Orange, Hack/G.U. & Star Trek: Ultimate - Manga Review

Tokyo Pop offers an infinite variety of adventures and artists as shown by the different mediums and perception of these three entries.Orange (Manga) The artistry on this entry by Benjamin is intense and genre bending. The use of muddled textures and emotional resonance is splendid. The story of a girl battling the want of her own mortality who crosses paths with a young man bent on the same end is fodder of angst but within the pictures that Benjamin paints it becomes secondary and simply a metaphor for the rage of colors. As indicated in the notes, the artist sees in colors like his characters which makes their intentions all the more poignant and rich.Hack/G.U. (Novel) Based on the video game by Bandai, this novelization integrates the thought patterns of Ryu whose friend Shino has been rendered unconscious in the real world by the actions of illegal programs inside The World run by CC Corp. The different areas and internal monologues push the plight of the World character Haseo (the counterpart of Ryu) who discovers his power as an Epitaph User. Granted the material is for those gamers ensconced in the realm of such games but the effort of the author makes the actual text accessible to non players with the essence of archetypes and underdog mythology played throughout.Star Trek: The Manga Ultimate Edition With the coming "Star Trek" movie, exploring the origins and archetypes of the classic crew and possibly flipping it on his head, the perspective of James T. Kirk and their challenges become even more interpreted to canon. In the beginning of this ultimate edition, there is a full color rendition of what could be signaled as the pre-cursor to the Borg encountered by the Enterprise. "Side Effects" shows the intentions of the Queen who is ultimately defeated by Kirk but jumps through a wormhole into a different time. "Foreign Alliances" show again the Vulcan ability to slip into primal feelings despite their intense logic. It is Dr. McCoy who provides, somewhat ironically, the voice of reason. "The Art Of War", whose story is by TNG's Wil Wheaton, takes into account the Kirk/Klingon feud before it was brought to a boil from conflicting perspectives. The difference is this manga in its use of extended action sequences give an effectve cinematic progression. "Orphans" which plays a little more simplistic has Kirk coming into contact with a band of juveniles who control 'Transformer"-like robots that take down worlds. Kirk must find a patrrnal element to bring them into focus which mirrors his own failure that we see later with his son David."Communication Breakdown" has Uhura's memory erased yet she is the only one effective can hear through the manipulation when they come upon a dead planet run by a con man. "Humaniterean" has Spock dealing with a mission that results in more deaths because of no fault of his own. It is an intricate story of Spock while Kirk is awa which gives more thought into his personal characterization. This is a story that would never have made it in the original series but is quite refreshing in the pages of manga. "Till Death" has a definite anime angle with two seemingly dead beings who are resurrected and in doing so rebirth their gender feud. The entire crew's male and female population faces off against each other in a battle of the sexes. It is probably too un-PC for the current society but brings some interesting issues into play in the "Star Trek" universe.  "Bandi" ends TOS's stories with an angle of humor similar to "Tribbles". The Bandi Bear can change an areas' emotion to its own. Captain Kirk must learn to show his soft side without double facing a situation which calls for his own bluff. There is also a bonus "Sensation" story from TNG which is part of an upcoming manga compilation for that world. TNG's story follows Deanna Troi, and unlike TOS' stories before it, this outing tends to get over-inundated with technical jargon despite more complicated storytelling. But the "Star Trek" universe is nothing if not complex.Tokyo Pop in the visage of "Orange", "Hack/G.U." [Novel] and "Star Trek: The Ultimate Manga Edition" shows a diversity of stories between modern day and future, from the virtual world to paternal of the heart, and from those things that bring us together and thrust them apart.