Copyright © Kazura Masazaku
English Adaptation by Dark Horse Comics

Popular manga artist Katsura Masakazu has built a reputation for drawing manga with several key ingredients. First is, of course, a lot of cute girls, and second is some sort of bizarre story twist. For example, in VIDEO GIRL AI, hapless protagonist Moteuchi pines for a shy, sensitive girl, but is too clueless to do anything about it. It is only with the help of Ai, a girl who springs from his television after he rents a tape, that he is able to overcome the obstacles before him.
SHADOW LADY is the story of Aimi, a beautiful but shy girl. Since she is so withdrawn, she seems to lead a very lonely life. However, upon applying her magical eye shadow, she transforms into Shadow Lady, a master thief with an amazing arsenal of high-tech and yet super cute equipment at her disposal. Assisted by her bat-creature sidekick Demo, Shadow Lady steals what she pleases from Gray City.
Katsura has admitted to being a Batman fan, and this influence shows up in SHADOW LADY. Of course, her bat-like costume is very obvious. (And does anyone see a resemblance between De-Mo and Bat Mite?) Shadow Lady and Aimi, just like Batman and Bruce Wayne, are two sides of the same coin. In everyday life they are somewhat withdrawn, reclusive, and alone. Yet, their alter-egos are confident, powerful, and even a little arrogant.
Unlike Batman, however, Shadow Lady seems to work on the wrong side of the law. And this attracts the attention of some of the local police, including Inspector Dory, who is very reminiscent of the bumbling Zenigata from LUPIN III. He has made it his mission to apprehend Shadow Lady, but he has competition as well. Bright Honda is another policeman who wants to catch Shadow Lady, but his reasons are much more personal. And, armed with his mechanical armor, he seems to be the only one who stands a remote chance of catching this elusive criminal.
This manga is very lighthearted and often downright funny. The explanation of the various "features" of Shadow Lady's costume in the first issue is entertaining. Also, Shadow Lady has six "Expert Changes," which allow her to take on special powers associated with one of six different animals. Of course, the two most obvious are a cat (which gives her agility) and a bunny (which provides speed). These Expert Changes also come with costume changes, allowing Katsura to display his drawing ability and sense of humor.
And of course there is the romantic angle. Aimi is in love with Bright, but he's in love with Shadow Lady. Of course, this is more reminiscent of Superman than Batman, but Katsura brings a freshness and a sense of humor to what could be an otherwise tired old plot clich.
The art is beautiful; with several titles now under his belt, the style is bold and confident. Katsura switches from humorous to serious styles effortlessly. And the translation, done by Studio Proteus, manages to convey the sense of humor in the original without resorting to corny dialog. When reading this comic, it feels comfortable.
This is slated to be a seven-issue series from Dark Horse, but with luck (and some good sales), Aimi may have to open up a new package of eye shadow for a return engagement.

English version published in N. America by Dark Horse Comics
7 issue limited series, released monthly
black/white pages
ISBN 61568 98074 00111
$2.50 each
Available now in the USA
Where to buy