Takahashi Akira
I like finding rather obscure mangaka who draw lovely art. Today, we bring you Takahashi Akira, who as far as I can tell has only two series - 「傀儡/KUGUTSU」 and 「傀儡戯/カーレイヒ」 - which have the same setting and characters but tell separate realities. Or at least, I think they do… They are based on novels (for which same Takahashi co-wrote and drew) and are pretty confusing and complex, plot-wise, since not much is explained in the manga.
Sure looks damn pretty though. A lot of heavy lining and dramatic action; even in non-fight scenes there is a stark dynamism. Things are very cybernetic in feel, the enemies are beautiful even when hideous.
I ran into Takahashi Akira by accident when I bought, on a whim, 傀儡戯 (Kareihi) at K-Books a couple summers ago. Again, a very satisfying discovery, even though I couldn’t really figure out what was going on. If you like kickass female characters and cool male characters and lots of fighting nasty things using supernatural powers, this one’s for you.
You can visit his official page here.
Now, I’m gonna kick back and read KUGUTSU, which has been out of print and ridiculously rare until Wing Comics rereleased it last year. Yippy! But, Kareihi remains in 4 vol limbo, ended with no ending… *sniff sniff*.
