The Law of Ueki, Vol. 9

By Tsubasa Fukuchi

Fierce battle competition, comedy, and an epic coming-of-age story--somehow Kosuke Ueki manages to remain true to himself through it all.

A group of powerful beings called tenkaijin are holding a special tournament. The rules of the game--each tenkaijin selects a kid in junior high to be his champion and grants him a special power. The kids take each other on in heated battle, but if they hurt innocent bystanders, then they lose one of their natural-given abilities. Every time they win a battle, they gain a new ability. The ultimate winner of the tournament is granted any power of his choosing, and the tenkajin who he represents succeeds in becoming the next god. Kosuke Ueki has been chosen to fight in the tournament. His special power--the ability to turn garbage into trees.

The new, celestially powered-up Ueki finally faces Robert in battle But this encounter only succeeds in making Ueki realize that Robert is more powerful than he ever could have imagined. Outmatched, overpowered and with the odds astronomically against his favor, Ueki is in an impossible situation. Of course, this never stopped him before...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1421509156
• ISBN13: 9781421509150
• Release Date: December 2007
• Publisher: Viz Media
• Length: 194 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.0" x 7.5"
• Age Range: 14 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 9 to 12

Customer Reviews

UEKI VS. ROBERT

The story of why Robert has such a low opinion of humanity opens up Volume 9 of The Law of Ueki. His treatment by the inhabitants of the town where he grew up as a an orphan explains why he wants to destroy the world if he wins the tournament. It explains WHY but it still does not make it right. The relationship between Ueki and Robert is very similar to that of Naruto and Gaara. Naruto felt a lot of sympathy for Gaara simply because to him, the Sand ninja represented a possibility of what Naruto himself could have become if he had been left to his own devices. Ueki understands why Robert feels the way he does, but he is also disgusted that he let an incident in his childhood cloud his whole future and turned to evil. Ueki always looks for the good in others, a way to change situations to the positive, and to redeem those that have fallen into darkness. In fact, he says that his law of justice has to do with conquering the weakness within ourselves. Big items on that list are: never betraying his friends, never giving up, and respecting all life. But Robert is not agreeable to any of these ideas, so Ueki is going to beat his ideals into him! Ironically, Robert's power is to change ideals into reality. Ueki is going to have to level up a bit more if he hopes to win this battle and also save the lives of his friends. I am a really big fan of this manga, and of Ueki especially. The dude just never gives up, no matter how big the challenge before him. Even if the battle with Robert takes up most of this ninth volume, the action never gets boring or excessively silly. It's all done with good taste. The reader feels that all the fighting will be worth something in the end, that it has a higher metaphorical meaning than that of kids beating each other with goofy powers. Fukuchi always offers the hope that the bad guys can be turned around, if not through reason, then by the purification of battle. The art by Fukuchi is not anything great, but is attractive and is very easy to follow, especially during the battle scenes. The manga is a great read, especially now that the anime is on hiatus due to the collapse of Geneon.