Alien Nine: Book One Paperback – May 1, 2003

I really enjoy this series, but since there are other reviews on the actual book contents I'll just say that it arrived in good condition and several days earlier than anticipated. It has no scuffs or scratches, the printing is done well and the blacks are deep and dark.

Book arrived early and with only one sticker stuck to it. it is in good condition and a nice addition to the first three volumes.

amazing and under rated manga. aliens, action, and mystery. also good writing a shame it didn't get a longer anime.

It's Really Underrated, Sci-Fi Mixed with Roller skate/Rollerblade Elements. it's Really Interesting.

Off beat Sci Fi anime to bad that this was the only part that made it past the manga book stage.

Alien Nine is one of those manga which grab you and won't let go. The basic premise is weird: three schoolgirls are selected for the "Alien Party", whose job is to capture aliens invading their school. To do this they wear aliens called "Borg" on their heads which lend them some startling offensive and defensive abilities.Yuri is presented as the protagonist... and she's a terrible crybaby and whiner. She tries to be courageous sometimes, but never seems to hold it up for long. She's the sort of person you feel sorry for, not the sort of person you long to be. Yuri was unwillingly drafted into the Alien Party, voted in by her class.However, Yuri is the anchor for the rest of the "cast". Kumi is independent and intelligent, and has been class president for several years - she joins the Alien Party to get out of being class president. Kasumi is athletic and capable, but lonely - she joins the Alien Party for the challenge.While Yuri changes very little through the manga, Kumi and Kasumi change a great deal (in sometimes unexpected ways - I'm trying not to spoil the surprise here). They become very protective of Yuri and are determined to save her some of their painful experiences. In doing so they sometimes confront challenges which their mentor, Ms. Hisakawa, believes to be barely within their capabilities.In the beginning of the manga, a lot of things don't make much sense. Why must the clearly homicidal aliens be spared? Why are they invading? What are the Borg and why are they helping? Why does Ms. Hisakawa throw the girls into situations where they seem to be clearly out of their depth?The answers unfold over the four volumes of the manga - it's at times disturbing, at times fun, and at times pretty crazy. Its one of the few manga I've read where, upon finishing, I started re-reading it all over again from the beginning. The first manga, as a standalone volume, is pretty puzzling, but with the other three volumes it's a deep and coherent whole.Fair warning: The imagery can get pretty intense. Gruesome alien guts splattered all over the page. The humans are rarely so badly injured... but it happens. Perhaps more importantly, the emotions confronted can get pretty raw. Despite the cute girls with their button noses, this is not fare for small kids. It's rated 16+, which is probably sensible, though a mature younger teenager wouldn't have trouble with it. I'd suggest reading through it yourself before giving it to younger teens.Heck. I suggest reading through it yourself, period. Despite its sometimes gruesome content, this is excellent stuff.

So you weren't happy with the lack of resolution in the third volume of Alien Nine. Neither was I.So I read this. And went what in the dear Lord's name is going on?Jammed with a plot that should have taken at least another two or three volumes to explore, Kumi, Kasumi, and Yuri's hectic, increasingly traumatic junior high experiences as alien hunters (and, for two of them, as aliens) fall apart in a mess of poorly-drawn art (what seemed like a deliberate style choice in the previous volumes just looks lazy and rushed here) and events that seem like revelations but don't get the time and detail required to make them make sense.There's also some seriously creepy pseudo-sexual implications, with characters putting their friends in nasty situations that feel a lot like drugged attempted rape. The previous volumes had weird sexual vibes, but this one takes the cake and throws it into a swamp of ick.SPOILERS BELOWAre the old-generation Borgs in this volume failed human/Borg pairs? Are those jealous mutilated creatures students the government (or whatever's in charge in the Alien Nine world) threw away? Why isn't anyone horrified by that?Are students who fuse too closely with their Borgs doomed to become full Borgs themselves, Borgs that need to fuse again to survive? Is that what's being implied by Kumi's fate? What does that mean for adult pairs like Megumi (who seems perfectly okay living without her Borg in the end...)?Everything goes way too fast and superficially for any of this to have emotional impact or be clear.SPOILERS ABOVE

I just finished reading the first book and I am totally confused. The writing style lacks flow and the individual stories (called Operations) are too short to really explain what going on. The borgs are introduced without a clear idea of why. It is not made clear why there is even a battle between humans and aliens. There isn't any character development. The only reason I want to keep reading is to figure out what the heck is going on. If you want to see this story I would recommend trying the anime, it might flow more though I haven't seen it.