NoaIzumiManga Review: Planet Blood
May 4th 2009 15:37
Mecha pilot Sinan survives an inter-planetary war only to find himself on a strange, primitive world. Now he’s caught in the middle of another conflict that threatens the whole continent, and has to learn how to survive on a planet a thousand years removed from his own.
Planet Blood is a very involved story, which combines politics, action, romance, and a fair amount of humor. Sinan left one war to wind up at the beginning of another, when he falls into the hands of Noodles, an exiled king who is attempting to take the throne back from his brother Zetsos. And he meets Mayi, a naïve princess allied with Noodles, and later Yan, his old friend from his own world who now works for Zetsos. Then there’s Sir Pantera, a mysterious warrior who also serves Zetsos, but has a definite agenda of his own, and may be closer to both Noodles and Zetsos then anyone imagines.
And that’s just in the first volume. The second volume introduces Scott, another pilot from Sinan’s time who comes to have designs on Mayi, and a mysterious man who saves Sinan when he’s injured. In the fourth volume, we meet Eco, a feisty young lady who falls for Sinan.
In short, there are a lot of characters to keep track of, although the effort is worth it. Zetsos, for example, is more than just a garden variety bad guy; in fact, after spending some time with him, you may not consider him a bad guy at well. Sinan himself grows and adapts to his new world, and all of the main characters have some interesting backstories. The only drawback is that with so many players, it’s hard for the series to give adequate time to everyone.
The storyline of Planet Blood is similarly complex. The emotional core of the story is the relationship between Sinan and Mayi, but that’s threatened by both Scott and Eco. By volume eight, I honestly wasn’t sure how it would turn out. The plots and plans of Zetsos, Noodles, and Pantera are positively labyrinthine at times, which can leave you feeling a little lost. The complexity isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it would be nice if the series were ever finished.
Which bring us to the (possible) main downcheck of the Planet Blood series. While it’s a little early to say for sure, after a fairly steady release of one volume every six months, there hasn’t been one published for a year, and no solid indication of a volume nine on the way. From the looks of things, several retail site and stores, including Barnes & Noble and Robert’s Anime Corner Store, were set to receive and sell it, but then one of Tokyopop’s distributors dropped the title. So, for the time being, fans are going to have to be happy with books one through eight. (This isn’t the first time this has happened with Tokyopop, either: Really Long Link ) It’s particularly annoying because the preview for volume nine seemed to indicate that was going to answer some long-held questions, such as why Sinan and the others were brought there in the first place. And we’ve been waiting six volumes for the reunion between Sinan and Mayi.
Fortunately, the eight books that have been released have plenty of story and character development in them, and some wonderful artwork. Seeing the drawing quality of Planet Blood, I’ll be keeping an eye out for the artist’s work in the future.
Great moments: Not sure I’d give it the status of “great”, but Eco’s introduction is certainly memorable (as is just about everything she does, really).
Summary: Well-drawn, complex story with a great variety of characters. Grade: B plus (subject to probable upgrade if it’s ever finished).
Age rating: 14 and up. A good amount of fan service, and a few implied sexual situations. Some bloody violence, but not as much as you might think, given the setting.
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