Fine it Here!
I didn't think we'd be back so soon with more mecha, but here we are! Thanks to annoying and absurd power outages recently I've been able to get through a lot more reading than usual. Which is good, since I can now cover this whcih I have wanted to for quite some time.
Not too long ago a group of Newpub authors looked around and were dismayed at the state of mecha stories in fiction. The West has been banging out the same procedural clunky mecha story, and the East has been caught in post-Evangelion blues and endless Gundam 0079 rehash mode. There hasn't been anything interesting to come from the genre in a good while.
These authors were hoping to change that.
It should be noted that I have interacted quite a bit with the authors in this movement, but it would not change my review regardless. I only review things if I like or dislike them. I do not make passes based on who wrote it. That aside, let's get on with this.
This time I'm going to cover the second prong of the three hit attack known as #AGundam4Us, and it's easily the weirdest one so far. The description should clue you in on that.
What isn't quite stated up front is that this is an alternate history take where the Germany won World War I due to strange happenings. This also allowed things such as superpowers, giant monsters, ninjas, and mecha to exist. The background to the world could fill a book of it's own, but that's not for this one. Instead, get ready for adventure.
Irma has to deal with her friend being kidnapped and a rogue corporation that wishes to flatten parts of the Japanese-controlled America. She soon finds she has Valkyrie blood which means she has powers, and can pilot a giant mecha! It doesn't look like the problems will ever stop piling up. All this, and she just wants to live a normal life, hoping the boy she like will look her way!
What follows are superpower battles, mecha fights, and a whole lotta magic. The cast of characters is pretty big, but it never manages to feel overstuffed or superfluous. The plot briskly moves from plot point to plot point. All this is packed into a 200 page paperback format.
Now the difficult part of discussing this work is that there isn't really anything like it, especially not in the book world. The literary landscape hasn't produced weird action like this since the pulps were around and there isn't any ironic winking for it to fall in with the New Wave inspired crowd. I imagine the best description I can muster is if MTV's Liquid Television decided to co-produce a show with Cartoon Network's Adult Swim in an alternate Japanese-controlled dimension. If you can't imagine that then there are few comparable pieces of work to use. It's a fairly unique idea with a non-Western approach.
I have reviewed Mr. Nyanzi's work before and I described it a late '80s anime OVA, at least in spirit, but it does have that same sort of freewheeling spirit of being able to do whatever you want without the limitations of the mainstream. At the same time it is tight and sharp not even allowing loose ends to slip under the radar. The 200 page length is entirely earned.
In fact volume 1 ends in a way that allows a complete story to unfold and conclude. There's no cliffhanger or mystery aside from what will happen to Irma and this world next. It is standalone, if that's what you prefer.
But what might work against Shining Tomorrow is that it isn't anything like what the West thinks of when they think of mecha stories. This isn't dry, sterile military science fiction with "realistic" stompy mecha. It's also not much like Japan's "real robot" genre, falling somewhere between that and the more traditional super robot area with some kaiju and toku influence. If you don't know what those are then you might feel a bit lost coming into Shining Tomorrow. It isn't very mainstream, even with the East.
This is the sort of thing that would have gotten a black and white indie comic back in the 80s drawn by Larry Hama and hanging on the newsstands before spreading by word of mouth. There isn't anything modern about Shining Tomorrow either, and that works to its strengths and allows it to stand out from the crowd.
The only real fault I can find is that the first few chapters need to introduce a lot, which means not much happens plot-wise as a result. It feels very slice of life at first. However, once it gets going it is relentless until the end.
Mr. Nyanzi infuses magic, high tech, romance, heroics, and manages to create a heroine you want to follow and a villain you want to see lose blending into one exciting adventure. This is the stuff adventure pulp exists for. Whatever he has planned next for this world should be quite interesting.
One thing #AGundam4Us has shown is how much potential there really is for stories with giant robots. From the romantic swashbuckling of Star Knight Saga to the high stakes superhero action of Shining Tomorrow, there is much to be done beyond the same tired tropes the mainstream East and West keep beating out. Of course I still have yet to get to Combat Frame XSeed, but judging on the author's past work it is guaranteed to be a trip worth taking. More on that at a later date.
If the Pulp Revolution, Superversive, and #AGundam4Us have shown us anything, it is how much potential there still is out there for creative and fresh stories beyond the same tired Big Brands. Shining Tomorrow is an example of this new exciting world.
As 2019 quickly comes to a close and the decade's curtain falls it must be said that the Newpub world is only getting more impressive. This simply wasn't something that could be imagined a decade ago, and now it looks as if the '20s will be driven by works such as Shining Tomorrow, offering whole new worlds and approaches to classic storytelling. If this is the future then things are looking bright indeed.
For my last comment I would just like to say that all three #AGundam4Us stories are missing a crucial component to the mecha formula! Where s the rocking theme song to get the audience excited? Singers and songwriters, get out there and show us what you got. Until then we're going to have to make up our own.
We need some more of that energy.
As for Shining Tomorrow, I recommend it fully and greatly anticipate what comes next. There is nothing else like it out there. If this is only the first taste, then I am excited for seconds.
You can find Shining Tomorrow here.
At the same time I'm working on works of my own. Should you want more weird adventures about heroes then I've got you covered.
FROM YOUNG ELEGANT LADY...TO MASKED FURY!
Irma wishes to be the perfect girl: chaste, feminine, and generous. But when a giant monster stomps through her hometown, her plans crumbled right along with the stores and apartments.
In the chaos of acrid smoke and panicked civilians, the private military company Shadow Heart snatched her friend out of the crowd and took her captive.
Now Irma must pilot the Grand Valkyur, a mechanical titan of steel more powerful than any weapon made by human hands. With a brilliant sword that could cut any matter and gleaming armor that could withstand any weapon, the Valkyur challenges all who dare to fight it.
But piloting the Valkyur means using violence -- and to Irma, violence is men's work.How can she rescue her friend without betraying the feminine elegance she prides herself on?
What isn't quite stated up front is that this is an alternate history take where the Germany won World War I due to strange happenings. This also allowed things such as superpowers, giant monsters, ninjas, and mecha to exist. The background to the world could fill a book of it's own, but that's not for this one. Instead, get ready for adventure.
Irma has to deal with her friend being kidnapped and a rogue corporation that wishes to flatten parts of the Japanese-controlled America. She soon finds she has Valkyrie blood which means she has powers, and can pilot a giant mecha! It doesn't look like the problems will ever stop piling up. All this, and she just wants to live a normal life, hoping the boy she like will look her way!
What follows are superpower battles, mecha fights, and a whole lotta magic. The cast of characters is pretty big, but it never manages to feel overstuffed or superfluous. The plot briskly moves from plot point to plot point. All this is packed into a 200 page paperback format.
Now the difficult part of discussing this work is that there isn't really anything like it, especially not in the book world. The literary landscape hasn't produced weird action like this since the pulps were around and there isn't any ironic winking for it to fall in with the New Wave inspired crowd. I imagine the best description I can muster is if MTV's Liquid Television decided to co-produce a show with Cartoon Network's Adult Swim in an alternate Japanese-controlled dimension. If you can't imagine that then there are few comparable pieces of work to use. It's a fairly unique idea with a non-Western approach.
I have reviewed Mr. Nyanzi's work before and I described it a late '80s anime OVA, at least in spirit, but it does have that same sort of freewheeling spirit of being able to do whatever you want without the limitations of the mainstream. At the same time it is tight and sharp not even allowing loose ends to slip under the radar. The 200 page length is entirely earned.
In fact volume 1 ends in a way that allows a complete story to unfold and conclude. There's no cliffhanger or mystery aside from what will happen to Irma and this world next. It is standalone, if that's what you prefer.
But what might work against Shining Tomorrow is that it isn't anything like what the West thinks of when they think of mecha stories. This isn't dry, sterile military science fiction with "realistic" stompy mecha. It's also not much like Japan's "real robot" genre, falling somewhere between that and the more traditional super robot area with some kaiju and toku influence. If you don't know what those are then you might feel a bit lost coming into Shining Tomorrow. It isn't very mainstream, even with the East.
This is the sort of thing that would have gotten a black and white indie comic back in the 80s drawn by Larry Hama and hanging on the newsstands before spreading by word of mouth. There isn't anything modern about Shining Tomorrow either, and that works to its strengths and allows it to stand out from the crowd.
The only real fault I can find is that the first few chapters need to introduce a lot, which means not much happens plot-wise as a result. It feels very slice of life at first. However, once it gets going it is relentless until the end.
Mr. Nyanzi infuses magic, high tech, romance, heroics, and manages to create a heroine you want to follow and a villain you want to see lose blending into one exciting adventure. This is the stuff adventure pulp exists for. Whatever he has planned next for this world should be quite interesting.
One thing #AGundam4Us has shown is how much potential there really is for stories with giant robots. From the romantic swashbuckling of Star Knight Saga to the high stakes superhero action of Shining Tomorrow, there is much to be done beyond the same tired tropes the mainstream East and West keep beating out. Of course I still have yet to get to Combat Frame XSeed, but judging on the author's past work it is guaranteed to be a trip worth taking. More on that at a later date.
If the Pulp Revolution, Superversive, and #AGundam4Us have shown us anything, it is how much potential there still is out there for creative and fresh stories beyond the same tired Big Brands. Shining Tomorrow is an example of this new exciting world.
As 2019 quickly comes to a close and the decade's curtain falls it must be said that the Newpub world is only getting more impressive. This simply wasn't something that could be imagined a decade ago, and now it looks as if the '20s will be driven by works such as Shining Tomorrow, offering whole new worlds and approaches to classic storytelling. If this is the future then things are looking bright indeed.
For my last comment I would just like to say that all three #AGundam4Us stories are missing a crucial component to the mecha formula! Where s the rocking theme song to get the audience excited? Singers and songwriters, get out there and show us what you got. Until then we're going to have to make up our own.
Here you go
We need some more of that energy.
As for Shining Tomorrow, I recommend it fully and greatly anticipate what comes next. There is nothing else like it out there. If this is only the first taste, then I am excited for seconds.
You can find Shining Tomorrow here.
At the same time I'm working on works of my own. Should you want more weird adventures about heroes then I've got you covered.
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