HOSHIN ENGI (VOLUME 1).
September 14th 2008 22:31
Category: Graphic Novels/Comics
Based on the novel The Creation of the Gods by: Xu Zonglin.
Publisher: 1996 Shueisha Inc/2007 VIZ Media LLC.
Story & Art by: Ryu Fujisaki.
Translation & English Adaptation by: Tomo Kimura.
Touch up art & Lettering by: Rina Mapa.
Additional Touch up art by: Josh Simpson.
Design: Sean Lee.
Cost: AU$12.95/US$7.99.
It is China of the Yin Dynasty, approximately three thousand years ago; this is the setting for the tale of Hoshin Engi which is swiftly unfolded in the pages of this volume. Naturally this isn’t quite the China you find in texts on ancient oriental history or even the Discovery channel, no this the mystic China of fable and legend where demons, dragons and all kinds of other fantastic and wondrous entities are as common place as noodles, rice and your everyday ordinary Chinese citizen. It’s the kind of land you’d find in films of the wuxia genre or Monkey, where a peasant suddenly turning into a dragon king or Bodhisattva is not exactly out of place. So this is the locale and time in which this saga begins.
The protagonist of this saga is Taikobo; a relatively young and feckless individual who after his entire clan is slaughtered to provide burial attendants for a deceased Yin dynasty monarch is flabbergasted at this abrupt change in his fortunes. He goes out one day to help herd the clan sheep and suddenly sees the Yin army marching in on the encampment of his people taking captives and slaughtering those who have the temerity to resist. Not exactly Days of Your Lives fare or Bold and the Beautiful kind of stuff, this is harsh and decidedly brutal. But this not where it ends for Taikobo, even as he tries to come to grips with what has occurred in his life he is suddenly approached by a mysterious and enigmatic old man. This individual is no other than Genshi Tenson-sama, one of the three Great Sennin (not to be confused with the Sannin from Naruto OK).
So what the heck are the Sennin? And what has Taikobo to do with all this and how does this all affect the story that is to unfold in the pages of this particular manga? Sennin are the immortals of the world, the rank in order from doshi (a Sennin in training) to yogetsu to the sennin themselves, naturally not all of the sennin were originally human some of them are what are called Yokai, animals or objects who have over time managed to manifest and identity and will due to certain preconditions. All of this is explained at the end of this volume in a handy little table along with a table for various feudal ranks and titles as well as magic, a nice touch from the author which is very handy if you get a little bit confused.
Taikobo is a doshi, a sennin in training and he has been taken as the apprentice of Genshi Tenson-sama in the lands of Mount Kongrong, this particular locale exists in the Sennin World and floats high above the lands of the Human world. Its counterpart is Kingo Island. Since being taken as an apprentice by Genshi Tenson-sama this is where our protagonist his been, spending his time training and meditating in order to become a worthy sennin, instead all he is actually doing is goofing off as his master succinctly puts it. But it seems that in spite of goofing off Taikobo has a destiny and Genshi Tenson-sama rather than letting Taikobo continue on his goofy ways is keen to set his disciple off on that path towards destiny as swiftly as possible. He entrusts Taikobo with the Hoshin list, a list of three hundred and sixty five sennin that are to be banished into the newly created dimension of Shinkai which will exist between the Sennin and Human worlds.
This is news to Taikobo; he knows that the Human lands have been suffering under the cruel grip of Dakki, a female sennin (often referred to as a sennyo) who has managed to have control of every emperor from the Xia dynast into the current reigning dynasty. It was Dakki who caused the slaughter of Taikobo’s clan by desiring more burial attendants for her recently deceased paramour. So its only natural he has a substantial grudge against her and her depredations over the world, still he can’t understand why Genshi Tenson-sama and the other two great sennin take direct action. As he points out his master can more than handle Dakki without breaking a sweat, but the wise old sennin replies that would make this a very very short story indeed. So it is up to Taikobo to do something with the evil Dakki and her minions. Given the Dashinben (the God Striking Whip) and the reiju (a magical beast) Supushan to serve as his steed, Taikobo sets out to undertake the Hoshin Project and banish all those on the list into the new dimension of Shinkai.
Despite his rather feckless attitude and distinct lack of any common sense whatsoever Taikobo is not this exterior that he presents to the world. There is cunning and intelligence beneath this façade and he is an interesting protagonist, someone who looks like there is a large amount of room for character development as the story unfolds which to my way of thinking is good in a primary protagonist. The other thing about Taikobo is that he is a likeable protagonist which is another important factor, over the last few months I’ve read novels, comics and manga where the protagonist just wasn’t likeable at all, as a reader I felt no empathy for them at all. To my way of thinking if you can’t like the main character in a story then it makes it hard to like the story and enjoy it.
Hoshin Engi was a good fun read, there are moments of drama, combat, tension and landscape changing magic as well as slapstick goofball humour which fits in nicely with the unfolding tale. After I had finished reading this first volume I pondered what exactly the original work, the Creation of the Gods would be like? Certainly Mr Fujisaki has taken some poetic license with his work which is fair enough, it certainly works in regards to the overall story which is essentially the fulfilment of the Hoshin Project.
Publisher: 1996 Shueisha Inc/2007 VIZ Media LLC.
Story & Art by: Ryu Fujisaki.
Translation & English Adaptation by: Tomo Kimura.
Touch up art & Lettering by: Rina Mapa.
Additional Touch up art by: Josh Simpson.
Design: Sean Lee.
Cost: AU$12.95/US$7.99.
It is China of the Yin Dynasty, approximately three thousand years ago; this is the setting for the tale of Hoshin Engi which is swiftly unfolded in the pages of this volume. Naturally this isn’t quite the China you find in texts on ancient oriental history or even the Discovery channel, no this the mystic China of fable and legend where demons, dragons and all kinds of other fantastic and wondrous entities are as common place as noodles, rice and your everyday ordinary Chinese citizen. It’s the kind of land you’d find in films of the wuxia genre or Monkey, where a peasant suddenly turning into a dragon king or Bodhisattva is not exactly out of place. So this is the locale and time in which this saga begins.
Taikobo is a doshi, a sennin in training and he has been taken as the apprentice of Genshi Tenson-sama in the lands of Mount Kongrong, this particular locale exists in the Sennin World and floats high above the lands of the Human world. Its counterpart is Kingo Island. Since being taken as an apprentice by Genshi Tenson-sama this is where our protagonist his been, spending his time training and meditating in order to become a worthy sennin, instead all he is actually doing is goofing off as his master succinctly puts it. But it seems that in spite of goofing off Taikobo has a destiny and Genshi Tenson-sama rather than letting Taikobo continue on his goofy ways is keen to set his disciple off on that path towards destiny as swiftly as possible. He entrusts Taikobo with the Hoshin list, a list of three hundred and sixty five sennin that are to be banished into the newly created dimension of Shinkai which will exist between the Sennin and Human worlds.
This is news to Taikobo; he knows that the Human lands have been suffering under the cruel grip of Dakki, a female sennin (often referred to as a sennyo) who has managed to have control of every emperor from the Xia dynast into the current reigning dynasty. It was Dakki who caused the slaughter of Taikobo’s clan by desiring more burial attendants for her recently deceased paramour. So its only natural he has a substantial grudge against her and her depredations over the world, still he can’t understand why Genshi Tenson-sama and the other two great sennin take direct action. As he points out his master can more than handle Dakki without breaking a sweat, but the wise old sennin replies that would make this a very very short story indeed. So it is up to Taikobo to do something with the evil Dakki and her minions. Given the Dashinben (the God Striking Whip) and the reiju (a magical beast) Supushan to serve as his steed, Taikobo sets out to undertake the Hoshin Project and banish all those on the list into the new dimension of Shinkai.
Despite his rather feckless attitude and distinct lack of any common sense whatsoever Taikobo is not this exterior that he presents to the world. There is cunning and intelligence beneath this façade and he is an interesting protagonist, someone who looks like there is a large amount of room for character development as the story unfolds which to my way of thinking is good in a primary protagonist. The other thing about Taikobo is that he is a likeable protagonist which is another important factor, over the last few months I’ve read novels, comics and manga where the protagonist just wasn’t likeable at all, as a reader I felt no empathy for them at all. To my way of thinking if you can’t like the main character in a story then it makes it hard to like the story and enjoy it.
Hoshin Engi was a good fun read, there are moments of drama, combat, tension and landscape changing magic as well as slapstick goofball humour which fits in nicely with the unfolding tale. After I had finished reading this first volume I pondered what exactly the original work, the Creation of the Gods would be like? Certainly Mr Fujisaki has taken some poetic license with his work which is fair enough, it certainly works in regards to the overall story which is essentially the fulfilment of the Hoshin Project.
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