Publisher Summary
Welcome to Kivotos, the Academy City, where students spend their daily lives armed.Follow the lives of the four girls who run a business here as they take on all kinds of odd jobs just to keep it afloat. With the self-proclaimed Outlaw CEO, Rikuhachima Aru, at the helm, Problem Solver 68 is always ready to stir up a storm!
Author(s): Blue Archive (original story), Kaede Nogiwa (art)
Translator: Wakaba
Letterer/Typesetter: Alice Rundcrantz Leise
Editor: Christian Knoll
I received Blue Archive: Problem Solver 68 Business Diary volume 1 as an Advanced Review Copy from Kaiten Books in exchanged for a honest review!
Background
Blue Archive: Problem Solver 68 Business Diary is a manga spin-off of the Blue Archive video game series. The manga is serialized in Bushiroad's Comic Bushiroad Web online manga magazine, starting serialization in 2022. With the original story written by Blue Archive team, the art for this manga is done by Kaede Nogiwa.
In June 2024, publisher Kaiten Books announced they had licensed the manga series for an English release.
As someone who has never played Blue Archive nor read about the lore, I was coming into this title unaware of anything. I was curious how the story would be for someone new to the franchise.
Review
The story opens with Rikuhachima Aru receiving a new client for her group, the Problem Solver 68. The group's motto is to take on incredibly dangerous jobs. The more dangerous the better. This job has them infiltrate an auction while protecting their client. The group bites off more than they can chew when they hear that "sensei" is up for grabs. This is when the story takes an action comedy spin where the dysfunctional group escalate everything causing the complete destruction of the facility.
The reoccurring topic is Problem Solver 68 trying to earn money. At the end of the first chapter, the team is behind the starting line. They're broke and still have a ton of bills to pay off. As you continue reading, you begin to see the progress they make in trying to get back to the starting line. I like this approach because it has the reader, rooting for the group to succeed. I thought the milestones they reach had good pacing and were enjoyable to read.
Going into this, I expected a serious action series and ended up with an action comedy. That said, I think the humor mostly hits. While not hitting hard, you will be chuckling at the group's antics, especially with them frequently blowing things up like they're in a Michael Bay movie.
My only complaint is that the other members of Problem Solvers 68 don't have any identity for most of the volume. Most of the spotlight is on Aru with the other members being portrayed as background characters with the occasional sentence here and there. An example of this was during negotiations with a potential client, none of the other members stand out.
There's a scene later in the volume where the group encounters the Prefects which could have been used to let the other members shine. This would have been the perfect point to do that. Instead, we continue focusing on Aru.
On the bright side, we end up getting some uniqueness with Haruka during the bonus chapter at the end of the volume, but I feel this should have been done earlier. The other 2 still don't have an identity, so I hope this is resolved in the next volume.
Final Thoughts
While the volume has some shortcomings regarding its lead characters, I think the humor and the view of the world make it an interesting series to come back to. If you're a fan of Blue Archive, you will love this volume. If you're unfamiliar with the franchise, you should check it out but it's not a top priority.
Verdict: Buy It on Sale
Problem Solver 68 Business Diary volume 1 from Kaiten Books is available at all retailers
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