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Treasure Hunter Book 1: Eternal Youth
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When it comes to manga, I've noticed that there really tend to be four
main categories that they fall into. First off, you have your science
fiction, usually dealing with mechas and aliens threatening to take over
the world. This seems to be one of the most popular categories. Then,
there are your romantic comedies, followed by fighting manga. There also
are medieval themed tales, and there are quite a few of these out there,
and probably even more available in Japan that we simply haven't seen
yet. The latest of these to come stateside is Treasure Hunter, a tale
drawn and penned by Hitoshi Tomizawa, the same name behind another
popular title, Alien Nine.
Treasure Hunter follows the adventures of Jubei, a merchant as well as a
treasure hunter, and he's very well known for being the best in the
business. When it seems like a job is impossible, that's when clients
come to Jubei. His rule of thumb is that he never leaves a job
unfinished, no matter how difficult it may be, and he's got some backup
as well. Carpet is, well, a magic carpet with a semi-human guise that
seems to take more abuse than anything else. He also has the use of his
Kokaku sword, but that's saved for extreme situations, and with these
partners, Jubei tackles some of the most difficult adventures and quests
that any merchant could ever face.
This is definitely a strange manga, but not necessarily in a bad way,
and it reminds me of quite a few different things. The first thing is
Aladdin, and you can take your pick of which version since it's been
retold so many times. Jubei lives in an area that is the equivalent of a
Middle Eastern bazaar, and when you ad in a magic carpet and a sword
that is the equivalent of a scimitar, you can see the easy comparison.
There are plenty of strange creatures as well, reminding me of King of
Bandit Jing. Over the course of two adventures, which are broken up into
short chapters, Jubei has encounters with strange spider creatures, a
seafaring crew of skeletal pirates, giant fish, and some other weird
creatures. But, these are actually very fitting of the world that Jubei
lives in. Lastly, I had a few thoughts to the Slayers manga, and while
the humor isn't quite as rampant here, there are a few similarities.
There are two stories in this first volume. In the first, Jubei is hired
on to recover a jelly bun that is rumored to grant anyone who eats it
extended life, but it turns out that the woman who hired him has other
plans, and that includes stealing his very life force for the creation
of the buns. In the second, Jubei comes face to face with undead pirates
in a quest to retrieve a magical figurehead. The flow tends to be very
fast paced at times, making the manga a breeze to read through. With the
short chapters, it also gives a good option to be able to read a bit,
take a quick break if needed, and then jump right back into it.
The art is something that I'm not quite sure if I like or not,
especially with the characters. I really am not fond of Carpet, who
looks more like a troll that escaped from the set of Legend what with
that pointed nose. Jebei isn't drawn too badly, though there are times
where I was thinking of him more like Mr. Clean with a turban instead of
a bold adventurer. However, the backgrounds are where the real detail
is, and often it works to offset the character design. However, I'm
thinking that it may be something that I will grow a bit more accustomed
to over time, but it's just a bit different. I don't hate it, but I'm
not completely won over by it either.
I will be interested in seeing where Jubei's adventures take him and
carpet next, and I'd really like to know a bit more about that sword as
well (incidentally, Jubei has to feed the sheath a tooth in order to
have access to his sword.) For being an adventure tale, it's moderately
entreating, but not one of the most impressive manga's that I have read.
However, again I will at least follow a bit more to see what direction
things go into. It might be a slow start, but hopefully Treasure Hunter
will become more interesting.
-mike-
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Genre:
Adventure
Written
By::
Hitoshi Tomizawa
Art By::
Hitoshi Tomizawa
Pages:
200
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