I think it's hard for any artist to cram a solid plot and good art into several volumes of manga, let alone one. Averaging around 200 pages per volume, manga usually requires 10+ volumes to get the reader really involved and get to the point of the story. Blue Destiny has done this in a single volume. I felt a certain connection to the characters through the rivalry between the main protagonist, Yu, and another protagonist character, his teammate Philip. The more or less unspoken (and only briefly touched-upon) history between Yu and the Odessa Eagle was interesting because I was forced to take that story into my own hands and make what I could out of the images and text provided. Finally, the relationship explored between Yu and the blue mobile suit was very interesting, to say the least. Although this manga is essentially a tiny side adventure in the Universal Century, there was a little bit of everything within it that Gundam fans have come to know and love from the more fleshed out side story arcs like 0080 and 0083; politics, Zeon rebellion, top-secret projects, crazy scientists, and intense "real robot" fight scenes.
The artwork of this manga is very talented, and tells the most amount of story in the least number of frames, adding real meaning to each scene. Ms. Takayama is a talented artist, indeed.
My only complaint (and the only reason for my 4 out of 5 stars) is that the characters, while identifiable to all, could have been a bit more personal and believable if this manga was a bit longer. However, being a side story and being published over ten years ago, I suspect that we cannot hope for a second volume to do that for us. At 220 pages, this was a short read, but solid nonetheless.
The artwork of this manga is very talented, and tells the most amount of story in the least number of frames, adding real meaning to each scene. Ms. Takayama is a talented artist, indeed.
My only complaint (and the only reason for my 4 out of 5 stars) is that the characters, while identifiable to all, could have been a bit more personal and believable if this manga was a bit longer. However, being a side story and being published over ten years ago, I suspect that we cannot hope for a second volume to do that for us. At 220 pages, this was a short read, but solid nonetheless.
