manga: Jyu-Oh-Sei Vol 1
Nov. 24th, 2008 10:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meganbmooreThor and Rai are the twin sons of a government official on the planet of Juno, the main planet of a solar system of colonies 430 years in the future. The twins are “purebreds,” of exclusively caucasian descent, something becoming rarer and rarer in the colonies. One day, they go home to find their parents murdered, and are abducted from the scene. When Thor wakes up hours later, he learns that their parents were murdered by Odin, who was supposedly their father’s best friend, and that the twins are being sent to Kimaera, a planet that does not officially exist, but is actually the dumping ground for death row prisoners. The person transporting them, however, is secretly an ally of their father’s and tells Thor that if he can survive and become the Beast King-the ruler of the planet-then he’ll be able to leave Kimaera and go to Hecate, the official prison planet, and from there return to Juno and learn the truth of why his father died.
On Kimaera, they initially live with the Yado, children who were born on the planet, but leave out of fear that the Yado will get rid of Rai, who is weak, so that he won’t be a drain on their resources. It’s not long, however, before they run across Ochre Gang, one of the gangs that run the country. The brothers are separated, and Thor is rescued by Tiz, a young woman from another gang, who claims him as her husband. Between that and catching the attention of Third, the third highest ranked member of Ochre Gang (he claims to have forgotten his real name) Thor ends up being accepted by Ochre Gang, and sets out to learn the truth of Kimaera with the two, even as he attempts to maneuver Kimaera’s politics. He also learns that Rai apparently fell to his death while fleeing Ochre Gang, but in the true spirit of “weak/strong brothers separateed as children” I expect that he faked it so that Thor won’t have to take care of him anymore, and will later return in some badass form, likely either to save Thor, or challenge him in becoming the Beast King. When he does return, I hope he has a scar, different hairstyle, or different wardrobe to make it easier telling him and Thor apart.
Despite being set on Kimaera with no look at anything else once the twins are there, the politics of the colonies manage to remain prominent. Thor and Rai were obviously sent there (instead of being rescued) so that they could learn The Truth, and we later learn that it’s a dumping ground for political prisoners. In addition, Thor learns that resources rare in the colonies are commonplace on Kimaera, and that the planet would seem to be better used as a mining colony than a death row dumping ground. Third seems to be guiding Thor down a specific path, and to know more about what’s going on than anyone else, but he isn’t talking.
The mangaka seems to be saying something about race and gender roles, but I’m not sure what. The twins’ mother places a lot of important on their “purebred” status, which is apparently a rarity in the colonies. (Also pertinent to the plot is the fact that life expectancy has decreased, and people don’t live past 30 without artificial aid.) On Kimaera, the gangs are separated by both race and gender, interacting primarily to mate. Despite this, however, there seems to be no stigma against women choosing men of another race to father their children. Tiz, Thor’s apparent love interest, is Asian, and Chen, her leader, is in love with Third, who is black. I’m assuming that male children, once old enough to be separated from their mothers, are sent to the father’s gang, unless they’re abandoned. (The Yado are abandoned children.)
In addition, women hold a special place in Kimaera’s society. Making up less than 20% of the population, being chosen as a woman’s mate is essentially the greatest protection a male can receive, and both refusing and forcing them is considered taboo. In many ways, it’s almost like setting the Amazons up as the high social order. And let me just pause for a moment to appreciate that for once, in a society where the world is incredibly harsh and the women vastly outnumbered, the creator didn’t decide to make them the underdog and virtual (or literal) slaves to the men and their wants, but went “hey, these women are going to be tough from surviving the same experiences, and instead of living at the whim of men, the men should realize that they need to keep them happy and willing to have sex with them if their society is going to survive.” Women also have the right to dump their current mate if they find someone they want more, but the reverse isn’t true. This does result in an almost annoying focus on procreation and mates, but an understandable one.
It’s pretty interesting. Thor and Rai both can be fairly annoying at times, but are still likable. The rest of the cast, however, makes up for their annoying moments. I’m not sure if the series will just cover the struggle to become Beast King, or if it will also cover going back to Juno and getting revenge. Tokyopop is releasing the series in a format that combines two regular manga volumes into one. I know the series is five volumes, but I’m not sure if it’s five normal-sized volumes, or five volumes in this format. The format also means a higher price (though still lower than a regular manga) which makes me fear cancellation.
On Kimaera, they initially live with the Yado, children who were born on the planet, but leave out of fear that the Yado will get rid of Rai, who is weak, so that he won’t be a drain on their resources. It’s not long, however, before they run across Ochre Gang, one of the gangs that run the country. The brothers are separated, and Thor is rescued by Tiz, a young woman from another gang, who claims him as her husband. Between that and catching the attention of Third, the third highest ranked member of Ochre Gang (he claims to have forgotten his real name) Thor ends up being accepted by Ochre Gang, and sets out to learn the truth of Kimaera with the two, even as he attempts to maneuver Kimaera’s politics. He also learns that Rai apparently fell to his death while fleeing Ochre Gang, but in the true spirit of “weak/strong brothers separateed as children” I expect that he faked it so that Thor won’t have to take care of him anymore, and will later return in some badass form, likely either to save Thor, or challenge him in becoming the Beast King. When he does return, I hope he has a scar, different hairstyle, or different wardrobe to make it easier telling him and Thor apart.
Despite being set on Kimaera with no look at anything else once the twins are there, the politics of the colonies manage to remain prominent. Thor and Rai were obviously sent there (instead of being rescued) so that they could learn The Truth, and we later learn that it’s a dumping ground for political prisoners. In addition, Thor learns that resources rare in the colonies are commonplace on Kimaera, and that the planet would seem to be better used as a mining colony than a death row dumping ground. Third seems to be guiding Thor down a specific path, and to know more about what’s going on than anyone else, but he isn’t talking.
The mangaka seems to be saying something about race and gender roles, but I’m not sure what. The twins’ mother places a lot of important on their “purebred” status, which is apparently a rarity in the colonies. (Also pertinent to the plot is the fact that life expectancy has decreased, and people don’t live past 30 without artificial aid.) On Kimaera, the gangs are separated by both race and gender, interacting primarily to mate. Despite this, however, there seems to be no stigma against women choosing men of another race to father their children. Tiz, Thor’s apparent love interest, is Asian, and Chen, her leader, is in love with Third, who is black. I’m assuming that male children, once old enough to be separated from their mothers, are sent to the father’s gang, unless they’re abandoned. (The Yado are abandoned children.)
In addition, women hold a special place in Kimaera’s society. Making up less than 20% of the population, being chosen as a woman’s mate is essentially the greatest protection a male can receive, and both refusing and forcing them is considered taboo. In many ways, it’s almost like setting the Amazons up as the high social order. And let me just pause for a moment to appreciate that for once, in a society where the world is incredibly harsh and the women vastly outnumbered, the creator didn’t decide to make them the underdog and virtual (or literal) slaves to the men and their wants, but went “hey, these women are going to be tough from surviving the same experiences, and instead of living at the whim of men, the men should realize that they need to keep them happy and willing to have sex with them if their society is going to survive.” Women also have the right to dump their current mate if they find someone they want more, but the reverse isn’t true. This does result in an almost annoying focus on procreation and mates, but an understandable one.
It’s pretty interesting. Thor and Rai both can be fairly annoying at times, but are still likable. The rest of the cast, however, makes up for their annoying moments. I’m not sure if the series will just cover the struggle to become Beast King, or if it will also cover going back to Juno and getting revenge. Tokyopop is releasing the series in a format that combines two regular manga volumes into one. I know the series is five volumes, but I’m not sure if it’s five normal-sized volumes, or five volumes in this format. The format also means a higher price (though still lower than a regular manga) which makes me fear cancellation.
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no subject
Date: 2008-11-25 06:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-11-25 06:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-11-25 09:14 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-11-25 04:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-11-25 07:25 pm (UTC)Interestingly enough, I got into it because Doumoto Koichi voices what's-his-name, the guy they first run into that helps them out. He also sings the opening theme song ^^
no subject
Date: 2008-11-25 07:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-11-26 06:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-11-25 06:15 pm (UTC)The series was five volumes when originally released in Japan, but then came out in a three-volume Perfect Collection. It's the latter that TOKYOPOP is using.
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Date: 2008-11-25 07:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-11-25 08:04 pm (UTC)