MadL
05-26-2004, 10:44 PM
English Title: Treasure Hunter
Japanese Title: Hizenya Jubei
Subtitle: Eternal Youth
Vol. 1 of 3
Author/Artist: Hitoshi Tomizawa
Publisher: CPM Manga
Translator: Mayumi Kobayashi
Originally Published by: Akita Publishing Co.
Price: $9.99
Pages: 208
Age Rating: 13+
ISBN: 1-58664-921-3
Release Date: April 2004
Review Date: May 26, 2004
Grading~
Packaging: B-
Artwork: C
Text/Translation: A-
Content: C
What They Say: Introducing Jubei the Treasure Hunter, the greatest Adventurer EVER! Jubei must face death-defying traps and white-knuckle dangers to retrieve a mystical talisman that grants everlasting youth. Racing against time, will he be able to unlock the secrets of immortality before his enemies do?
Packaging: Front cover is a neutral background with a framed picture of Jubei on it. Logo features the series and volume titles in vaguely Raiders of the Lost Ark-ish lettering. In traditional CPM fashion, we're reminded that this features "Story and Art by Hitoshi Tomizawa, Creator of ALIEN NINE", although this text is more subtle than in some of CPM's past covers. Back cover is also a neutral background with a framed picture of some ships and some of the other characters in the book, along with a descriptive blurb. Artwork is generally reproduced well, although panels with dark backgrounds (e.g., scenes at sea) tend to get rather murky.
Artwork: In a word: meh. With one or two of the more exotic creatures in this book, we see hints of the lushly-drawn creepiness to come in Alien Nine, but for the most part, the artwork in this book is plain. Most of the people are blah, and the backgrounds are basic. There isn't much here to draw your attention.
SFX/Orientation: SFX are left in original Japanese, with in-panel English translations. Just the way I like it. Orientation is unflipped, right-to-left.
Text: If there were any honorifics, they aren't included here. Overall, they seem to do a good job, although I can't speak as to how accurate the translation is. I also give CPM credit for remembering that the phrase is "all right", not "alright" (sorry, but this is really becoming a pet peeve of mine with some manga translations lately, along with "affect" versus "effect").
Contents (Watch out spoilers ahead): Much like the artwork, the story is competently done, with one or two clever bits, but not much more than that. This may be done by the same person, but Alien Nine this ain't. Think more along the lines of one of the bazillion Indiana Jones knockoff movies that sprung up during the 1980's.
This volume is divided into two stories:
<span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>Jelly Bun of Youth: A woman hires Jubei to locate the Jelly Bun of Youth, which is located in an ancient temple where no man (save him, naturally) dares tread. Jubei breaches the temple through its back gate (the temple turns into a giant robot-kinda creature. The front gate is its face; I think you can guess where the back gate is), only to discover that he's been tricked. His client is actually planning on sucking Jubei's energy dry to create the Jelly Bun of Youth. Along with the help of his friend, Carpet, a magic carpet who can turn half-human, and some neat toys (magic sword grown from a bug that eats his teeth, a genie whose sole power is to grow big when he's overstressed), Jubei overcomes all the obstacles, escapes with his energy intact, and even manages to get a Jelly Bun of Youth for his client, because that's the kind of professional he is.
Figurehead of Souls: Jubei is hired by a skeleton pirate admiral to obtain the Figurehead of Souls, an object which supposedly can render any ship unsinkable. The Figurehead is located on Jelly Island, an island which imprisons the souls of departed evildoers for eternity. Jubei must get the Figurehead quickly, as his client is outgunned and outnumbered in a fierce sea battle. Joining Jubei and Carpet on Jelly Island is a young girl who wants to become a full-fledged medium, and to that end plans to hone her craft on Jelly Island. The book ends on a cliffhanger, as Carpet is possessed by an evil Jelly Island spirit. There are actually a couple of interesting bits in this story; we get a brief peek into the skeleton admiral's past, to see why he's so obsessed with the Figurehead, and the young girl medium's past shows some potentially interesting parts.</span>
The volume ends on a cliffhanger, but at this point, I'm not in any rush to get volume two. There were even a couple of moments when I wasn't sure if it was worth finishing this volume. The action parts are okay, but nothing we haven't seen done better elsewhere, and the bits of comedy aren't terribly inspired. These days, there are many other titles in the light-hearted adventure field that are much better: Louie the Rune Soldier, Those Who Hunt Elves, Sorcerer Hunters, and Slayers come to mind immediately. If you were planning on picking this up to see another genre done with the unique Alien Nine touch, as I was, you'll be disappointed. Not recommended.
Japanese Title: Hizenya Jubei
Subtitle: Eternal Youth
Vol. 1 of 3
Author/Artist: Hitoshi Tomizawa
Publisher: CPM Manga
Translator: Mayumi Kobayashi
Originally Published by: Akita Publishing Co.
Price: $9.99
Pages: 208
Age Rating: 13+
ISBN: 1-58664-921-3
Release Date: April 2004
Review Date: May 26, 2004
Grading~
Packaging: B-
Artwork: C
Text/Translation: A-
Content: C
What They Say: Introducing Jubei the Treasure Hunter, the greatest Adventurer EVER! Jubei must face death-defying traps and white-knuckle dangers to retrieve a mystical talisman that grants everlasting youth. Racing against time, will he be able to unlock the secrets of immortality before his enemies do?
Packaging: Front cover is a neutral background with a framed picture of Jubei on it. Logo features the series and volume titles in vaguely Raiders of the Lost Ark-ish lettering. In traditional CPM fashion, we're reminded that this features "Story and Art by Hitoshi Tomizawa, Creator of ALIEN NINE", although this text is more subtle than in some of CPM's past covers. Back cover is also a neutral background with a framed picture of some ships and some of the other characters in the book, along with a descriptive blurb. Artwork is generally reproduced well, although panels with dark backgrounds (e.g., scenes at sea) tend to get rather murky.
Artwork: In a word: meh. With one or two of the more exotic creatures in this book, we see hints of the lushly-drawn creepiness to come in Alien Nine, but for the most part, the artwork in this book is plain. Most of the people are blah, and the backgrounds are basic. There isn't much here to draw your attention.
SFX/Orientation: SFX are left in original Japanese, with in-panel English translations. Just the way I like it. Orientation is unflipped, right-to-left.
Text: If there were any honorifics, they aren't included here. Overall, they seem to do a good job, although I can't speak as to how accurate the translation is. I also give CPM credit for remembering that the phrase is "all right", not "alright" (sorry, but this is really becoming a pet peeve of mine with some manga translations lately, along with "affect" versus "effect").
Contents (Watch out spoilers ahead): Much like the artwork, the story is competently done, with one or two clever bits, but not much more than that. This may be done by the same person, but Alien Nine this ain't. Think more along the lines of one of the bazillion Indiana Jones knockoff movies that sprung up during the 1980's.
This volume is divided into two stories:
<span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>Jelly Bun of Youth: A woman hires Jubei to locate the Jelly Bun of Youth, which is located in an ancient temple where no man (save him, naturally) dares tread. Jubei breaches the temple through its back gate (the temple turns into a giant robot-kinda creature. The front gate is its face; I think you can guess where the back gate is), only to discover that he's been tricked. His client is actually planning on sucking Jubei's energy dry to create the Jelly Bun of Youth. Along with the help of his friend, Carpet, a magic carpet who can turn half-human, and some neat toys (magic sword grown from a bug that eats his teeth, a genie whose sole power is to grow big when he's overstressed), Jubei overcomes all the obstacles, escapes with his energy intact, and even manages to get a Jelly Bun of Youth for his client, because that's the kind of professional he is.
Figurehead of Souls: Jubei is hired by a skeleton pirate admiral to obtain the Figurehead of Souls, an object which supposedly can render any ship unsinkable. The Figurehead is located on Jelly Island, an island which imprisons the souls of departed evildoers for eternity. Jubei must get the Figurehead quickly, as his client is outgunned and outnumbered in a fierce sea battle. Joining Jubei and Carpet on Jelly Island is a young girl who wants to become a full-fledged medium, and to that end plans to hone her craft on Jelly Island. The book ends on a cliffhanger, as Carpet is possessed by an evil Jelly Island spirit. There are actually a couple of interesting bits in this story; we get a brief peek into the skeleton admiral's past, to see why he's so obsessed with the Figurehead, and the young girl medium's past shows some potentially interesting parts.</span>
The volume ends on a cliffhanger, but at this point, I'm not in any rush to get volume two. There were even a couple of moments when I wasn't sure if it was worth finishing this volume. The action parts are okay, but nothing we haven't seen done better elsewhere, and the bits of comedy aren't terribly inspired. These days, there are many other titles in the light-hearted adventure field that are much better: Louie the Rune Soldier, Those Who Hunt Elves, Sorcerer Hunters, and Slayers come to mind immediately. If you were planning on picking this up to see another genre done with the unique Alien Nine touch, as I was, you'll be disappointed. Not recommended.