Book Off Manga
Pink Aomata, Hakkenden 1, New Type Comics
An adaptation of a 19th-century epic novel, this is so well-structured that I can almost follow the whole story without knowing a word of Japanese. Samurai swordplay, maidens befriending wolves, and ritual disembowelment, with a fluid line that suits its story well, at least in the black-and-white art; the colour plates at the front look a bit overdone for my taste, and the art on Pink Aomata’s website has headed even further in that direction.
16.5×21 cm, 1994, ¥850.