Madara Vol.#04

By: Eduardo M. Chavez
Review Date: Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Release Date: Monday, August 01, 2005



Creative Talent
Writer/Artist:Eiji Otsuka/Tajima Sho-u
Translated by:Michael Niyama
Adapted by:

What They Say
Madara must face someone who may prove to be his greatest opponent " his own brother, Kageo " whose powers are equal to those of our hero. Kageo will try to kill his brother, and capture both the Shinken Kusanagi and the Maken Kusanagi. If Kageo succeeds and the two swords of power fall into the hands of the evil Kongo forces, they will become invincible!

The Review
Packaging:
CMX continues to do their presentation right. First off, Madara is presented in its original format, which in this case is left-to-right. For those who read the Kadokawa version, CMX uses a new cover featuring an image of Kirin in a more current character design, framed in above and below with green kanji filled panels. The image is great. It features the three male heroes " (from left) Kaos, Madara and Seishinja. Unfortunately, the art for the rest of the GN is nothing like this, but I believe the thought is what counts.

Inside CMX keeps the original color volume header and four pages of full color manga. The printing is pretty good. Color pages look very clean and the b/w printing is nice (just a tad dark). At the conclusion of this volume, there is a preview (cover art & blurb) for volume four followed by an eight-page preview of CMX's Testarotho.

Artwork:
Tajima's art is really outdated. Actually, the characters look so crappy it is almost comical. I am really surprised that Tajima's work has developed so much over the years, that I could not recognize his work in DMP's ROBOT. Comparing the cover art to the character designs would be misleading, so if character art is a concern for you open the book up before making a decision. Monster designs are not very creative either. To be honest as the manga progresses the designs got better overall, so characters like the Kaos generally look better than Madara and Kirin. There is almost no sense of form. Jaw lines are awkward and eyes are really asymmetrical. Characters look thick and chunky, nothing like the lean and mean looking characters on the front cover. Costumes are a mix of eighties punk and tribal. Hair designs are just huge (they put the hair from Kimagure Orange Road to shame! Fortunately, CMX did not edit out the nudity in this volume. I hope that they will continue this with the rest of their titles.


Background art is good but not very impressive for a fantasy title. There is little creativity in the world that Tajima has drawn. Backgrounds are often just screen tone or empty panels. On rare occasion when Tajima decides to draw the world these characters are in, all we get are stale old scenes filled with either trees, boulders or brick walls. The lack of detailing only helps the art look simple and dull. Fortunately the layout is active. Tajima uses a variety of techniques: out of panel characters, panel placement (i.e. panel in panel, collage, two-page spread) and interesting perspective. At times, it does not flow very well, but generally the layout really helped keep up the pacing of the story and improved the average character and background art.

Text/SFX:
The translation for Madara sounds great. Even though there are no honorifics, the dialogue flows well and maintains the individual personalities of the characters. I did not notice any typos or grammatical errors either; which is a good sign for a new publisher.

SFX are not so great. CMX seems to be inconsistent in regards to what they will translate and what they will not. What is worse is that they are not consistent with how they translate either - overlays or large subs. At least they overlaid all of the aside text, so this was not a total loss.

Contents: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
It is do or die time for Madara. There is no more time to spare. He has to make his decision now or else another village will have to suffer for associating themselves with the young man. He also knows that there are those who are willing to take his place in battle. But does he know that Miroku's forces will not relent until they have executed the only person capable of bringing an end to Miroku's reign over this world?

Kaos and Seijinsha are capable of taking this battle on. They have the will and the strength to threaten Miroku's power. They understand the responsibility they have for themselves and their people. They cannot be selfish for this is beyond all of them. And three years is too long a wait. They have to act now before Miroku replenishes his resources.

Madara really has nothing to debate here. He has to accept his responsibility and put an end to the destruction, killing and the fear. He has to learn he cannot escape this responsibility for too many have given too much to him to make this happen. He cannot leave Kirin alone. He cannot give up on his friends. This will hopefully be the turning point where Miroku's influence will subside and peace will return.

He just needs to hurry to the defense of his friends before truly he loses all of his reasons to continue.

Comments
I think I have made this analogy before, but MADARA really reads like an old RPG. Oh, I know that there are some great old RPGs out there. Mother, Final Fantasy and DragonQuest are great titles and man did I play them to death. But looking back at RPGs from back then, I have to remember how linear many of the average titles were back then (hell, many of them are like that now). MADARA falls into this trap because every new plot twist or device can be telegraphed a chapter ahead.

Outside of the new characters, you can basically expect another monster to show up and somehow Madara will escape with another body part. The body parts are like the weapons or items RPG characters pick up during game play. The items help them get stronger or faster. Sometimes they provide defense or even lead to characters leveling up. Every new organ he reunites with brings Madara a step closer to becoming a legend. You know that a chapter or maybe two will be designated for some emotional struggle and some personal growth. You know that there will be rivals to fight; many will end up joining his team. There is nothing outside of that mold and so little is shown of what is happening on the other side of the coin, it almost feels irrelevant.

Now as simple as this story is I cannot say Madara's story is not good. I am having a good time seeing him grow into the role that he was "destined" for. Going back to the RPG reference, this progression is much like seeing your lead character become stronger, smarter and wiser through the experiences he shares with his friends and the battles he takes on. Madara has had to grow up quickly. He might not be the ideal hero, but I think that works well because it gives Otsuka an opportunity to work on the rest of the cast. The supporting characters fill in where Madara is deficient and they become much for integral to the plot that way. And as Otsuka begins to define the relationship Madara has with Kirin, readers are given a cool little plot twist capable of moving the story into a completely new direction (one that should begin the rush through the complication and ultimately the climax of this short series).

Ultimately, MADARA is not the best written or drawn manga out there. It is not even CMX's best, but I am having fun with it. It reminds me of how fun fantasy titles can be (and how derivative these tales often are). I imagine mileage will vary for this title but if you are looking for a mindless heck'em up with magic and monsters Madara can provide that.