Title: Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad

Genre: Drama/Comedy

Creator: Harold Sakaguchi

Company: Tokyopop

Publisher Info: 19 volumes, Authentic format

Summary: A boy named Koyuki meets a patchwork-like dog named Beck and its owner, a Japanese-American named Ryusuke, who was once a member of a rock band called The Dying Breed. Since his band broke up, Ryusuke has been looking to form a new one. He quickly discovers Koyuki's hidden talent for singing, and decides to recruit him. Koyuki agrees, but only to impress a crush, a swimmer named Izumi.

The Good: Very nice artwork. The story is also amusingly told and the romance between Koyuki and Izumi is a great subplot.

The Bad: Not much action and a slow plot. You might have trouble getting the pop culture references.

Offensive Material: Strong language. Also, early on, Koyuki meets an old man named Saitou, who is a champion swimmer and slightly perverted. I've also seen one brief nude scene with Ryusuke and his girlfriend.

Overall: This is a pretty good story. I'd recommend it for fans of coming of age stories.

My Review: 3.0 Category: D

Comment: FUNimation distributes the anime.