Im going to be blunt here... I havent had the best experience with 70s and 80s manga. This is certainly not a criticism of all the manga from that time but my experience has been more negative to average than really positive to great. One could blame at the pics I chose but Saint Seiya Jojos Devilman Tezuka... They are all among the ones who are praised the most from that era so maybe Im simply more used to modern titles. But if I was to point at a manga that embodies most things I dislike about manga from those decades Honoo no Tenkousei or Blazing Tranfer Student is one of the ones that would come to mind. Which makes it weirder that it is one of my favourite 80s manga. https://i.ur.com/3OAUZzU.png So... why? Well honestly the same reason why I still appreciate Devilman despite all its flaws its bold. And what Blazing Transfer Student has that Devilman doesnt is that its also incredibly selfaware. Kazuhiko Shimamoto knows his manga is ridiculous so he does his best for it to be the MOST ridiculous it can be and the result is... fun. But lets get more into it. Honestly the very first problem of this manga is its introductory chapter. Its like if you saw a cool looking dude walking down the street and then he punches you in the face pees on you and then gives you a million dollars... Does that metaphor makes sense? Do you get what Im going for? No? Well thats my point. Lets try to absorb this very chapter together shall we? The manga starts with our main character Noboru Takizawa arriving to his new school when he steps on a mine that causes a very big explosion. Turns out that the Hall Monitor put that there to catch any late student. Noburo explains that he isnt technically late as the teacher told him that he should only come after the first period is done in his very first day... Which then the Hall Monitor replies with What would you do if he told to DIE? and other really great arguments of things you wouldnt do if a teacher told you to do except at one point he asks if Takizawa would marry a famous idol if prompted by the teacher in which he replies yes. https://i.ur.com/cJ3vZxy.png https://i.ur.com/cDk7eYQ.png So... he would do a thing that the teacher told him to... so thats cool? Hes not late then. https://i.ur.com/CPuFLWf.png This entire manga revolves around these ridiculous dialogues and they never really stop. They just keep getting more outrageous and outrageous as time goes on. The manga starts with that explosion and it never really takes a moment to let you breathe instead you just get used to its energy and fast pace. And once you do youre golden. Well more or less the truth is the energy spills into the art and there are a lot of times throughout the manga were the art is just too confusing and unreadeable. Which is to me its biggest flaw. Its a sad flaw as the story actually revolves around Noburo his crush Yukari and his rival Ibuki being constantly forced to transfer from school to school and find themselves participating in a variety of sports from boxing to volleyball and proceed to be incredibly dumb while trying to play them all. It would really help the manga to have a more clear artstyle in these moments. Thankfully even when our characters are sweating blood from an hard fought match they arent supposed to look cool or badass as they are constantly suprising the audience with their sheer audacity at being stupid while at the same time managing to subvert and parody the tropes of both sports and battle shounens with a ton of meta humor too. https://i.ur.com/f85BGj4.png One of the best highlights is of course the boxing match that got adapted into an OVA in which Takizawa finds himself in a predicament he cant land his super powerful punch because his opponents signature punch has a shorter name and so he ends up saying it and landing it before Takizawa finishes saying his... but he cant think of a shorter name that sounds as cool as the one he currently has. https://i.ur.com/d6iCCdJ.png This manga in a nutshell This manga like most comedy manga works however because it takes time to establish its characters. Every single character with the exception of maybe Yukari is dumb in their own little special way and thats why their interactions still feel believable. You genuinly feel for these characters... sorry that is. Specially for Yukari because she deserves better. And has things evolve and more characters and plots are introduced including an evil association the manga just keeps escalating and escalating. https://i.ur.com/rBxTIUH.png And you know what? Despite all the times I said dumb ridiculous and stupid there is credit to be given they arent just randomly stupid there is a method to it and thats why its good. Its not just dumb its geniusly dumb its meticoulsy planned ridiculous. Its a manga made to make you laugh from the first to its last panel. It doesnt want you to stop laughing at any point in the series and thats why its great. It doesnt want to be anything more than dumb fun so it makes an effort to be good dumb fun and it excels at that. Im not sure if this review made you want to check it out at all but if you want a good comedy I definitely recommend checking this one out. https://i.ur.com/ferjypQ.png