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NASDECIO
Story and Art by Kia Asiyama
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Info: www.advfilms.com
Review by Matt McConnel
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It
is odd that the anime of a series hits before the manga, the
noted exceptions to this are Cowboy Bebop, and Evangelion,
both of witch were created after the success of the anime
series. Nasdecio however has only recently come to the states
in bound paper however, despite having been released by ADV
to VHS and DVD. In the hands of CMP Manga, Nasdecio finally
has been brought over for American readers.
The
manga follows the same pattern as the anime, though it takes
less time to get to its way points. One of Kia Asiyama's great
strengths is his ability to jump from drama (sometimes melodrama)
to full blown action without missing the reader. The series
lacked this, as well as Asiyama's consistent character design.
Nasdecio's style falls in between two other Asyiama series,
Steam Detectives, and Silent Mobius; on the one hand, the
characters are very similar to the deformed cherubics seen
in Steam Detectives, while the setting (ships, mecha, etc.)
are very much from the cyberized world of Silent Mobius. The
writing however, is very different from both; the bent is
space opera with deranged humor. In almost all of Asiyama's
work, there is a dark overtone, in Nasdecio; the grit of a
war in space is muted against the insane humor and antics
of the crew. Anyone who has seen the anime knows this, but
when this derangement collides with the action and drama,
a unique synthesis occurs that was somehow lacking in the
anime.
It
has become my firm belief that under no circumstances should
any manga of Kia Asiyama's become animated. Oh, I have no
doubts in his character designs and capacity for story and
plot should he ever work on an anime not directly from his
comic book endeavors, but in both examples that American audiences
have been given, the results have not, and I am ashamed to
have to use this phrase, been as good as the books.
Matt
McConnel rules the anime planes of ShotgunReviews.com. Email
him here.
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