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As near as I can tell, the proper title for this is Takeru Opera: Susanoh: Sword of the Devil. Mouthful much?
Based on a stage play, Takeru is based on Japanese mythology and is about three men-Takeru-no-Oguna (the angsty one with a secret), Takeru-no-Izumo (the fake-smiley/brainy one with other secrets), and Takeru-no-Kumaso (the angst-lite, less-bright, secret-free-ish one) who join together to seek out the sword of Susanoh. Also seeking out the sword is the evil empire that rules the world.
It starts a bit slow, but picks up speed once the Takerus reach Jagara, a matriarchal society based on the Amazons that’s one of the few matriarchal societies I’ve encountered in fiction without institutionalized rape or a “Look! Just as bad as a patriarchal society! Maybe worse!” undertone to it. There’s also a rather, uhm, interesting reveal later in the series regarding the cutting off of a breast.
Some of it relied on a deeper understanding of the mythology its based on than I have, but it was pretty fun overall, though I think it could have used another volume to flesh things out. The art is similar to a softer, less-stylized Kazuya Minelura, which resulted in my frequently being completely wigged out by forgetting that Izumo was not actually a cheerful, friendly Sanzo, but a totally unrelated character.
Based on a stage play, Takeru is based on Japanese mythology and is about three men-Takeru-no-Oguna (the angsty one with a secret), Takeru-no-Izumo (the fake-smiley/brainy one with other secrets), and Takeru-no-Kumaso (the angst-lite, less-bright, secret-free-ish one) who join together to seek out the sword of Susanoh. Also seeking out the sword is the evil empire that rules the world.
It starts a bit slow, but picks up speed once the Takerus reach Jagara, a matriarchal society based on the Amazons that’s one of the few matriarchal societies I’ve encountered in fiction without institutionalized rape or a “Look! Just as bad as a patriarchal society! Maybe worse!” undertone to it. There’s also a rather, uhm, interesting reveal later in the series regarding the cutting off of a breast.
Some of it relied on a deeper understanding of the mythology its based on than I have, but it was pretty fun overall, though I think it could have used another volume to flesh things out. The art is similar to a softer, less-stylized Kazuya Minelura, which resulted in my frequently being completely wigged out by forgetting that Izumo was not actually a cheerful, friendly Sanzo, but a totally unrelated character.
