This is a review of the manga up to chapter 5.

I picked this up from a recommendation and I'm glad I did. I say this with no exageration: The first chapter alone could be sold as its own story and I'd buy it. It is masterfully paced, delivers everything you need to know at that point, the art is good and easy to follow, and the main character is very relatable.

I stress this, in a time where manga protagonists are cardboard cutouts of popular examples or have these egregiously dislikeable chracteristics to make them seem "edgy", Teppei stands out. He is idealistic, driven, energetic, and very sympathetic. The fact that he is a young boy helps, since it makes his idealism and shortcomings much more believable.

So far, Teppei's plight to find his father and those dear to him is the main drive of the story, and it works just fine that way. I genuinely felt sad when he felt sad, and I cheered when trimphed over the other demons.

The art style of the manga, while nothing that will rock your world, is very well done, and the sequential art in particular is easy to follow, even among hectic fight sequences. Expect lots of scenery gorn.

Overall, Iron Knight is a gem right out of the gate, and I sincerely hope it goes well enough in Jump to continue for as long as it can.

P.S: I just found out some people are calling it a rip off of Attack on Titan, because both are about "A kid whose world is attacked by monsters and he himself become one of said monsters", which is such a broad description that it could apply to several other works. Saying Iron Knight is a rip off of Attack on Titan with that is like saying One Piece is a rip off of Dragon Ball Z because there's a lot of punching in it. That is all.