Warriors: The Lost Warrior
© N/A
Story by: Erin Hunter and Dan Jolley
Art by: James L Barry
Publisher: Tokyopop / Harper Collins
Rating: Youth
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"Warriors: The Lost Warrior, Volume One"
By: Nadia OxfordDate: Monday, April 30, 2007
If you believe manga should stick to the strictest sense of its definition--Japanese comics by Japanese writers and artists--now would be the time to jump off the bandwagon. Make sure to tuck in your chin and roll as you hit the ground.
If you're okay with manga stretching past its boundaries and exploring new concepts, Tokyopop and Harper Collins are set to tread new territory with manga adaptations of popular young adult novels. Warriors: The Lost Warrior is one such hybrid, with artwork and writing well-suited for young readers. However, the cat-centric story's a little too short and simple for adult tastes, especially when the unreasonable price tag is taken into consideration.
The "Warriors" is a young adult book series by Erin Hunter (which is actually a cumulative pen name for the books' three authors). Each book revolves around a kitty protagonist who's usually a member of one of several "Clans" of feral cats. The manga adaptation follows the same formula. The Lost Warrior tells the story of a forest-dwelling tom named "Graystripe" who suffers a mishap and becomes mixed up in human society. He needs to find his way back to his forest home and rejoin his brothers and sisters in the Thunder Clan, but he's hopeless at navigating the unfamiliar streets and backyards. Graystripe soon makes friends with a domesticated cat named Millie who helps him find his way around the suburbs … and asks a favour in return.
Young readers will have a lot of fun with The Lost Warrior. The first volume offers action, adventure and cat fights (which look savage, but are fairly bloodless). The feral forest-dwelling cats have their own simple vocabulary for readers to latch onto, and the Clans subscribe to an intriguing caste system.
What's most welcome about The Lost Warrior is its equal appeal for boys and girls. Female readers will draw close to the independent Millie as she learns to fight and hunt. Young males will appreciate the manga's fast-paced action and dark cover art, which abolishes the notion that a cat story is for sissies.
Unfortunately, The Lost Warrior fails to appeal to adults. The manga is obviously penned with young teens in mind, but the story often cuts corners instead of demonstrating what could be interesting adaptations the Clans need to survive. At the start of the story, for example, some of the Thunder Clan cats open human-constructed cages with their paws. Did they learn how to do that at some point, or do they just "know" for writing convenience?
Animal-based stories needn't be simplified for kids. Richard Adams' famous Watership Down is a children's story about a group of rabbits who likewise must survive human intrusion, but they don't just magically "understand" the nature of their enemy. They overcome obstacles through trial and error and experience.
The Lost Warriors' short length doesn't encourage an adult audience, either. The manga feels flimsy at 100 pages (with an average of four large panels on each), and it's marked for retail at $6.99. There's a rumour going around that kids today don't know how to sit still, but selling a manga at half the typical length just because it's meant for children is being presumptuous.
