YUKI VS. PANDA #6 – Review

YUKI VS. PANDA #6, from Source Point Press on February 9th, 2022, marks the long-awaited battle between Yuki and Panda. Who will survive?

The Details

• Written By: Graham Misiurak
• Art By: A.L. Jones
• Colors By: A.L. Jones
• Letters By: A.L. Jones
• Cover Art By: A.L. Jones
• Cover Price: $3.99
• Release Date: February 9, 2022

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Was It Good?

The blurb for YUKI VS. PANDA #6 is shorter than most reviews we publish with good reason. This issue is one, long fight scene with a couple of sporadic breaks in the action. Is it a good action scene? Yes. However, a good action scene doesn’t guarantee a good story, so let’s dig in.

Bluntly, we’ve been critical of this series for its general lack of focus and progress. The original solicit described this conflict between a girl and a panda as a cataclysmic battle that could end the world. But beyond the setup in the first issue, we’ve seen little momentum towards that battle, entire issues spent on slice-of-life days in each character’s life, and not a single hint concerning how their one-sided grudge could have any more impact beyond a schoolyard fistfight. These aren’t trivial nitpicks.

Well, now the fight is here. It’s a good fight in terms of comic action. Admittedly, there’s no preamble or (again) momentum building up to the fight. Panda is suddenly in front of Yuki and he attacks. When we critique action scenes, we look at them on two levels. Is it well-choreographed and is the part of the story told through the action?

Is the action well-choreographed? Yes. The maneuvers are athletic with enough wire-fu hits to demonstrate how skilled each fighter has become over the years. The misses are almost as visually enjoyable as the hits, and if you’re interested in nothing more than straight action, this issue works.

Is part of the story told through the action? No, not really. The only thing readers will learn is that Yuki has no recollection of Panda or why he’s attacking. It’s a one-sided grudge in the purest sense.

The fact that Yuki is perplexed by the attack underscores the major flaw in this series. This issue is happening five issues too late. It doesn’t make sense in the flow of the story and amplifies the pointlessness of the fluff in the previous issues. With apologies for the blatant script doctoring, this should have been the first or second issue to establish the conflict wrapped in a mystery for Yuki to solve.

Start with “Who is this Panda and why is he attacking me?” in Yuki’s mind, and go from there. As it is now, it feels like a lot of time, issues, and page space were wasted. Yes, this all sounds harsh, but the hope is that you, you very fine reader, will understand why some stories work when others don’t and why we review the way we do.

That said, the highlight of the issue is Jones’s art for pulling off a very lengthy, action-packed fight scene. The punches hit like a thunder crack. The panel compositions borrow heavily from Manga influences in the best way. And the entire issue flows seamlessly without any awkward or incomprehensible movement. As harsh as we may be on the story, the art is excellent.

Keep scrolling for a closer look at the covers, or Click Here to jump right to the story description with some spoilers.

What’s It About?

[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]

To find out how Panda and Yuki finally collide before the big battle, first read our YUKI VS. PANDA #5 review.

We begin where issue #5 left off. Yuki heads into Principal Baldy’s office only to find Panda sitting in the Principal’s chair. And then they fight. That’s it. That’s the issue. Again, the only thing you learn through the sparse bits of dialog is that Yuki has no idea why Panda is here or why he’s attacking.

We conclude the issue with a knockout punch.

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