Manga Review: Knights Volume One

[Jason]

Title: Knights
Volume: 1
Mangaka: Minoru Murao
Originally Serialized In: Dengeki GAO! (Media Works)
Licensed By: Digital Manga Publishing
Genre: Shonen
Rating: Young Adult (16+)
Price: $9.95/US

This story is walking a knife’s edge as to whether or not it’ll offend people. Sometimes it slips off. To start with, it’s pseudo-historical and set in pseudo-Europe during the time of the Inquisition. Even though the story is set in the kingdom of Excludo, the hero of the story speaks a heck of a lot of German, at least when it comes to naming his fighting stances. So, let’s get where it could, and occasionally does, offend out of the way before getting into the meat of the story.

Obviously, anything set in the time of the witch-hunts isn’t going to be tremendously woman-friendly. I have no real trouble with subservient women, since that is what the Middle Ages would have held for women, but some might find that offensive. Given that Torquemada and the real inquisitor methods did include jabbing needles into women’s breast and genitals, a reader has to go into this expecting it to be a little salacious and sadistic. The manga does manage to go over the top a few times, but what really offended me, was the real witch in the story, Euphemia.

Euphemia travels the countryside with our hero, Mist, wearing nothing but a loincloth and an animal skin cape with its paws over her nipples. Outside of the ‘how the heck does she manage to keep them there,’ there is the whole ‘what is this about’ question. All the other women are in long gowns and here comes Euphemia with her impossibly shielded nipples and the fact that she tends to loose all her clothes more than eighty percent of the time.

It’s a little sad that the above-mentioned facts are going to put off a big chunk of readership because the idea of the story is actually very interesting. Mist, himself, is very different and can be another place where people will get offended. He’s African and so far, the lone one in ‘Europe.’ Naturally, he’s mistaken for a demon for his coloration many times (hence the potentially offensive issues, that and a few ‘wow, he can jump’ comments). Mist is a ‘squire,’ one of the hammers of holy men. He goes around the country freeing witches. Mist is also an amazing fighter. Euphemia, for all her claims of being a witch, does little but run around naked, embarrassing Mist at every turn.

The background of Excludo includes a two hundred yearlong witch-hunt that has decimated whole towns. Mist is trying to put an end to corrupt priests who are putting innocent women through torture and death, mostly for their own sadistic glee and for power. For most of the volume, the reader is led to believe that this power is mostly local and monetary. Not until the end do we meet another knight who reminds Mist his mission isn’t really to rescue the witches but to stop ‘the saints.’ Apparently the power these priests gain is far more than just prestige and ironically borders on real magic.

The art is very good but naturally way too heavy on naked women for my tastes. It could have been a much stronger story if Euphemia was actually given clothes and something to do. It’s a shame, since Mist is an interesting young man and his story has the potential to be powerful, but it gets lost in the salaciousness. The sound effects are left in place and translated and it has the usual DMP dust cover, but do peel it off to see the other cover, which is an omake.

Overall, this manga comes with a ‘proceed with caution’ sign. It’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea.

Reviewer: D.M. Evans
Proofed and Edited By Lissa Pattillo