Unfortunately, their first human guinea pig, a young man named Hashizawa Ikuroo, has managed to escape, along with a young girl, Sumire, who has a strange precognitive gift. Unless Doress operatives can find and destroy Ikuroo before the Baoh parasite fully manifests, their evil dream will come to naught.

But Baoh, comfortably hiding in Ikuroo's brain, won't make it easy.

Review:

Baoh is roughly about a couple of orphans that receive powers due to a government experiment in order to create super weapons. Pretty common sounding story line, huh? Baoh might not sound incredibly original, since plenty of anime/mangas have similar plots, but Baoh is definitely a treasure that gets overlooked.

From Araki Hirohiko, the creator of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Baoh is one of the few domestic titles available from the insanely genius creator. Some of his earlier works include Busou Poker (1981), Autoto Man (1982), Virginia ni Yoroshiku (1982), and Ma Shonen Cool Shock BT (1982). Baoh was published in 1984, which was followed in 1985 by Gorgeous Irene. In 1987 he debuted Jojo's Bizarre Adventure in the pages of the weekly manga omnibus magazine for boys: Shonen Jump.

I am a fan of Hirohiko’s unique art style and Baoh is an often ignored title. There is also a Baoh OAV available domestically to accompany the manga. Honestly, my biggest complaint concerning Baoh is its brevity. Two volumes unfortunately kills any comprehensive character development and spurns the reader to desire more about the compelling protagonists.

The pairing of a tough guy teenager with amazingly violent powers and a young girl (and her cute fluffy pet) is touching and quite interesting. It resembles Fist of the North Star and S-cry-ed with its ultra violence and “us against them” theme concerning the orphans. Certainly a shonen manga aimed at fans of action, adventure, and sci-fi.

As a girl, I still enjoyed it for the well written translation and the touching connection between the main characters. It is well developed for a two part story probably because Hirohiko designed it that way, but I still longed for more when it was over which prevented a higher grade. The art, as always, is amazing. Ground breaking character designs, accented with stylized anatomy and unique inking techniques make this an eye-catching experience. With only two volumes, you can certainly afford this rare masterpiece.

Pros: Beautiful art and amazing story from the bizarre genius. Very retro.

Cons: Two volumes might make readers feel a little cheated since the story ends so abruptly.

Try: S-cry-ed, Fist of the North Star, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure