Desert Coral Vol. #02

By Mike Dungan     January 22, 2005
Release Date: August 01, 2004



Creative Talent
Writer/Artist:Wateru Murayama
Translated by:Eiko McGregor
Adapted by:

What They Say
The fire within. What dreams may come for young Naoto? When the real world becomes tiresome, Naoto finds himself engrossed in the dream-world of Orgos. But pleasantries soon become nightmarish when Camu finds escape in dangerous behavior, and Lusia tries hard not to succumb to the deadly calling of the Lucavifate - a voice that desires she do the unthinkable. Reality catches up with Naoto as he continues his study of sorcery - will his novice abilities be enough to keep the battle between the Elphis and the Sand Dusts within his grasp? In a world where fantasy and reality intertwine, Naoto must awaken to the fire within, and only then can he hope to survive the waking-dream that is Desert Coral.

The Review
The Review: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Naoto is a high school student living in Japan, but when he sleeps, he dreams of a desert world called Orgos. The truth, however, is that Orgos is real, and he's been summoned there by Lusia, a pretty young woman who leads a small band of fighters called the Desert Coral. His life in Orgos seems more real to him than Japan, and he adjusts quickly to his new life. During a festival, Camu, a beautiful sorceress who is a sometimes friend and sometimes rival of Lusia, gets her and her dragon drunk so they can show off a few fireworks, Unfortunately, a black flame spirit is unleashed, and everyone's drunkenness lowers their guards long enough for everyone to be possessed by it. Meanwhile, Lusia is undergoing a ritual to overcome the Lucavifate, the voice she hears that makes her want to kill every Elphis she sees. The Elphis live above Orgos, and use the Sand Dusts, as the call the bottom dwellers, as slaves. The black flame spirit invades the ritual, however, making it far more than a simple test for her.

The next day, Naoto collapses with fever. His body still exists in Japan, so the body in Orgos is made up of Lusia's magic. He’s directly connected to her, and everything she feels, he feels. He's now feeling the flames she battled the night before. Realizing how connected he is to Lusia, he begins to learn magic in an effort to protect her. His newfound skills are put to the test when Euro, a young child living with Desert Coral is kidnapped by an Elphis and taken away. Naoto and Lusia must travel to the Elphis castle and try to rescue Euro. During the rescue, Naoto learns why Euro hates him so much, and that he is far more powerful than he ever imagined.

Comments
Wataru Murayama's fantasy tale is a bit hard to follow. The world of Orgos is filled with plenty of new creatures, tribes and relationships to keep track of. His writing style leaves so many things unsaid, it's rather difficult to follow everything. His art style is surprisingly light, using plenty of screentones to add depth to it. His character designs are softly rounded, with an odd feel to the facial and body proportions.

The front cover is a very eye-catching image of Naoto sitting on a box, wearing a combination of Japanese and Orgos clothing, holding an ornate lit torch. The background fades from gold at the bottom to white at the top, with the logo and volume number behind Naoto. The author's name is across the bottom, and it all adds up to a very simple but effective design that stands out from the crowd. The back cover is white with the story blurb above a cartoony image of Lusia, Naoto and Euro walking home with a bunch of shopping. The first two pages are in color, though the next four look like they should have been color as well. There are a couple of pages of extra art at the back, showing the family relationship of the Desert Coral group. The art reproduction didn't fare too well with all the screentones used in this volume. Everything comes out dark and muddy, leaving some images hard to figure out. As is usual with ADV titles, all sound effects are translated right on the page, next to the Japanese text. It never

seems to get in the way of the art, and adds considerably to understanding what's going on.

I find myself both intrigued and nonplussed with Desert Coral. There's a story going on here, but it's all a bit of a mystery. Despite the comedy, the overall look and tone of the story is dark. Unfortunately, there's little to be enthused about here, other than the impressive graphic design of the front cover.