| | |  | DVD | Home » » » » ULTIMO, Vol. 1 | | | | | | | Product Promotions: | | | | | Description: | | Reads R to L (Japanese Style). Pure Vice vs. Pure Virtue. Can one win without corrupting the other?! Kurenai Doji: With girl and money troubles, life is hard enough for hgh school student Yamato, but then he stumbles upon Ultimo, a peculiar-looking puppet. Things only get stranger when Ultimo awakens and his archenemy Vice shows up. Will this be the battle that finally decides good versus evil, or is this just the beginning of a fantastic adventure? | | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| Hiroyuki Takei | | Paperback:
| 216 pages | | Publisher:
| VIZ Media LLC | | Publication Date:
| February 02, 2010 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 1421531321 | | Product Length:
| 7.48 inches | | Product Width:
| 5.08 inches | | Product Height:
| 0.71 inches | | Product Weight:
| 0.45 pounds | | Package Length:
| 7.4 inches | | Package Width:
| 4.9 inches | | Package Height:
| 0.8 inches | | Package Weight:
| 0.45 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 7 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 7 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
 A Fun Read for Older Kids, Teens, and AdultsJun 21, 2010
By GraphicNovelReporter.com
What's more powerful, good or evil?
In Medieval Japan, this question intrigues an inventive foreigner named Dunstan. He makes two mechanical boys, one of whom (Ultimo) is the ultimate good, and the other (Vice) is the ultimate evil. They look like dolls, but they can come to life at a moment's notice.
That's what happens when a bandit named Yamato takes a peek at Dunstan's belongings. He thinks they're only dolls, but they come to life before his disbelieving eyes. From that point on, Ultimo and Vice will fight each other. When one wins, it will prove whether good or evil is more powerful.
Flash forward to 21st-century Japan. Yamato is here...well, the reincarnation of Yamato. About a thousand years have passed, and he's managed to get reincarnated with the same name. But these days, he's not a bandit. He doesn't think about good or evil, either. He's a senior high-school student who wants to buy a gift for the girl that he likes. He's liked her since elementary school...can they finally be together?
He steps into an antique store to look for gifts. One of the items being sold is an odd-looking doll with enormous red hair and a very thin body. Ultimo! Having been asleep, Ultimo wakes up once he feels Yamato's presence. It creates quite a scene. Yamato starts to remember bits and pieces of what happened in his past life, which doesn't mean he's ready for what's happening in his life now. All he wanted to do was buy a present for a girl.
Ultimo is awake, but so is Vice. The fighting is going to begin again.
A review on Ultimo wouldn't be complete without commenting on the people behind it. The story and art are done by Hiroyuki Takei, the mangaka behind Butsu Zone, J'ki Ningen Jumbor, and, most famously, Shaman King. He's a big name in terms of shonen manga. He still isn't especially well known in the average American household, but the same doesn't hold true for the other name associated with Ultimo. Stan Lee himself is the creator of the original concept for this series. This is the man who brought us so many of our favorite Marvel Comics creations and almost single-handedly helped redefine the entire comics industry in the 1960s.
Stan Lee and Hiroyuki Takei coming together on a project is going to garner attention and get many readers interested in Ultimo. Libraries and bookstores can keep that in mind when they choose which books to have on their shelves. Ultimo has an interesting premise and lots of action, making it a fun read for older kids, teens, and adults.
-- Danica Davidson
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
 stan proves he's the man, once again.Feb 18, 2010
By Jonathan W. Williams
"wonder maker"
We all know that Stan Lees writing hasn't evolved much since the early seventies, but after reading this book i think you will agree that when it comes to concepts and collaboration with talented people he is still one of the best. Utimate Good vs. Evil doesn't seems like a classic Stan concept. He always seemed to give his villians believable ressons, that we could all relate to, for being "evil". Dr. Doom felt wronged by Reed Richards, Magneto was affraid the humans would kill off all mutants like the nazis tried to do to the jews, and Spideys rogues always had some sort of reason for stealing, so it's something new for Stan to come up with. and it works very, very well as a Manga.
This book is worth reading and i can't wait for the future vols. and the anime.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
A must buy!May 17, 2010
By Deviantidol
Ultimo, which is the collaborative work from Manga artist Hiroyuki Takei and Stan Lee, is the absolute FIRST TIME EVER for two of the biggest names in the industry of Comic Books (America) and Manga (Japan) and these will be worth TONS and TONS of money in the future. So even if you do not like the story (which I think is absolutely amazing, although cliche, it's very well written and the art couldn't be better). In an interview with Stan Lee, he said that people should pick up a couple copies of this series because this is a first in the history of Comics and Manga for two artists from opposite sides of the Globe, to work on such an ambitious project that will go down in history.
You will NOT want to miss out on this folks, and if you do miss out because you either don't like Comics/Manga/etc. You will regret it in the future when these become extremely collectible and a first in history.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Ultimo Starts out with a Bang!Mar 17, 2010
By Tristan A. Hayes
Ultimo is the new manga that started on Free Comic Book Day in 2009 (in Shonen Jump). It is from Stan Lee (character and concept) with story and art by Hiroyuki Takei. It features a story that revolves around numerous Karakuri Doji, mechanical embodiments of human feelings (good and evil, etc). I found it to be quite captivating with this volume serving to start the serious for us American and English speaking audiences.
This volume features the following chapters that premiered in the monthly English Shonen Jump
Act 1: Nanban-Okina Pass
Act 2: Kurenai Doji
Act 3: A Blaze Surrounds Yamato
Act 4: A Drean of Raseimon
The volumes move fast though have easy to follow, yet intriguing artwork with nice sound-effect artwork. Its pretty clean and definitely one of the more simple ones in terms of ease of following the story. There have been some concerns over the T rating of the Manga. It gets it because in this manga, there is somewhat heavy violence, there is a questionable scene that could be interpreted wrong (a shower scene); but probably mainly for the violence (one guy gets his face split into three chunks, so be forewarned about that. Though it is fitting rating for this manga and this was fantastic.
There is some bonus material including, Karakuri Profiles, Creator Interview, and a nice illustrated artwork.
All in all this is typical manga that shows that it has the themes that Shonen Jump embodies. Its typical Shonen stuff, fighting, good versus evil, some difficult to pursue love interest, and mysterious characters. It also should feature epic fights, and a cataclysmic story, I cant wait for it to move in chapters and I will definitely get every volume as should you.
first volume to a SWEET seriesAug 02, 2011
By Denny X-Factor
Ultimo is a series created by Stan Lee with story and art by Hiroyuki Takei. I think it os a very fun energetic thrill ride of manga. It starts as Dr. Dunstan is attacked by bandits who release the ultimate mechanical boys, Ultimo is pure good and Vice is pure evil. They travel to Modern time Japan and are found by users. I think it has vert sleek art and a plot i never seen before. I would really recommend this to another manga lover!
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