Showing posts with label Yuu Watase. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Yuu Watase. Show all posts

Thursday, October 15, 2020

#IReadsYou Review: FUSHIGI YUGI: BYAKKO SENKI Volume 1

 

FUSHIGI YUGI: BYAKKO SENKI, VOL. 1
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

CARTOONIST: Yuu Watase
TRANSLATION: Matt Treyvaud
LETTERS: Sara Linsley
EDITOR: Nancy Thislethwaite
ISBN: 978-1-9747-1164-2; paperback (August 2020), Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”
200pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S. $12.99 CAN, £7.99 UK

Fushigi Yûgi Byakko Senki is a shojo manga series written and drawn by Yuu Watase.  It is the second prequel series to Watase's Fushigi YûgiByakko Senki began with a one-shot story, entitled Fushigi Yûgi Byakko Ibun, before beginning as a serial in the Japanese manga magazine, Monthly Flowers, in August 2017.  VIZ Media began publishing an English-language edition of Byakko Senki as a paperback graphic novel series under its “Shojo Beat” imprint in August 2020.

Fushigi Yûgi: Byakko Senki, Vol. 1 (Chapters 1 to 4) opens in Japan in the year 1923Suzuno Ohsugi is a young girl who is doted upon by her devoted mother and father.  Her father, Takao Ohsugi, works in book publishing, which gives him access to the papers of Einosuke Okuda, the translator of the book, “The Universe of the Four Gods.”  Okuda is a controversial figure whom the public believes killed his daughter high in the mountains before taking his life in some kind of murder-suicide ritual.

Suzuno's father now has possession of The Universe of the Four Gods, and he absolutely does not want his daughter to touch it.  Then, “the Great Kanto Earthquake” occurs, and in a bid to save his daughter, Takao sends her into The Universe of the Four Gods.

THE LOWDOWN:  The Fushigi Yûgi: Byakko Senki manga is an “isekai fantasy.”  This is an “accidental travel” genre that is prominent in Japanese entertainment, including light novels, manga, anime and video games.  Isekai fantasy revolves around a normal person from Earth being transported to or reborn in a parallel universe or fantasy world.  The entire Fushigi Yûgi series is an isekai fantasy.

The series began with Fushigi Yūgi, a Japanese shojo manga series written and illustrated by Yuu Watase.  It tells the story of two teenaged girls, Miaka and Yui, who are pulled into the world of a mysterious book, “The Universe of the Four Gods.”  Fushigi Yûgi was serialized in Shōjo Comic from May 1992 to June 1996.  VIZ Media published an English language edition of the manga as an 18-volume paperback graphic novel series under its “Shojo Beat” imprint from December 2003 to April 2006.

Watase produced a prequel to Fushigi Yūgi, entitled Fushigi Yûgi Genbu Kaiden.  It was serialized over a period beginning March 2003 and ending February 2013 in four magazines over the course of its run.  This prequel series details the creation of The Universe of the Four Gods and tells the full story of the Priestess of Genbu.  VIZ Media published an English language edition of the manga as a 12-volume paperback graphic novel series under its “Shojo Beat” imprint from July 2005 to March 2014.

Fushigi Yûgi: Byakko Senki Graphic Novel Volume 1 begins a story that is familiar to anyone who has read the previous two series.  While Byakko Senki is a prequel to the original series, it is also a sequel to Genbu Kaiden, while occurring before the original.  I read at least the last five or six volumes of Genbu Kaiden, but I am not sure if I read any of the original.  If I did, it was no more than the final volume or volumes of the series.

I like this first volume, but it is sort of all over the place, as it takes place in two time periods, in the Universe of the Four Gods, and in flashbacks.  Matt Treyvaud's translation keeps the story together and coherent.  The lettering by Sara Linsley also helps to establish setting as much as it does tone.

If you, dear readers, are familiar with the work of Yuu Watase, you will like this first volume of Fushigi Yûgi: Byakko Senki, as I do.  There are so many things left unsaid and unfinished in this first volume that I can't wait to return to the story.  However, I must add that you do not need to have read the earlier series to enjoy Byakko Senki.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of the Fushigi Yûgi series will like the “Shojo Beat” title, Fushigi Yûgi: Byakko Senki.

8 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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Monday, May 26, 2014

Arata: The Legend - Demonization

I read Arata: The Legend, Vol. 17

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin, which has free smart phone apps and comics, and seeks donations from its readers.  You can follow me on Twitter and follow my Indiegogo campaign.



Friday, March 5, 2010

VIZ Media to Release "Arata: The Legend" Next Week

VIZ MEDIA TO RELEASE NEW FANTASY ADVENTURE SERIES ARATA: THE LEGEND FROM RENOWNED MANGA CREATOR YUU WATASE


For Two Boys Called Arata, Switching Places Means an Adventure of a Lifetime

VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, brings famed manga creator Yuu Watase’s potent blend of mythical fantasy adventure and lavish artwork for the North American debut of ARATA: THE LEGEND on March 9th. The new series is published under the SHONEN SUNDAY imprint, rated ‘T’ for Teens, and will carry an MSRP of $9.99 U.S. / $12.99 CAN.

In a world where humans and gods coexist, Arata is the unfortunate successor to the matriarchal Hime Clan--unfortunate because if he's not cross-dressing to hide his gender one minute, he's fleeing for his life the next! When Arata winds up in the modern world and switches places with a boy named Arata Hinohara, it's a wonder which Arata is actually better off...

In Volume 1, Hinohara is the spitting image of Arata, so he suddenly finds himself fighting people after his life! As he navigates through this foreign world filled with power-hungry warriors, who will come to his aid? One thing's for sure--it's not easy being Arata!

“I’m really excited to see ARATA: THE LEGEND joining the Shonen Sunday imprint. The art is gorgeous, the series is action-packed and no one can create a lush fantasy world the way Yuu Watase can!” says Amy Yu, Editor, VIZ Media. “Fans who know her work in the shojo genre will experience a whole new side to this creative mastermind.”

Born March 5 in Osaka, Yuu Watase debuted in the Shôjo Comic manga anthology in 1989. She won the 43rd Shogakukan Manga Award with Ceres: Celestial Legend. One of her most famous works is Fushigi Yûgi, a series that has inspired the prequel Fushigi Yûgi: Genbu Kaiden. In 2008, Arata: The Legend started serialization in Weekly Shonen Sunday.

ARATA THE LEGEND is one of the newest titles under VIZ Media's SHONEN SUNDAY imprint, the new standard for riveting stories and creative excellence. Titles under this imprint are more than shonen stories with struggling heroes and endless battles. Shonen Sunday characters are tested both mentally and physically, asked to prove their worth alongside loyal allies and encounter legends that have outlasted time itself. Each manga series under the SHONEN SUNDAY imprint will enchant the reader with tales from Japan’s top manga creators featuring complex, intriguing characters in richly imagined worlds.

For more information on this title or other SHONEN SUNDAY series, please visit www.shonensunday.com.