The creator of Tenjho Tenge and Air Gear returns with the new sci-fi fantasy manga Kaijin Fugeki: Kindled Spirits. Once called natural disasters, now they are known as “Nights.” In the face of the onslaught of incomprehensible calamity, all these young people can do is dance – to summon the power of the gods, to quell the wrath of the Nights, to save their very world. Jin, a boy living in the hinterlands of Japan, finds his fate entwined with that of Gao, a British soldier driven from his home by Catherine, Night of Typhoons. Together they must find a way to fight off despair as the dark of night falls across the world…!!
A popular creator for his manga series that are packed with action and fan-service, Oh! Great has most recently been working on the manga adaptation of NISIOISIN’s Monogatari light novel series where his stylish artwork has continued to flourish. Now he is once again creating his own series, though – like his work on Bakemonogatari – it is a different kettle of fish from his previous manga series.
Kaijin Fugeki has already developed a strong following in Japan and it’s easy to see why. For fans of Oh! Great, the series maintains the quick paced and action-packed style of storytelling he is largely known for. However (perhaps because of his time working on Bakemonogatari), he does know when to slow things down and build up the drama. This is to the series benefit as while Oh! Great is no stranger to fighting manga, this is the most complex world setting he has ever built. Tenjho Tenge and Air Gear both wore their stylishness on their sleeves, but Kaijin Fugeki goes for a more elaborate and epic style of storytelling whilst leaning heavily into the sci-fi genre.
That is not to say that Oh! Great has cast aside his style points. Readers just have to look at his art to realise that. Beyond his distinct character designs that he always had a flair for; he has grown further as an artist and has taken his fight scenes to another level. They are on a much grander scale and really enhance the epicness he is going for. Even a simple thumb war between Gao and Jin takes on a grander quality under his pen.
This is a suitably grand return for Oh! Great and he continues to prove why he’s one of the top visual storytellers working in manga today. Fans of action and sci-fi manga need to check this series out.
Kaijin Fugeki: Kindled Spirits 1 is out now from Vertical (9781647295042, p/b, £12.99)
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