| From: | Avenger <Avenger@*******.DEMON.CO.UK> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Shadowrun Manga |
| Date: | Mon, 24 Aug 1998 16:26:44 +0100 |
following article. It's a little old at 1997, but, the relevance is
astounding. I cannot however find any reference to it on any import
lists, nor from the usual Anime/Manga suppliers.
If anyone on this list has any information at all regarding the
following entity I'd appreciate it. I have tried contacting FASA, but
they have been silent (busy???).
(From EX-Manga Volume 1 Issue 3)
Manga review
by Orin Starchaser
Those of us who are fans of some of the things FASA puts out here in the
US may be surprised that FASA gets a good portion of its revenue from
abroad. Now, while most of this is in Europe, there is a small and
growing following in Japan as well. Not only that, but FASA has Saiki
Kazuma doing a SHADOWRUN manga as well. The series started up about this
time last year, and the first compilation came out on 1 July, 1996. With
middling artwork, decent storytelling abilty, and a strong link to the
RPG, this manga shows Shadowrunning in Tokyo circa 2050 and is a decent
buy for fans of either SHADOWRUN or manga.
What's it like? Well, it's the first issue and there is a considerable
amount of character-building, but it is well-balanced by the action
sequences. Characters include Face (street sam), Mitia (cat shaman),
Sharon (decker), Grey (company man), Hikaru (physical adept), and
Hashizou (mage). The series begins with Grey geeking a company hitman at
a bar, then Face and Hashizou meeting in an abandoned building. Later,
the team has to find its way around a corporate doublecross, and protect
a woman from another corporation.
Saiki Kazuma's artistic style is unique. For the most part, it's well-
done and of good quality. Still, there are times when it gets a bit
awkward. For example, in the action scenes motion lines are occasionally
left out, which makes things a bit confusing and leaves the image
lacking. Also, Mr. Saiki's eyes take a lot of getting used to. Although
some might term his style as overly angular and too severe, it's a far
cry from Mita Ryousuke (the former writer of Dragon Half, now working on
Darkhair Captured) -- who seems to draw without the use of arcs ever.
Some might say that the characters are too archetypical (pre-generated
character types), and they seem to be a bit static because of this. Bear
in mind, though, that this is just the introduction volume, so
establishing the characters has to come first before they can really
change.
Still, there are some problems running about that might put SR fans on
edge. The two that I see are that Saiki seems to go a touch overboard in
cyberware, and the anime-style occasionally creeps in to lighten the
mood that many fans want Shadowrun stories to have. If these things
would bother the reader, then buying this manga may not exactly be a
priority. Still, for anime fans and SR fans, I would suggest taking a
quick look through it before buying it, just in case -- especially
considering that this manga has a very focused readership, and just may
not be one's cup of tea.
--
Avenger (ICQ #17653220)
http://www.shalako.demon.co.uk/
(Newbies Survival Guide to Stk & SR stuff)
http://freespace.virgin.net/p.siems/
(new look, new stuff, and a different direction)
