Dark Angel (manga)

Synopsis

After having beaten in duel its Master, Dark, having accompanied by the young person Kyo, share for the Empire of the Center where, like wants it the tradition, it must be devoted Gensei of its clan. A length and dangerous tour becoming a kind of voyage initiatory which will help it with better knowing itself…

Universe

It is not known where is held precisely the history of Dark Angel, even if one knows that this one is held well in our world, as allusions to the Greece show it, with Babylon and the Mayas. However, Greece is located in Occident compared to this ground, and one can thus suppose that the history is in Asia.

The country is divided into five Empires: north, the west, the south, is, and centers it. Each one of these empires is directed by Gensei. Gensei directs and guarantees the protection of its people, on whom it has the right of life and death. They must regularly return their accounts to Lai Haan, sovereign of the Empire of the center.

Equipped with supernatural capacities, they can be metamorphosed according to the animal representing the Empire to which they belong. However, they do not make use of such a capacity that on rare occasions, only in the event of great danger.

There exist two ways of transmitting the title of Gensei to its successor: the first consists in designating the successor directly; second is when Gensei dies and that it already chose its successor, then the spirit of late and its art accompany the elected official in his new mission.

They are assisted in their task by Hoosei, a fairy-like small-minded person of human appearance, but whose size is of approximately twenty centimetres. Entirely devoted to its Master, it has the role of protecting it and also of looking after it using the few magic capacities it has. It is chosen by the chief of the Empire of the Center, and it fulfills its function until Gensei dies or loses its position.

In order to preserve peace between the various Empires, Lai Haan ordered a non-aggression pact which prohibits any intrusion in a foreign Empire. Moreover, the engagements between Genseis are them also prohibited, and very severely punished.

Characters

Clan of Suzaku/Clan of the Vermilion Phoenix (Empire of the South)

In the beginning, Gensei of this clan was Soo, good and charitable man who had the regard and the confidence of all, and it was regarded as most powerful Gensei of the four Empires. However, without nobody knowing it, it was reached of a serious fatal disease, and it hastened to choose that which will succeed to him under Gensei. Having a presentiment of the aptitutes of Dark, it collects it whereas this last is yet only nine years old, and intensely involves it during five years, until the day when this one ends up exceeding it.

Still young person and immature, and having a direction of the orientation weakening, Dark is not yet completely ready to succeed Soo. Going even until transgressing the laws involuntarily and starting the combat with Gensei of the Empire of the East, it is found punished by the chief of the Armies of the Empire of the Center, and is made confiscate the Vermilion Saber, symbol even of its title of Gensei. Its voyage in direction of the Empire of the Center to recover it and confirm its title of Gensei is to some extent an initiatory tour which will enable him to be formed with its new task.

Kyo, in the past Hoosei de Soo, which she admired enormously, now decided to be put at the service of its new Master, Dark. Emotive and shameless, this one does not stop thundering it and of the réprimander without stop, but at the bottom it really worries about the fate of Dark, not hesitating a second to sacrifice its life to defend that of its Master.

Koo and Ryoo belong to the personal guard of Dark. Koo accepts badly that this last was elected Gensei of Suzaku and is always wary of him. It is a Master in art to handle the stylets. Ryoo, charged him also to ensure the safety of Dark, approves fully the choice of Lord Soo, old Gensei of Suzaku. Contrary to Koo, he regards new Gensei as somebody of value and worthy of confidence.

During its voyage in the Empire of the South, Dark will become acquainted with Kin, an old fencing master, who will offer his hospitality to him. After having subjected the young man to a test to judge its value and of its peaceful intentions, it gives him in reward Shinrooen, a saber without blade, intended to preserve peace.

Clan of Seiryuu/Clan of the Blue Dragon (Empire of the East)

Its leader Lord Mei indicates Lin like his direct successor. In spite of its kindness and its apparent brittleness, the capacities of Flax increased considerably when, after to be named Gensei, it entered in possession of the pearls of water, ground, fire, and wind, ancestral symbols of its clan. However, it misses the fifth pearl, the gold pearl, which disappeared since three generations, and whose capacities are such as it can bring back late to the life.

Flax has a personal guard made up of Shiki, its Hoosei, as well as Ran and of Chao, two powerful warriors who do not have of cease to want to protect it. Chao tests a certain resentment towards Dark, since it killed Soo, with which it was secretly in love, and who initiated it with the art of the combat. Moreover, the Twelve Generals of the Dragon undertake to make respect the order in the Empire.

However, Lin has a wild rival: Deny. Belonging to the generals to the service of Gensei of the Blue Dragon, she hoped to be elected Gensei but Lord Mei preferred Lin to him. Since, incompetent to include/understand the reasons of his choice, it dedicates to the latter a hatred without terminal and it already tried to eliminate it.

Clan of Byakko/Clan of the White Tiger (Empire of the West)

Lord Tan was Gensei of the clan of the White Tiger until his/her partner, Susa, are made remove by Gairana, a wandering tribe gangsters, and it then decides to give up his title to leave to his research. He thus indicates Shoo to take again in hand the direction of his clan.

Shoo is however far from being a honourable chief: barbarian and tyrannical, it likes to make run blood, and maintains a reign terror among his subjects, for which it does not have any regard. Ridiculing without scruple the laws imposed by Lay Haan, this one makes any always only at its head, it adores to fight and regarding Dark as an adversary worthy of him, it will go even until defying it.

Bee, its malignant Hoosei, was the friend of Kyo until it holds the latter for person in charge of died of its brother. Since, it cannot be prevented from testing a deep bitterness for it. She is entirely devoted to Shoo and accompanies everywhere it.

Two of its closer subordinates are Soo and Sei. Soo, like the majority of the members of its clan, has as strong points a speed except par and the instinct of hunter specific to the cat-like ones. Having failed in the mission which Lord Shoo aiming had entrusted to him at eliminating Goo, Genra which would have rebelled against its authority, it is seen some severely punished. Sei, as for it, is a mysterious young woman, who seems to have a strange capacity of domination on Shoo.

Clan of Genbu/Clan of the Jade Tortoise (Empire of North)

The clan of Genbu is directed by In, wise man but crafty one, who likes to mix with the businesses of the other Empires. Its Hoosei, Setsuka, in spite of its frail appearance, has a frightening potential, enabling him to compete without difficulty with an enemy much larger than it. In addition to its force, its determination and its will make of it allied of choice. In also has an army with its service, the seven Hokuteki, or stars of Large Ourse. With the difference of Genra, when those change, rather than to metamorphose itself in animals, it cover an armor which entirely protects them.

Worsen of the Center

One is unaware of much on this Empire, surrounded by the four other Empires, from where its name. Its chief, Lay Haan, has an authority on the four other Genseis, since even Shoo fears it. Side Garuda, the commander-in-chief of the Army of the Empire of the Center, also seems to have authority to him on them, since it is allowed to punish Lin and Dark.

Sayan

Sayan is an young girl that Dark meets in dream. Divided first of all between the soft and peaceful attitude of Dark and its profile of warrior, it ends up binding friendship to him. It comes from one future time, since the planes and the tanks exist in its " monde".

Greek spectra

One does not know large thing of Greece and his Greek spectra, if it is not that they are avid engagements. During one of its voyages, Lin will meet Delpyune, one of these spectra which is actually a hybrid being half woman half snake, which will try to kill her, in the name of her Master, Lord Tyupon.

Gairanas

Gairanas are a wandering clan gangsters androïdes. They are created within the mechanical empire of Jipang, a deserted small island stripped of any natural resource, but which has an enormous mechanical agglomerate founded by the only person who saw there, Kyubi. Those excel by their aptitudes for the combat, and like to defy other warriors in their arena of combat, which is in fact Colisée assembled on a giant tortoise. However, much of their origins remain a mystery.

Staff

Scenario and drawing: Kia Asamiya
Drafting: Shinobu Kuwahara - Shin' ichiro Inoue - Osamu Ōta
Design: Tetsuya Asakura
Colors: Kumiko Nakayama
Design graphics titles: Tetsuya Asakura
Production: Michitaka Kikuchi
special Consultant: Michitaka Kikuchi
Assistant-draftsman as a chief: Shinobu Abebe
regular Assistant-draftsmen: Hirotaka Ōkuma - Takashi Sakai - Tsutomu Isomata - Yuji Komatsu - Yoshiaki Nakahama - Takako Ishida
exceptional Assistant-draftsmen: Mitsuhiro Moriyama - Kenji Nitta - Hiroki Saito - Yuitaka Karyu - Naoki Mochitzuki - Yūki Sasaki - Yuji Ushida - Takeshi Okazaki

French edition

Notes on the French edition

Dark Angel is very first the manga published under the label Génération Comics of the editor Panini Comics.
Several illustrations color are present at the beginning of each volume.
a short account of the author carried out three years and half before the publication of Dark Angel entitled the origins , and which is to some extent a pilot of the manga, was added at the end of the first volume.
the fifth and last volume was sold with a box of arrangement to arrange the first four volumes.
the series is currently in stock shortage in the editor, and no date of republication was announced.

Equip with translation

Translation: Challenge
Lettering: Polished Luca
Supervision: Nicole Duclos

ISBN and comings out date

Volume 1: ISBN 2-84538-016-X - May 2000
Volume 2: ISBN 2-84538-018-6 - July 2000
Volume 3: ISBN 2-84538-019-4 - September 2000
Volume 4: ISBN 2-84538-024-0 - November 2000
Volume 5: ISBN 2-84538-026-7 - January 2001

Adaptation

After Dark Angel, Kia Asamiya decides to put in scene the hero in a new adaptation of its work: Dark Angel : Phoenix Resurrection ( Dark Angel: The resurrection of the Phoenix ).

Not having been able to find of Japanese editor agreeing to continue to publish the continuation of Dark Angel, Kia Asamiya turns to the the United States, where it will find finally what it sought. It thus changes completely support, and Dark Angel becomes a Comic entirely colors. It chooses to take again its series since the beginning: the basic screen is the same one, but changes on the level of the design of the characters, speed of the history, ton of the narration, appear. However, the author gives up the project well quickly, since after the first volume published in 1999, there was any more no news brought back on this subject. The author would have indeed undertaken to work on other things.

Génération Comics nevertheless decided to publish this volume, and the work appears in 2001 in France.

Artbook

A Artbook of the series initulé Dark Angel Illustration Book left to Japan, published in France by Comics Generation in 2002.

The illustrations of Dark Angel presented in this collection all were published in the Newtype magazine. Each double-page presents an illustration and a comment of Asamiya as well as the various elements having been used for the design of the image. A great place is left to the supporting characters (one finds some characters who did not appear in the manga). At the end of the work, the author draws even a detailed picture of the stages of the design of an illustration.

External bonds

Nihon-Fr: Very complete file and comments on the series Dark Angel.
Panini Comics: Official site of the editor of Dark Angel in France.

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