The main character being hot headed makes a lot more sense if he's a stand in for the player. I'm pretty sure almost every person that started monster hunter for the first time would also charge in and start hitting the monster without a second thought
they should create a monster hunter anime for adult and teenage audiences for the 20th anniversary that would be epic and studios like Ufotable or Wit animating it
Or just a good Monster Hunter anime. I don't care about the audience target, i just want good animation, good fights and respect for the original source.
@@hunterghost1154 there's a lot of monster hunter references in anime cause it's really popular in Japan. Wotakoi literally showed actual in game footage multiple times in the show.
@@wpchi8183 I've scoured the internet for scans and there's very few and mostly in french, only real option is to buy it from the few places that still have it
There is at least 4 different mh manga series. Flash is the best one but Episodes is pretty good too. Epic was cancelled and Orage is worth checking out
There is a review about Monster Hunter:Flash Hunter on Comics Alliance I read years ago about it when finding more than the Episodes. And the very short review summed up read like: "Orage better than Flash Hunter cause Flash Hunter is too similar to Monster Hunter." and it's stuck with me because it felt like the person who wrote it never played any of the games or knew what it was about. I'm sure it is still around if curious.
The artist for Flash hunter also did a manga called 12 demon kings. It was axed after 6 or 7 volumes, I don't remember exactly, but I remember liking it a lot. His art is pretty cool and the monster designs from this series were really good from what I can remember
I'd recommend Monster x Monster which is clearly inspired by MH, has a shitty protagonist that gets better. Even though it got cancelled pretty early I think it was amazing to show how a world of monsters would play out. Drifiting Dragons is about a crew that hunts dragons in the sky with airships. It gives off a really good adventure feel, it's more about human crews vs dragons than martial fighting vs monsters though.
Oh shit, MxM was fucking great with its art, characterization of the main character and world building. The world is acutally bit more technologically advanced than in MH, with even PSP's being made out of monster parts.
The series is still predominantly nonsensical, but the imaginative realism and realistic concepts that were and continue to be implemented into their lore and design makes the Mh monsters so much more memorable and makes room for the community to speculate and look to real world animals and the biological sciences to make comparisons with these astounding megafauna.
When people in the community talk about how dangerous MH monsters would be in reality it always seems like they fail to think about it realistically and they think through the lens of the games with numbers and gameplay. Because of this I always direct people to Flash Hunter as I feel it best demonstrates how dangerous the MH world and the career of a Hunter would actually be in the most realistic setting as possible. A prevalent example of what I mean is when the first trailers for that awful movie were being dropped. People were saying Rathalos isn't a threat and that it is easy to deal with. Granted in game Rathalos isn't the most difficult challenge, but in reality it would be one of the most dangerous monsters most average civilians and Hunters would most likely face in their lifetimes. Rathalos in lore is one of the most dangerous and well respected monsters being revered by many many different cultures. If a person got hit by one of its attacks head on no amount of plate mail would save their life. Of course Elder Dragons are a greater threat but they are very rare and far between. Even "small" monsters would be dangerous to hunt. I imagine Bullfangoes and Rhenoplos would have comparable strength to rhinos and getting hit by either one's charge would absolutely leave you with a lot of broken bones. Larinoths too in game barely do damage to the player but in reality you would be crushed flat with just one step if you made them mad. I really like how Flash Hunter depicts the dangers of their world and the raw power of every monster. Legends of the Guild also did a relatively good job too to the threat of monsters can possess, but I would love to see Flash Hunter get animated
Arzuros for example would be the most powerful mammalian predator to ever live. It's nearly twice as big as the largest extinct species of bear and not to mentioned it has armoured claws.
Exactly. Which is why in my dream MH, I've made even small monsters do insane amounts of damage through different methods depending on the monster. Actual small monsters like jaggi for example are a huge threat as they can knock you down and "juggle" you if you don't dodge properly or block quickly enough. Knocking you back and forth between different jaggis and jaggias dealing considerable damage. This behavior ramps up even more when their alpha is present. Large "small" herbivorous monsters like Aptonoth can *halve* your HP if they hit you with their thagomizers, possibly even inflict Bleed if you get hit enough times. Larinoth straight up one hit kills you if you get stepped on. In fact. Most of the large herbivores are aggressive when approached, and many of the large monsters (the bosses) are herbivores being consistently in the higher threat levels. Similarly for large carnivorous monsters. They WILL NOT attack any large herbivore in a straight up fight and if they get hit they will take considerable damage as well. Drawing a large monster to a large herbivore herd is a good way to damage and scare off a carnivorous monster. To balance all of this though and to make suspension of disbelief easier, I've added my own lore for the hunters. They're like the SPARTANs of Halo. Highly trained genetically modified humans, sponsored by the Hunter's Guild. Far faster, stronger, tougher, and heal faster, but also even hungrier and thirstier due to the increased metabolic rate needed to facilitate their new abilities. Hence the massive food portions. Gameplay wise they perform the exact same as before. The only change is that there is more lore explaining how hunters become hunters.
@@DJWeapon8 isn't the hunter we play as basically that. Like, in lore, most hunters only go out and hunt Greats ,Kut kus or the bears, less are capable of taking down mid tiers like Barroths or Blangongas, and even fewer can slay apexes like Raths. The hunter we play is the 1% of those hunters.
@@just_a_guy9688 lore, yes. Gameplay, no. In terms of story, its quite easy for even new players to rise through the ranks. My first playthrough of World and being called the Sapphire Star, it felt unearned. Scripted. Expected. On difficulty in my dream MH. There are some monsters that, depending on the monster's behavior and abilities, the map, your build, your playstyle, and even ability as a gamer, you simply CANNOT defeat. At least consistently. Even on low rank. To emphasize this design philosophy, there's not much official quests. Only 10 Urgent Quests that you need to complete to progress through the story and unlock maps and high and master rank. The monsters in these urgents are quite difficult. Monsters in general are unpredictable. All of them love spamming element/status abilities if they are capable. Most are happy with using the map to their advantage and some are able to hide and ambush you with a devastating pin attack as you run past them. They consistently deal high damage with even non-enraged attacks and are programmed to make you waste as many of your consumables as possible before zeroing your HP by making you use an item and then panic dodge or interrupt the animation with a weak attack. With these tweaks, players would need very good preparation and choice of equipment crafted from weaker monsters with similar abilities to mitigate these monsters' abilities. Other monsters are encountered via free hunts/expeditions which gives you a chance of acquiring its Investigation quest to farm it. Lastly, *there are no positive offense skills.* Armor skills only give out defensive and utility skills while also giving debuffs in the form of negative skills, some of it being negative offense skills. This also includes both Evasion + and Evade Extender skills. With this design philosophy, you would truly feel like that 1% of ace hunters. Because you most likely are one. Through hardwork and perseverance, making whatever title you get after finishing the story truly earned.
Remember reading the series around 2018 on my final semester of high school. I feel in love with the art and the characters and how despite it still being fun, it did tackle that this is a dangerous profession. Glad too see my fellow Hunter's love this series and that it is getting love
this is the first time i see anything about this manga, but from what youve shown this seems incredible and is now something i really want to pick up when i can. i apologise for the long comment, but i have to gush about the art. unfortunately i cannot find any volumes around my area... at ANY store, at least online. though i doubt there will be any i can find if i went to a store physically, even the stores i know of holding more obscure books as an artist i can attest that, at least based off the fragments youve shown in this video, the villages, the hunters, and ESPECIALLY the monsters are portrayed in a way thats not necessarily "gritty" or "realistic" or "scary" all over, as some that didnt know any better would describe it (COUGH that damn movie), but as life how it is in the world: they are monsters, and while they are menacing, incredibly dangerous, and extremely large (all of this detailed in a phenomenal way), they are not shown as a "curse" or horrible plight upon the characters, but as part of the world that the hunters and villages have to deal with AND can also benefit from. which could be described as "Basically What Happens In The Games As Well, For The Most Part". what i enjoy about what is shown in this most is the fact that even "low" threats are quite a handful to deal with. when was the last time youve actually been very cautious around a yian kut-ku or a blangonga? this helps show WHY hunters must help villages even with these threats. and sure, the art makes a clear distinction between a rathian and the sheer god-like power of the kirin, but the newly presented menacing nature of lower tier monsters doesnt do a disservice to elder dragons, in fact it could make one think "man, if a blangonga is this tough, imagine just how scary a kushala would be!" and contribute to the elder's status as an unknown force of nature.
finally i am one of the people who does not fall into the "you didn't know about this until now" group, read flash hunter when i was like 15 because a local library had some of them and bought the rest later. amazing stuff. time to re-read it i guess
Despite being a huge MH fan, I have not read this manga. But surprisingly, many of the elements I've written for my dream 6th Generation MH are present in this. Significant "de-gamification". Greater focus on tracking and bushcraft. Significantly long average hunt times. Importance of Co-Op. Greater focus on preparation. RETREATING and REGROUPING often being necessary. Small monsters being a huge threat. Large monsters stay being a threat. Different characters (NPCs and AI companions) having different views and philosopies on their profession. At first I thought I'm crazy for wanting a more "grounded and serious" Monster Hunter after 3 generations of making the series more faster paced and increasing Quality of Life mechanics, so imagine my surprise when a multi volume manga did exactly that years before when MH was just starting to stray away from its more grounded gameplay.
Title should've been "The Best Monster Hunter Manga You'll Never Read" because unless you're rich and can afford finding and buying these, there is simply no way to actually fully read them.
As an avid game and Flash Hunter fan, I am sure when I say that I want to see Bexel appear in a game like the Huntsman, he's my favorite character and I want to see my (Fucking terrifying) Demon Dog appear in a game.
Keres was mine. I loved the Gunner aspect in this manga. Kind of takes the leadership role due to his greater view of the battlefield cause he is ranged. Bezel’s story was really good though. I can definitely see why you like him
The monster hunter episodes manga is insane, it doesn't try to make a shounen story that wouldn't fit monster hunter. It just tells the stories of hunters, all with different ranks and challenges, one of the most heartwarming story is about a duo who reached G-rank and got their asses kicked by the difficulty again and again, leaving them depressed thinking they never deserved to be here in the first place, leading them to making even more mistakes, until a veteran hunter comes along to try and motivate them. And even when they do fail the quest, the veteran hunter gave them enough motivation to try again as long as it takes to improve in G-rank.
One that I really liked is a fledgling huntress wearing Khezu armor who was sent to a desert village to learn from an elderly hunter couple, both decked out in G rank Lao Shan equipment and using Lances. Reading that chapter I felt like what my younger cousin felt like when I played MHFU with him. Wearing that same G Rank Lao Shan armor helping him get through the gathering hall quests using rank appropriate weapons so I don't carry him. Teaching him the basics of combat, the importance of preparation before a hunt, and being patient.
I’ve only seen this manga in person once it was being sold in a small shop in a french train station. They only had volume 3 and I would’ve missed it and not known about the manga if it wasn’t for me playing generations(it had just released the start of that summer) at the time and khezu standing amongst the regular books like it’s no ones business 😂 Other than that one time never seen it in any store or anyone talk about it so I’m super glad this video exists
Realisticly if enough people told VIZ that they wanted to buy a digital copy, would that convince them to repurchase the publishing rights for the minimum time they can and just sell it digitally?
I vaguely remember reading this like a year or two ago, but now no matter where I go physically or online it seems impossible to find, I’m curious to know how you did it.
Thanks for making a video for this gem of a manga series. I love it since the day I discovered it for the reasons that were already stated in your video. I’m currently trying to collect the whole series in English but it is a shame it is out of print and people online are asking crazy prices for single volumes. Hope this video makes people give it a chance to read it and perhaps Viz can notice it too and print it again. Again, thank you papa Rad for the amazing content, as always. Take care!
There was also Monster Hunter Epic, drawn by Ryûta Fuse (the same Mangaka as MH Episode) which was released around 2014~2015. Not sure if it was released in NA, but the first volume was offered if you bought MH4U the month of release in France. Epic was focused on Yukumo Story (Portable 3rd) and had 3 volumes.
I would love to write a Monster Hunter novel like this. I would make my protagonist a Sword and Shield user and make them a scholarly bookworm with a notebook. It would be useful for getting exposition across and still make it believe
I'm so appreciative of this video! I've been meaning to read the MH manga for a while and NEVER have I heard about Flash Hunter It's everything I could've wanted from a MH manga or story I'm going to read this as soon as I'm able to, thank you for sharing this!
Thanks for the recommendation! I binged it hard and loved it so much. I hope we get a game inspired by flash hunter. It felt like to me of a coming of age story for a hunter which I feel hasn’t been done for awhile. I miss small villages that were just bein a village and not trying to be grande. Man this made me miss classic monster hunter so much. Time to boot up citra and play 4U
I love monster hunter flash hunter so much! I've been collecting them for a while but during lockdown of 2020 the series seems to have been discontinued which has made it impossible to buy later volumes on the regular sites and I still need volume 10 and I really need to get that final volume cuz it's so good!
I have some of Orage and Flash Hunter. Flash is pretty good imo from what I've read. Glad to see someone talk about it. I wanted to collect it all physically but expensive 💀
Love its art though I feel the artist needed to learn about foreground/background tone shape language. Because half the pages tend to bleed white it feels, like use a tone screen or anything? Dont get me wrong I too like BnW only but it comes off as every page to me from this vid to the point where im like: is that part of the monster or background? I see in the vid they started doing that so maybe it gets better later? ( 2:43 for instanced I'd say is a good example of it being better, we see everything clearly. Though I would prefer the Hunters lineart to be thicker to bring it out more but thats me :) )
I actually own all 10 volumes of Flash hunter, and of the other two mangas you mentioned I actually only knew of the Fairy Tail one. I had no idea there was another series. Hearing that the Fairy Tail Hunter MH manga is the most known is disheartening, 'cause its by far one of the worse media I've had the displeasure of reading. It's more akin to a Monster Hunter Fanfiction, from someone with no regard to the source IMO. I know the man had to make a unique an appealing story, but I feel like "Monster Hunter" was slapped on as an after thought. [Spoilers Ahead] ========================================================================== The FT MH Manga, set in the MH world 'supposedly' visits no locations of renown from any of the games, add in a new element type for the sake of making the MC special, none of the monsters hunted are official creatures from the series, and their designs are like something you could pick up at a bargain store, cheap. And the plot is mediocre- MC and his cronies travel to a facility of the guild who award a special rank "to the strongest of all hunters" for the purpose of hunting down a single Elder Dragon...from space. This is hardly me being critical of the series, it's just a rant at how disappointed I was with this particular piece of Monster Hunter media, and I wish it didn't exist. ========================================================================== BUT I absolutely love Flash Hunter and am glad I was able to collect all 10 volumes. I'd love to see a new MH manga from the two creators, focusing on gens 4 and 5.
Great video, I never knew this was a thing and I've been dying to steep myself in this world some more. So, I just spent waaaaaaaay too much on the english set of this manga. I can't wait to read this, looks incredible!
I first discovered Flash Hunter years ago at my local comic book store. Being the Monster Hunter nut I am, I naturally bought the first two or three volumes. I would then periodically go back to the store and was able to buy the rest of all ten volumes. Even to this day I love this manga, as, to me, this feels like how Monster Hunter would work in real life! I can't even remember how many times I've read this series, and I even use it as a basis for some of my Monster Hunter fanfic ideas. It's just THAT GOOD!
I’ve owned every volume of Flash Hunter for a few years now and it is really amazing, the final volume especially having some of the most raw art I’ve seen in a manga to date and I love rereading the final battle. That said, I had no idea Hiro Mashima made a MH manga at all, and as a massive fan of Fairy Tail I guess I know what I’m about to go look into lol
I’m lucky, I have all ten volumes. It’s a series that should be what an anime in the Monster Hunter World would be like. Keres basically made me into a HBG main. I loved what each of the members brought to the party.
FINALLY!! THANK YOU RAD! I've had all 10 volumes for at least 3 years now. I'm so happy someone is finally giving Flash Hunter the recognition it deserves.
Reading this ultimately got me to get Rise and Sunbreak when I did. I was kind of on the fence about when to do it for no real reasons but this pushed me over the edge. Also, I kind of felt like Bexel was the closest to the 'player'....obsessively hunting and just killing everything in sight looking for something bigger and meaner to kill. Also, I really enjoyed the author nerding out over his own MH experiences when he was younger.
Id love it if they expand on the netflix short they cojld continue with the backstory of the ace commander or focus an aidens journeys throughout 4U or wkrld mabye even rise
I read this manga a long time ago and I can confirm that even by general standards the art and the story are very, very solid. Although the MC trio is a bit generic at first, some characters have a real development (Becksel and Aïn are kings) and the missions are quite coherent with the game
OK ima be real, i found this video n i absolutely didnt know there was even manga! ive been playing since the wii days and never knew! This is mind boggeling to me as i thought this franchise simply didnt have a big enough audience to support such a side niche of work. (not really niche nowadays but for 2011 and before, most deff then again i was 11 in 2011 so idk) but i am deff coming back to the video once im done reading all of em in a few days!(i dont wish to be spoiled) Im so excited i already have them loaded up! Thank u for bringing this new light to me!
OHHH yes That's going into my "imma try and read" list These are the kind of stories I like to imagine for my hunters and the depth/fleshing out It's really nice to see a manga like this
Just finished reading Flash Hunter (and Orage for long time now), loved it. Would like to have a chance on finding Episodes and Epic if ever. Here’s my take on some key things to note the difference of Flash and Orage: Orage was released at a where the main game of the series is Freedom Unite. Meaning, it still didn’t have much to work with in terms of lore building. It introduced some pretty cool concepts that would probably never see the light of day. It’s a pretty decent shounen manga that’s short enough to not waste too much of your time while still somehow reminding you know it’s MonHun. If it was released today, it would be shit in terms of the standards already set, but for the time it was released, it was pretty decent, and people need to know that. As for Flash Hunter, as a everyone who had read it would say (including me), it is amazing. It perfectly captures the feeling of Monster Hunter. The canon locations would really remind you of playing the games themselves. The combat it showed reminds of how the gameplay goes. Art is also a masterpiece. If I read this while not knowing MonHun, I would have played MonHun the moment I did so. While still being a shounen manga, it did show signs of how realistic hunts would go and that’s why it’s considered to be the best MH manga. To end, I definitely want to see more media related to Monster Hunter outside of games.
Monster Hunter Episodes is a compilation of cute stories about different hunters. For Monster Hunter Epic I've read one volume, it's the basic shonen protagonist who wants to surpass his mentor, that somehow disappeared after fighting a monster.
Somebody made a manga thing and posts it occasionally on webtoon but mostly on deviant art known as Blood n scales or something about making you feel bad for hunting kulu ya ku if you want to see it
Read Flash a couple years ago. All I can say is that its the best moster hunter thing other than monster hunter itself, would love to see a show that works similar on tv although I doubt it t-t.
@@harleymansfield9924 I unfortunately could only find the first 3 chapters on Mangakakalot. Tried a bunch of other sites too but no dice. If you manage to find it please let me know. ;)
I purchased a french version of volume 3-4 at a hobby store and that Khezu page oh god that was horrifying and no not the one he showed but another two page spread earlier. Since then I tried getting the rest and found the remaining volumes and just like SuperRad said this is the best interpretation of Monster Hunter in Story form. I'm just sad that the artist for doesn't have more works under their belt cause if anything you see in this video shows these are some god damn piece of art that I want posters on my wall. So in short if your a Monster Hunter fan please pick this series, it's 10 volumes long and it's good little read if you need a break from carving Monster parts.
yup that manga is bussin, tho I wish raiga went solo for a bit or ocassionally as that is the best way to build skill. in frontier theres even quests you can only do solo, to check if you got what it takes.
I remember getting my hands on the first volume some years ago in a Comic convention. I didn't know what i was in for. Nowadays i have all the volumes and i have to say something to everyone Who wants to read this masterpiece... *Just Read It* If you are a Monster Hunter Fan, you are going to love this work of art. Its battles, its descriptions of the Monsters. The conflicts between Hunters and the tough situations make It Up for an enjoyable read. There are some specific moments in which you can't help but say: lol, that happened to me as well! So that's my opinion, get It and join the hunt!
While the character art (especially the faces) is not great, the illustrator really made a fantastic job with anything coming from the games. Anyone who's an artist know how hard it is to draw outfits with intricate details as well as animals because the muscle structure and articulations are so different from a human, and on both of these he really delivered. It's so detailed yet so clean and consistent, it's fantastic. A very recommended read for every MH fan and for all artists out there.
As someone who wasn't that impressed by Orage back in 2008, it's cool to find out there is another manga that just flew under my Radar. Thanks for the recommend!!
The fact that some weapons have not yet made it to some areas of the world is a super cool idea, it really sells the individuality of different cultures within the world itself. Peak world building!
I didn't have time to finish this manga when I first saw it but the art and the characters are what makes this manga I remember it especially the monsters!! Well maybe its time to finish it then
I got the first tome of this manga with the preorder of monster hunter generations, and it was an absolute treat... Shame I couldn't find any more tomes
I can tell you why it's not well known /popular ... good luck finding the releases. I have 4 volumes, the first and 3-5, the second was nowhere to be found and the releases I have are in English, German, and French.
@superrad Artwork looks so good and I love how dangerous the monsters actually feel. Maybe I haven't googled hard enough, but I would love to get the full volumes on digital so I can read it on my Kindle.
Thanks for talking about this one. I own every manga that got edited in my country minus the last volume of this one, it's too expensive since it's not reprinted anymore (scalpers sold it from 60€ to 150€), so i never read the ending..Kinda frustating but the journey was delightfull
