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Reviewed by Michael Deeley ‘Captain Nemo’ takes place in an alternate history where Napoleon won the battle of Waterloo and founded a new French Empire. Now it’s 1893, and Napoleon IV demands the capture of that infamous pirate Captain Nemo. But few know the current Nemo is the young son of his famous father. Nemo defeats the latest ship sent to capture him. During the fight, he rescues Ms. Camille Pierpont, daughter of the Duke onboard. Pierpont becomes Nemo’s permanent “guest”. She soon learns there’s more to the pirate than simple robbery. And life with him promises more adventure and excitement than she’s ever known. You’ll notice there’s no credit for a translator up there. That’s because ‘Nemo’ is written by an American. DeAngelis has translated other manga into English and is now creating one of his own. Actually, “created” should be in quotes. We’ve got plenty of stock manga/anime characters straight from an Akihabara fanzine. There’s the young rebel with a tough exterior and soft heart; sassy princess who’s as good as getting into trouble as getting out of it; boy genius for a ship’s engineer; mysterious woman with a dark past, (she’s Jack the Ripper’s daughter!); and an evil despot. ‘Nemo’ feels very familiar despite being brand-new. This carries over into the art. It’s not bad, but it’s not distinctive either. It’s a common myth that all manga looks alike. But you can tell Buronson’s ‘Fist of the North Star’ from Kojima’s ‘Samurai Executioner’. The cartooning in ‘Dragonball’ isn’t the cartooning in ‘Kekoro’ or ‘Dr. Slump’. And ‘Saiyuki’ can never be confused with ‘Battle Royale’. Viray’s characters have the long bodies and big heads of recent Gundam series. Many of these characters could fit right into “Neon Genesis” with a simple change of clothes. The technology and costumes look good; you can tell a lot of time and research went into them. But even the sea monster attack looked cliché. In the end, ‘Captain Nemo’ is amusing, but familiar. Serious manga readers might want to look elsewhere. There’s potential for the series to develop a voice and look on its own. And an adventure based on historical fiction can be very entertaining. But right now, the series is off to an unremarkable start. Interested in writing for MangaLife? We're always looking for talented reviewers and columnists, so drop us a line! Charles Webb Editor-in-Chief, MangaLife.com |
1 September 2010
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