Megatokyo Vol 06

by Fred Gallagher

[Quirky Cat]

The final volume of Megatokyo, volume six, contains chapters nine and ten, as well as two short stories. It’s been a fun run, and I’ll be sad to see the series go, but I believe there’s still a few more pages floating around somewhere out on the internet (I just haven’t gone searching yet). You can obviously find all of the comics included in the volumes online, I just wanted to try and read the paper formats, to see how things were different (mostly the way it was sorted and organized, for those that are curious).



When reading volume five of Megatokyo I got the feeling that we were nearing the end of the series; and I swear that wasn’t simply because I had already bought all of the volumes available. You can see them winding up for the conclusion, wrapping up some loose ends, bringing certain plots to a head, merging others together, that sort of thing. This volume furthers that, and further wraps up many of the plots started.
That being said, there’s actually quite a bit still up in the air. Which I was surprised by. I honestly had thought the series would get all nice and wrapped up, considering how it felt like it was ending. I mean, if I felt like we were coming to the end, surely the creative team did as well, right?
On the whole I’m okay with the conclusions we were given. We weren’t given a ton of definite answers, but considering how much of the plot relied on the relationships and their interactions, I’m actually content with this approach. If we had gotten all of the answers it might have felt too ‘happily ever after’ which isn’t the point of the series at all.
All things considered I would have liked a bit more time for a few of the secondary characters. I feel like Piro, Largo, Erika, and Kimiko all had their plots wrapped up as nicely as possible, without removing the realness to it all (they are human, and people can change). Miho’s plot was concluded well, and I actually almost wish they had left hers more of a cliffhanger than they did (sure, it would have been depressing, but you’ve got to admit it would have made it more interesting). I’d like to have seen just a bit more about Ping and everyone else though.
Along with the main plot there are two short stories in this volume. While I enjoyed reading the short stories, I do think they should have been reordered; perhaps having both of them at the end of the volume? The current set up isn’t awful…it’s just not the most clear for those of us that binge read at night (my poor tired brain got a little confused).
On the whole I’d have to say that seeing this series end is bitter sweet. On the one hand I hate to see a good thing go, but on the other I’d always prefer that to seeing a series go on too long (I’m sure we can all think of a book or TV series that should have been allowed to die years earlier). Maybe it’s just me, but it’s always extra sad to see a webcomic series end. Perhaps because it’s update schedule becomes such a part of our lives?


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