Now I came into this manga slightly biased, as I’m mad about anything to do with Ancient Egypt. To that end, imagine my excitement when I found a manga based on Ancient Egyptian history/mythology.
The story in this is very good, with a well defined conflict, a well rounded setting, and a clear progression of events. The primary strength of the story lies in the way it incorporates the mythology. I mean, yeah, the characters are still drawn in the typical shounen style, and Japanese culture will inevitably trickle through and leave its integration on the Egyptian, but one kind of expects that with these kinds of stories. The artwork in this is really good, and allows for a lot of creative designs and action. I especially like the look of the gods and demons in this; while they might not be immediately recognizable (thankfully the manga always does well to identify which is which), they all have unique looks that suit their personalities and aspects. I’m hoping beyond hope that some studio executive or producer happens across this manga, and decides to do an adaptation of it.
Anyone familiar with Egyptian history and culture might recognize some of the names, but they aren't the figures at all. While it uses historical names and presents them as the historical figures, they're not by any stretch of the imagination. Not a complaint or criticism, just a statement as something to keep in mind while reading. The characters are all. However, the strongest part of this manga's characters, is in how well defined they are. Each major character is given a clear, and well established back story, with perfectly defined motivations. Even the villains, who you presume are just there to be the one note villains so common in manga, get a full set of backstories and motivations. The relationships are also very strong and legitimate, particularly between the main characters.
Now is it flawless? No, there are a few issues, particularly with the pacing, which suddenly jumps up in the story’s third act, with a number of plot points and elements that are brought up earlier are nudged aside for new ones. Reading it, I honestly get the impression that Morishita wanted to do more, but either wasn’t given enough time or volumes by the publishes. It is a shame, because this setting and premise could lend itself to a lot of interesting elements. And while I won't go into spoilers in this review, I'm not fond of the ending, but I suppose that's more a matter of taste than anything else.
But for me, none of that really hurt the series as a whole. I recommend this manga highly, and it can be found on various official manga sites across the web, so read it if you haven’t already.
Manga A great series that deserves more recognition
Now I came into this manga slightly biased, as I’m mad about anything to do with Ancient Egypt. To that end, imagine my excitement when I found a manga based on Ancient Egyptian history/mythology.
The story in this is very good, with a well defined conflict, a well rounded setting, and a clear progression of events. The primary strength of the story lies in the way it incorporates the mythology. I mean, yeah, the characters are still drawn in the typical shounen style, and Japanese culture will inevitably trickle through and leave its integration on the Egyptian, but one kind of expects that with these kinds of stories. The artwork in this is really good, and allows for a lot of creative designs and action. I especially like the look of the gods and demons in this; while they might not be immediately recognizable (thankfully the manga always does well to identify which is which), they all have unique looks that suit their personalities and aspects. I’m hoping beyond hope that some studio executive or producer happens across this manga, and decides to do an adaptation of it.
Anyone familiar with Egyptian history and culture might recognize some of the names, but they aren't the figures at all. While it uses historical names and presents them as the historical figures, they're not by any stretch of the imagination. Not a complaint or criticism, just a statement as something to keep in mind while reading. The characters are all. However, the strongest part of this manga's characters, is in how well defined they are. Each major character is given a clear, and well established back story, with perfectly defined motivations. Even the villains, who you presume are just there to be the one note villains so common in manga, get a full set of backstories and motivations. The relationships are also very strong and legitimate, particularly between the main characters.
Now is it flawless? No, there are a few issues, particularly with the pacing, which suddenly jumps up in the story’s third act, with a number of plot points and elements that are brought up earlier are nudged aside for new ones. Reading it, I honestly get the impression that Morishita wanted to do more, but either wasn’t given enough time or volumes by the publishes. It is a shame, because this setting and premise could lend itself to a lot of interesting elements. And while I won't go into spoilers in this review, I'm not fond of the ending, but I suppose that's more a matter of taste than anything else.
But for me, none of that really hurt the series as a whole. I recommend this manga highly, and it can be found on various official manga sites across the web, so read it if you haven’t already.