Giantess Fan’s “Giantess RPG,” a Look at the First Three Issues

Good morning all,

It has been several months since a Giantess Fan comic was reviewed on “There She Grows.” Therefore, it’s high time to take a look at one!

Specifically, today let’s check out “Giantess RPG.” Giantess RPG is an ongoing series drawn by Bokuman and written by a0040pc. Newschool2626 served as editor for the entire run. Geanne Clavio (Studio GFX) worked on the layout for issue one, and did both the layout and lettering for the second issue. JSD (Studio GFX) did the layout for issue three and Takusa (Studio GFX) did the lettering for that issue.

Regarding a0040pc’s other works, I previously reviewed “Survival of the Smallest,” which was released on the Shrink Fan site. Survival of the Smallest has yet to be continued, even though the story is incomplete and the last issue was released two years ago, on May 1, 2018.

As for Bokuman, he also did the art for Giantess Fan’s “Embodiment” and “Goddess of the Trinity Moon,” as well as “Sun, Surf, Shrunk!” for Shrink Fan. I have yet to review those, and thus this will be my first look at Bokuman’s work.

The first issue of Giantess RPG was released on January 28, 2019, the second on May 14, 2019, and the third and latest issue was published on April 28, 2020.

The story begins with our protagonist Blake playing “Knights & Thieves 2” and being sucked into the virtual world, similar to the “Jumanji” and “Tron” films. No reason is giving for the entry into the video game.

(NOTE: The plot is similar to Giantess Club’s “Hero of Size,” which also featured a protagonist in a video game setting who grew larger after she defeated enemies. The first issue of Hero of Size was released on November 5, 2009, nearly a decade before Giantess RPG. Additionally, I included Hero of Size on my list of Top 5 Giantess Club comics. However, Hero of Size is set completely in the video game and does not involve anyone from the real world.)

Blake rapidly learns that she becomes larger after vanquishing foes. Blake is also told that she must defeat the game’s final boss Dianthela in order to return to her world.

I appreciated the use of video game tropes such as cut scenes, invisible walls, and non-player characters (NPCs) to guide Blake. I also liked the humor, like naming the starting village “Beguny” 🙂 That said, perhaps the tension could have been built up with more details. For example, Blake’s in-game guide Artos states that her “lives are not unlimited,” after Blake was “killed” by the first boss and returns to a save point. However, she is never told how many lives she has. As a reader, I do not know if I should be worried if Blake dies two more times. For all I know, she has ten lives, so losing three is not a big deal. Although, if she only has three lives total, then I should get nervous if she dies one more time, and only has a single life left! (NOTE: Although, it also wasn’t made clear what happens if Blake loses all of her lives. I assume that would mean that she would also die in the real world, but that was not actually stated.)

I enjoyed the art, but it lacked continuity. For example, sometimes there are gold hooks on Blake’s top and sometimes they’re missing:

The same also applies to Artos, sometimes his belt has a buckle in the middle and sometimes his belt does not have a buckle in the middle.

Also, some of the background characters such as knights and rats appear to be single drawings that were copied and pasted several times. Such as in the following images:

There’s no nudity or sex in any of the issues. Perhaps those elements will be present in future issues. (I hope!) That said, I did enjoy the voluptuous figures and skimpy clothing given to the female characters; they show a ton of skin!

The story itself could have used a bit more continuity. The conflict in issue two was that Blake need an item called the “Forever Flute,” which she finds for the cost of 2 million gold coins. (NOTE: Blake says she doesn’t have “that kind of money,” but has she been getting gold from vanquishing foes? Players in role-playing games (RPG) like “Diablo,” “Final Fantasy,” and “Neverwinter Nights” receive coins at the same time that they get experience from destroying opponents. Therefore, does Blake have thousands of coins or does she have no money at all? The answer is unknown.)

While pointlessly arguing with the storekeeper NPC, Blake is attacked by an evil giantess. Later, in issue three Blake overcomes the giantess, and subsequently (somehow) acquires the Forever Flute.

Did Blake acquire a bunch of money and then buy the item from the shopkeeper introduced in issue two? Or did the foe drop the flute after being defeated? The means by which it was acquired was never told.

Bottom line, this story needs to be fleshed out to develop tension and increase engagement. As it currently reads, it feels like events progress because they need to, not due to any consistent in-universe logic within the comic’s narrative. It’s hard to become invested when events do not proceed due to depicted events. Blake does not get the flute by earning enough money to purchase it. Blake merely has the flute because she needs it for the story to move forward.

Also, as previously stated, the art lacked continuity and re-used assets. That makes the comic feel a bit lazy. Further, while growth is the primary theme, without clothes bursting or outgrowing a building, it’s difficult to judge how much Blake is growing. Lastly, the lack of sex will likely deter many fans.

Nonetheless, despite its problems, I hope that we’ll see Giantess RPG’s continuation soon. None of the criticisms are insurmountable and most, if not all, could easily be corrected.

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