Thunder 3 is one of the most insane manga I've ever read, and it's incredible. It's a bizarre mash-up that I can only describe as “what if Crayon Shinchan, but Gantz”. If that sounds like a wild combination, then it is. The first volume, which I reviewed for Manga Guide back in Fall 2024, certainly impressed me with its deceptive opening chapter, appearing to be a cutesy slice-of-life story about a boy and his overly clingy sister. Once Thunder 3 showed its hand, however, the manga quickly mutated into a deranged alien invasion story set in a hyper-intricate, ultra-realistic depiction of Earth, with several little cartoon characters wandering around in a digitally-created 3D world filled with insanely detailed mechs stomping on the human populace.

The next few volumes are less concerned with the isekai-adjacent adventures of The Small Three than with establishing a disposable cast of more realistically-proportioned humans who make up the Japanese resistance effort against the invaders. Once again, very Gantz, with a smattering of V.Thunder 3's alien invaders just sort of… turn up one day and gradually integrate themselves into society. They're taller than humans, yet seem to understand human language, even if they won't deign to communicate with them. Humans become complacent towards the daily presence of the fantastic among them, and it's not until the aliens show their true natures that humanity realizes it's too late, the planet has already been occupied, and its indigenous peoples are surplus to requirements. To make yet another comparison, it's like the Gantz aliens won.

My ongoing Gantz references aren't a mistake – there's widespread speculation online that Thunder 3 author Yuki Ikeda, who has no other credits to his name, is in fact a pen name of Gantz creator Hiroya Oku. Evidence to back this up includes the involvement of Gantz: 0's Takehiko Hoashi, who is credited for mecha design, plus the Gantz-like heavy reliance on 3D-modeled backgrounds and objects. Even the character designs look heavily inspired by Oku's style. If Thunder 3 isn't directly created by Oku, then at least I think Ikeda must have been his assistant and likely remains associated with his studio. The similarities are too blatant.

If you loved Gantz (as I did), then Thunder 3 is absolutely for you. Volumes 2 to 4 in particular, where The Small Three are little but occasional guests in the narrative, are highly reminiscent of the early portions of Gantz, where a group of normal human beings is thrown together by circumstance into a life-or-death battle with the fate of mankind at stake. The whole thing is played incredibly straight, except for on those few occasions where the goofy little cartoon dudes inadvertently display absurd indestructibility or overwhelming strength, smashing apart an alien mothership or something.

This initial lack of involvement by the supposedly main characters is quite frustrating in these early volumes, as, by comparison, the normal humans are significantly less interesting. Although the pace is fast and a lot happens in terms of action, the overall plot takes a long time to progress. This is because the unbelievably detailed battle scenes, with intricately designed military hardware and over-the-top ultra-violence, are lengthy. In comparison to the first volume, readers might feel they've picked up a different manga from what they expected.

Gradually, however, The Small Three are brought back into the central narrative, along with some cool twists with potential to upend the entire premise later on. It's very satisfying to follow these cutesy little blob-shaped kids as they step up to the plate and start smashing shit up. Those mean aliens don't know what hit them! I particularly like the weird subplot that follows little sister Futaba as she wanders one of the alien ships alone, inadvertently causing chaos wherever she goes. Despite packing enough overpowered ordnance to level entire planets, the aliens completely fail to handle a tiny little cartoon girl. It's gloriously absurd.

Such comedy, however, is leavened by brutal violence and exceedingly dark plot twists, as the aliens dig in and murder hundreds of millions of people in response to The Small Three's perceived aggression. Most of the normal human characters are motivated by revenge for the deaths of close family members and friends, and they throw themselves into battle with suicidal enthusiasm. They're powered by (again, a very Gantz-like) secret weapon, a nasal spray derived from the aliens' biology that grants each user a short period of use of an unpredictable super-power, followed by a period of overwhelming exhaustion. This very videogame-esque risk/reward strategy leads to some completely bonkers battles, with humans exhibiting weird psychic powers, or increased strength, or enhanced speed. This aspect feels very separate from The Small Three's story, though.

Despite being frustrated by pacing issues, I thoroughly enjoyed Thunder 3. It works best via consumption in large portions, and I'm glad I was able to read the first eight volumes in quick succession. I imagine that waiting for each volume would have been extremely frustrating. I'm looking forward to the upcoming animated adaptation, if only to see what the wider audience makes of this. The initial trailer gives absolutely nothing away about the story's true nature, so I expect the reactions to be wild.