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Manga Review: Gundriver 8 Volumes, Media Works Inc., 2001 Imagine a West that never was. Gundriver is a title from the always-esteemed genre of 'Gonzo Alternate Bizarro-History', with a unique Japanese pop-culture spin. Imagine a steampunk West with 30-foot tall mecha called Gundrivers. The American North and South have been fighting their bitter civil war for almost fifteen years, costing one million lives. Dark industrial forces conspire to extend the conflict indefinitely. And young man is about to be brutally inducted into this harsh 19-century reality... Gundriver is a 8-volume series by Gou Bitou and Noriyasu Seta that takes place in a bizarro-alternate 19th century, in a thinly-disguised version of the world (Complete w/America, Europe, Africa, and Japan), circa American Civil War. But with mechs, airships, and biplanes. And the cliched 'hidden super-advanced technology, BIG HIDDEN SECRET of the world'. They basic take the juiciest parts of the era - the famous people (Lincoln, Grant, Lee, Freemasons, Pinkertons, Napoleon III), race relations, slavery, disease blankets, Underground Railroad, the Civil War, industrialism, Emancipation Proclamation, Gettysburg Battle/Address, colonialism, Buffalo soldiers - and mash it in a anime-steampunk blender. The storytelling is ham-fisted, the history laughable. However, the mechs are really nice, and the 'technical notes' gazetteer at the end do teach a great deal about the actual history/technology/places mentioned. It also starkly deals about racism and prejudice, unheard of in a shonen manga. If you can get past the badly disguised historical cameos, it is an entertaining read, especially regarding its audacity in reimagining certain historical figures. Ah hell, I'll say it. Lincoln gets some in volume 1. There, are you happy now?