Seimaden
| Manga | |
|---|---|
| title | Seimaden |
| Original title | 聖 魔 伝 |
| country |
 Japan
|
| author | You Higuri |
| publishing company | Kadokawa Shoten |
| magazine | Asuka Fantasy DX |
| First publication | 1993-1999 |
| expenditure | 10 |
Seimaden ( Japanese 聖 魔 伝 ) is a manga series by You Higuri that appeared in Japan from 1993 to 1998. It belongs to the genres Shōjo , Fantasy and Drama and has been translated into German and other languages. It builds on the Azel Seimaden published by You Higuri in 1994 , but does not continue its plot directly. The basic idea of the story and the main characters go back to dōjinshis in the genre Shōnen-Ai , which the author created before her professional career.
action
Hilda Hildegard, the best dancer in town, is admired and desired by many. But that also applies to the criminal Gargul, who wants her for himself. When he approaches her during a performance, the young Kukuru intervenes. He is unsuccessful, but then Hilda comes to Laures' aid. The tall man can overwhelm Gargul with hypnosis and accompanies Hilda home. He helps her again and again, but she hardly knows him - she doesn't know anything else about her past either. When she is kidnapped by Gargul soon after, Laures attacks his castle. He can overwhelm all the guards and cruelly kills Gargul in front of Hilda's eyes. Released, Hilda meets Rodrique in front of the castle. He turns out to be the last of the magically gifted people of the Azeel who is in love with Hilda and therefore was looking for her. His people were killed by Laures, king of the demons, and Laures also took their memories from them, Rodrique tells him. But Hilda doesn't want to believe that.
Meanwhile, Titius, Laures' servant, visits his master and asks him to return to the realm of demons. But Laures refuses. He wants to fight for Hilda's heart and he knows that it is not enough to just kill Rodrique. Ultimately, the latter puts him in the fight, in the course of which Hilda takes Laures' side. Rodrique can only escape death by Laures because his travel companions - the husband Asbar and the child Rabi - approach and the strength of their spirit Laures withdraws.
Publications
The series was published from 1993 to 1998 in Asuka Fantasy DX magazine by Kadokawa Shoten . Individual chapters previously appeared in Asuka DX under the title Azel Seimaden ( ア ゼ ル 聖 魔 伝 , Azeru Seimaden ). However, since this was still sold to the publisher of the previous work from 1994, the beginning of the title was omitted and the beginning of the story was redesigned again, and the magazine was again changed to Fantasy DX . The chapters were later published in 10 edited volumes. These were also published in German by Carlsen Comics from 2001 to 2003 . The manga has also been translated into English, Polish, French and Chinese.
In addition to the manga, a radio play on CD and an art book with the title Poison were also released . You Higuri also brought out several dōjinshi with scenes that did not make it into the series.
reception
The first volumes of the manga are still difficult to read because the artist has not yet found a mature style and a good narrative flow, said Jason Thompson in his review of the series. In the later volumes the story becomes more interesting, especially because You Higuri discovered her talent for allusions to Yaoi and light sadism in a Gothic atmosphere. But even then, Seimaden still looks like it has been pieced together from set pieces from other fantasy series from the 1990s. The German magazine Animania, on the other hand, calls Seimaden "one of the most wonderful fantasy epics of recent years". The manga is "not only suitable for Shōnen-Ai fans, because it reveals a wide-ranging world full of mysticism, hatred and intrigue, but also feelings such as hope and the desire for eternal love".
Web links
- Manga on Anime News Network (English)