The time for lengthy manga titles is still relevant. It may seem like a strange trend, but it’s grown on me over the years and I still find myself enjoying series with insanely long titles. I Kept Pressing the 100-Million-Year Button and Came Out on Top Vol. 1 keeps up with that tradition by giving us a fantasy action story that doesn’t overdo it with over-the-top high jinks or fan service. Instead, we get a grounded narrative with more than a few plot twists that will surely resolve over the following volumes.
I Kept Pressing the 100-Million-Year Button and Came Out on Top Vol. 1 introduces the self-motivated reject swordsmen Allen Rodol who only hopes to one day become a powerful sword user. However, he sucks, and because of this, he gets picked on at school. Still, he is fueled by his admiration of his mother and the sacrifices she made to get him into the academy. In a duel to defend her honor, he’s faced with the realization that he may not be cut out for this, but still trains.
This is when a time mage appears to give him the option to train for a 100-million years with the press of a button. However, even after the first press, he wants more and continues to utilize his free time to train in an alternate universe and become stronger. Eventually, he does, and his entire life begins to change as he’s offered multiple paths that he can take in life.
Even though Allen has this training, he hasn’t mastered any real styles. Everything he uses is of his own invention, but he has a lot to learn. We are then introduced to a few heroines and potential friends, Lia Vesteria and Rose Valencia. While this volume focuses mostly on Allen, these two will surely play a bigger role in future chapters.
I enjoyed the pacing of this fantasy adventure. Allen is a great protagonist and doesn’t come off as a pushover or fragile. He stands up for his beliefs but still suffers from the trauma of constant bullying. There are also some other elements at play here with a few supporting cast members knowing more about what’s going on with this time mage than Allen is aware of.
The character designs from Mokyu are simply amazing in this manga. They adapt the light novel exceptionally well. Each character has some amazing facial reactions, especially during the action in the panels. Everything is easy to follow, with a high amount of detail put into the backgrounds and costumes. Further, the duel scenes show off some great attack scenes.
I Kept Pressing the 100-Million-Year Button and Came Out on Top Vol. 1 takes a unique approach to the idea of a reject’s rise to power. Our protagonist doesn’t fall into any overused troops, and the supporting cast manages to be interesting, with ulterior motives at play from several parties. I’m interested to see how the friendship dynamic between the three main characters develops in future volumes, but this is a great first step in a new fantasy adventure.
