Juushin Enbu (Hero Tales) Manga
So the newer manga company on the block, Yen Press, picked up Juushin Enbu a year or so back and now they are finally releasing it under the name Hero Tales! Sold for the retail price of $10.98, you can easily find it for under 8 bucks at places like Amazon.
Not sure how many of you guys actually followed the anime, but it's a pretty epic series. Thing is by Hiromu Arakawa... the person who writes Fullmetal Alchemist, so yeah, at least check it out.
Oh yeah, if you actually did watch the anime, it's not exactly the same as the manga! I've only read into the second chapter of the series, since I just got my volume in the mail moments ago, but just from that, many key points are different than in the anime, since apparently Arakawa likes the anime version of her works to be different (FMA TV1). So yeah, if you're thinking, "Well, I've seen the anime... no point in reading the manga since I already know the story," think again!
Gonna spout on about the release now...
So I've never gotten anything from Yen Press before, so I had no clue what to expect from their release of Hero Tales, but right now they seem to be pretty decent.Their translation is accurate, from what I can tell, and pretty literal at that, but I no Japanese personz. Having most recently been only purchasing VIZBIG and Viz Signature publications, I was sorta disappointed at how small the volume itself looked (as it came shipped in a box with Vagabond VIZBIG V5 and 20th Century Boys V5 (get these!)), but once I opened up the book, I was actually surprised. There were colored pages! Not a lot... actually only 4 or so, but they are on glossed paper unlike what Viz does now-a-days, so it looks rather nice, adds to the quality.
So their editing/typesetting is the worst part of the whole release. They don't typeset any sound effects, they add notes beside them, but that's it. For the chapter titles, they erase/whiteout the Japanese text, and overlay the English text, but they don't redraw the erased part! So there are huge weird-looking white areas around the text... so yeah, the only one real problem I have with this release.
I dunno why I felt like writing this up, and it's actually more a ramble then anything, but here you go... anyway, I'll leave you with what Yen put on the back cover.
From the Back Cover of Hero Tales, volume 1 from Yen Press
"Legend speaks of seven heroes, each one bearing the power of one of the starts of the Big Dipper. Two of these starts are constantly in conflict, destined to battle and throw the world into chaos...
Not that Taitou has ever paid much attention to old stories. Headstrong and defiant, he is the last in his village to complete his coming-of-age ceremony -- a fact his sister Laila incessantly teases him about. When he is finally deemed worthy, he is presented with the Kenka Ranbu, an ancient sword that can only be drawn by a true hero. As the frustrated Taitou struggles to unsheathe the sword, a mysterious thief appears, making off with the blade and citing the legend of the Big Dipper. The starts have been set in motion, as Taitou sets off after the Kenka Ranbu and the truth of his own destiny... Hiromu Arakawa, creator of Fullmetal Alchemist, brings the legend to life!"
Yeah, the synopsis spaces "Kenkaranbu," but on the actual text inside the pages, it does not.
Go buy it now... and hope that FUNimation or someone will pick up the anime version of this soon!
So the newer manga company on the block, Yen Press, picked up Juushin Enbu a year or so back and now they are finally releasing it under the name Hero Tales! Sold for the retail price of $10.98, you can easily find it for under 8 bucks at places like Amazon.
Not sure how many of you guys actually followed the anime, but it's a pretty epic series. Thing is by Hiromu Arakawa... the person who writes Fullmetal Alchemist, so yeah, at least check it out.
Oh yeah, if you actually did watch the anime, it's not exactly the same as the manga! I've only read into the second chapter of the series, since I just got my volume in the mail moments ago, but just from that, many key points are different than in the anime, since apparently Arakawa likes the anime version of her works to be different (FMA TV1). So yeah, if you're thinking, "Well, I've seen the anime... no point in reading the manga since I already know the story," think again!
Gonna spout on about the release now...
So I've never gotten anything from Yen Press before, so I had no clue what to expect from their release of Hero Tales, but right now they seem to be pretty decent.
So their editing/typesetting is the worst part of the whole release. They don't typeset any sound effects, they add notes beside them, but that's it. For the chapter titles, they erase/whiteout the Japanese text, and overlay the English text, but they don't redraw the erased part! So there are huge weird-looking white areas around the text... so yeah, the only one real problem I have with this release.
I dunno why I felt like writing this up, and it's actually more a ramble then anything, but here you go... anyway, I'll leave you with what Yen put on the back cover.
From the Back Cover of Hero Tales, volume 1 from Yen Press
"Legend speaks of seven heroes, each one bearing the power of one of the starts of the Big Dipper. Two of these starts are constantly in conflict, destined to battle and throw the world into chaos...
Not that Taitou has ever paid much attention to old stories. Headstrong and defiant, he is the last in his village to complete his coming-of-age ceremony -- a fact his sister Laila incessantly teases him about. When he is finally deemed worthy, he is presented with the Kenka Ranbu, an ancient sword that can only be drawn by a true hero. As the frustrated Taitou struggles to unsheathe the sword, a mysterious thief appears, making off with the blade and citing the legend of the Big Dipper. The starts have been set in motion, as Taitou sets off after the Kenka Ranbu and the truth of his own destiny... Hiromu Arakawa, creator of Fullmetal Alchemist, brings the legend to life!"
Yeah, the synopsis spaces "Kenkaranbu," but on the actual text inside the pages, it does not.
Go buy it now... and hope that FUNimation or someone will pick up the anime version of this soon!