Let us sit back for a moment and move away from our general trend of going after manga that are experimental in their scope or revolutionary in their design. Instead, let us choose something straight from the record book of the classic. Ladies and gentlemen for your reading pleasure, The Celestial Zone.
A Wuxia epic to end all (begin all?) epics. The Celestial Zone is a heroic saga told in the magical style that can only be found in Wuxia. The Celestial Zone refers to those practitioners of Tao who have attained such a mastery over the elements of the universe to be almost considered Gods and Demons by common mortals. As is usually the case in the world of Tao the Celestial Zone is split up into clans that follow the righteous path and those that follow the way of strength through darkness (Tao-speak baby!). The manga begins at a point in history when the evil forces are overwhelming the righteous clans. But of course all is not as simple as it seems and there are greater depths to which this story rises. I have always been a fan of classic Wuxia, and although traditionally there all is black and white in Wuxia epics, I was surprised to discover that wasnt the case in this manga.
Gray is the overriding tone of the manga. As heroes fall from grace in their pursuit for power, while villains rise to heroic sacrifices in the name of love. It is a cosmic look at the eternal battle played out between good and evil and the hair's breadth of a difference that exists between the two. The artwork although a little dated fits perfectly into the overriding theme of the comic book and is never shoddy or sub-par. Effort has been put in translating this tale out onto paper and the effort shows. The artwork truly shines in the action scenes and the landscapes, creating a hidden and lost world that immerses the reader almost instantly.
The characters themselves are rich, with even the most villainous of the villains having their own reasons for walking the path of darkness. One of my favourite characters in the series happens to be the chief of one of the evil clans, yet he is an honourable foe who chooses to spare the lives of those he vanquishes. At the opposite end of the spectrum is one of the heroes who on finding a wounded warrior of evil, chooses to end her existence rather than spare her life. A wuxia tale grounded in the real.
It is hard not to be swept up by this epic tale of heroes long gone past, even if you have no prior interest in wuxia. So take a dip in the Tao of all things and be welcome in the Celestial Zone.
A Wuxia epic to end all (begin all?) epics. The Celestial Zone is a heroic saga told in the magical style that can only be found in Wuxia. The Celestial Zone refers to those practitioners of Tao who have attained such a mastery over the elements of the universe to be almost considered Gods and Demons by common mortals. As is usually the case in the world of Tao the Celestial Zone is split up into clans that follow the righteous path and those that follow the way of strength through darkness (Tao-speak baby!). The manga begins at a point in history when the evil forces are overwhelming the righteous clans. But of course all is not as simple as it seems and there are greater depths to which this story rises. I have always been a fan of classic Wuxia, and although traditionally there all is black and white in Wuxia epics, I was surprised to discover that wasnt the case in this manga.
Gray is the overriding tone of the manga. As heroes fall from grace in their pursuit for power, while villains rise to heroic sacrifices in the name of love. It is a cosmic look at the eternal battle played out between good and evil and the hair's breadth of a difference that exists between the two. The artwork although a little dated fits perfectly into the overriding theme of the comic book and is never shoddy or sub-par. Effort has been put in translating this tale out onto paper and the effort shows. The artwork truly shines in the action scenes and the landscapes, creating a hidden and lost world that immerses the reader almost instantly.
The characters themselves are rich, with even the most villainous of the villains having their own reasons for walking the path of darkness. One of my favourite characters in the series happens to be the chief of one of the evil clans, yet he is an honourable foe who chooses to spare the lives of those he vanquishes. At the opposite end of the spectrum is one of the heroes who on finding a wounded warrior of evil, chooses to end her existence rather than spare her life. A wuxia tale grounded in the real.It is hard not to be swept up by this epic tale of heroes long gone past, even if you have no prior interest in wuxia. So take a dip in the Tao of all things and be welcome in the Celestial Zone.
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