ROBOT×LASERBEAM 1

Robot x Laserbeam #1

by Tadatoshi Fujimaki

融通がきかず無表情、ロボこと高校生・鳩原呂羽人。彼をゴルフ部に誘うトモヤは新しいクラブを試すため、ロボを練習場へ連れだす。だが他校のゴルフ部に絡まれ、なんとロボが勝負することになり！？

Genres: Manga, Sports, Shonen

192 pages, Paperback

First published July 4, 2017

About the author

Tadatoshi Fujimaki (藤巻 忠俊, Fujimaki Tadatoshi, born June 9th, 1982, Tokyo) is a Japanese mangaka, most known for his manga Kuroko no Basuke, serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump. Fujimaki was brought up in a good household and environment. He attended Toyama High School and enrolled to Sophia University. He chose for a manga career after finishing his studies.

Also known as 藤巻 忠俊 and 藤巻忠俊.

Reviews

[Elizabeth (Elzburg) · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I first heard of this series, this is the first thing I wrote down in my notes: "Well this manga has got to have the worst title I have ever seen in my life. Also: Boo, golf." All that being said, I was still excited for this series because I had trust in Tadatoshi Fujimaki's ability to write a good sports manga, having been the author behind Kuroko's Basketball and all. Well, this manga's not bad. Or boring. It's good. It's just that there's not much that's really good or interesting or exciting about it. Yet.

It's about a seemingly autistic high school aged kid named Robato (nicknamed Robo because of his mechanical qualities and apparent lack of emotions). Because of reasons that are explained later in the volume, he has absolute accuracy when shooting golf balls, and they fly so perfectly and straight that they resemble laserbeams. (Do you get the title now?)

Robo's only friend, Tomoya, spends the majority of the volume trying to convince him to join the golf club. Because of this they end up in an encounter with the best teenage golf prodigy, Youzan.

It was nice and all, all this that happened. The characters and their motivations were set up, and by the end of the volume a couple plots were introduced. But like I already said, nothing too too special happened. Though I do see potential.

Once more characters started getting introduced is when things began to pick up for me. It brought in different character dynamics and interactions, and because of this it also helped develop and meld the plot into something more interesting, and set up a compelling goal for the main character. This is why despite the middle-of-the-road feeling this first volume gave me, I'm still excited for what more this manga will bring.

I also just like the types of characters in general. There's no one who's just an outright asshole just to be the outright asshole character. If anyone is mean at any point, it's because they have motivations and reasons behind it, not just because they're some mindless dick. I'm not counting the thugs who appeared at the end, they're just one-off characters implemented to create conflict. I mean, it would absolutely be better writing if they also had motivations and whatnot, but what can ya do.

Art-wise, this manga is a bit conflicting for me. On the one hand, Tadatoshi Fujimaki is a good artist and so this is a nice manga to look at. He makes golf look and feel cool with the way he draws the golf outfits and how the characters hit the shots. On the other hand, the man needs to learn how to draw different characters/faces. There is a character who looks exactly like Aomine with long hair, Robo has dead eyes like Kuroko, there's a Midorima clone, and a guy with Kise eyes (these are all characters from Kuroko's Basketball). That said, there are also other characters who do look unique, so those are nice.

The more personal thing for me is that Tadatoshi Fujimaki is the man who created my husbando. That gives me a bit of a connection with him. And it's really unnerving that the main rival in this series looks EXACTLY like my husbando (with long hair, if you get my drift). So that's... Weird. I would have greatly preferred if this was not the case and if he would have chosen a different clone to be the rival, or even better, NOT MAKE HIM A CLONE AT ALL! Ahem.

Good, not great, stuff overall, but with great things hopefully coming soon.


Read all of my reviews for Tadatoshi Fujimaki's books:
✪ Kuroko's Basketball: Extra Game
✪ Kuroko's Basketball -Replace-
✪ Vanguard of Archer
✪ ROBOT×LASERBEAM 1

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the same artist that did Kuroko no Basuke. Not nearly as good as Kuroko, but what do you want? It's a sports manga about golf.

[Meow · Rating 5 out of 5]

the plot line is intriguing, i liked how it differs from ither sport manga/anime with those flashy move and some kind of unrealistic super power kind of prowess.

they do have some exaggerated moves but most of them are backed up with some physic theories and the explanation sounds plausible. (not that i mind seeing those cool and flashy moves)

[Manmangaboy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't really care for the world or the plot too much. Characters seem interesting

[Miguel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three years removed from the end of Kuroko no Basket, Fujimaki has taken his talents to the golf course to bring some drama to this underappreciated sport. Although this is the first golf manga I have encountered, it reminds me of non-team sports anime and manga like Prince of Tennis, Baby Steps, or even Hajime no Ippo. Robo, the protagonist, shares Kuroko's flat affect. But Kuroko is always driven by his belief in a certain way of playing basketball, team play. Kuroko is dedicated to the craft and loves the game. But ultimately he plays, primarily, for enjoyment. Robo lacks drive, precisely because he questions how much he can enjoy golf. His skill, like Ippo's, comes from the circumstances of his life rather than dedicated training. He is quickly swept up in the spirit of competition, however, by Yozan Miura. Yozan is the straight-laced rival set against Robo's singular excessiveness. He is akin to Ippo's Miyata, Slam Dunk's Rukawa, or Diamond no Ace's Furuya. Yozan and Robo are both engaging characters despite their obvious likenesses to other sports manga characters.

Fujimaki has a hole-in-one on his hands.

[Maiko-chan [|] · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am hooked on this series and can't wait to see it animated!






Also I love that it's easy to relate to Robato in the beginning if you get into this while having a lack of interest in golf as a sport. I've never viewed golf as entertaining, but sports anime/manga always seems to make it exciting, and so far the mangaka that brought us super-powered basketball is off to a great start. That being said, I doubt Robot × Laserbeam is going to be my new fav sports manga; it's a bit too short for that at only 7 volumes (62 chapters) total but I am loving seeing Kuroko and Daiki again in a new series/setting.