Mr Mega Man Manga Gets Introspective

We don’t really get to see Mega Man ever enjoying downtime in his games. Some spin-off series aside, he’s constantly at work, dealing with robot masters and saving the world from Dr. Wily. It’s a seemingly endless cycle. Except Mr Mega Man, a new manga from Yushi Kawata and Yukito and picked up for an English release by Udon Entertainment, suggests there is a “what’s next” for not only Rock, but his allies and opponents. It’s an introspective sort of series, for the most part, and shows what his “new” adventures might be like once he doesn’t need to constantly fight for everyone’s sake. Editor’s Note: There will be spoilers for the first volume of the Mr Mega Man manga below. Much like the Mega Man games, the Mr Mega Man manga starts with an introduction saying the year is 20XX and setting the stage. Because Dr. Light retired, Dr. Wily also abandoned his schemes. As the world is peaceful, the robots formerly subject to their whims are also now productive, accepted members of society. Rock and Roll run a dental practice and get to be… happy and think about their lives. It’s quite a change, and a welcome one! Image via Udon and Capcom To start, Mr Mega Man jumps right in by explaining what life is like in this new future for Rock and Roll. Because of the nature of their existence, the two of them both look human. He’s was updated so often (over the course of the games) that it’s easy for him to continue to be upgraded and repaired. That isn’t the case for other robots. When he brings up this concern to Dr. Light and suggest that the Labor Standards Act should apply to robots as well as humans, his creator brushes it off. It’s like, “Ha ha, robots are created with a purpose and to serve humans, so why should you worry about that?” Mr Mega Man ends up getting really philosophical, and I appreciate that. Like when Rock visits Cut Man, the former enemy considers the nature of his existence and his appearance. He brings up how now that he ended up “forced” into being a barber, rather than a lumberjack as intended, he started considering how impractical his design was. He has to use scissors to cut hair. When he was logging, he tended to use chainsaws. Even as a woodcutter, it’d have been better to use plasma or electric scroll saws. Which got me thinking that yeah, he’s right, his design doesn’t make any sense from a practical one. And while Dr. Light insisted people make robots for certain causes, clearly this one didn’t work out. Later conversations between Rock and Roll, and later Rock and Guts Man, explain how the new Mr Mega Man robots differ. Yes, they’re more modern and efficient. However, in the years since Dr. Light and Dr. Wily’s past experiments and developments, cognitive circuits were removed. They’re not a function anymore. Rock and Roll are lucky, as their original design and purpose mean they are still relatively timeless and applicable, but older ones not only have issues being fixed. There are rules against moving to modern bodies. I’m not going to go any further and possibly spoil more of the volume for you. But I love how Mr Mega Man tackles issues. Rock and Roll are constantly concerned about not only their existence, but that of the people they knew and fought against. We see how humans relate to these older models, the restrictions they face, and how even someone who is repairing and helping them like Dr. Light can be dismissive. It’s absolutely fascinating, and I’m so glad Udon Entertainment picked it up. Volume 1 of the Mr Mega Man manga is available now, as is volume 1 of Little Mega Man. The post Mr Mega Man Manga Gets Introspective appeared first on Siliconera.

Feb 3, 2025 - 04:55

We don’t really get to see Mega Man ever enjoying downtime in his games. Some spin-off series aside, he’s constantly at work, dealing with robot masters and saving the world from Dr. Wily. It’s a seemingly endless cycle. Except Mr Mega Man, a new manga from Yushi Kawata and Yukito and picked up for an English release by Udon Entertainment, suggests there is a “what’s next” for not only Rock, but his allies and opponents. It’s an introspective sort of series, for the most part, and shows what his “new” adventures might be like once he doesn’t need to constantly fight for everyone’s sake.

Editor’s Note: There will be spoilers for the first volume of the Mr Mega Man manga below.

Much like the Mega Man games, the Mr Mega Man manga starts with an introduction saying the year is 20XX and setting the stage. Because Dr. Light retired, Dr. Wily also abandoned his schemes. As the world is peaceful, the robots formerly subject to their whims are also now productive, accepted members of society. Rock and Roll run a dental practice and get to be… happy and think about their lives. It’s quite a change, and a welcome one!

To start, Mr Mega Man jumps right in by explaining what life is like in this new future for Rock and Roll. Because of the nature of their existence, the two of them both look human. He’s was updated so often (over the course of the games) that it’s easy for him to continue to be upgraded and repaired. That isn’t the case for other robots. When he brings up this concern to Dr. Light and suggest that the Labor Standards Act should apply to robots as well as humans, his creator brushes it off. It’s like, “Ha ha, robots are created with a purpose and to serve humans, so why should you worry about that?”

Mr Mega Man ends up getting really philosophical, and I appreciate that. Like when Rock visits Cut Man, the former enemy considers the nature of his existence and his appearance. He brings up how now that he ended up “forced” into being a barber, rather than a lumberjack as intended, he started considering how impractical his design was. He has to use scissors to cut hair. When he was logging, he tended to use chainsaws. Even as a woodcutter, it’d have been better to use plasma or electric scroll saws. Which got me thinking that yeah, he’s right, his design doesn’t make any sense from a practical one. And while Dr. Light insisted people make robots for certain causes, clearly this one didn’t work out.

Later conversations between Rock and Roll, and later Rock and Guts Man, explain how the new Mr Mega Man robots differ. Yes, they’re more modern and efficient. However, in the years since Dr. Light and Dr. Wily’s past experiments and developments, cognitive circuits were removed. They’re not a function anymore. Rock and Roll are lucky, as their original design and purpose mean they are still relatively timeless and applicable, but older ones not only have issues being fixed. There are rules against moving to modern bodies.

I’m not going to go any further and possibly spoil more of the volume for you. But I love how Mr Mega Man tackles issues. Rock and Roll are constantly concerned about not only their existence, but that of the people they knew and fought against. We see how humans relate to these older models, the restrictions they face, and how even someone who is repairing and helping them like Dr. Light can be dismissive. It’s absolutely fascinating, and I’m so glad Udon Entertainment picked it up.

Volume 1 of the Mr Mega Man manga is available now, as is volume 1 of Little Mega Man.

The post Mr Mega Man Manga Gets Introspective appeared first on Siliconera.