Banya: The Explosive Delivery Man

The author can into art like god, but almost equally sucks at plot-building (ok, a bit less, but still can’t into it too well). The beginning is episodic, the overarching story starts at chapter 19 (and absorbs some of the details of the earlier chapters, so don’t just drop in there), but it stays rather second-rate. The plot is certainly not the strength of this manhwa. Keeping it in mind, you can enjoy this work to a considerable degree thanks to the art and the action. In one of the chapters the author mentions that he knows his manhwa isn’t too good, but he wantsit be addictive, like coffee and cigarettes, and I think he succeeds. Basically it’s all you need to know, but I’ll specify a bit. So yeah, the art is amazing – the designs of the characters, if not too original, are beautiful. Bit by bit you notice that the world is rather consistent and has its own distinctive atmosphere (it’s desert-centered, by the way). But the best thing is the design of the monsters. They are detailed, complex and imposing – a very viable reason to pick this up, if you like beautiful fictional beasts. Of course, I can point out some hiccups in the art too, and in the later chapters there’re some bits of censorship for gore (can’t imagine why, so counterproductive), but overall it’s very impressive. It’s because of the art that I give this manhwa 1 point above “fine”. The story feels as if the author made his mind about what to write pretty late in. Some of the earlier chapters seem random (which results in upsettingly short life expectancy among the potentially interesting characters, btw), though in the end the motives that were introduced in the earlier episodes form the story. The bigger plot could’ve benefited from more buildup, but in the end the plot here is more or less just frame for action. As the first reviewer aptly said, it’s a mature shounen – a typical adventure, but with lots of death, albeit, I give it this, it’s not exactly stupid, and the flow of the dialogue is mostly ok. Oh, and there’s the strong protagonist, I always forget how important it is for many, though he is introduced first as a rogue. The manhwa includes fanservice for both sexes (tits and abs aplenty, though mostly abs, and pls, let the “sexes” slide this time for the sake of simplicity), but it feels like it is done more for drawing pretty than for pandering. Banya is often overlooked by those seeking action manga, and it’s a pity: this is exactly the badass action with a badass MC that many want. But I think that to avoid disappointment it’s best to approach it with the right mindset – just remember, it’s about art and fun slaughter, not philosophy or character development. Just like a big paper cup of street coffee – maybe it’s not the best coffee you’ve had, maybe it’s not healthy, but it’s just the right thing sometimes, when on the road.