Record of Lodoss War: The Grey Witch: A Gathering of Heroes
Annotation:
Lord of the Rings meets Manga. Young Parn talks some strangers into following him on a damn-fool-idealistic crusade.
Justification For Nomination:
Lodoss, the Accursed Island, has know peace for some time after the six heroes defeated a great evil. Emperor Beld of the island of Marmo, formerly one of the six heroes, leads an army of ogres, goblins, and dark elves to conquer Lodoss. He is aided/manipulated by Karla, the Grey Witch to do so.
Parn, a young teenage-ish type of guy, starts off his quest by trying save his village from goblins. Being still a youth, the townsfolk disregard his warning. He then gets into conflict with the goblins who actually were ready to invade (imagine that, no one listens to the kid!). Parn is saved from the goblins by Etoh (his childhood friend), Ghim (a cantankerous dwarf), Deedlit (a young looking but ancient high-elf), and Sorcerer Slayn. Parn talks them all into joining him on his quest to be a holy knight, like his father before him. The party arrives in the city of Allan where they uncover a Marmo plot to kill the local royalty. In this town the thief Woodchuck joins their party. Soon fate uncovers the fact that Marmo is invading Lodoss with a sizeable army. Idealistic Parn, incensed that the Allanians will not fight, decides to lead his party to Valis to raise help there.
This graphic novel will grab teens’ attention on page 1 with great character designs, and an idealistic young hero. Teens will also relate to Parn’s quest to become a knight, because that will basically allow him to be seen by the world as trustworthy grownup, and not the child everyone sees now. Parn’s also jumps headlong into action, which is what many teens do, and when it gets him into trouble, his friends save him. This further emphasizes the importance of friendships during teen years. To sum it all up, Parn serves as an archetype for teen development. Even his wiser/older friend Deedlit the Elf, can serve as an icon for teen girls, though to a lesser extent. She is smart and thinks things through, and is also more mature than Parn, but still possessing a youthful enthusiasm despite her great age. In other words, girls mature faster than boys. Many teens will identify with these two characters at least, if not the story. It has everything teens love: heroes to identify with, romance, great character designs, a quest/fantasy story, clearly defined good vs. evil (grays are just starting to come into focus though), lastly, it is manga (teens love it right now!)
Suggestions for improvement:
Annotation:
Lord of the Rings meets Manga. Young Parn talks some strangers into following him on a damn-fool-idealistic crusade.
Justification For Nomination:
Lodoss, the Accursed Island, has know peace for some time after the six heroes defeated a great evil. Emperor Beld of the island of Marmo, formerly one of the six heroes, leads an army of ogres, goblins, and dark elves to conquer Lodoss. He is aided/manipulated by Karla, the Grey Witch to do so.
Parn, a young teenage-ish type of guy, starts off his quest by trying save his village from goblins. Being still a youth, the townsfolk disregard his warning. He then gets into conflict with the goblins who actually were ready to invade (imagine that, no one listens to the kid!). Parn is saved from the goblins by Etoh (his childhood friend), Ghim (a cantankerous dwarf), Deedlit (a young looking but ancient high-elf), and Sorcerer Slayn. Parn talks them all into joining him on his quest to be a holy knight, like his father before him. The party arrives in the city of Allan where they uncover a Marmo plot to kill the local royalty. In this town the thief Woodchuck joins their party. Soon fate uncovers the fact that Marmo is invading Lodoss with a sizeable army. Idealistic Parn, incensed that the Allanians will not fight, decides to lead his party to Valis to raise help there.
This graphic novel will grab teens’ attention on page 1 with great character designs, and an idealistic young hero. Teens will also relate to Parn’s quest to become a knight, because that will basically allow him to be seen by the world as trustworthy grownup, and not the child everyone sees now. Parn’s also jumps headlong into action, which is what many teens do, and when it gets him into trouble, his friends save him. This further emphasizes the importance of friendships during teen years. To sum it all up, Parn serves as an archetype for teen development. Even his wiser/older friend Deedlit the Elf, can serve as an icon for teen girls, though to a lesser extent. She is smart and thinks things through, and is also more mature than Parn, but still possessing a youthful enthusiasm despite her great age. In other words, girls mature faster than boys. Many teens will identify with these two characters at least, if not the story. It has everything teens love: heroes to identify with, romance, great character designs, a quest/fantasy story, clearly defined good vs. evil (grays are just starting to come into focus though), lastly, it is manga (teens love it right now!)
Suggestions for improvement:
Some scenes/motives aren’t that clear. Sometimes dialogue will be there, but not really apply to anything. Only upon re-reading, or looking at the pictures can some things be fully understood. Also, the lack of narration boxes is unusual, even for manga. Asied from that, this is a pretty good story, and a quick read. There are also some mini-series on DVD that are phenomonal.
Genre: Manga, graphic novel, fantasy
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