Henshin!, Volume 1: Blazing Phoenix

by Bon Idle, Mitch Proctor, Saturday AM

Alex must balance becoming a superhero tasked with defeating Kaiju, making it as a journalism student, and navigating life as a gay man in modern Europe.
 
Nine years after a mysterious ecological disaster, journalism students Alex and Rosalia investigate the strange company that rebuilt their city and turned it into a vision of the future—that is, until Alex’s world is turned upside down by a chance encounter with a gigantic monster from another world, a Kaiju, and the mysterious masked hero fighting it! Inheriting the masked hero’s power, Alex must now take on these powerful Kaiju when he transforms into the hero Blaze . As a gay man, Alex never imagined his cozy college life becoming deadly, but that’s just what happens as his battles uncover an unholy connection between his city, the most powerful company in Europe, and the Kaiju . Can he uncover the secret before it’s too late? Henshin! , a new, action-packed take on tokusatsu drama, features fiery fights, mysterious conspiracies, and LGBTQ romance for fans of classic Power Rangers and Kamen Rider stories. Henshin!  is rated T for Teen, recommended for ages 13 and up.

Saturday AM, the world’s most diverse manga-inspired comics, are now presented in a new format! Introducing Saturday AM TANKS , the new graphic novel format similar to Japanese Tankobons where we collect the global heroes and artists of Saturday AM. These handsome volumes have select color pages, revised artwork, and innovative post-credit scenes that help bring new life to our popular BIPOC, LGBTQ, and/or culturally diverse characters. Join in even more adventures with the other action-packed Saturday AM TANKS Apple Black , Clock Striker , Gunhild , Hammer , The Massively Multiplayer World of Ghosts , Oblivion Rouge , Saigami , Soul Beat , Titan King , Underground , and Yellow Stringer .

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, LGBT, Comics, College

224 pages, Paperback

Published July 4, 2023

Reviews

[Kevin Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Superhero origin stories are pretty rote but Henshin! attempts to put a more contemporary spin on things. Characters are introduced with their preferred pronouns and our protagonist, Alex Nolan, is a young gay man.

Bon Idle doesn’t waste any time getting to the meat and potatoes of the story- he sets the scene, introduces our main characters, provides minor antagonists, teases mysteries (and love interests) AND gets that tricky superhero origin buttoned up-all before chapter three!

The Kaiju are the almost featureless menace that appear periodically as fodder for our hero. The frenetic battles are illustrated with motion lines zigging and zagging every which way. The kaiju battles provide a propulsive quality to the narrative but I was far more invested in the interludes between battles.

I wanted to see more of Rosalia (easily my favorite character) and Alex’s quippy banter, the disenchanted staff of the Hollowstone Post, and the mysterious Jeon.

Henshin! Provides a solid jumping off point for a series with a lot of potential!

[Mehsi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book from Netgalley/publisher in exchange of an honest review.


I couldn’t resist this one! That cover! That blurb! The fact is about Kaiju and heroes who defeat things!

😊Loved loved the manga-style art! It fitted very well with the kaiju and the henshin and the fighters.
😊Great MC and great friend (Rosa, so sweet).
😊Fab fighting scenes that were just so cool and I was 100% in it. Especially when a new rival/baddie arrived, say hi to Omen (such a cool name btw).
😊The powers that the guys had + the weapons.
😊Love the dash of mystery, because for a while we don’t know why there are suddenly monsters and also who that mysterious first fighter was.
😊And so learning bits and pieces here there, still a lot of riddles, but a bit more clarity.
😊The crackling energy and flirting between the MC and that other dude (I am sorry, I forgot him name already because scrolling in ADE is HELL). Though I had some sus feelings regarding the guy, I don’t know. Later on even more! I need to know!
😊Thanks for putting that BTS song in my head again. XD
😊The ending! It really closes off this chapter/this volume, but leaves plenty of room for more Henshin volumes, and I am here for it!

🤔 I do hope that we get to know more about what happened during the disaster, I am sure it has to do with kaiju and other sus things happening, but would like to just get to know a bit more about it. Plus, given the blurb I had just expected more of this part: “As a gay man, Alex never imagined his cozy college life becoming deadly, but that’s just what happens as his battles uncover an unholy connection between his city, the most powerful company in Europe, and the Kaiju. Can he uncover the secret before it’s too late?” Maybe I was tired, but I didn’t see Alex do a lot of researching/uncovering of secrets. His friend Rosa however was doing her best on that front, but since she is not the MC we only get glimpses and things told by her.

All in all, this was fun! I am so happy to see this one and happy I got the chance to read it~ Recommended!

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basically this feels like Power Rangers Meets Godzilla or Pasific Rim, and for that, it was entertaining enough.

My biggest two drawbacks is reading this digital, all the pages were double presented, I couldn't get one page at a time. Which is odd because none of the other books I read on here (netgallery) had that issue. Saying that, it was still readable just a bit of a pain.

I did enjoy our main hero. Him trying to balance being a hero while also his love life was solid. I liked the queer angle as it's something new for me. I always enjoy different perspectives and thought that was handled well.

The action was decent enough but I couldn't help but feel like I've been through these story beats and fights before. Not bad but I wasn't blown away.

Saying all that, if you are a fan of Godzilla and Power Rangers and things like this, this is a solid fun read. A 3 out of 5.

(I received a NetGallery ARC to give a fair and honest review).

[Carolina Gardner · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a Power Ranger story with a mix of Godzilla, but with a twist!!

I wasn’t really sure if I was gonna like the manga but the story and the characters really warmed up to me ❤️ the pace of the story was good. The action parts of the story are really awesome and cool to look at. And I also love the little cute banters between Rosa and Alex. Especially those sexy run ins with Jae-Hyun 😏

I also really like Alex‘s monologue on becoming a hero. It feels familiar yet different at the same time from superhero comics, I have read before.

The story was a little quick paced then I thought, but I don’t really mind it. Either way I’m very curious about what’s gonna happen next, especially after that plot twist in the end.

[Jessica Hamilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a stretch for me, as I don't typically delve into the world of manga. This story has modern themes, diverse characters, and explores relatable concepts regarding control and power. I particularly liked the twist at the very end...makes a great set up for the next volume! I am curious to see where this story will go.

[Jack Phoenix · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fitting for fans of POWER RANGERS, HENSHIN! may be generic but just entertaining enough to pass the time.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Looking forward to see what happens next.

[Edward Buckton · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a British-origin pastiche of Tokusatsu stories, this is, in theory, 100% My Shit, to use the scientific term.

In practice, though, the result is a little under-cooked. This could be the perfect opportunity to create something more developed than your typical Japanese superhero program or manga, but it feels like Idle has used the tropes of tokusatsu as a very rigorous and inflexible template.

Some of this is enjoyable - the heavy stylisation, the implied coreography and attack announcements spring to mind. But between the complete lack of subtext and the characteristically broken English, I had to wonder why I was reading this pastiche when I could just engage with something more authentic from the beginning.

I got through this super quickly, so I might end up picking up the next one, but it's not a priority. Still, I had fun, and the author's passion shone through in the story's art and action.

[Sev · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm currently trying to go through all of Saturday AM's physical titles, and it turns out I'm within the target audience for "Henshin!", as I generally prefer to read LGBT comic genres and personally desire BL with more “shonen” or action undertones. Although, I don't think Henshin is marketed as a BL at all, just more of a superhero with a gay lead. I love superhero plots (I'm a SERIOUS Tiger and Bunny fan) so Henshin is right up my alley, although at first I wasn't trying to expect too much. After reading the first volume though, I was pleasantly surprised and read through it very quickly. The paneling flows extremely well and the art is fantastic! In terms of the story, the setup was done well and gave a perfect amount of exposition. Although I can see how some people may find the plot a little cliché (the whole, superhero giving away his powers to someone random, now the MC is a superhero) but I can see how with more development as time goes on, the simple setup could really snowball into something interesting.

In terms of characters, I'm not completely sold on Alex as a character. Super “Good” and "Nice" main characters are hard for me to be invested in, as they usually need to have a character flaw or obvious motivation right away for me to find them interesting, and I also feel like he wasn't properly fleshed out enough for me. I don't know what to say in terms of his personality, and I feel like I don't know a whole lot about Alex besides the fact he's gay, doesn't have a boyfriend, is a college student, and studies journalism. (Which is all stuff we know about from the synopsis. 😂) Speaking of the synopsis: the first volume also doesn't really delve into very much when it comes to Alex navigating life as a gay man, which I felt could have been one aspect to where we could see a more of a glimpse into Alex's personality. (For example, Rosa keeps making fun of him for not having a boyfriend, but perhaps the reason why he doesn't have a boyfriend is just that he's very focused on his studies and his goals, and dating just kind of takes a backseat in his life? And maybe that's why his dates with Jae-Hyun never worked out? Now I'm just theorizing here, lol.)
I'm actually way more invested in Jae-Hyun as a character, and Alex's friend Rosalia. Jae-Hyun being the anti-hero at the end I definitely saw coming a mile away, which is fine because that makes everything way more interesting now.

I'm genuinely interested in this series and am really excited to see where the plot leads to. I don't know if this series will delve into any romance (which is fine, as a lot of shonen only has subtle romance or focuses on friendship) and may stick to being more about the story and action, although I'm assuming there may be a little chemistry between the hero and the anti-hero??? Which would be amazing??? The book also seems to be marketed towards younger readers, 13+, but I wouldn't really say that the younger crowd is it's actual targeted audience, since the story originally got started in the publisher's josei, women's/lgbt focused magazine. To me, it feels more suitable for 15+ audience, not due to age appropriateness, but just in terms of the subject matter (focused on college students, mystery/conspiracies, sentai superheros). As for the age rating, the volume doesn't really have anything too inappropriate aside from some fight scenes and a few curse words. (So if a younger crowd ends up with it, this first volume is rather age appropriate.)

I'd say this is perfect read for fans of Alice Oseman's "Heartstopper" who may also like shonen mangas like "My Hero Academia".

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Henshin is a neat superhero story. Its main character is Alex Nolan, a journalism student. He and his best friend and fellow journalism student, Rosa, are investigating corruption at a company led by Alton Grieves. This takes place as Kaiju attack the city that they are both living in. During one of these attacks, Alex gains spirit-like superpowers and becomes a superhero named Henshin.

Alex's journey and battles - and the overall plot - are simple but cool. It's a fairly straightforward story, but it had some great action and I like the way the battles were depicted. I also found the story intriguing, especially the mystery behind one of the antagonists (not Grieves, but a different one who confronts Alex). The mystery behind this antagonist kept me engaged as did the efforts to investigate Grieves.

I also like the characters of the story and their bonds. For the most part, I enjoyed the friendship between Rosa and Alex. They have some great banter with one another and their dialogue is solid. They're also supportive of and caring for each other. I like how determined and courageous Rosa is - and how she holds her own too while in trouble. She has some good investigative skills too and she's one of my favorite characters in this book.

Alex is a good character also. I like how he is selfless and brave too. Like Rosa, he is pretty determined too. While his arc is a bit predictable at times, it was fun. He thinks well on his feet and I like how he adapts to the various situations that he faces. I hope to see more depth to his character - and hope to see some backstory about what drives his quest for justice (beyond finding it suspicious how Grives gaining power and influence), but this book is off to a good start for him.

It also has a nice start for Jae-Hyun. He is also a journalism student. While he and Alex can be awkward among each other and seem distant at times, they both have romantic feelings for one another. I like how Bon Idle has written their bond so far. It's not rushed and there is a cute moment between them. The twist at the end makes the future of their relationship even more interesting. I can't say much more without spoiling, but I'm enjoying his arc. He and Rosa are my favorite characters in the book. I like Alex too, but so far, I'm liking Jae-Hyun and Rosa more.

I also generally like the pacing. It is fast, but that works well for a superhero story like this one. Sometimes though, it goes by a bit too quickly.

Overall though, this has been a nice start. I like the characters, their bonds, and the story. The art and action are good. I hope to see more backstory for Alex and hope the pacing slows down a bit, but altogether, I'm hooked and am looking forward to reading book #2 whenever it comes out.

[Pa_tr0_clus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read via NetGalley
3.75 stars

This was so fun! Henshin is a modern Power Rangers style superhero graphic novel about a journalism student, Alex, who is given powers to fight monsters. There’s friendships, conspiracies, rivalries, and possible romance in this promising first volume. The pacing is fast and the artwork is busy and dynamic, with a style that reminds me of 90s manga but with much more variety in character design. Alex accepts his newfound responsibility with little to no doubt, which may be to his detriment, according to his mysterious rival. All in all, this was interesting and just simply fun sci-fi/Samauri vibes and a good start to a new series. Though, reading it left to right threw me off to begin with since I assumed the manga style format would also maintain the right to left speech bubble order.

[Sesana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty impressive manga style comic. It's Power Rangers with a dash of Godzilla. Or maybe closer to Ultraman. It uses the genre trappings fairly well. If you're a fan of super sentai and similar franchises, this will probably appeal to you. The main character is very appealing. He's earnest and his desire to help feels very sincere, which makes him a good candidate for super hero. There's a potential romance with another character who seems to run hot and cold. He didn't appeal to me as much, and I felt like I didn't know him any better at the end of the book than I did when he showed up at the beginning. Maybe that will develop more in later volumes. The conspiracy running in the background and mystery surrounding the disaster that hit the city in the past add some spice to what is otherwise a pretty standard setting for this kind of story. A really promising start.

[Raven || The Reader Identity · Rating 4 out of 5]

**3.5 stars rounded up**

So this one was okay. It features Alex, a journalism student turned superhero as he navigates his complicated life. He’s brave and fun and we’ll-rounded, but he wasn’t “special” for this genre if you know what I mean. Kinda cringey, good at what he does, innocent but strong. He was also queer, so that was a nice change, but it all felt so easy.

Definitely had vibes like Pacific Rim or the Power Rangers so can’t go wrong there.

It was also odd reading left to right. I’m used to reading right to left with manga or graphic novels so that was a big change for me.

Overall, this was a fun, promising first volume in a pretty standard superhero plot line.

[Vail Chester · Rating 4 out of 5]

Basically someone wanted to fuse elements of My Hero Academia with elements from Kamen Rider and Bleach, but jarringly has an artstyle that looks like it came from a "how to draw manga" book and the only English they know is heavily British-coded.
Still, a darn decent attempt at capturing the tokusatsu vibes of a rookie transforming hero that has to protect his city from otherwordly horrors, a conspiracy involving those horrors, and a dark rival that will only complicate his personal life.
Would definitely be interested in how this continues but hoping they can amp up the art style so that it looks slightly more manga.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.7 stars for sure. Thanks to Netgalley for the e-arc!

That was interesting! A mix of Power Rangers/Super Sentai and Kamen Rider. Quite action packed with a big bad behind the scenes pulling the strings. The fact that the MC is gay was very much in the background. Interesting enough for me to want to read volume 2.

[Nat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, I really liked this graphic novel. I liked the friendships between the characters. The art from the fight scenes looks super cool. And I really appreciated that any time a character was introduced, their pronouns were included in their introduction. There seemed to be a lot of unanswered questions in this volume. Maybe they will get resolved in future volumes.

[Anthony P · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid start to a fun super sentai styled series. The art is fun and the mystery of the kaiju, Rekaigers, and Alton Grieves provides a good hook to keep you interested in Henshin!s future. Can't wait for volume 2 someday.

[Seras23 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is goofy and adorable and perfect for what it is. It's a very fun read and I love the romance. The plot is pretty predictable, but that's fine. It's a delightful book and I can't wait to read future installments.

[Zelalem Berhanu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Exposition kinda reads like it was written by a 12 year old but I still had a lot of fun with this. Le epic class analysis with likable characters and decent world building. Reminded me of why I love tokusatsu so much and it makes me want to revisit some shows. Looking forward to volume 2

[Brenna · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a cute take on tokusatsu, but I found that it wasn't really my style. The story seems interesting, but I didn't really feel that drawn to it, and the art style wasn't my fav. It was an okay read but I probably won't follow up on the rest.

[Yuuto · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you’re a fan of Kamen Rider or super sentai, this is going to be right up your alley. Definitely looking forward to reading more of this series!

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Top notch action and heart. A must read for Toku fans and nerds in general.

[ash ♡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

pretty much just skimmed the last half of this one

[grieshaber.reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun superhero origin story.

[Timothy Alexander · Rating 5 out of 5]

a really good read, I love finding anything tokusatsu. Look forward to more

[Dolores · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one reminded me a bit of Kaiju no. 8, but it lacked the warmth and humor.

[Lindsay · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. The art style felt off. Like a poor mimicry of manga. Also the dialogue was too simplistic.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full review in Booklist Magazine.

Read more graphic novel reviews at The Graphic Library.