No , this is not a new Monster Hunter game but a Manga Adaptation of the series and to promote the PSP version of Monster Hunter. Most of us would probably think " Huh? Monster Hunter don't even have a storyline , so what would this Manga be about? " Yes , this Manga is based off the Monster Hunter Universe but it doesn't strictly follow it plot-wise.

This shall be a lengthy review...I think.

Story Introduction :

Ryuuhou Shiki is brought up by a skilled and experienced Hunter , whom he respects. He was also given a mysterious pair of dual swords ofWind - Affinity properties. ( Veteran players should know that there is no such thing as a Wind Element )However , at a tender age , his Master died due to a Gunpowder experiment failure ( What a lame reason for a skilled Hunter to die from... ) and years later , Shiki is seen as a travelling Hunter who is not part of any Guilds and he is in search of the fabled Miogaruna. He later met Irie , whom he teams up with against her will against a Rathian.

Terms Sypnosis :

Arashi - This is the name for the pair of swords that Shiki uses. This is a one of a kind weapon that utilises the usage of wind , an element that is not acknowledged nor recognised by other Hunters.

Mark of the Forbidden / Sealed Hunter - This is a title given to only specific Hunters who passed a tiring trial and received a tattoo for their efforts , along with a vow that they would chase after the fabled creature , Miogaruna , which was considered a myth by most Hunters out there. With this tattoo , you will have the right to go into every Hunting Grounds but you still need to report to the Guild afterwards.

Guild & Hunting Grounds - Basically , you can get requests from the Guild like in the Monster Hunter games and later , you gain the permission to go into the Hunting Grounds. However , it seems that you have to report the kills you made to the nearest Guild afterwards so that the Ecosystem of the Monsters can be maintained. Monster corpses are also to be given to the Guild afterwards and it is illegal to sell the corpses to the Black Market.

Character Sypnosis :

Ryuuhou Shiki - A young Hunter who is unusually hyped and active all the times. He strongly respects his Masters and he even thinks about him even after years of his death. Despite being a bit thick-headed at times , he is undoubtedly a skilled Hunter and he utilises his weapon , Arashi , extremely well.

Personality - Shiki refuses to give up on his comrades and he considers anyone who shares the same goals as him as a comrade. His honest and naive attitude may annoy some people at times but in the end , it brought very different people together to travel with him.

Specialises in Dual Swords ( Arashi , even though it was upgraded through out the episodes , the title remains the same )

Element - Wind

Irie Jescar - A young female Hunter whose the daughter of Gurelli , whose Shiki's Master. Irie is cynical and cold towards others and he absolutely refuses to acknowledge the term "comrades" and what not. However , she comes to slowly accept the care from her team mates and starts to act less irrationally as the story progresses.

Personality - Her personality is not because she's some emo who hates the world or something along those lines. It is because of a certain event in the past and thus , she became something like a Tsundere. Well , either way , she can act really rashly at times when she is upset.

Specialises in Long Sword ( The name of her weaponchanges as her weapon upgrades )

Element - Lightning

Sakuya - A girl whose the daughter of a skilled Blacksmith. In order to avenge her mother , she attempts to destroy the monster that had killed her mother. Shiki and Irie decides to help her out.

Personality - She is...well..how do I put it...normal? Well , she's sociable I guess. She can also become extremely determined in the things she wants to do and she can be strong (emotionally) compared to a typical girl. ( Living in the wilderness must've toughened her up )

Specialises in Light Bowgun ( The name of her weapon changes as her weapon upgrades )

Kuron - Nicknamed " The Prince " and his also a skilled Hunter. His fairly possessive of Irie , smug , somewhat cool though getting his manner of speech wrong at times and definitely a sore loser. However , don't judge him too badly.

Personality - I pretty much said everything up there. However , even though he may be a fairly negative person , his not as bad as to stoop down to treacherous methods of dealing with those he lost to.

Specialises in Gunlance ( The name of his weapon changes...well , you should be bored of hearing this by now )

Other Characters :

Gurelli Jescar - The man who brought up Shiki and he taught him the fundamentals of being a Hunter. However , this geezer died in a Gunpowder explosion...sheesh , developers , give him a cooler reason to die. His also the father of Irie. It seems that he is also the one who allowed Shiki to have the right to become a Forbidden Hunter.

Personality - According to flashbacks , his definitely a devoted father , a good teacher and definitely a skilled Hunter. He taught Shiki not only in combat but in terms of morality and not to give up on his comrades and to trust them with all he have.

Specialises in Great Sword but is able to use other weapons as well.

Shadow - A mysterious man who attempts to callorabate with Kuron to sabotage Shiki out of jealousy of the Wind Element Weapon he uses. Shadow is also an extremely skilled Hunter himself , but he seems to be involved with the Black Markets and arms related activities.

Personality - A sore loser , a scheming man and not to mention , somewhat sinister to a certain extent.

Specialises in a Whip , this weapon does not exist in the Monster Hunter Universe.

Artwork :

The Artwork is excellent.Most of the Monsters closely resembles their gaming counter parts so you ought to recognise most of them even if the name wasn't mentioned. ( Provided that your familiar with the Monsters in the game , the online fanmadetranslation might also be altered a bit since the Japanese name of the Monsters isn't exactly the same as the English version ) As for theartwork of the characters..you might find it similar to Fairy Tail to a certain extent.

Overall :

This...made me more motivated in playing my Monster Hunter games :P Essentially , several items and monsters were mentioned in the Manga ( Such as Kushala Doara and Well-Done Meat / Steak ) . Note that since this is a Manga , don't expect everything to be similar to the game itself , there are some differences and there are also plenty of jumping and stuff like that. The story , itself , is considered excellent in terms of Manga standards. It is also somewhat light-hearted like Full Metal Alchemist and Fairy Tail. For example , in certain battles , like against aCongalala , theywould face the almightygasproblem ( You get what I mean ) . Every thing is exaggerated to a certain extent as well ( Such as land demolishing , aherd of Yian-Kut Kuetc. etc. )Either way , if your a Monster Hunter fan , you definitely do not want to miss this.

Well , it IS a bit too short , however.