PREFACE
Young Parn is a hero in search of a cause.
Having inherited the armor and sword of his father, Parn must
constantly fight to live up to his father’s tarnished legacy.
When Parn realizes that the forces of darkness are descending
on the island of Lodoss, he sets off to defend his homeland.
The combined power of the Emperor of Marmo and the Grey Witch
seems to be unstoppable.
However, all may not be lost. Parn does pick up a few
friends along the way to aid him in his quest.
They are all brave fighters, but will their small group be
enough to prevent the complete destruction of Lodoss?
The final confrontation is here!
Kings and their armies clash on the battlefield.
Parn must find a way to deal with the Grey Witch’s awesome
power once and for all. The
fate of Lodoss hangs in the balance, but can Parn make a difference
and save the day?
MANGA VISION TEST
ARTWORK:
Yoshihiko Ochi’s artwork is perfect for this story.
His character designs are all unique and distinct, and do a
great job of showing off each character’s individuality.
The artwork and backgrounds are very detailed, which helps
create the illusion of this fantasy world.
Most importantly of all, the action is easy to follow and all
of the swordplay is very intense.
SOUND EFFECTS:
The original Japanese sound effects have been removed and
replaced with English translations.
Care has been taken not to disrupt the flow of the artwork,
so I have no problem with this approach.
EDITS: Other
than the sound effects, there seem to be no obvious edits or changes
made to Record of Lodoss War. The art is flipped to read from
left to right.
EXTRAS:
The only extras in volume three are two brief creator biographies.
These also appeared in the first two volumes.
BOOK REPORT
STORY:
Ryo Mizuno has clearly set out to create a very vivid,
believable and detailed fantasy world in Record of Lodoss War.
In the tradition of fantasy sagas like the Lord of the
Rings novels, Mizuno has obviously thought carefully about the
details of his world. As
bits and pieces of back-story are revealed, the history, politics,
and legends of Lodoss slowly become clear.
The level of narrative detail found here makes "Lodos
Wars" the kind of story that will definitely benefit from
repeated readings.
TRANSLATION:
The translation seems very accurate, and very carefully done.
Each character’s unique voice comes through clearly.
CHARACTERS: The
most important characters here are clearly Parn and his band of
heroes. Parn is a young,
enthusiastic fighter for justice and all that is right in the world.
He lived through a difficult childhood, and takes his
responsibilities as a hero very seriously.
He can be a bit hotheaded at times, but always strives to do
what is right.
Etoh is a childhood friend of Parn, and a
priest of Pharis. He is
eager to help Parn, and also to curb some of his friend’s more
excessive acts of heroism.
Deedlit, the sole female member of the group,
is a warrior from the High Elf clan.
She is at least 160 years old, but doesn’t look a day over
18. It is apparently
fairly rare for her kind to be wandering the world, but Deedlit has
decided that she can no longer sit by and watch as her world goes to
war.
Ghim is a dwarf from the Northern Tribe, and is
traveling the world in an attempt to rectify what he views as a past
mistake. Like Parn, he
has a strong desire to see justice done and is eager to help in the
quest to save Lodoss. In
the second volume, Ghim discovers an unsettling connection between
the Grey Witch and the missing girl he has set out to find.
Slayn is a sorceror who doesn’t quite know
what to do with himself, so he joins up with Parn.
He soon finds that his former school has been destroyed by
the very forces that threaten Lodoss, and becomes even more involved
in the struggle to save the island.
The last member of the group is Woodchuck, a
thief who spent twenty years in prison for a minor crime, and
decides to turn his thievery skills to good use by helping in the
defense of Lodoss. At
times, Wood’s motives seem a bit suspect.
Can Parn truly trust him to overcome his selfish nature?
FAN SERVICE: There
is not really any fan service to speak of in this series.
Deedlit’s skirt is fairly short, but there are no panties
to be seen here.
Deedlit would probably take a sword to you if you even tried
to peek.
FOOTNOTES:
As
the third, and final, volume of The Grey Witch series begins,
it is clear that war is inevitable on Lodoss.
The kings of Lodoss begin to form alliances in the desperate
hope that they can hold off the advance of Emperor Beld’s troops
from Marmo. Karla, the
Grey Witch, continues to interfere, but it becomes very evident that
she is on no one’s side but her own.
Only Parn and his friends may be able to restore the balance
destroyed by Karla’s meddling.
In this volume, explanations come fast and
furious. We learn the
motives behind many of the characters actions, and that knowledge
makes the disastrous consequences all the more tragic.
King Beld, acting on a promise made in his youth, truly
believes that Lodoss can only be at peace under the guidance of one
strong ruler-himself. Karla
believes that continual war is essential to the survival of society.
King Fahn of Valis, however, believes that Beld and Marmo
cannot be allowed to rule. All
of these people want what they believe is best for Lodoss, but their
differences cannot be resolved without bloodshed.
The fact that all of these power-players are former comrades,
much like Parn and his group, makes their current circumstances even
more unfortunate.
When Parn, Ghim and the others learn the truth
behind Karla’s identity, the challenge of defeating her becomes
even more difficult. Our
heroes are faced with difficult choices that truly test their
friendship. Ghim makes a
shocking discovery, and Woodchuck has to decide, once and for all,
where his loyalties lie. As
all these conflicts come to a head, it seems entirely possible that
not everyone will survive the final battles.
Things happen almost TOO quickly in the final
volume of The Grey Witch.
There are parts of this story where the exposition is piled
on just a bit too thick. You
may also get the feeling that Ryo Mizuno was in a rush to finish his
story, not only because of the heaped on explanations, but also
because of some strange omissions.
One such odd bit is when King Fahn warns Parn about the
terrible danger he will face on a mission through the horrific
Cave
of
Evil
. He is told to look out
for dragons, ogres and all manner of terrifying beasts.
Yet, for some reason, Parn and friends are suddenly at their
destination, none the worse for wear and the dreaded Cave is never
seen or mentioned again. In
fact, they make the trip twice, and we never see them pass through
the
Cave
of
Evil
.
This one complaint aside, Record of Lodoss
War: The Grey Witch volume
three provides a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy.
There is plenty of action, a few very surprising revelations,
and the main storyline is wrapped up.
There are a few loose ends left to be dealt with in the
sequels, but readers get a complete story with this first series.
If you are a fan of the sword and sorcery genre, or if you
just enjoy a rousing adventure, you really shouldn’t miss Record
of Lodoss War: The Grey Witch.
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