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Arpeggio of Blue Steel #1
Arpeggio of Blue Steel, Volume 1
突然、世界各地に「霧の艦隊」と言われる謎の超兵器を搭載した戦艦群が出現。人類はその艦隊になす術無く敗戦し、海上に出る事が出来なくなった…。その海戦から17年後、何故か「霧」の潜水艦イ401に乗り込んだ千早群像とその仲間達は、イ401の人体化（メンタルモデル）のイオナと共に、霧の艦隊に戦いを挑む…。
194 pages, Paperback
First published April 30, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
February 1, 2015
Arpeggio of Blue Steel is a manga that is kinda hard to pin down the exact description or genre type. It seems to be dystopian, but also futuristic science-fiction, harem, and fantasy in terms of genre. If you read the afterward at the end of the manga, this is explained as the authors came up with first a core concept, and then added the girls, the "mental models" of the Fleet of Fog, afterwards.
The story is that around the middle of the 21st century, a maritime urban legend, the "Fleet of Fog", began to appear. This was about a group of WWII-era (or so they appeared at first) ships that would appear in foggy conditions. Eventually, they began to attack actual ships and didn't stop until they had annihlated the navies of the world and trapped each country in their own land masses.
In the intervening years, the economies of the world have gone steeply downhill. With a lack of trade of goods and energy resources being bought and sold, the world is in an ever-stagnating condition. Into this environment comes a unique group of heroes.
It turns out that about a decade before the start of the main story, Chihaya Gonzou's father and his crew disappeared while going to battle the Fleet of Fog. There are many disagreements over whether the crew somehow defected to the Fog, or if they were killed in battle.
Growing up with this hasn't been easy on Gonzou at all, and he is sort of a loner or outcast in personality, other than a close group of friends. This will serve him well for what is about to happen. Shortly before the story, the only captured Fog shop, a submarine named I-401, or Iona for short, comes into contact with him and for some reason executes a command recognizing Gonzou as her captain.
Needless to say, despite the successes this crew (Gonzou and his friends) quickly rack up, they are controversial to say the least, with members of the Japanese government. The opinions run the gamut from trust to distrust, and anywhere in between.
This is where the story opens, and where we find the crew of the 401, when they are given a mission that could literally save the world. A new prototype that can destroy Fog ships has been designed, and must be delivered to America, one of the few places that still has the industrial capacity to produce the warheads.
But Gonzou, Iona, and crew have to make their way to the next port first, and the Fog are in the way...
I really liked this story, even though it is a bit ridiculous. The "mental models" made up of living machines are only in the guise of females, why now? I don't know. But the story is interesting despite this, and the naval scenes and tactics do make sense, if a bit sci-fi in nature.
The essential reason that the weapon could make a difference is the reason that the 401 is so devastating to the Fog. The Fog is superior in strength, while the humans are better at tactics but weak. Put the strength of Fog or the new warhead with human tactics and intuition, and humanity may just have a chance.
The harem aspect is already starting to unfold, and that is okay. The harem genre can be annoying if badly done, but it has a bad rap, I think, as being bad all the time. The only way this would be bad is if it gets in the way of the story. I don't think it will.
I really liked the art for this. It isn't the typical manga style all the time, but more of a sci-fi epic feel to it. On the other hand, unlike say Attack on Titan, there is some use of typical manga tropes.
A very good start to this series, and hopefully we'll see more good work from the team behind this series.
Highly Recommended.
The story is that around the middle of the 21st century, a maritime urban legend, the "Fleet of Fog", began to appear. This was about a group of WWII-era (or so they appeared at first) ships that would appear in foggy conditions. Eventually, they began to attack actual ships and didn't stop until they had annihlated the navies of the world and trapped each country in their own land masses.
In the intervening years, the economies of the world have gone steeply downhill. With a lack of trade of goods and energy resources being bought and sold, the world is in an ever-stagnating condition. Into this environment comes a unique group of heroes.
It turns out that about a decade before the start of the main story, Chihaya Gonzou's father and his crew disappeared while going to battle the Fleet of Fog. There are many disagreements over whether the crew somehow defected to the Fog, or if they were killed in battle.
Growing up with this hasn't been easy on Gonzou at all, and he is sort of a loner or outcast in personality, other than a close group of friends. This will serve him well for what is about to happen. Shortly before the story, the only captured Fog shop, a submarine named I-401, or Iona for short, comes into contact with him and for some reason executes a command recognizing Gonzou as her captain.
Needless to say, despite the successes this crew (Gonzou and his friends) quickly rack up, they are controversial to say the least, with members of the Japanese government. The opinions run the gamut from trust to distrust, and anywhere in between.
This is where the story opens, and where we find the crew of the 401, when they are given a mission that could literally save the world. A new prototype that can destroy Fog ships has been designed, and must be delivered to America, one of the few places that still has the industrial capacity to produce the warheads.
But Gonzou, Iona, and crew have to make their way to the next port first, and the Fog are in the way...
I really liked this story, even though it is a bit ridiculous. The "mental models" made up of living machines are only in the guise of females, why now? I don't know. But the story is interesting despite this, and the naval scenes and tactics do make sense, if a bit sci-fi in nature.
The essential reason that the weapon could make a difference is the reason that the 401 is so devastating to the Fog. The Fog is superior in strength, while the humans are better at tactics but weak. Put the strength of Fog or the new warhead with human tactics and intuition, and humanity may just have a chance.
The harem aspect is already starting to unfold, and that is okay. The harem genre can be annoying if badly done, but it has a bad rap, I think, as being bad all the time. The only way this would be bad is if it gets in the way of the story. I don't think it will.
I really liked the art for this. It isn't the typical manga style all the time, but more of a sci-fi epic feel to it. On the other hand, unlike say Attack on Titan, there is some use of typical manga tropes.
A very good start to this series, and hopefully we'll see more good work from the team behind this series.
Highly Recommended.
December 12, 2015
There's a certain type of manga that's absolutely awesome, yet it's impossible to describe the plot in any way that doesn't sound idiotic. This is one of them.
In the near future, global warming has caused the sea level to rise, driving humanity inland. Then one day the mysterious Fleet of Fog appears. These are ships that look like WWII-era vessels (Why? Because it's cool) but they're outfitted with advanced weapons, including wave-motion guns (Why? Because it's cool). The ships have no crews that anyone knows of, but they do manifest, but they do boast anthropomorphic personifications ... in the form of adorable little girls (Why? Because it's fucking Japan).
The Fleet of Fog prevents all oceangoing travel and, apparently, most transoceanic flights, bringing international trade to a halt.
But then, for reasons not yet adequately explained, one of the Fleet ships, the submarine I-401, defects and puts itself under the command of a rag-tag band of misfits who take to the seas to reclaim them for humanity.
Yeah, told you it's insane. But it's also inexplicably compelling, with fun characters, political machinations and enough mystery that it doesn't matter how preposterous the whole thing is.
In the near future, global warming has caused the sea level to rise, driving humanity inland. Then one day the mysterious Fleet of Fog appears. These are ships that look like WWII-era vessels (Why? Because it's cool) but they're outfitted with advanced weapons, including wave-motion guns (Why? Because it's cool). The ships have no crews that anyone knows of, but they do manifest, but they do boast anthropomorphic personifications ... in the form of adorable little girls (Why? Because it's fucking Japan).
The Fleet of Fog prevents all oceangoing travel and, apparently, most transoceanic flights, bringing international trade to a halt.
But then, for reasons not yet adequately explained, one of the Fleet ships, the submarine I-401, defects and puts itself under the command of a rag-tag band of misfits who take to the seas to reclaim them for humanity.
Yeah, told you it's insane. But it's also inexplicably compelling, with fun characters, political machinations and enough mystery that it doesn't matter how preposterous the whole thing is.
December 13, 2018
I liked it, but the visuals were often pretty confusing. There were so many explosions that it was often hard to see what the heck was going on, and who was shooting who.
The story was... interesting? I mean the world sure was, being semi-post-apocalyptic and all, but with the main characters... and their mission. I mean I get it. Trying to save the world and all, but there's no real substance, you know what I'm saying? They're on the water, and there's explosions and technical vocabulary for ten pages, and then all of a sudden it informs the reader that the protaconists emerged victorious. Repeat this one more time, and that's the end of the first book. Buy the next volume for even MORE explosions, and characters sitting in CHAIRS yelling technical VOCABULARY!!!!!!!!!
All of that said, Arpeggio of Blue Steel does intrigue me. I liked it. The art was pretty nice, and if I come across the next volume I might just continue on with is mess of a manga.
All of my Arpeggio of Blue Steel Reviews:
Volume 1
Volume 2
Volume 3
Volume 4
August 17, 2016
It's not my style. I didn't really care for any of the characters. The art style is average for me. All around not interested in battleships.
May 31, 2022
I remember watching the anime adaptation of this years ago, and thinking it was just sort of...meh. It was right in the middle of that anime/manga trend of turning random things into cute girls (battleships, feudal warlords, fighter jets, etc.), and I just couldn't really get invested in it. But on a recent trip to Half-Price Books, I found the first volume of the manga for like, five bucks, and decided to see if maybe the source material was better. So far, the answer is yes.
Arpeggio is a weird story. Pollution and climate change have rendered much of the Earth uninhabitable. As if that weren't bad enough, the planet itself seems to have spontaneously given rise to the "Fleet of Fog": a series of autonomous battleships (and destroyers, etc.), that has denied humans access to the sea. Why battleships? Not a clue. But if you can roll with that unhinged premise, there's actually a lot to like here. Anyway, some of the Fog ships have begun developing personalities (the aforementioned cute girls), and one of them, Iona, has taken a liking to one specific human named Chihaya, joining him in the fight against the Fleet of Fog. Since they're the only ones who can go toe-to-toe with the other Fog ships, they get chosen (reluctantly) for a mission to bring the blueprints for a superweapon from Japan to the US, where it can be mass-produced. It's a decent setup once you get past all the WTF? questions.
You don't see too many straight-up military manga these days, and despite its odd world-building, Arpeggio is very firmly rooted in ship maneuvers, technical details, and military operations. It's actually a bit refreshing to see a series take that sort of realism into account. I do wish some of the battles were a bit clearer though--the problem with otherworldly battleships is that they kinda look similar to one another, and it can be hard parsing just who's shooting at who. Especially when they sometimes float above the water, and things like that.
On the flipside, Iona (and the other ships' mental models), does have a very unreal quality to her--which is good. They always have these wide-eyed stares on their faces, which does lend them a feeling of otherness. It's not at all clear yet just what the hell these things actually are, but despite appearances, they're assuredly not human, and certainly not merely there for fanservice.
I find myself wishing I'd begun reading this sooner, as it seems some of the volumes are out of print, and a little difficult to come by. If I manage to find volume two though, you can rest assured I'll give it a review.
Arpeggio is a weird story. Pollution and climate change have rendered much of the Earth uninhabitable. As if that weren't bad enough, the planet itself seems to have spontaneously given rise to the "Fleet of Fog": a series of autonomous battleships (and destroyers, etc.), that has denied humans access to the sea. Why battleships? Not a clue. But if you can roll with that unhinged premise, there's actually a lot to like here. Anyway, some of the Fog ships have begun developing personalities (the aforementioned cute girls), and one of them, Iona, has taken a liking to one specific human named Chihaya, joining him in the fight against the Fleet of Fog. Since they're the only ones who can go toe-to-toe with the other Fog ships, they get chosen (reluctantly) for a mission to bring the blueprints for a superweapon from Japan to the US, where it can be mass-produced. It's a decent setup once you get past all the WTF? questions.
You don't see too many straight-up military manga these days, and despite its odd world-building, Arpeggio is very firmly rooted in ship maneuvers, technical details, and military operations. It's actually a bit refreshing to see a series take that sort of realism into account. I do wish some of the battles were a bit clearer though--the problem with otherworldly battleships is that they kinda look similar to one another, and it can be hard parsing just who's shooting at who. Especially when they sometimes float above the water, and things like that.
On the flipside, Iona (and the other ships' mental models), does have a very unreal quality to her--which is good. They always have these wide-eyed stares on their faces, which does lend them a feeling of otherness. It's not at all clear yet just what the hell these things actually are, but despite appearances, they're assuredly not human, and certainly not merely there for fanservice.
I find myself wishing I'd begun reading this sooner, as it seems some of the volumes are out of print, and a little difficult to come by. If I manage to find volume two though, you can rest assured I'll give it a review.
December 12, 2023
Will give the first volume, a 3/5 stars. Definitely an interesting concept so far. The story, as far as I have gathered is that these mysterious battleships that are labelled as part of "The Fleet of Fog", have suddenly appeared 17 years ago from the story's beginning. We follow the perspective of the crew on I-401, including its "mental model", Iona, who is sort of a personification of the ship.
What I like about it so far, for one, is that I don't know many stories about battleships in general. However, I would have loved a more serious take, but as it is so far, its tone is a mix of serious and some silly. Like one thing, I think what makes it hard to take more seriously is some of the character designs.
Anyway will definitely continue eventually^
What I like about it so far, for one, is that I don't know many stories about battleships in general. However, I would have loved a more serious take, but as it is so far, its tone is a mix of serious and some silly. Like one thing, I think what makes it hard to take more seriously is some of the character designs.
Anyway will definitely continue eventually^
January 1, 2024
I was first introduced to Arpeggio of Blue Steel through the anime which I thoroughly enjoyed. Honestly, I better understand the after reading the first book in the series. The ships in the Fleet of Fog have defeated the navies of the world and kept the countries of the world isolated. One of the subs, the I-401 is under the control of a human crew and the I-401's mental model. The I-401 is on a mission to deliver a new high tech weapon to the United States. But, it has to survive the rest of the Fleet of Fog, first. The ships of the Fleet of Fog resemble older warships but they carry more advanced modern weapons including their mental models. The mental models take the form of a girl. Trust me, it makes more sense once you actually read it.
August 2, 2018
I was expecting this to be more “Cute girls! Ships! Adventure!” so my expectations were pretty low. I was pleasantly surprised, though, because it’s more of a sci-fi/military/action story and, while the girls are cute, they’re not there as fanservice.
August 1, 2019
Interesting combination of backstory, character introductions, tactical planning, Navy technology, and action thus far. The level of mystery surrounding the main protagonist is enough to keep me hooked despite this not being my typical cup of tea in a manga. The mental models strike me as some unnecessary fanservice but it isn't distasteful. Overall, a good start.
May 26, 2017
It was too slow and too boring.
February 16, 2018
Cute but I'm not the biggest fan of ocean combat.
February 24, 2018
Normally I'm not into military or naval stories at all. I just thought of trying this one and it's actually pretty good. Give it a chance if you feel the same way.
January 29, 2019
I don't think this is really bad. Just isn't for me at all.
February 10, 2019
A really great adventure in the seas. I recomand it for everyone who likes warships and military-scifi.
June 25, 2019
Arpeggio of Blue Steel is Volume 1.
With only 5 chapters I don't think there was enough of the story, and it the art was a little confusing at times.
With only 5 chapters I don't think there was enough of the story, and it the art was a little confusing at times.
March 1, 2021
Intriguing enough. Not sure if I'll read much of the series.
June 15, 2021
Very different from the anime
November 10, 2021
Very good
March 2, 2022
One of my top 3 in terms of manga
June 25, 2023
I can't really tell you what's going on. The story sort of started in the middle of it all.
But I liked this first volume, and want to continue it!
But I liked this first volume, and want to continue it!
January 10, 2024
I have 11 volumes; this was a promising beginning. There is a mix of military, science fiction and an alternate future in this series. I'm intrigued.
Shelved as 'not-for-me'
March 6, 2017Read/skimmed the first chapter. I'm not much for warship stories, especially when I can't tell them apart, and it was just too technical for me to follow. Pass.
January 23, 2015
In the future, humanity has been cut off from one another due to the seas rising, and a mysterious "fleet of fog" that has cut off all shipping lanes. The traditional military is all but powerless, but we have an ace up our sleeve: the 401, a Fog ship on our side, and her mental model Iona. Their latest mission is to deliver an experimental warhead to America, but can they survive both the Fog and the schemes of their own side?
This is the manga the sleeper hit anime Arpeggio of Blue Steel: Ars Nova was based on, and it doesn't disappoint. The manga adds a few scenes not in the anime and takes away a few, with the most notable addition being the mini-Iona mental models she copies and keeps in various places of the ship. The art's a little rougher than the anime, but is still quite good on its own.
Definitely worth picking up, especially for Kancolle (Kantai Collection) fans, who will like seeing a more serious take on the whole "girls are battleships" budding genre.
This is the manga the sleeper hit anime Arpeggio of Blue Steel: Ars Nova was based on, and it doesn't disappoint. The manga adds a few scenes not in the anime and takes away a few, with the most notable addition being the mini-Iona mental models she copies and keeps in various places of the ship. The art's a little rougher than the anime, but is still quite good on its own.
Definitely worth picking up, especially for Kancolle (Kantai Collection) fans, who will like seeing a more serious take on the whole "girls are battleships" budding genre.
July 6, 2017
~3/5
I was intrigued by this series, but after reading it, I just feel meh.
I think maybe the sci-fi series, particularly when there are some kind of mechanics involved, just aren’t for me. It’s not to my interest.
We get introduced to an odd group of characters. They’re in a different world, and the group is living in a submarine, running from the government. There’s fighting, we meet a girl who’s a robot and they’re not sure how much she really knows and has access to.
Mostly, I was bored. I don’t care for all the tech talk or mechanics. I don’t think I’ll be reading more.
[Read more at my blog, Geeky Reading!]
I was intrigued by this series, but after reading it, I just feel meh.
I think maybe the sci-fi series, particularly when there are some kind of mechanics involved, just aren’t for me. It’s not to my interest.
We get introduced to an odd group of characters. They’re in a different world, and the group is living in a submarine, running from the government. There’s fighting, we meet a girl who’s a robot and they’re not sure how much she really knows and has access to.
Mostly, I was bored. I don’t care for all the tech talk or mechanics. I don’t think I’ll be reading more.
[Read more at my blog, Geeky Reading!]
October 7, 2016
Arpeggio starts out very Navy like with bunch of terms I would not of known unless they notate, and they did so readers would not be lost! But more to the point, this is about a future world where ships of the past come back shortly after the Ice Caps melted more alive then anything, shooting down human ships and separating countries from each other being unfazed by human weapons.
The art stood out to me in the first chapter, all very details for each person even from far away the desk of each person on the ship was done to each of their personalities!
**received w/ Loot-Crate Anime 7/2016**
The art stood out to me in the first chapter, all very details for each person even from far away the desk of each person on the ship was done to each of their personalities!
**received w/ Loot-Crate Anime 7/2016**
November 13, 2015
Great story but it was hard to read the first volume from this series and took me forever. The art is distracting. There are too many details, and it takes a while to see what's going on in each panel. Furthermore, it was fast-paced and I had to reread some parts, and read slowly to fully understand the manga. Hopefully it gets better in the future volumes.
August 2, 2015
Primero el anime y ahora esto (porque uno nunca queda satisfecho). Amo las ilustraciones y a los personajes. Desde Gunzou hasta Kongou, que es mucho más linda que en el anime.
Takao de lo más preciosa e Iona de lo más tierna.
La relación Iona x Gunzou también es demasiado bonita.
Takao de lo más preciosa e Iona de lo más tierna.
La relación Iona x Gunzou también es demasiado bonita.
February 23, 2015
I really like the idea of it. It is something new to me. This is a military type story, primarily on/in the water. An alien race known as the Fleet of Fog shows up, and they take over the waters, trapping everyone in their respective areas. Now they are running out of supplies...
September 12, 2020
A 3.5, really - my 4-star books are ones I really, really like.
You can find my full review at No Flying No Tights.
You can find my full review at No Flying No Tights.
October 20, 2016
A lot of nautical jargon, but that wasn't really the problem. I already felt like I was missing part of the series, and little was done to actually build up the lore of the world. The art style is fine, but the story is lacking.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews