Kevinroc
05-20-2004, 09:44 PM
Manga Review. Seikai Trilogy vol. 1: Crest of the Stars
A series of novels eventually became a manga series, which eventually became an anime series. But here in North America, we’re getting the release in reverse order. As we already have the anime and we are just now getting the manga. Hopefully that means we’ll get the novels at some point. But for now, let’s take a look at the first part of the Seikai Trilogy manga. Crest of the Stars.
English Title: Seikai Trilogy Vol. 1
Japanese Title: Seikai no Monshou
Subtitle: Crest of the Stars
Vol. _ of _: 1 of 3
Author: Hiroyuki Morioka (Original Novel)
Composition by: Aya Yoshinaga
Artist: Toshihiro Ono
Publisher: TOKYOPOP
Translator: Bryan Matsumoto
English Adaption: Dan Borses
Originally Published by: Media Works (Dengeki Comics)
Price: $9.99
Pages: 238
Age Rating: T (13+)
ISBN: 1591828570
Release Date: May 2004
Review Date: May 20, 2004 (Consider this my birthday present to all of you.)
Reviewer: Kevin O'Connell
Grading~
Packaging: B+
Artwork: B+
Text: B
Content: A-
What They Say:
After his home world is ruthlessly taken over by the Abh- a space-faring race that has conquered many worlds- a boy named Jinto begins an unforgettable journey that stretches the boundaries of the final frontier. With a beautiful princess at his side, he will attempt to unlock the secret behind Abh domination and discover that all’s fair in love and interplanetary war.
Packaging:
Lafiel stands and salutes us in the way that the Abh do as she points to her Alpha (a control tiara worn by most Abh). She’s wearing her uniform. Jinto’s face is behind her and he also wears his royal uniform. A view of the stars as seen in Outer Space is the background.
Logo Check!!! (2003 Megs): Similar to the logo that Bandai used for their release of the anime, but we can see “Seikai Trilogy� hovering on a line about Crest of the Stars as well as the symbol that fans of the series have come to know.
Artwork:
Most of the work is detailed. The scenes in Outer Space (particularly the battles) stand out. But the scenes taking place inside the ships and on the surface of the planet Clasbul also showcase some great detail.
The thing that will get most people are the character designs. The characters look quite a bit different as compared to the anime. Faces are slightly more rounded. The characters also get a redesign during the story’s epilogue. Let’s see if there is consistency with the redesigns when we get Banner of the Stars.
SFX/Orientation:
Unflipped and Untranslated.
Text:
We don’t get Japanese honorifics and we don’t get translated English honorifics. We get Abh honorifics. Yes, TOKYOPOP went and gave us the Abh honorifics and has a glossary in the back that explains all the Abh terms used in this translation (and there are a lot of them). Unfortunately, not everything Abh was translated which reflects on the final score, as well as a few typos in the translation.
Contents (Caution: Spoilers ahead):
This volume actually covers the entire “Crest of the Stars� TV series. Part 2 will focus on Banner of the Stars and Part 3 will focus on Banner of the Stars II. Most of the details from the TV series are in here. Ah, but what is that content? Let’s take a look.
<span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>When he was a child, Jinto learned that his father had decided to surrender his planet to the Abh. Jinto is taken in as an Abh and after years of being educated finally meets an Abh for the first time. Jinto seems quite confused as the female Abh pressures him into going with her. When Jinto asks her name, the female Abh is taken aback and then grandiosely introduces herself as Lafiel. The two arrive on a space ship and Jinto meets more Abh (and is surprised that they don’t look very old).
Forced to retreat, Jinto and Lafiel alone take off on their mission and arrive at the base of Baron Febdash. Febdash forces Jinto into an out of the way area and insists that Lafiel can not depart until well after the designated time that Jinto and Lafiel’s mission is to be completed at. Lafiel is angered by the Baron’s actions and manages to convince some of the Baron’s staff to help her rescue Jinto and depart. But the Baron tries to attack Lafiel after she rescues Jinto and the Baron’s father. In battle, Lafiel kills the Baron as Jinto is shocked by what happened. Lafiel rationalizes her actions as one she had to do or else they would have died.
Eventually Jinto and Lafiel land on the planet Clasbul. Jinto sneaks around and finds out that Abh are being arrested and so he convinces Lafiel to disguise herself. The two make their way to an inn. After a week, forces manage to catch up to them. These forces want to try and take an Abh hostage so they can negotiate with the Abh Empire (even though the planet wasn’t under Abh control at the time). But police forces and the United Mankind try to hunt down Jinto and Lafiel. The police forces arrive at the kidnappers’ lair and Lafiel and the others are forced to escape. They manage to escape to an Amusement Park. The man from the United Mankind begins to lose it and tries to kill Lafiel but Jinto takes the shot. The police inspector manages to get the UM representative under control and allows Jinto and Lafiel to escape. Their kidnappers set up for a way to get Jinto & Lafiel back into space by riding space coffins. Back in the Abh Empire, Jinto and Lafiel have their own destinies to fulfill but promise to work hard so they can be stationed together in the future. Three years later, Jinto (looking quite a bit older) is working under the command of someone he knows. But he and his superior officer decide to keep it a secret that they know each other and that they are good friends but Jinto can still call her “Lafiel�.</span>
The biggest difference between the manga and the anime is the tone. The manga can be quite funny. Lafiel seems to have an actual sense of humor and often showcases her anger. Not the serious way that she sometimes let it be known in the anime, but by actually being drawn a bit SD. The slightly lighter tone seems to work for the series. It’s a bit odd to think that Lafiel has a genuine sense of humor. Lafiel also shows that she can get really mad as well. While it makes Lafiel seem more “human�, I’m not quite sure how I feel completely about how Lafiel was written. It felt more “sci-fi� when Lafiel was cold and illogical. But Lafiel showing her emotions goes a long way in showing the lighter tone of the manga.
While he was a bit confused in the beginning, Jinto manages to adapt very quickly to his role. He was also very comfortable while on the planet with Lafiel. Jinto doesn’t seem as overwhelmed as he does in the anime and seems to understand things very well. I like that he didn’t have to rely on Lafiel for everything and he would occasionally show a spine.
As it stands, it’s a nice star of the “Seikai Trilogy� and I look forward to future installments. I’d love to see TOKYOPOP translate the novels as well. But until then, we have the anime and the manga. Highly Recommended.
Edit by Kiril: Slight adjustment to subject line.
A series of novels eventually became a manga series, which eventually became an anime series. But here in North America, we’re getting the release in reverse order. As we already have the anime and we are just now getting the manga. Hopefully that means we’ll get the novels at some point. But for now, let’s take a look at the first part of the Seikai Trilogy manga. Crest of the Stars.
English Title: Seikai Trilogy Vol. 1
Japanese Title: Seikai no Monshou
Subtitle: Crest of the Stars
Vol. _ of _: 1 of 3
Author: Hiroyuki Morioka (Original Novel)
Composition by: Aya Yoshinaga
Artist: Toshihiro Ono
Publisher: TOKYOPOP
Translator: Bryan Matsumoto
English Adaption: Dan Borses
Originally Published by: Media Works (Dengeki Comics)
Price: $9.99
Pages: 238
Age Rating: T (13+)
ISBN: 1591828570
Release Date: May 2004
Review Date: May 20, 2004 (Consider this my birthday present to all of you.)
Reviewer: Kevin O'Connell
Grading~
Packaging: B+
Artwork: B+
Text: B
Content: A-
What They Say:
After his home world is ruthlessly taken over by the Abh- a space-faring race that has conquered many worlds- a boy named Jinto begins an unforgettable journey that stretches the boundaries of the final frontier. With a beautiful princess at his side, he will attempt to unlock the secret behind Abh domination and discover that all’s fair in love and interplanetary war.
Packaging:
Lafiel stands and salutes us in the way that the Abh do as she points to her Alpha (a control tiara worn by most Abh). She’s wearing her uniform. Jinto’s face is behind her and he also wears his royal uniform. A view of the stars as seen in Outer Space is the background.
Logo Check!!! (2003 Megs): Similar to the logo that Bandai used for their release of the anime, but we can see “Seikai Trilogy� hovering on a line about Crest of the Stars as well as the symbol that fans of the series have come to know.
Artwork:
Most of the work is detailed. The scenes in Outer Space (particularly the battles) stand out. But the scenes taking place inside the ships and on the surface of the planet Clasbul also showcase some great detail.
The thing that will get most people are the character designs. The characters look quite a bit different as compared to the anime. Faces are slightly more rounded. The characters also get a redesign during the story’s epilogue. Let’s see if there is consistency with the redesigns when we get Banner of the Stars.
SFX/Orientation:
Unflipped and Untranslated.
Text:
We don’t get Japanese honorifics and we don’t get translated English honorifics. We get Abh honorifics. Yes, TOKYOPOP went and gave us the Abh honorifics and has a glossary in the back that explains all the Abh terms used in this translation (and there are a lot of them). Unfortunately, not everything Abh was translated which reflects on the final score, as well as a few typos in the translation.
Contents (Caution: Spoilers ahead):
This volume actually covers the entire “Crest of the Stars� TV series. Part 2 will focus on Banner of the Stars and Part 3 will focus on Banner of the Stars II. Most of the details from the TV series are in here. Ah, but what is that content? Let’s take a look.
<span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>When he was a child, Jinto learned that his father had decided to surrender his planet to the Abh. Jinto is taken in as an Abh and after years of being educated finally meets an Abh for the first time. Jinto seems quite confused as the female Abh pressures him into going with her. When Jinto asks her name, the female Abh is taken aback and then grandiosely introduces herself as Lafiel. The two arrive on a space ship and Jinto meets more Abh (and is surprised that they don’t look very old).
Forced to retreat, Jinto and Lafiel alone take off on their mission and arrive at the base of Baron Febdash. Febdash forces Jinto into an out of the way area and insists that Lafiel can not depart until well after the designated time that Jinto and Lafiel’s mission is to be completed at. Lafiel is angered by the Baron’s actions and manages to convince some of the Baron’s staff to help her rescue Jinto and depart. But the Baron tries to attack Lafiel after she rescues Jinto and the Baron’s father. In battle, Lafiel kills the Baron as Jinto is shocked by what happened. Lafiel rationalizes her actions as one she had to do or else they would have died.
Eventually Jinto and Lafiel land on the planet Clasbul. Jinto sneaks around and finds out that Abh are being arrested and so he convinces Lafiel to disguise herself. The two make their way to an inn. After a week, forces manage to catch up to them. These forces want to try and take an Abh hostage so they can negotiate with the Abh Empire (even though the planet wasn’t under Abh control at the time). But police forces and the United Mankind try to hunt down Jinto and Lafiel. The police forces arrive at the kidnappers’ lair and Lafiel and the others are forced to escape. They manage to escape to an Amusement Park. The man from the United Mankind begins to lose it and tries to kill Lafiel but Jinto takes the shot. The police inspector manages to get the UM representative under control and allows Jinto and Lafiel to escape. Their kidnappers set up for a way to get Jinto & Lafiel back into space by riding space coffins. Back in the Abh Empire, Jinto and Lafiel have their own destinies to fulfill but promise to work hard so they can be stationed together in the future. Three years later, Jinto (looking quite a bit older) is working under the command of someone he knows. But he and his superior officer decide to keep it a secret that they know each other and that they are good friends but Jinto can still call her “Lafiel�.</span>
The biggest difference between the manga and the anime is the tone. The manga can be quite funny. Lafiel seems to have an actual sense of humor and often showcases her anger. Not the serious way that she sometimes let it be known in the anime, but by actually being drawn a bit SD. The slightly lighter tone seems to work for the series. It’s a bit odd to think that Lafiel has a genuine sense of humor. Lafiel also shows that she can get really mad as well. While it makes Lafiel seem more “human�, I’m not quite sure how I feel completely about how Lafiel was written. It felt more “sci-fi� when Lafiel was cold and illogical. But Lafiel showing her emotions goes a long way in showing the lighter tone of the manga.
While he was a bit confused in the beginning, Jinto manages to adapt very quickly to his role. He was also very comfortable while on the planet with Lafiel. Jinto doesn’t seem as overwhelmed as he does in the anime and seems to understand things very well. I like that he didn’t have to rely on Lafiel for everything and he would occasionally show a spine.
As it stands, it’s a nice star of the “Seikai Trilogy� and I look forward to future installments. I’d love to see TOKYOPOP translate the novels as well. But until then, we have the anime and the manga. Highly Recommended.
Edit by Kiril: Slight adjustment to subject line.