Getting Better: Dragon Voice Vol. 4

Back when I reviewed Volume 1, I hoped that the story of Dragon Voice would get better. By Volume 4, it does. It really does. First of all, the Beatmen actually create something. Sure, creating dance routines and costumes doesn't seem to impact their goal of moving people with their voices, but it's a start.



By Volume 4, the Beatmen are starring in an action show called the Voice Rangers. It's exactly what you'd expect: people defeating evil, not with violence, but with voices. So lots of that "music is important and powerful" stuff. The day before the final episode airs live, Rin (who plays the villain) loses his voice due to acid reflux straining his voice. While searching for a famous voice doctor, he meets the mysterious girl who keeps popping up and may be one half of that "romance" that's listed as a genre on the back of the book. Rin and Sara (the girl) start dancing in the street, and this is the moment that I start liking Rin as a character - he and she sort of make a nice couple. As soon as they finish, the doctor shows up. His name is Dr. Daniel and he has an amazing head of hair (but not that amazing) and a cigarette in his hand. Wait - a voice doctor who smokes. I don't get it. He sticks various instruments down Rin's throat and prescribes an injection to fix it. The show ends with a bang, and the Beatmen return to the world of pop music.

The second half of this volume deals with the Beatmen trying to choreograph steps for their new single, "Break The Spell." This song was introduced in Volume 2 and the lyrics are truly awful. It's supposed to be motivational, but it's too sappy for words (and was obviously not written by a native English speaker). The funniest, in my opinion, scene of the volume occurs during the first rehearsal. Rin wears some hilarious feminine 80s workout gear that even Shuichi of Gravitation wouldn't touch. Each member of the Beatmen wants to do a different style of dance. One wants to do ballet, another wants to do jazz, and another wants to pop-and-lock. Not kidding. Goh, the bass voice, wants to breakdance (get it? "Break" the spell?). During a performance, Goh's father crashes and chides Goh for doing Western dances. It is discovered that Goh comes from a famous kabuki family, and didn't want to continue the tradition. After yelling at Goh's dad, Rin decides to choreograph a dance with kabuki influences. You may think that wouldn't go with a pop song, and you'd be right: it doesn't look right. Rin emphasizes the meaning in kabuki moves, but really, do thousands of screaming girls care about meaning? No, they care about flashy smiles and bare chests. Why won't you listen to me, Dragon Voice? The target audience for boy bands don't care much about substance.

And so, everything works out in the end for the Beatmen, until the next volume where something inexorably goes wrong. Again.