30 Years of Neo Mechanical Romance: Why B't X Might Be Masami Kurumada's Strongest Overall Narrative

Even as someone who proclaims Masami Kurumada as his all-time favorite mangaka, there's no denying one thing: The man isn't always the strongest storyteller. From an overall perspective his best works are powerful, both in the force of the blows dealt between combatants in his various action manga as well as the strong, Romantic-styled themes & plot progression. It's also easy to consider the various story arcs seen in many of his manga & think of how damn good they each can be, overall. However, there's no doubt that, when you dig into the weeds, you can easily find some notable & undeniable flaws, from a storytelling perspective, and even some story arcs might not be as good as others. Not just that, but I don't think it's unfair to say that most of Kurumada's longer works tend to have slow starts, and while that's not inherently a bad thing (slow burn storytelling can be outstanding, after all) it does mean that titles like Ring ni Kakero, Fuma no Kojirou, & Saint Seiya (especially if you're watching the Seiya TV anime) can also be described with a line that can make some shirk at the thought of starting them: "Just stick with it; it gets better!"

B't X, in my opinion, doesn't suffer from most of these situations. In fact, it might just be Masami Kurumada's strongest overall narrative.

This remains one of the coolest logos I've ever seen.

Running from (roughly) late 1994 to early 2000 for 16 volumes, B't X (pronounced "Beat X") was the first manga Masami Kurumada ever made outside of Shueisha, after more or less getting tired with the harsh & competitive grind of making manga for Weekly Shonen Jump; it also (just barely) managed to count as Masami Kurumada's 20th Anniversary work. Instead, B't X ran in the then-brand new Monthly Shonen Ace by Kadokawa Shoten (it even got the cover for the very first issue), a magazine focused more on serializing manga based on anime & video games, like Gundam, Macross, The King of Fighters, Martian Successor Nadesico, Record of Lodoss War, & Neon Genesis Evangelion, though there has also been the occasional original property throughout its history (MPD Psycho, Sgt. Frog, Eden's Bowy, Nyankees, Guyver, etc.). While Ring ni Kakero & Saint Seiya more or less defined Masami Kurumada during the (late) 70s & 80s, respectively, B't X was what defined him during the 90s, receiving a TV anime adaptation by TMS in 1996, followed by an OVA continuation titled B't X Neo in 1997, & altogether the anime adapted the first half of the manga before heading into its own original ending, as the manga was still running; that said, Neo & the manga both feature similar final acts, in numerous ways. It's a series that I have reviewed in the past, both in its original manga form as well as for both halves of the anime. However, I feel specific focus should be given to the narrative of B't X itself, both in its overall structure as well as specific details, because when compared to his other works I do feel that it succeeds in ways that none of the others do and, because of that, it actually might be a far better starting point for newcomers to Kurumada than the more obvious (& overwhelming) Saint Seiya.

Trust me, my first Kurumada series ever was the B't X anime.

[Note: This will naturally go into spoilers to explain some details, and I fully recommend that you read either review for B't X, manga or anime, as linked above first, as I will not be giving a traditional introduction for the series this time around.]

Since there are no digital rips of TokyoPop's English translation,
all images from the manga will have to be in their original Japanese.

While I won't go through this from a purely chronological perspective, it does all begins with Volume 1, as the first volume of any manga should (ideally) catch your interest & establish the basic idea of what the manga is about, whether that's a long-term serialized plot or a strictly episodic concept. In that regard... Masami Kurumada's history of first volumes is a bit mixed. Ring ni Kakero's first volume, in its original tankouban form, introduces the three primary characters (Ryuji Takane, Kiku Takane, & Jun Kenzaki), but it takes until the very end of that volume for Ryuji to truly want to take up boxing so that he can stand up against Kenzaki; being a sports series this is understandable, since those stories are about the rise from the bottom to the top. In comparison, Fuma no Kojirou's first volume introduces Kojirou & showcases his initial assistance of Hakuo Academy's sports teams, but in terms of the overall plot of the initial Yasha Chapter it only barely introduces that aspect by showing Kojirou lose to his antagonist/rival, Musashi Asuka; just enough to give some idea of the series, but stopping before the REAL meat of that story arc truly begins. Otoko Zaka's first volume introduces Jingi Kikukawa & establishes his instant rivalry with Sho Takeshima (before he heads off to America), but otherwise only covers up to Jingi's fight on a boat during a storm with his future second-in-command, Toukichi Kuroda; there's no hint at all of the main conflict of the manga, which is the incoming invasion by the Junior World Connection. Finally, Saint Seiya's first volume is the roughest of them all, introducing the absolute most basic concept of the Saints, showing Seiya earn his Pegasus Cloth, and starting off the Galaxian Wars tournament for the Sagittarius Gold Cloth... all without really explaining anything in regards to what the actual plot of the manga is, and that's simply because Kurumada himself seemingly didn't have that 100% set in stone quite yet. There's also Silent Knight Sho, but considering that it's only two volumes long because of getting quickly cancelled it wouldn't really be fair to judge it, in this regard; same with Sukeban Arashi in the mid-70s, though at least that did establish a general status quo early on.

In comparison to all of those, B't X's first volume is more or less the exact opposite. The first chapter (i.e. the first third) alone goes through introducing Teppei Takamiya & his older brother Kotaro, establishing the basic idea of the plot (Machine Empire kidnaps Kotaro, and Teppei has to make his way through The Area to rescue Kotaro), and ending with the revival of X himself via Teppei's blood seeping through the garbage heap X was left for dead in; it even gives some initial nuggets of backstory, like Lt. Metal Face slowly realizing that he had seen Teppei before. The following two chapters making up the rest of Volume 1 (remember, this ran monthly so chapters can range between 50-60 pages) then focus mostly on backstory, establishing how Teppei protected Empire defector Karen of the West from Metal Face five years prior, how she in turn saved Teppei from death & trained him for the day Kotaro will likely get kidnapped, & establishing the initially rocky & hot-headed relationship between Teppei & X, while also introducing the first of the main supporting cast, Spirit General/Spiritual Guardian (depending on the official translation, same with some names) Foh/Fou Rafine of the South. While the basic concept of B't X is a simple & straightforward one, i.e. it's a giant rescue arc, Volume 1 does a lot to give the reader an immediate idea of what to expect in terms of a central plot focus, something that a number of Kurumada's prior works didn't really do as well with for their first volumes.

Similarly, while B't X doesn't have distinct story arcs, like Kurumada's prior works were very stringently regimented into, there is still an overall three-act structure across the entire story that can be split into three thematic "acts", if you will, each of which containing its own overall structure. The first act, comprised of Chapters 1 to 17 (i.e. Volumes 1 to 5), introduce the plot & primary characters from both sides & detail Teppei & X's initial fights against five of the first six Point Guards on the outskirts of The Area's utterly massive compound, before ending with the death & revival of X himself, which in turn gives Teppei the chance to fix his way of thinking & truly work alongside X as his "buddy". The second act, comprised of Chapters 18 to 43 (Volumes 5 to 11), switches things over to focusing on the Seven Demon Generals, the strongest warriors of the Machine Empire, taking on Teppei & his allies for the remaining seven points, all while Kotaro does his best to survive "UnderHell", the underground prison of The Area he was cast down into in the first act, & figure out a way to destroy B't Raphaello/Raffaelo, the Machine Emperor's greatest creation, via high-level calculations, even if he was to draw on the ground & walls to do so. Finally, the third act, comprised of Chapters 44 to 63 (Volumes 12 to 16), details the final battles against the last three Demon Generals, all while The Area itself falls into further disarray against the unstoppable, godlike force that is Raphaello, before climaxing with the finale of the entire manga.

Naturally, if B't X can be split into three acts, then that should mean that there is some sense of the three-act structure within each of these sections. This is definitely seen the most with the "Act 1", as we see the introduction of the plot & characters themselves, the "rising action" of Teppei & X encountering the initial Point Guards, with the climax of that being Teppei's actions resulting in X's death (though with a powerful final glimmer of the potential the two can have, when in proper unison), as well as the reveal of Kotaro being sent down to UnderHell, while the "falling action" showcases Kotaro's resolution to figure out how the defeat Raphaello despite his impossible odds, while Teppei is given a second chance by way of X's "revivial" into an even more powerful form. To be fair, there is actually an Asian equivalent to the three-act structure, known in Japanese as "kishotenketsu", and this first act of B't X also follows that structure perfectly, as the "Ki/Introduction" establishes everything, the "Sho/Development" is Teppei & X's initial fights (which are to be expected in a Kurumada manga), the "Ten/Twist" is the surprise of Teppei's bullish way of doing things resulting in X's death (i.e. the "yama/climax"), & the "Ketsu/Conclusion" being X's revival & the reintroduction of Kotaro as the simultaneous secondary plot. However, that's not to say that it doesn't still apply to the latter two acts, as "Act 2" does still "end" with a battle that our heroes only barely survive (& only partially because of their own direct actions), while Raphaello itself starts making its full presence known to all in The Area, complete with multiple human-like heads ready to chow down on various characters, both good & bad; a perfect cliffhanger for "Act 3" to begin on. It definitely feels as though Kurumada intended for this overall series three-act structure from the start, and it is excellently showcased.

Raphaello in Volume 11, aside from possibly being an homage to Anthrasax in Bastard!!,
allows Kurumada to turn B't X into a bit of a horror manga, for a little bit.

This is something I've brought up in my past reviews of the manga & anime, but when you look at the finer details it's arguable that Masami Kurumada may have used B't X as a way to directly address a lot the standard plot beats & conventions that became common in action manga like this, which is due in part to Kurumada himself helping solidify them via his manga in the 70s & 80s. While I'm not one to readily use the term "deconstruction", since it's often used flippantly for just the slightest things, I feel it could apply to B't X. For example, there's the old concept of "Defeat=Friendship", where someone who was once an enemy or rival to the main character later becomes a staunch ally, usually because the main character managed to surpass them. This is a concept that's as old as time, admittedly, but it is extremely adhered to in shonen action manga, and Kurumada likewise helped enforce that with Ring ni Kakero, Otoko Zaka, & Saint Seiya; Fuma no Kojirou also has it, but only really with Musashi Asuka, & even that is more loose of an example. In RnK, Ryuji defeats Shinatora & Kawai, who later join him as part of Team Golden Japan Jr., World Rivals Skorpion, Helga, & Napoleon join Japan Jr. to form the World Jr. Union after their defeats in the World Tournament to fight the 12 Gods of Greece, & even Zeus of the 12 Gods later arrives to deliver the Kaiser Knuckle to Ryuji (via Kenzaki) to help fight the Ashura Clan. Otoko Zaka's entire modus operandi is for Jingi to unite Japan's regional gangs together to fight off the incoming JWC, and while he eventually doesn't directly fight each gang leader (though he still does for a few), he still has to convince them to join his cause, effectively "defeating" them morally. And as for Saint Seiya... pretty much most of the supporting cast winds up being former enemies of Seiya & Co., and even Seiya himself has to at least kill (& then revive) Shiryu before those two become best buds early on.

B't X, on the other hand, sees Kurumada almost actively avoid utilizing that concept at all. Teppei never defeats any of the Spirit Generals, instead getting outright trounced by Foh in Volume 2, is outright skipped over by Lon/Ron of the East in Volume 3 (though in the anime the two do fight shortly, only to come to a draw), & Dr. Hokuto of the North detests fighting to begin with when he's introduced in Volume 4; even then, Teppei is at his lowest point when he meets Hokuto, so he couldn't beat him if he even tried. Using traditional shonen action logic, this would mean that Teppei is actually a rather weak person & not really worth being the main character, as he can't even surpass the characters he's meant to be seen as an equal to via teaming with X. However, the main theme of B't X is the concept of someone being able to "shine", even when stuck in the darkest of places, i.e. the lowest of lows. Despite Teppei not being capable of outperforming Foh, his indestructible will & determination to save Kotaro results in him (inadvertently) inspiring Foh to finally act on doubts that he had hidden deep within from five years prior, when Foh secretly didn't kill Karen when he had the chance. Meanwhile, though Lon doesn't interact much with Teppei, his own steadfast belief in justice becomes even more strengthened when he starts getting indications that the Emperor he believed in may actually be leading to the world's destruction, feelings that are only forged further when he eventually meets Kotaro himself later on. As for Kotaro, while he's no fighter, him being cast down into UnderHell results in him only becoming even more resolute to scientifically figure out how to defeat Raphaello, which in turn eventually starts to inspire his fellow scientist prisoners to help him out, as well as earning the trust of UnderHell warden Marchello & the steadfast friendship of Marchello's second-in-command, the hulking Amigo.

Another aspect is that Kurumada did his absolute best to make sure that each fight in B't X was different from each of the prior ones, if not in literal combat then at least in thematic, plot beat, or execution. This really starts with Captain Hook & his giant worm B't Groupie, the first Point Guard that Teppei & X encounter. This encounter is a rather basic one but does show some ingenuity in how Teppei realizes that his blows against Groupie won't work on the outside... but what about from inside? Meanwhile, Hook himself is dealt with in a way that helps give some extra mystique regarding the Messiah Fist itself. However, Point #2 with Camilla & B't Mirage is handled completely differently, as after the initial illusion-based conflict Teppei & X find themselves in the actual fight is two-pronged, with Teppei fighting Camilla & X fighting Mirage completely separate from each other. Point #3 with the "Shinigami/God of Death" Aleph & B't Bat, meanwhile, is 100% plot centric as there really isn't much of a fight, outside of Teppei & X simply getting trounced from the get-go, and even Teppei's plan of pushing through & fighting Aleph at point-blank range winds up failing, doing nothing but damaging X to the point of near-death. This is all to establish the main theme of the manga's first act, which I feel is Kurumada deconstructing the headstrong beliefs & behaviors of the characters seen in his prior works. Before B't X, Kurumada's manga were (mostly) defined by characters who were willing to fight until they eventually succeeded, often to the point where dying was seemingly an acceptable result as long as victory was achieved. This was especially seen with Golden Japan Jr. in Ring ni Kakero & the Bronze Saints in Saint Seiya, but even Jingi in Otoko Zaka was willing to jump off a cliff to prove his dedication to training under the legendary Kenka Oni early on, while Kojirou's effort to put a final end to the Sacred Sword War in Fuma no Kojirou was essentially him saying that true & final death was preferable to being uncontrollably reincarnated 1,000 years later simply to fight in another War, all to achieve saṃsāra.

In B't X, though, Teppei is initially seen to follow that same exact mindset as Kurumada's prior leads, though his own weaknesses are buoyed by X... only for Teppei to effectively treat X as a talking chariot, taking a lot of (admittedly) unneeded damage in order to get past the initial Point Guards, & not truly realizing his own inability to work as part of a pair until it's too late & X finally succumbs to the damage he sustained due to Teppei's bullheaded nature. It's only through the kind & benevolent nature of Hokuto that X manages to be rebuilt in a stronger form, and it's with this newfound appreciation & love for X that Teppei realizes that it's not just through force that one can win out. That being said, though, this is still a Kurumada manga so sometimes force is necessary, when all else fails. However, while the first act still mostly follows the traditional idea of battle, it's the fights with the Demon Generals in the latter two acts where Kurumada really gets to play around with expectations. Sure, Mislim & B't Lareina/La Lainya are handled in a more standard fashion (though mainly to showcase Teppei having "A Piece of the Sun" within him, which is what lets his "radiance" shine through to others, just like with Kotaro), but all of the rest are anything but "hit it 'til it's dead". There's Foh being willing to let Quatro & B't Loresso kill him so as to repent for his sins, as it relates to his past with Quatro & his deceased little sister, Lily. Meimu/Maim & B't Halloween is really all about Meimu's own past with Hokuto, & how sometimes it's best to keeps some things a secret, with Teppei playing more of a helpless observer role here. Salome & B't Halcyon is pretty much all about Salome's own tragic past, one that hardened her heart, and how Teppei's radiance is so bright that it makes her start to believe once again in the ideals that she had once thrown away; even Foh & Hokuto eventually remark at how each other have changed due to Teppei's "heat". All I'll say about the likes of Sapphire & Gai are that they are handled in somewhat non-traditional means, but I will end with this: Hokuto's "fight" with old rival Dr. Poe in Volume 13 is, in my opinion, one of the greatest fights ever... and it's all done through competing logic puzzles, ultra-high level mathematics, & computer hacking; Hokuto never throws a single physical blow towards Poe.

Masami Kurumada, a man known for his hot-blooded action & bloody fights to the death, also made one of the all-time greatest fights in manga where victory is literally achieved through non-violence. Hey, you name another fight where the first half ends via usage of the Epimenides liar paradox.

Befitting a manga which heavily takes some inspiration from (& includes direct references to) Christian mythos & symbology, things like redemption, forgiveness, embracing peace, & showing the tragedy of war also play a major factor in the overall story of B't X. This is mainly seen with the Machine Empire, lead by an unseen figure in the Machine Emperor (at least, until the final volume), who is treated as though he is God itself & that everything he does is for the betterment of humanity & the world. As the story goes on, though, the various higher ranked soldiers (namely the Spirit Generals & Major Aramis, the woman who directly kidnapped Kotaro) all come to realize that Raphaello (&, in turn, the Machine Emperor) is more Devil than God, and as the backstories of characters like Foh & Hokuto are revealed (&, in turn, they have to be reminded of those pasts) they each see what the Machine Emperor truly is: An Emperor who effectively wants the world to kill itself through war so that he can stake claim over the ashes, all in the name of bringing "peace" to everyone under his rule; things like ceasefires & peace treaties are impediments to that goal. An Emperor who will indoctrinate child war orphans into his best warriors when they grow up, but if need be even have his grunts traumatize them by forcing them to blow up their homes & families with literal nuclear bombs; hey, if the trauma results in the brain creating repressed memories then that makes the kid easier to convert to their side. An Emperor whose higher ups will literally allow the murder of tens of thousands of innocents if it results in the successful capture of a single scientific genius for their purposes; as long Kotaro can help put the finishing touches on Raphaello then it's all good.

While the initial Point Guards are mostly straightforward in who they are, minus Aleph, once the Seven Demon Generals are introduced does the manga really start emphasizing these themes of redemption, forgiveness, & peace. Though Mislim is similarly unrepentant in his actions, Teppei doesn't wish to kill anymore by this point, preferring to instead leave him alone once defeated. As mentioned, Foh initially feels that, though his life can't be taken, letting Quatro take his arm should at least be enough for what he did to Lily all those years ago. Once Meimu remembers his past with Hokuto he asks Teppei to relay his final message to Hokuto, because he feels Hokuto should know the full truth; Teppei, though, can tell that Hokuto already found out enough beforehand to find peace within himself. This continues on with characters like Salome, Juggler (though his backstory is admittedly a bit silly in the manga), Gai, & even Misha, who either wind up siding with the heroes in some fashion before their ends or at least find inner peace. Even Metal Face, easily the most stubbornly unrepentant of the villains, eventually does the right thing... pretty much solely because, deep down within, he truly does care for Karen.

Even some of the B'ts themselves see some extra development in this regard, whether it's X realizing that sometimes all you have for a situation is human-like faith (even if the numbers show no chance of success), Je T'aime & Max realizing that they have legit familial love for their respective donors (Foh & Hokuto) instead of simply seeing them as their "masters", or even Madonna (Metal Face's B't) coming to understand that she actually loves X, much to Metal Face's own confounded amazement. There's also the moment where Hokuto explains to Teppei that a B't's gender is discovered the moment they receive their donor's blood, i.e. B'ts essentially get to choose who they want to be; this also means that TokyoPop's English translation accidentally misgendered Madonna, Je T'aime, & Max in the early volumes. It's why Chapter 61 of the final volume, the antepenultimate (i.e. third-to-last) chapter, sees Kurumada include a quote from Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (i.e. "For Everything There is a Season", best known via the 1965 song "Turn! Turn! Turn!" by The Byrds), because if there can be time for war, tragedy, death, hatred, & sadness, then there is also time for peace, celebration, life, love, & happiness, and we should cherish those latter moments more. In fact, the end of Foh vs. Gai is essentially all about getting Gai to acknowledge the reality of unconditional love, something that he long considered a convenient falsehood that humanity uses to excuse selfish behavior.

Since I used their digital previews for most of the images seen, I'll just use Shueisha's
2-in-1 bunkoban covers this time around, though the logo on these isn't as cool.

Now, to be fair, while I did start off by saying that B't X managed to stave off the stigma of "Just stick with it; it gets better!" to an extent, there still is an element of that in this manga. However, the difference when compared to Kurumada's other long works is that such an element applies more to Kurumada revealing how much of an about face he makes in execution, as those first five volumes only hint at those elements, while giving you an experience that's more to be expected of a Masami Kurumada manga, i.e. wild action, hot-blooded passion, & romanticized storytelling. In terms of establishing the overall plot & characters, B't X doesn't waste its time, which means that readers (both those already familiar with Kurumada's works & those who are new) can quickly get an idea of what to expect early on... only for Kurumada to then change it up in different & interesting ways later on, and in terms of the original serialization that happened a little over a year after the manga debuted, as X's death happens in Chapter 14; this all just seems to be 100% intentional on Kurumada's part.

However, where something like Ring ni Kakero, Saint Seiya, & Fuma no Kojirou stay more or less true to their initial concepts through the very end (notwithstanding stuff like power escalation, especially for RnK), B't X is truly an example of a manga that starts off rather straightforward & simple (Teppei rescuing Kotaro) but gradually evolves into higher & higher stakes as it goes on, and that escalation is just subtle enough that it's only something you'd really notice in retrospect, at earliest once you reach the last few volumes. This also applies to the themes of the manga itself, as while it initially just portrays itself as "Saint Seiya, but with science & robots/mecha", by the end the manga it will have tackled subjects like de-romanticizing sacrificial behavior, dealing with a loss of faith (both religious & personal), some elements of religion vs. science, and embracing love over violence, among other things. Is B't X perfect? Of course not, but the areas where it falters in comparison to Kurumada's other works are really more due to a lack of various "traditional" elements, like having fewer instantly memorable attack names (Shining Knuckle, Deadly Carol, Spinning Thunderbolt, Fortune Symphonic, etc. vs. Thunder Lance/Cannon/Ball, Infinite Slash, Weathering Breath, Flying Rock, etc.) or other relatively minor aspects like that. When it comes to pure narrative, though, B't X is an absolute triumph from a mangaka known for heavily segmenting his larger works into various story arcs, as it tells a singular, long-form story arc from start to end & does so in excellent fashion. Sure, the final chapter itself isn't exactly wholly original (some online bring up B't X being somewhat inspired by God Mars, but no one ever brings up the obvious Cyborg 009 homages), but it is an ending that will always stay with me, much like Ring ni Kakero's.

While I am extremely happy that the B't X anime is still readily available in an official fashion in English (& do fully recommend watching it), whether it's via Anime Midstream's two DVD boxsets or the dub-only stream over at Tubi, the original B't X manga that TokyoPop released in full from 2004 to 2010 is definitely a series that sadly crashed & burned pretty much instantly, mainly due to DiC's Knights of the Zodiac bombing hard on TV, and the end result is many who likely would have wound up loving it never giving it a chance, in the first place; guilt by association, essentially. Now that release is nigh-impossible to get a complete hold of today (at a reasonable price, at least), and it was never given a digital re-release, so it only further becomes forgotten with time, despite its quality. Yes, TokyoPop's translation can have problems with tone at points, mainly in regard to trying to be witty or sarcastic, but on the whole it's still a solid translation. I wish I could just say "Read B't X", but I know full well that such a request is pretty much impossible in 2024, at least in English, and "only 8 people" (the literal line TP reps once told me, in regards to how poorly it sold) is not enough to make a publisher care enough to give it another chance, even if only digitally. Still, if you ever do find yourself in the position to read the entire manga then please take advantage of it & do so, because having re-read B't X for this deep dive I'm simply reminded of just how good it truly is, even nearly 30 years later.

B't X © Masami Kurumada