Manga Review – Crest of the Stars

This time I’m reviewing a manga adaptation of a Japanese SF novel, though one where to my knowledge the original has not gotten a US release – yet.

Title: Crest of the Stars
Original Story by Hirotuki Morioka
Composition by Aya Yoshinaga
Art by Toshihiro Ono

Currently out of print.

The Premise

Jinto is the heir to the throne of the Hyde system – sort of. His father had ruled the system entirely, but was made planetary governor after the system was conquered by the Abh Empire – a race of (basically) Space Elves, that were the product of earlier Human genetic engineering in order to create people better fit to operate in space. The Abh have no real interest in running planets, preferring to focus on controlling interstellar travel and commerce. Jinto is to be transported to the capital of the Abh empire to (basically) go through their version of Starfleet academy, while being transported on a ship commanded by the spouse of the Emperor of the Abh Empire, with his daughter, Lafiel Abriel, as Jinto’s escort.

Unfortunately, three of the major Human interstellar empires decide that now would be a great time to go to war with the Abh, forcing Lafiel and Jinto to make their way through a warzone.

High Points

I’ve seen the anime adaptation prior to this, and while the anime plays the story fairly straight, the manga uses “super-deformed” character designs on occasion to augment the comedy. It makes the comedic moments work a little better, I think.

Low Points

However, one of the anime’s real strengths is that it does a good job of getting the scale of space combat – something the manga doesn’t get. Additionally, the manga uses a great deal of vocabulary in the Abh Empire’s language, requiring the reader to flip to the back of the book to get the translation, hurting the flow.

Scores:

Originality: 4/6
Artwork: 3/6
Story: 4/6
Emotional Response: 4/6
Characterization: 5/6
Flow: 4/6
Overall: 4/6

In total, the manga adaptation of Crest of the Stars gets 28 out of 42.