Review: ‘The Mandalorian’ Manga Vol. 2 Perfectly Captures the Series’ High-Octane Action
For those interested in Star Wars adaptations, I highly recommend the manga works. As I said in my Star Wars: Visions manga anthology review, these manga adaptations are a great study of how different mediums use different tools and techniques to tell the same impactful stories. It also helps that the art looks amazing.
It’s the same here with The Mandalorian: The Manga, Vol. 2. This compilation retells the story of episodes 2 and 3 of the first season. What’s great about this volume is that the stories feature more action. This allows creator Yusuke Osawa even more of an opportunity to show off his art as this collection features amazing double-page spreads.
Since it’s been a while, episodes 2 and 3 are the ones where Din Djarin fights a mudhorn, returns Grogu to his Imperial client, and goes back to save Grogu. While I lamented in my review of Volume 1 that I was annoyed with the manga’s slow pacing, at least Volume 2 gets through a larger part of the story. Even though we’re still not that far into the series, including two episodes makes the purchase feel more worth it.
And while the story is, again, the same as it is in the series, it’s the art that makes this book special. Yusuke Osawa captures the look and essence of all these characters like Grogu and Greef Karga, yet without compromising his style. They all look great and like they do in the show. But really, it’s Osawa’s paneling that amazed me the most. Osawa knows the exact moments where small panels can suffice and when moments call for large, double-page spreads. Even though I know all of the beats in the story, I still felt excited and awe-inspired when these big moments hit because the art is that exciting as well.
Even though this is just an adaptation, I have no problem giving this a perfect score. Yes, this doesn’t add anything new to the show — or the overall story as a whole. However, it fulfills exactly what it sets out to do in the first place: repackage The Mandalorian story in a new way that is enriching for audiences already familiar with the series.
Score: 10/10
Born and raised in Hawaii, Jay Goodearl runs the YouTube Gaming channel “Good Games, Dude” His channel aims to open up video games to beginners and immediate players and help them understand what makes games the art form that it is.
