Review: Akaneiro – the Path of Cloak and Wolf

Each review we’ve done of individual Akaneiro issues has been by a different author, so I was asked to do this one. The Path of Cloak and Wolf is actually a hardcover collection of those three issues together in one volume, so naturally I’m going to compare my thoughts about this comic to those of my fellow Red Shirt Crew writers and discuss a few of the points they brought up. I guess you could just read their reviews, but they each focused on one issue. I think this miniseries as a whole ends up greater than just the sum of its parts.

The other reviewers already mentioned that Akaneiro: the Path of Cloak and Wolf is a prequel to a video game, Akaneiro: Demon Hunters, but they didn’t really talk about the influences on Akaneiro except that it’s an adaptation of “Red Riding Hood.” Well, most of the inspiration for the setting and mythology of this comic doesn’t come from that story, but from Ainu mythology and Japanese folklore. So that’s not just made up, but I think the Red Hunters are, as well as the karma crystals they collect. I imagine the crystals only exist because of the video game, but I wouldn’t have noticed that if I didn’t know about the game beforehand. In the end, this comic is better than most video game tie-ins though. It stands up pretty well as a comic by itself, not just in relation to the game.

While the story benefits from the inclusion of Japanese folklore, it doesn’t require you to know much about that. There aren’t really any interesting surprises in the plot itself. It really is just a classic story with a twist, but I don’t really mind that. Justin Aclin‘s writing is pretty good for the most part, but he does rely too much on narration in some sections where the artwork could have shown events in a more clear and concise way.

So the story isn’t exceptional, but at least Vasilis Lolos‘ artwork is interesting. He has a pretty unusual style; his characters are very stylized, with exaggerated expressions and features. The artwork might not appeal to everyone; I didn’t really like his artwork in issues #8 and #9 of Conan the Barbarian, but I think it works in Akaneiro. It’s a very different story; Lolos’ style is better suited to it, and Michael Atiyeh’s colors probably have something to do with it too.

All three issues of Akaneiro are together in this book, and the complete miniseries ends up being better than the individual issues. I’ve read this kind of story a hundred times before, but Akaneiro isn’t the worst retelling of it. The story isn’t interesting or surprising, but it works well enough, and the artwork is good enough to hold up this comic by itself. Provided you like the art style and don’t mind the clichés in the plot, Akaneiro is a decent comic. Of course if you already like the video game, this will probably appeal to you, and for the cover price of $14.99 it’s not a bad deal.

Danilo Culibrk, aka Augustus, is a staff writer for the Red Shirt Crew. He’s definitely not a werewolf disguised in human form. You can follow him past the waterfall to the Akane camp on Twitter at @Augustusing.

Review: Akaneiro #2

It’s probably not a good sign from your comic when the person who reviewed the first issue has no desire to read the second one. Yes, despite Mischlings’ tentative recommendation for Akaneiro #1 based solely on what the future may hold, he had no desire to actually take a look at that future. That said, I was a little bit more excited than he was after the first issue, so I decided to give Akaneiro #2 a look and see how it turned out. What did I find? Keep reading to find out.

I’m going to start with the art because it’s the toughest thing for me to evaluate in this case as I don’t have any formal art training, and Far Eastern art is very different from traditional Western comic book style. I know Shu Yan’s cover is gorgeous, with creative monster designs and an amazing job of fading such that there appears to be a fog from which these spirit monsters are emerging, waiting to pounce on our hero. I also know the under-the-skirt shot is probably more than a little unnecessary. I know that the actual art of the comic itself by Vasilis Lolos can really stand out as unique and brilliant compared to the standards of the average comic, especially the insanely awesome spirit creatures, but I also know the faces look off to me, and, again, I feel weird about the upskirt shots (I know it’s traditional in Eastern art to make heroines look young, but that does not help my feelings on this, and probably is what makes it stand out more. Then again, my girlfriend thought she looked much older so take my complaints with a grain of salt). The truth of it is that I don’t feel qualified to make a decision on whether this is good art. Look at the art I use in this article and decide for yourself.

As for the story, I know exactly how I feel about it, and it’s a resounding “meh”. For all the hype about it being “an all new story”, it sure feels like I’ve read it about a million times before. Stop me if you’ve heard this before. There’s a protagonist who feels trapped by her home until circumstances force her to leave on an adventure. She’s deceived into thinking that her new companions are good guys, when they are actually bad guys in disguise. Only when she hits whatever arbitrary goal is placed in front of her will she be able to rise against the evil in front of her. But will it be too late?

Look, I know what it’s trying to be, and there’s nothing wrong with telling a classic story with a slight twist. That’s pretty much all art nowadays when you get right down to it; nearly every story is some adaptation of the tropes that got the genre to where it is today. But at the same time, you need that extra something else to make it stand out against the masses. Within the confines of the story itself, there really isn’t anything. Since they spoiled the idea that these “Red Hunters” were actually Werewolves in disguise at the end of the first issue, there was no real tension. I spent the entire issue waiting for her to realize it so something new could happen, but that didn’t happen until the very end.

That said, it’s not without a couple moments. Like I said before, the demon’s art design is absolutely incredible. The bright colours bring new life to monsters that usually take a very different form than I’ve usually seen for werewolves. The details in these designs are absolutely brilliant, and it’s probably the best selling feature the book has. Also, the ending is really well done, if very standard for this kind of story.

Do I recommend this book? Not really. The story is really unoriginal, and while the art has its bright moments, it also has its perplexing ones. I can’t recommend a middling book with above average art for $3.99, but I can also say that fans of these kinds of things shouldn’t be taken aback just because someone like me doesn’t understand what makes it so special. If you like it, I’m happy for you, but I think there are definitely better books out there for those searching for this kind of experience.

Chase Wassenar, aka MaristPlayBoy, is the Lead Editor and Founder of the Red Shirt Crew. He really appreciates the unintentional hilarity of the promo advertising the “hot new” Akaneiro: Demon Hunters video game off of which this is based, especially when the game received these reviews. You can read his other articles at ToyTMA, follow him on Twitter at @RedShirtCrew or email him at theredshirtcrew@gmail.com.

Review: Akaneiro #1

Akaneiro #1 (written by Justin Aclin, illustrated by Vasilis Lolos) is the first issue of a comic prequel to the video game Akaneiro: Demon Hunters, itself based on Red Riding Hood as interpreted by American McGee, best known for the video games Alice and Alice: Madness Returns. All of that adds up to a rather convoluted backstory if you decide to research the origins of this comic. Ultimately, this background would be much more helpful if I had any knowledge of the Alice games, but since I do not, I can only comment on the comic itself.

I was pulled in immediately by the cover. Though it’s very different in style, it’s not false advertising: the art inside is really good. I’m not sure what it is that I love about the art; the best I can tell is that I’m drawn to the style for reasons I can’t put my finger on. The one thing that I can say for sure that I love is the coloring, for which I should really give credit to Michael Atiyeh (colorists are very underappreciated in general). The pencils are so detailed that I get the feeling (though I’m not sure) they would be overwhelming alone. By going with bright colors, they bring out the detail instead of allowing it to become a distraction. It’s there if you’re looking for it, but had they gone with more subdued coloring, the same pencils would be muddled and distracting. It’s a choice that many others would be likely to go with, but they avoided that pitfall here to great success.

Getting to the writing, it starts off slow. The beginning is very heavy on unclear exposition. I might understand it better with more knowledge of Japanese mythology and tradition (or it could be fictional for all I know), but it’s still a failing of the book that its scene setting exposition is unclear. Knowing that it’s a prequel to the game, I might get more of that background there, but requiring outside knowledge to understand the story is a huge problem.

Once it gets going, the story really starts to pick up, and not understanding that exposition doesn’t matter. The tension goes way up and Kani (the protagonist) has some really great lines (at least one will go into my mental registry of awesome quotes), but this isn’t until about the 2/3 mark. Since this is in a single issue, this gives us barely enough time to get excited, and then the issue ends. It makes me want to read the next issue, but the little that is in this issue is underwhelming.

One more point about the writing, which is probably more a personal pet peeve, is the heavy reliance on narration. It isn’t “describe what we’re already looking at” bad, but there are long stretches where we’re given almost all of Kani’s thoughts in narration. Some of it is needed, but I would much prefer that most of it be done visually. The art is definitely up to the task, but the writing doesn’t let it, which frustrates me.

Would I recommend this book for the $3.99 cover price? I’m not really sure. If I did, it would be on the potential for the future more than what is in this issue. I don’t like to make that sort of recommendation, but what is here shows a lot of promise. I’m going to be more cautious and wait to see if the next issue really gets the story going before giving it a full recommendation.

Zac Kandell (known mostly on the internet as Mischlings) is caught off guard by a lack of video game knowledge interfering with reading a comic, but knows that he shouldn’t be. Follow him on Twitter at @Mischlings to read his other thoughts in bite-sized pieces when he actually has any worth sharing.