Hoi’s Manga Corner – Featuring Cambria, Gantz, The Jinx’s Lover, and To You The Immortal
Hello and welcome to Hoi’s Manga Corner! For those unfamiliar with this little area at Don’t Feed the Gamers, each month I list a handful of series to check out. Often, they’re relatively new series to the scanning and translation community. Keeping in mind there are people new to the manga and anime scene everyday, some seasoned readers may find familiar names come up each month as well. In this case, I’m throwing in a fairly well-known horror series called Gantz amidst a grouping of lesser known titles. There are plenty of classics and older features to choose from, but this one has been on my mind for a while.
Title: Cambria (カンブリア)
Author: Taku Tokashiki
Genre: Fantasy, Action, Adventure, Comedy
On the search for wealth, fortune, and hope the inhabitants of Eden Island sailed to the southern hemisphere to access the “Forbidden Continent, dubbed the Pandora Project by the Alliance. With resource shortages and the world population sardined into the northern hemisphere, ships set out to find more land. Additionally, the idea of traveling to unknown lands and discovering the mysteries and treasures of an unexplored world was enticing. Previous attempts resulted in failure, except for the ship named Pandora. The main characters are Nayuta, daughter of the ship Pandora’s captain, and Sen – a mysterious, powerful, and pragmatic teenager whose intent is to destroy the cargo on behalf of a shadow organization.
Not only is there a lack of any riches and spoils, a bitter villain who calls himself the Masked Man is hell bent on destroying all those who reside in the north calling everyone Former Lifeforms. It’s apparent that the generation living on Eden Island is unaware of the Forbidden Island’s history, but his purpose to bring justice to Neoplasms/New Lifeforms is relentless and blinding. Abundant with blood and gore, Cambria follows The Darwin Agency as they attempt to defeat the persistently growing threat of Neoplasms taking over the world.
The fantastic part of this manga so far, even though there are so few chapters released, is that the heroine begins as a very typical damsel in distress. However, the reality of their situation is quickly brought to light. “No matter how strongly you feel [about saving others], it means nothing if you don’t have the power. The people who understand that and vow to get stronger than anyone else are the ones who hunt the most Neoplasms.”
This manga is being translated by sj4iy.
Title: Gantz (ガンツ)
Author: Hiroya Oku
Genre: Horror, Action, Science Fiction, Ecchi
Instead of the typical preconceived notions of the afterlife, whether the belief is hell, heaven, nothing at all, or somewhere in between – Gantz offers a different alternative for those who have met the certainty of death. In a world overrun by aliens, many of them representing demons in Japanese folklore, some of those who die end up in a room with a mysterious black sphere. With very little explanation, and cryptic messages transcribed on the black sphere’s interface, the “dead” are given no instruction on what is in store. Instead, when the time is right, an arsenal of weapons and gear are offered to them. It is only with quick thinking that they will survive and the equipment is the only thing saving them from permanent death or another chance to live and fight another day.
What is in store, you ask? Unfortunately for them, they will be the next in line of untrained forces to push back the demon and alien population trying to invade Japan. Some have tactical and military experience, but most don’t. Some of those submitted under these circumstances are able to quench their homicidal tendencies, while others depend on the skill of others to survive. The catch is: each person must earn and accumulate their respective points in order to buy upgraded goods like power suits, vehicles, weapons, and more. With enough points they can buy back their freedom and resume their old lives, but the point system is no way generous.
This series is not for the faint of heart. There are dubious sexual circumstances, gore, death, and violence hence the genre labels “ecchi”, “adult”, and “horror”. The original is licensed and can be read or bought in bookstores or online. Some online manga readers may still host scanned and translated versions. Additionally, there is a spin-off series called Gantz: G and a 3-D animated movie available on Netflix.
Title: The Jinx’s Lover (징크스의 연인)
Author and Illustrator: Han Ji Hae and Gu Seul
Genre: Romance, Drama
A woman with mysterious clairvoyant powers from the infused blood of a shaman was discovered long ago. Any woman she touches, her powers will reveal themselves and predict events to happen in the very near future. The very first man she touches becomes her destined lover and with that her predictive powers and luck can be controlled by him and only him. With these abilities are those whom are willing to take advantage and control them if revealed, including the president of a famous corporation in Korea. Passed down from generation to generation of female offspring to the next man in line for the corporate throne, these women are bred for the success of the Geum Hwa family. So, they are kept in captivity and secrecy with little knowledge of the outside world.
One young girl more rebellious than those previous, manages to escape one day, bringing great luck to her “destined prince”. To the misfortunate of the Geum Hwa corporation, their line of success may end with the beginnings of another, but the powers of these mystical women have their catch. Set in the modern day, Kong Sugwang is the protagonist in this manhua – a young man working as a fishmonger for his family’s humble stand and former recipient of a renown Geum Hwa education scholarship. On a trip with his friends, Kong learns a little too much about the family affair.
This manhua is translated by Traumerei Scans.
Title: To You, The Immortal (不滅のあなたへ)
Author: Yoshitoki Ooima
Genre: Fantasy, Tragedy, Supernatural
With death comes life, as long as there is a will to live – that is the overarching theme of “To You, The Immortal”. The main character is an entity that roams the Earth for purpose and soon learns that it harnesses the ability to take the form of other creatures and beings. While most of details are revealed over time, the main character can only transform as long as the vessel’s impetus to live is stronger. From a ball of energy, to a rock, moss, lone wolf, so on and so forth and with each subsequent vessel it wanders like a lost child trying to learn and understand the world surrounding. For the most part, it takes on the form of a young boy named Fushi. Life is a great and painful struggle as the entity dies over and over again, but the regenerative powers the being possesses grants it immortality. As the reader continues on, more is revealed about the history behind the main character’s existence and role in the world.
More than one story is told throughout the manga and they often parallel a lot of controversial dilemmas, philosophies, and cultural practices of varying degree. If you’re looking for a manga to tug on your heart strings and feel the last shred of humanity still left in your heart, “To You, The Immortal” is a good place to start. Even if the latter part isn’t true, this series is still a very good read, parlaying with the ideas of life, death, and immortality.
This is currently being translated by Sense Scans.
Want more manga recommendations? Check out the previous months of Hoi’s Manga Corner below:
Hoi Duong2131 Posts
Hoi is an elusive figure at DFTG, whose favorite past-times include chillin' in the Fade, reading manga, watching anime, collecting novelty items, and gaming.
