Robotics;Notes Volume 1 is an exciting, fast-paced addition to the world of Steins;Gate, blending teenage ambition with high-stakes adventure in a setting where technology is both a playground and a looming threat. Set in 2019 on the island of Tanegashima, the story follows the Robotics Research Club at Chuo Tanegashima High School. The club, teetering on the edge of being shut down, takes on an ambitious final project: to build their own giant robot. What starts as a seemingly impossible dream soon spirals into a much larger and darker adventure involving an evil AI with world-ending plans.

At the center of this novel is Kaito Yashio, an eccentric teenager whose passion for fighting games and love of giant robots make him a unique protagonist. His obsession with building a real-life robot feels both relatable and fantastical, embodying the spirit of youthful ambition mixed with a dash of geek culture. However, Kaito’s carefree attitude soon faces a reality check when the club stumbles upon a sinister plot involving a malevolent artificial intelligence bent on destroying humanity.

The backdrop of augmented reality, once a trendy but fading craze in this world, brings a sense of modernity and intrigue to the story. In this version of 2019, technology isn't just a tool but a way of life. This fusion of gaming, robotics, and augmented reality creates a layered and immersive setting, where the boundary between virtual and physical worlds blurs.

Thematically, Robotics;Notes takes the lighthearted concept of building a giant robot and contrasts it with weightier ideas of human ambition, technological ethics, and the dangers of artificial intelligence. As the stakes grow, the novel also touches on themes of teamwork and resilience, as Kaito and his friends must overcome internal doubts and external threats to succeed.

Readers who enjoyed the complex storytelling of Steins;Gate will find this volume engaging, although the tone is lighter and more adventure-driven. While the novel takes a while to fully dive into its core conflict, once the plot regarding the evil AI unravels, it shifts into high gear. The action intensifies, and the scope of the story broadens significantly, hinting at the bigger threats to come in future volumes.
The writing, translated from Japanese, is well-paced and accessible, and while some of the scientific and technological jargon may seem daunting at first, it is interwoven with enough humor and character-driven moments to keep things balanced. The character dynamics, especially between Kaito and his fellow Robotics Club members, bring warmth and energy to the story, adding depth to the stakes as the story progresses.

In conclusion, Robotics;Notes Volume 1 delivers a thrilling combination of teenage adventure, robotics, and AI-driven suspense. It’s a must-read for fans of the Steins;Gate universe and anyone interested in a fun yet thought-provoking exploration of what happens when high school dreams clash with technological nightmares. Whether you’re here for the giant robots or the existential threats of rogue AIs, this book delivers on both fronts, setting the stage for an epic sci-fi journey.

An interesting manga that takes place in the Steins;Gate universe. It starts a bit slow but picks up pace to deliver a compelling read.

Fun series starter with a promising cast of characters and a nice STEM tie in. Hopeful that this will be a popular title, though it's always hard to tell from just one volume with manga.

Robotics;Notes Volume 1 is a great read for mecha fans and sci-fi mystery fans alike!

At its foundation, this series is about staying true to your dreams and working hard towards your goals, even if the world is against you.

Akiho, our lead protagonist, is always in her sisters shadow, yet her dream is to finish what her sister started and bring a larger-than-life robot to life. She may not have the skills to do it, but that's where the Robotics Club that she inherited from her sister comes in. The only problem? There's just one other member, her childhood friend Kaito who has zero interest in robots!

Over the course of the volume, you watch as Akiho tries her best to stay positive and recruit the members she needs to keep the club active and achieve her goals. I'm very excited to read the next installment of this series!

Thank you to Udon Entertainment, 5pb, Keiji Asakawa, and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader's copy to review.

#RoboticsNotesVolume1 #NetGalley

I LOVE I LOVE I LOVE I LOVED IT. I don’t think I can say it enough how much I enjoy it! Can’t wait to see where it goes

I wish there was a separate category for manga/manhwa/other visual novels because we have so many things to consider with them compared to a trad novel. There's art, composition, how good it flows, etc. I usually rate them based on pure ✨ vibes ✨ but I won't use that one in this manga review.

I think 3 ⭐s is fair, as I didn't actually love it, nor hate it.

🌷The art is REALLY gorgeous. Nostalgic. It reminds me a lot of Plunderer, and I love that manga to bits and pieces. I love any manga or visual novel that has an art style similar to oldies!

🥀 The story isn't as great, as it all went over my head. I'm not big on robotics but it's definitely not beginner-friendly

🌷 The female MC, Aki, is really the star of this manga. If not for her, I wouldn't have finished the manga. Her optimism and "never give up!" attitude basically keeps the story going, because if it's up to the MMC...

🥀 Nothing will happen. The MMC is insufferable and my mind refuses to recall his name. He basically serves as the "inner monologue" narrator most of the time which makes thing grim.

🌷 The fight at the end was epic though. It isn't worth slogging 300+ pages but we at least got that great art style and composition.

Thank you Netgalley and Author for a copy of the first volume of this manga.

I don't know why, but I just couldn't immerse myself in this story. So I just give this book 3 stars.

Well, while I read this ...The emotions that were supposed to be there or already built up tended to escape me, leaving me with a persistent sense of boredom and a wondering 'Why is it like this? How come?', etc. The characterization of the leads felt forced, lacking a natural touch, and, at times, felt cringey.

However, I must admit that the book has really wonderful illustrations. The mangaka's drawing is superb! The plot was solid, even with its slow pace, and I appreciate this book's intriguing technology concept. Wow! I hope our technology catches up with theirs asap.

This was a bit difficult to get a hang of (it's a spin-off, maybe?), the characters and the world, and I struggled a lot with it. The story was fine once it got going if a bit slow, and the illustrations were beautiful.

I understand that the manga was originally published in 2012 and that they think that in 2019 we were going to be so advanced is tremendous! ha ha ha! Then came the pandemic and as a society we have not grown much, but technologically we have... although not as much as they show here... (I think).

I liked this manga, it is longer than what I am used to and yet it was a light, bearable read and I love those types of stories where we get to know the characters little by little and see how they link together to achieve the same goal together. aim. I love those stories. And even more so when we really get into their lives.

However, I didn't end up connecting with the story as much as I thought I would. I liked it, it was interesting but I couldn't connect as much.

Thank you Udon Entertainment for the digital copy I read on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Robotics; Notes starts out kind of slow. It took about 20% for me to get into it, but once I did, I sped through the remainder. A high school robotics club with 2 members and no budget attempting to win a national tournament is the underdog manga story we all love. I'm very curious to find out what's going on with the sister.

I really tried to get into this manga. But I hard a hard time. The same happened when I first tried watching Steins;Gate. So maybe I'll understand it better after I try again...

The story follows Aki and Kai, the only two members of a Robotics Club at their high school. Aki is super optimistic, and her only goal is to finish building a life size robot left behind by her older sister and founder of the club. Kai is mostly there because Aki has been his friend since they were children, he's more into an online robot fighting game where he's trying to get to the top 1 in the leaderboard, and will only agree to do anything being asked from him if you can beat him in a fighting match.

Having played the original Visual Novel in japanese I can say that the translation is great, at least I have a feeling of consuming the same story. It has character profile pages in between chapters and I always love when they have them. Only weird thing is that some of the onomatopoeia aren't translated, so you see a "Buzz" next to japanese characters.

The art is nice and doesn't go over the top, which is what puts me off from reading certain manga, it conveys the scenes really well.

Overall a great localization of a science adventure story. Can't wait for the next volumes.

Enthusiasm, determination, and robotic fun create an entertaining tale with characters to cheer for.

The Chuo Tanegashima High School Robotics Research Club (and yes, that is a mouthful) has long seen its glory days and has dwindled down to a membership of two. Aki and Kai are childhood friends, and since it was Aki's sister who brought the club to its peek, they aren't about to abandon the club completely. Aki is determined to make the club shine again and complete her sister's left project, a gigantic robot, before they graduate in a few months. Kai stays at her side but would rather spend his entire free time playing his favorite video games and letting everything sputter silently to an end when they graduate. Aki really needs his help as well as that of others, but everyone and everything seem to ignore her. But she's not about to give up.

This manga stems from another tale, which I didn't realize when picking it up. Not that it really matters, nor did I look into this to learn more. While it's clear that there is more to this world when reading through these first chapters (just impressions and hints), this story does carry itself from beginning to end. The school setting opens things up, giving readers a chance to get to know Aki and Kai before things really get going. This did create a slower read than I expected, but it wasn't boring, either. Just more emotion and character time than I anticipated. Especially Aki wins over and drives the atmosphere with her contagious and unstoppable enthusiasm—it'd be fun to have a friend like her. It's hard not to root for her every step of the way. Her attitude contrasts sharply with Kai, so much so that I really wasn't sure how they remained the friends they are, but it gives variety and promises enough future character arc to win over. Plus, it builds the platform for the humor, which adds wonderful spark.

The illustrations bring over the scenes nicely . They support the humor with the right flair, while still bringing across the mecha aspects well. There are character summaries tossed in, every now and then, which added background and details to each one as well as a short list and definition of terms, which readers may not have run across before. Even sight fans will, however, know these already.

The second half of the book picks up speed as the robotic end gets a bit more underway as does the contest and such. There are a few secrets which surprise, but it's the character interactions, hopes, dreams, and working together which drive this tale forward. It's full of positive vibes (mostly thanks to Aki) and propels into the rest of the series well. I received a complimentary copy through Netgalley and enjoyed the adventure and characters.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was waiting for something less boring to be honest and way more interesting and exciting to follow but this was so disappointing and for a manga,I found great difficulty finishing it.

This was a fun, fast-paced manga. The writer had a very good sense of humor and used it in the right places. I would recommend this to those who love science and science fiction.

50 pages in and I have NEVER been so lost. I absolutely confused and gave zero clue what is going on. If there is robot technology why is it never shown? Why are they all just standing in a field? What is this plot that keeps jumping around!???!

Did not work for me. And someone who loves Stein's Gate I was really intrigued to jump into this one since it took place in the same universe. But the tone, overall storyline, and characters are so flat in comparison and there's no real mystery like with Stein Gates. Overall a very big miss for me.

A whimsical story, filled with creativity, moxy, and fun. The characters have a genuineness that makes me life, the plot is a fun take on tropes, without being a complete copy of other such stories. I had a great time reading this, and recommend this as a way to spend a day, enjoying the plot, the characters, and the flow of it.

All thoughts are my own & I want to thank Netgalley for an advanced copy of this manga

I went into this nothing excepting much because I like.to be presently surprised by stories, I have to say I was highly enjoying the story and where it was going & seeing how strong willed the female character was in standing up for what she believes in and is so passion for until the end also seeing a loving friendship there throughout the story was lovely to see as well. Both main characters have their own addictions .... the female is addicted to keeping the Robotics club open. Where the male character is addicted to a certain game and becoming number one & you see how these addictions rule over everything in life and their character that in their own way makes them both every stubborn and determined.

If you want a story about strong main characters in what they want and also showing determination with postoperative belief to hold on to a dream and a memory then this series is for you.

I often wonder if there is a better way of reviewing graphic novels. Some like, for this book, 4 stars artwork, 4 stars story, 5 stars lettering etc. While reading through the book, there were parts that were hard to understand, but the fact that this book was both graphic novel and video games was not the problem. I enjoyed the artwork and story line but I won't be buying the next volume.

Thank you for this ARC.