Title: Astro Royale Vol. 1
Author: Ken Wakui
Publisher: Viz Media
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 200
Genre: Action, Supernatural
Publication Date: August 5, 2025
The Story
We have a new series from Ken Wakui, creator of Tokyo Revengers, called Astro Royale. Here, the Yotsurugi family reformed from being a crime syndicate to being an organization for the people. Their leader, Kongo Yotsurugi, became generous and adopted several children, even some from his rivals; however, his only blood-related son, Hibari, never vocally threw his name into the hat when it came time to name a successor due to Kongo’s declining health.
When Kongo passes, it is Hibari’s duty to announce the new successor to the family; however, when he appoints his adopted brother and closest friend, Terasu, as the new leader, the entire family causes an uproar because they thought that their adopted brother, Shio, was a lock-in to become the new leader.
That night, a meteor shower falls over the city. They say that if you hold onto an object that is dear to you and make a wish, it will come true; however, what they didn’t expect was for one of the meteors to hit and cause a city-wide disaster. During the explosion, a building falls on top of Terasu. Using his wish, Hibari gains a power known as Astro… the manifestation of your wish in relation to the item that you were holding. In Hibari’s case, he was holding a bullet passed down to him by his father. Like his father, his arm became a bullet, and his fist like gunpowder, which severely amplified the power of a simple punch. With it, he blows the building away and saves Terasu, but then collapses.
Hibari wakes up two weeks later, and the world has changed. He wasn’t the only one who gained the power of Astro. Upset over who succeeded Kongo, the family split into several factions, each running a portion of Tokyo. Their goal is to overthrow Terasu and Hibari and become the new leader, shaping the future of the Yotsurugi family in their image. The person responsible for sparking this battle royale is none other than Shio himself. Hibari knows that he can’t Shio down alone, so he needs to assemble a faction… and what better way to start than to turn to your family!
Characters
We have quite the cast of characters to open up our first volume with!
First, we have Hibari Yotsurugi, the only blood-related family member and Kongo’s only son. He’s very idealistic, hoping for peace and the strength to protect his friends; however, he’s not a scared and spineless weakling. He has a strong backbone and isn’t afraid to “throwdown” with anyone who stands in the way of his ideals. He wants to be the hand that protects the town and will use his strength to accomplish that. While he’s not the type to think things through and formulate a plan, he is brave enough to march right into a hornet’s nest and start causing trouble. That kind of mentality typically lands a main character in hot water, so we’ll see how this unfolds for him. I just think it’s a breath of fresh air that we have an idealistic lead that isn’t afraid to beat some sense into the opposition!
Terasu Yotsurugi is an adopted son of Kongo. He is more level-headed than Hibari at first and seems to be the perfect friend/brother for him. That all changes after the meteor hits, as his ideal turns to a “kill or be killed” mentality. Of course, Hibari disagrees with him, and they end up having a fight. Terasu comes around and sides with Hibari, showing that he is willing to compromise and stick by family when needed. Outside of this, he has a bit of a grievance with Hibari for naming him the new head of the family, as leadership isn’t something that he felt he was born to do, but he’s willing to do it anyway. As a main character, he seems more like a supporting character. Even though he’s featured, he doesn’t truly do much of anything. Hibari is acting more like a leader than he is; however, I think it’s because that was the plan all along. Tersaru was meant to be the leader in name, while Hibari was the shadow leader behind the scenes.
While he wasn’t featured “on screen” prominently, Shio plays a major role in what appears to be the series’ main antagonist. He was clearly confident that he was going to be named as the new successor, so when it wasn’t him, he took it rather personally. His ideals are to restore the family back to the crime syndicate that it once was, feeling that Kongo and Hibari’s ideals are too soft. Given the fact that he started the entire rebellion and battle to determine the new leader, as well as amassed the largest faction in the entire family, it’s clear he has many supporters and will stop at nothing to claim the throne that he was denied. While he hasn’t made a move yet, I’m interested to see how he executes his plans and what that will mean for Hibari.
Next, we have Kuran Yotsurugi and his adopted brother Kou. Kou had a biological older brother named Botan who tragically died; however, his final words to Kuran were to protect Kou at all costs because Kou was pretty weak and needed to be looked after. Kou always felt that he was looked down upon and made fun of because he was the weakest of the adopted brothers, but when the meteor hit, his wish came true, and his Astro awoke as Asura, the God of Wrath. He used that power to overthrow Kuran as the leader of the Ikebukuro faction until Hibari showed up. Drunk with power, he needed to be taught a lesson and refused to join Hibari; however, Kuran is different. He has a similar mindset to Hibari, which is why he formed a group of delinquents charged with protecting Ikebukuro. He seems like someone who would side with Hibari, but Kou isn’t making that easy!
Final Thoughts
I can see a lot of similarities between Tokyo Revengers and Astro Royale; however, I can also see a lot of differences, too. The similarities come in the form of the character designs. There are a lot of borrowed designs here in this series, but that is typically true of mangakas (i.e., Hiro Mashima with Rave Master / Fairy Tail / Edens Zero or Kei Sanbe with ERASED / For the Kid I Saw in My Dreams). Re-used designs with slight alterations isn’t a problem. It does save time coming up with new designs, though! Other similarities lie in the story. Rather than having rival gangs vying for control, you have rival gangs vying for control… within a family!
But that is where the similarities end. The main character has some of the same ideals as Tokyo Revengers’ MC Takemitchi; however, unlike Takemitchi, he’s not a weakling, knows how to fight, and isn’t afraid to “throwdown.” (There’s a reason why I keep putting that in quotes!) Also, Tokyo Revengers didn’t have superpowers, whereas this series does in the form of Astros. There was a nice little nod in the beginning when Terasu wanted to use guns to even the odds, which is something that was done in Tokyo Revengers, especially when it came to Kiseki Teita; however, that plot was quickly tossed aside, almost as if Ken Wakui was sending a message to say “we are not going down this path with this series.” (in before someone has an Astro that turns them into a gun.)
As for the story itself, it’s pretty well-structured for a first volume. It gives us a nice premise and introduces the powers as part of the story’s introduction. Typically, characters would already have their powers at the start of a story, but here, we actually learn how they are acquired. We establish a main antagonist, the end goal, and even jump straight into some action with a resolution to close out the first volume. I can’t think of a more complete volume that balanced story introduction, story progression, world building, character development, and action so perfectly. It was in the perfect ratio!
If you are a fan of Tokyo Revengers, or just delinquent stories in general, and want that shonen battle twist, Astro Royale is going to be a series you will want to pick up. If you’re just looking for a good action series that looks to have some layered characters, this is also another good reason to give this one a try. I enjoyed it and I am looking forward to reading more!
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This item was provided for review by VIZ Media.
