primarily appeal of the series, and the groundwork laid out in this volume has so much potential. I can’t wait to see where it goes.
The art by Kyoutarou Azuma is quite good! I can see the influence of ONE’s character designs (in particular the eyes of the characters). He has quite good range and is awesome at drawing the costumes of the characters. Azuma does a great job with both action and comedy panels. His work honestly reminds me of Yusuke Murata’s work on One-Punch Man in a good way—there’s a coolness to his work. The action is clear and understandable.
There’s one minor annoyance I had with Volume 1, and that’s a pig fairy named Panepane who ends every sentence with “, pane.” It’s possible that it’s meant to be annoying, especially based on the character’s design, and it is annoying. Panepane quickly got on my nerves, and I hope that he isn’t present throughout the series (or at least stops ending sentences that way).
Versus, Vol. 1 is a great introduction to the world and characters. The print version is a slightly larger than usual manga size, which feels great to read. The art being largely is something I really appreciated and worth the slightly more premium price.
With my basic thoughts out of the way, let’s dig into some spoiler talk.
🚨 SPOILERS AHEAD 🚨
The spoiler premise of Versus is that humankind across many different multiverses faces the thread of extinction. Whether it’s by the demon army in the fantasy realm or AI robots in a sci-fi technofuture, humans are getting their asses kicked. Through magic/summoning, a bunch of the different universes merge together. It becomes apparent that all of the enemies are too powerful and the various worlds band together to try to figure out what to do.
I can’t think of any other series that’s done something like this. All of the worlds are outlined clearly, with distinct challenges and personalities and believes. It’s really fun to think about, and I was instantly daydreaming about the different worlds. This genre mash-up is really cool.
Azuma’s designs of the armor of the futuristic sci-fi world are super cool. They remind me of the armor from one of my favorite games Vanquish.
Final Thoughts
I’m genuinely excited about Versus and can’t wait to see what happens in Volume 2 (which releases in North America on January 14, 2025). It’s off to a great start. The art is solid, the writing is great, and the comedic moments are handled well. If you’re a fan of One-Punch Man or Mob Psycho, you’ll find a lot to love with Versus.
If you want to check out Versus without buying the first volume, you can read the first three chapters for free on K Manga. New chapters are released monthly there as well. I’ll be waiting for each new volume to release, as I think the story will flow better collected in volumes rather than waiting monthly. (But who knows, maybe I’ll get impatient and read ahead!)
Volume Details
- MSRP: US$13.99
- Release Date: Oct 15, 2024
- ISBN: 9798888771372
- Publisher: Kodansha
- Pages: 230
- Dimensions: 5.75 x 8.19 in.
- Rating: 16+
- Available in print: yes
- Available digitally: yes, in simulpub on K Manga too
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