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12 volumes
© Fujiwara Kamui:
Studio 2B, Terashima Yu: 1988 - 1997
Printed by: SC Deluxe/Comic Burger
Price: 800Y per volume, 1200Y for volume 12.


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by Eric "Scanner" Luce
Take the body of manga that has been written in the past ten years or so.
Then take a look at, oh, say, the top 20% of that manga. Which ones stand
out as being particularly epic in story, art, style and nature? Well,
obviously from the tone this review is taking RAIKA does stand out in these
categories.
This story is loosely based on some of the history surrounding Japan before
it was one nation. Back then, small warring nations fought for territory,
food, religion, and unified rule of the whole country. During this time,
Chinese culture was having a great effect on how various nations were
setting up their ruling classes. Added into that mix were Chinese
religions, martial arts, intrigue and politics. RAIKA starts out with a war
being brewed between the small nations of Yamatai and Kuna.
Queen Himiko, who created the country Yamatai and keeps it together through
her mixture of politics and religion, is on her deathbed. By her side,
attempting to offer her succor in a manner rather unassuring to the reader,
is Chosei, the Imperial military consultant from Gi (China). Himiko's heir
apparent is Iyo, one of her virgin priestesses. Iyo is off by herself in
the forest relaxing when Raika, Otaji, and Utsuki stumble upon her. Before
they are able to show themselves, Kiji-no-hiko, Queen Himiko's protector,
comes upon Iyo. Raika and friends are forced to intervene when Kiji-no-hiko
attempts to rape Iyo to force her to join with him in ruling Yamatai when
she succeeds Himiko. In the ensuing battle, Otaji loses his arm and Raika
manages to scar Kiji-no-hiko on his face. When Iyo flees the scene during
the battle she leaves her nagatama bead necklace which Kiji-no-hiko broke.
The scene shifts to Kumaki mountain, where Raika and his fellow orphans
have been raised and trained by Master Roshi. While Roshi is treating
Otaji's injury, he realizes that the people of Yamatai must be trained in
shinsenjutsu. This alarms him because he thought he was the only one from
Gi in the area (much less the only one who knew shinsenjutsu in the area).
Raika is still thinking about Iyo while twirling her necklace. He decides
to return it to her and heads off, against the orders that he had to stay
on the mountain. This is Raika - as rash and as powerful as lightning.
Raika arrives at what serves as Yamatai's palace in time to see Himiko
berate Iyo viciously for losing her necklace. Raika "drops in" and returns
the necklace and leaves just as Kiji-no-hiko arrives. Kiji-no-hiko and the
rest of Himiko's guard chase after Raika. Escape seems possible, until
Himiko uses her power; even so, Raika is only stunned and not killed. He is
angry enough, as he falls, to shatter the wood near Himiko's head by his
will alone. Kiji-no-hiko attempts to kill Raika again; however, Iyo leaps
in the way of the thrown dart and takes it instead of Raika. At this time,
Master Roshi shows up to collect Raika, putting everyone else to sleep. As
Roshi and his kids leave with Raika in tow they have a brief encounter with
Chosei. Chosei is left wondering who this old man is who knows
shinsenjutsu.
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Although the beginning seems humble enough for such action/adventure
stories, things rapidly build up. Raika is forced to adapt himself to far
greater skill levels as he confronts opponents. He also has to come to
terms with the choices he has made by following Iyo. Iyo is to become a
queen, a leader for the people, a focus for their religion. It is in her
spirit and soul. Raika struck out supporting her and now has to make sure
that his actions are the right ones. All of his companions are forced into
a constellation trying to figure what is firm ground and what is not. Even
Kiji-no-hiko has to change his role when confronted with what his nation
and his world have become.
Over the course of 10 years, the story embarks on a path of constant
escalation both in story and art style. Kamui Fujiwara, the artist, starts
out rather accomplished. His style is realistic with generally unassuming
backgrounds. The area around the characters is used almost entirely to set
the mood or to give the reader enough of a sense of place that things fall
into a reasonable geography. The times when greater detail is spent on the
background, it is usually either for a setting shot with no characters in
it or for a fight scene that requires a certain space. In time, the
attention he pays to the characters increases dramatically, resulting in
amazing expressions and detail. The writing itself is paced very quickly
and although the tankouban are huge the reader breezes through them very
quickly. The biggest problem with this is how slowly they come out, and
with the complexity of the story one has to sometimes re-read sections to
figure out what character has done what to whom and why.
There was even an attempt at publishing this story in English by the
apparently now defunct Sun Comic Publishing. They managed to cover the
first volume and part of the 2nd before going out of business back in 1992.
So, for an entertaining read which, if not accurate, gives you something to
think about the early history of Japan, RAIKA comes recommended.
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