Aki ShimizuRezensionen

This is my favourite manga, I have re-read it many times and I just love that historical,magical style of manga

The art gets 4.5 stars from me. But the story is suited for much younger crowd.

So, this is Suikoden III: Successor of Fate by Aki Shimizu. It is based on the PlayStation 2 RPG game. I have to say, I'm thinking of chasing down a copy of the game for my own PS2! The main character is a girl named Chris who has trained to become a knight and Hugo, who is on the opposite side. It's a good story and I like the art too. There is an ADORABLE gryphon named Fubar. There's also this funky duck-human, not exactly cute, but rather odd. There looks to be a hot guy or two here and there as well, so I look forward to continuing the story. I purchased the next couple volumes, but haven't read them yet, so yes, I will be continuing this series and I Just might hunt down the game as well... (followup - I did get a copy of the game!)

This review was originally written for the website ListerX.com, which is now defunct. It can also be found on my blog, The Graphic Librarian.

Cover
While I admit that the sickly green of V.02 doesn't do as much for me visually as the warmer, vibrant tones of V.01, this cover is still excellently rendered. The same concept of contrasting colors that was apparent in V.01 has also been used here to very nice effect. Pale, greenish yellow is the predominating color, but there's also a subtle use of warmer, reddish tones for the highlighting of various areas. Once again, the artwork continues onto the back of the manga, making me wish I could see the whole image unimpeded by text and merchandising information. Nevertheless, Tokyopop made the right decision by focusing on Qwan and Daki's faces. My only complaint is the ever-present ugly red logo. If it has to be there, couldn't it easily be altered to match the rest of the cover design?

Artwork
Just as in V.01, the artwork is brilliant! Every pose, every gesture, every panel does nothing but reinforce my firm belief that Aki Shimizu is one of the most competent and skillful manga-ka out there. There are a couple of really great fight scenes, one between Qwan and a couple of wasp demons and another between Qwan and a giant snake demon. Both fights are fast-paced and action-packed without being hard to follow, which is always a plus as far as I'm concerned. Hard-to-follow fights normally wind up looking like nothing more than boxed chaos - not a pretty sight. Another thing I'd like to take particular note of in this volume is the attention to detail, especially where backgrounds are concerned. Everything is drawn with the utmost care no matter how minor a role it might play in the overall composition. I think this sort of engagement really says something about an artist; it shows how much they enjoy what they do and how much they want others to enjoy it, as well.

Plot
**Possible Spoilers Warning**
By what seems like luck alone, Qwan has met up with Aman, the grandson of Cao Jie, the Emperor's chief eunuch. However, Qwan quickly learns that Cao Jie, while a shrewd politician, is not the demon he thought him to be. Unfortunately, this means that Qwan, who hasn't eaten in days, is left extremely vulnerable when he's attacked later that night by Daki's two wasp demons. After a harsh battle, Qwan finally manages to eat one of them but Daki, who's been watching from the shadows, begs him not to eat the other. He agrees, but only on one condition - Daki must take him to the Essential Arts of Peace.

The next chapter jumps backwards in time to reveal Daki's mysterious origins and her real relation to Lord Yuushi. However, since this section is really just back story and I don't want to spoil any more of the plot than necessary, I think that's all I'll say about it. After the flashback, the story moves on to Chikei, who decided to stay behind at the brothel while Qwan went in search of Cao Jie. He seems to be trying to get more information out of Shaga about Qwan (and enjoying himself quite a bit while he's at it.) However, before Chikei has a chance to hear what she has to say, Qwan's odd little pet, Teikou, arrives with a summons.

Meanwhile, Daki has led Qwan directly to the Emperor's palace, where they are having a heated discussion about how to get in. Qwan's about to charge head first into the lion's den when Aman appears and manages to get them all safely past the guards without the least amount of bloodshed. It seems there may be a bit more to Aman than meets the eye, but Qwan's too busy eating some of the palace's petty demons to notice. Suddenly Chikei appears wearing nothing but a sheet, transported there straight from Shaga's bed chamber; it appears Teikou is a bit more powerful than anyone might have guessed.

Aman advises that they wait until nightfall to go after the scroll, and although the group heeds his words, once night comes they quickly find their way blocked by a very powerful demon sent by Lord Yuushi himself. A fierce and emotional struggle ensues, one which deals strong blows not only to Qwan, but Daki, as well. (Though her wounds are of a very different nature.) While the battle rages, Lord Yuushi is searching feverishly for the Essential Arts of Peace, with no success. Aman finally realizes the demon is a distraction and sends Chikei to look for the sutra, as well. Unfortunately, this move isn't as clever as it sounds due to yet another of Chikei's short comings.

The battle comes to a bloody end, and Qwan, already weakened from the fight, sacrifices even more for Daki's sake, leaving him on what may be the brink of death. However, now something strange seems to be happening to the mysterious boy. Could it have something to do with the unusual message on Chikei's randomly selected scroll? And what exactly is the scholar, Jou Kai's, connection to it all?

Content Warnings
Language = Yes, but fairly mild.

Violence = Yes, quite a bit more blood in this one than V.01.

Nudity = Suggested - all the naughty bits are strategically covered.

Sexual Situations = Yes, one "morning after" scene. Nothing too naughty, but it's obvious what was going on earlier.

Ratings
Cover - 9/10 - Very nicely done, but not quite as nice as V.01.

Artwork - 10/10 - Wonderful! Absolutely nothing to complain about!

Plot - 10/10 - Wow! This single volume tells a story that would take almost any other series numerous volumes to tell - and it does it amazingly well!

Overall - 10/10 - What else can I say? I've been thoroughly enchanted and I can't wait to get my hands on more of Aki Shimizu's work.

This review was originally written for the website ListerX.com, which is now defunct. It can also be found on my blog, The Graphic Librarian.

Cover
Well, I tried finding an original version to compare to with no luck, so I suppose I'll base my opinion just on Tokyopop's rendition, which I think has been done fabulously! Eyes are immediately drawn to the beautiful orange hues, but what I really love are the teal and pale blue highlights that have been used sporadically throughout the entire image. The added flare of contrasting color keeps the warm-hued palette from overpowering the image. The back is a continuation of the front, as seen in many typical American novels. While this inhibits a full view of the image, the overall appearance is much more effective than it would be if the whole image had been placed on the cover. Tokyopop also made some very nice choices concerning the fonts and the side bar decoration. The lettering has a flowing, cloud-like quality which suits the background very well and the side bar has an ancient looking blend of black and brown designs which nicely compliment the overall image. Now, if they'd just get rid of that ugly red and white logo.

Artwork
I can't help but love the artwork for this series. I especially enjoy the sketchiness which is used a lot in the action sequences. It adds a fun, fast-paced, artsy quality to the images. Another thing I enjoyed about this volume was the wonderful facial expressions on the characters; they just seemed to come alive on the page. I think my favorites came from Chikei, a roguish character who's always making wisecracks about something. Qwan also has some really cute expressions, as well - most of them versions of bewilderment and/or curiosity, since he came from the Heavens and knows nothing of China. Also, for those of you that like good fight scenes, this volume has a few of those, too. After all, what kind of demon eater would Qwan be if he didn't have at least one or two demon fights per volume? The sketchy quality that I mentioned earlier lends itself excellently to these action-packed sequences and the artist does an amazing job of showing the smooth flow of movement, and most importantly there's no difficulty following the action from panel to panel.

Plot
**Possible Spoilers Warning**
The volume opens with the meeting of what I can only assume will be the main character and his 'sidekick', a food-stealing, money-hungry rogue, Chikei. Using Chikei as unwilling bait, it quickly becomes clear that Qwan is an eater of demons. What's unclear is where he came from and why. The second chapter quickly introduces a third central character, a young pig-tailed girl named Daki who has a strange affinity with bugs and is using her powers to cause unrest among the aristocracy. Mistaking her for a demon, Qwan attempts to eat her with somewhat amusing results. Meanwhile, the aristocrats Daki 'aided' earlier are sensing changes in the air, ones which could bring about the fall of the dynasty.

Chikei, who's begun traveling with Qwan, quickly begins to make a profit off of his new friend's strange demon-eating abilities. Unfortunately, it seems his ambitions may have attracted the wrong kind of attention. During a brief rest at a house of ill-repute, a mysterious man named Lord Yuushi attacks the unsuspecting rogue. However, the unusual man is inadvertently thwarted by Qwan when the demon-hunter once again discovers and goes after Daki, who also happens to be Yuushi's daughter. Qwan recognizes the mysterious lord as being something more than human, but is prevented from action by Shaga, a prostitute who seems to know more about Qwan's journey and the Essential Arts of Peace than she's telling. Meanwhile, the scholar, Jou Kai, refuses to allow the Essential Arts of Peace to rot in a store house while the dynasty crumbles, so he sets out on a mission to find the one who is destined to carry the sacred sutra into the new era.

Qwan and Chikei continue on their own vague mission and after a brief conversation Qwan decides that the Emperor's chief eunuch must be a demon in disguise. With that thought firmly in his head, he sets out to find the man named Cao Jie. Daki, in an attempt to protect her father, tries to make trouble for Qwan, but instead she accidentally gives him a chance to meet the very man he's been looking for.

Content Warnings
Language = Yes, very mild.

Violence = Does demon-eating count?

Nudity = Very briefly suggested, but nothing more than extensive cleavage is actually seen.

Sexual Situations = Well, there are a few prostitutes, though it's not made too obvious what they do in their profession.

Ratings
Cover - 9.5/10 - Just a little bit off the top for that garish red Tokyopop logo on the spine.

Artwork - 10/10 - Fabulous! Not a single complaint!

Plot - 10/10 - Mysterious characters, political intrigue, and lots of promise for the future volumes.

Overall - 10/10 - Wow! I'm beyond impressed! Hopefully, the future volumes won't disappoint me.

I’m appreciating the small touches in the art as much as the embellishments on the game plot in the text. For example, Aila and the six soda glasses filled with ice in various stages of melt. And the pictures of things we didn’t see in the game: Eike and Apple interacting over books. The artist does interesting things with Eike as well, drawing him lurking in the shadows, shadowy himself, in the pictures of the collected Budehuc group.