Okay, looks like what we've got here is your basic coming-of-age shonen martial arts story centered on a hero who's ignorant of his true past and the full-extent of his skills. Not much different from Naruto at heart, though Jin doesn't possess as much hyperkinetic impulsiveness as the fox-faced boy. Fukaki's art is generally serviceable — particularly in the fight scenes — but I regularly found myself getting distracted by his characters' cauliflower ears, of all things, which are too often penned with more detail than they need to be. I also didn't accept the book's occasional slapstick moments as readily as I do the ones in Naruto, perhaps because the artist didn't draw 'em with enough cartoony flair.
As shonen manga goes, Battle of Genryu doesn't try to cover any new ground, though I suspect it will have its followers much as many second tier American superhero comics also have their own devoted fans. If your idea of a good action sequence features characters pontificating between well-placed kicks about the reason and philosophy behind each individually titled move, you'll probably have fun with this fast-paced formulaic series.
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