"MM9" or "Monster Magnitude 9" is a fantasy Scifi novel written by Yamamoto Hiroshi. The title refers to the details of the monsters that overwhelm Japan by their size that causes damage to cities. The novels also inspired a TV drama a few years ago. I happened to run across this novel at an anime convention while shopping. This book would probably never be in my hands otherwise because you always find things at anime conventions that are no longer in stores or online.
The MMD is a group of people who protect Japan from mythical beasts called Kaiju. Citizens don't completely believe in the powers of this group so they are more of the underdogs than heroes. Kaiju come in all different shapes, sizes, and types. They are also known as natural disasters such as tropical storms instead of monsters to the mainstream media.
MM9's plot is slow moving at first, with a first ten pages of so setting up the world of the novel. Hiroshi wants the reader to be familiar with the history of Kaiju and the mindset of the people who live in the world with them. You also get a feel for the characters as the novel opens with them hurrying to the department of MMD. There will be a lot of instances where the characters are hurrying to their department since Kaiju reports are spontaneous. I was interested in how people could live a normal life with something like this running around in the world but the human race seemed use to the idea. The novel gets preachy during certain parts of the book. Having knowledge of the myths that backup Kaiju 's existence can be very important but sometimes its becomes overwhelming. Info is so abundant that the plot is taken off course. On top of that, a select few characters talk about different histories of mythical beast for more than a few pages. Once the Kaiju started making their appearances, the plot becomes a page turner. Reading this novel is like being in a traffic jam that moves a little forward then stops . Chapters are separated into cases involving different Kaiju. Excitement built for me to find out what each Kaiju was going to be like. That excitement slowly gets killed when a character comes along with pages and pages of theories explaining different folklore and how it connects to Kaiju. My mind has already wrapped around the concept of Kaiju so you don't have to preach to me. Just go and stop the monster now please.
Character development was non existent except for one character, Sakura. They all lived for protecting Japan from Kaiju so even when they did have time off, the interactions feel forced. Erasing the MDD would be like erasing all the characters in this novel. They can't function without working to stop Kaiju. Many of them don't realize that their work as become such an important factor in their lives until the ending conflict. I didn't like any of the character's because there was no time to really get to know them. Sakura's situation was a little different from the other characters because she was allowed to express more individual emotion that will be relatable to most readers.
"MM9: Monster Magnitude" gets a little too preachy for me in its content. You reading this might like drawn out novels and if so please by all means, check this science lesson out. The action parts of the novel were fun to read but you leave this book with nothing but a never ending cycle. Yamamoto Hiroshi must have had the plan in his mind to create this novel into a TV Drama. The novel makes a few references to making the MDD's struggle into a drama and that wish came true.
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