Manga Review: Rooster Fighter 01 by Shu Sakuratani
Keiji was once a normal carefree chicken, enjoying his day to day life on the farm. But that all changed when a demon appeared who burned down the coop and killed Keiji’s little sister. Since that day, he has wandered Japan looking for that demon to extract revenge. He’s turned himself into a fearsome warrior, the Rooster Fighter!
And it’s a good thing for the humans that he has. The pink-skinned hairless apes seem helpless against the demons that appear out of seemingly nowhere every so often. Only chickens, and very special ones at that, stand a chance against these giant monstrosities.
This silly premise is served well by a script that plays it with a straight face, and an art style that hearkens back to the manly manga series of old. This is a throwback to the type of story about a manly man wandering the earth and doing manly deeds while upholding a self-appointed manly code that used to be commonplace back in oh say the 1970s.
For the purposes of the story, Keiji has human-level intelligence, and can understand Japanese, but cannot speak it. He is, however, able to communicate with other birds and turtles just fine.
The first two chapters establish the fighting rooster’s personality and methods, as well as the fact that humans just don’t understand him.
The second story has him meet an aviary’s worth of birds from the Southern Hemisphere and their wise elder. Too bad their home is being attacked by a demon!
Next up, Keiji meets a sea turtle named Silver, a one-eyed fellow who hates birds due to childhood trauma and has trained in combat to be able to defeat flyers. They have to put off their battle when a demon appears. Our rooster protagonist develops a taste for a new favorite food, sea urchin.
The last chapter in this volume changes focus to a young chick, the runt of his litter. He admires his owner, Yasuo, a low-level Yakuza who’s trying to earn a marginally honest living by selling cute chicks on the street. Due to his “obviously a criminal” appearance, this business is doing poorly. Then a supposed friend tricks Yasuo into cosigning a loan before skipping town.
It turns out that demons are caused by some sort of lifeform that burrows into human skin and, if they are sufficiently overwhelmed by negative emotions, turns them into monsters. Yasuo is transformed and becomes a menace that Keiji will have to take down. But the chick still believes in his “Pops” and perhaps he is not entirely unjustified.
At the end of the volume, a new demon slayer appears. But is she an ally, or a deadly rival?
The premise does allow for some secrets to be revealed in future volumes, which should keep up interest.
Content note: Lethal violence, with demons exploding into gibs, as well as some more realistic wounds. A disturbing sequence of seagulls devouring baby turtles. Chicken sex (no genitals), A poop joke. Late teens, I’m thinking.
This is good stuff of its kind. Recommended to people who like a ludicrous premise followed through in a manly fashion.
