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Linebarrels of Iron Manga Enters Final Arc

The February issue of Akita Shoten's Champion RED magazine report last month that Eiichi Shimizu and Tomohiro Shimoguchi's Linebarrels of Iron (Kurogane no Linebarrels) manga is entering its "final phase at last." The March issue confirmed on Monday that the story is heading "towards the climax at last."

The manga launched in Champion RED in 2001, and Akita Shoten published the 24th compiled book volume in October. The story inspired a 2008 television anime from the studio Gonzo. Crunchyroll streamed the anime as it aired in Japan, and Funimation released the anime on DVD in North America. Funimation describes the story:

Kouichi dreams of being a hero, but in reality, he's a punching bag for every bully on the block. His life flatlines when the mysteriously naked Emi crash lands on his pitiful existence, thrusting Kouichi into the middle of an intergalactic showdown between rival races of self-regenerating Machinas. Through his death-bed partnership with the Linebarrel mecha, Kouichi gains the strength to stand up to his tormentors and crush the alien invasion force that's determined to conquer Earth.

There's just one problem. All this newfound power and special attention from nearly-naked babes is turning Kouichi into a jerk. His friends can't stand him, he makes his dream girl sick, and those aliens want to kill him extra dead! Kouichi may have the mechanized muscle to save the world, but he has much to learn about being a true Hero of Justice.