Introduction
The Rift is a manga comic which blends elements from high fantasy with good ol'
fashioned sci-fi bounty hunting, and features a large cast of wildly different
characters. The main characters are primarily Niko Masamune, Iriana Tarea, and
Tzen, although there's many others as well. Iriana, the most grounded of the
characters, is telepathic, and has a prosthetic leg. Tzen, a character with stripes
covering his face and body, is a silent intellectual who also, on occasion,
becomes a more violent, less intelligent creature. The final character, Niko,
carries a seal on her forehead that keeps out a dark goddess of chaos. This seal
also keeps her alive, resurrecting her. As of this review, the comic is entering
its 4th chapter, and has accumulated over over 200 pages.
The Positive Aspects
Hands down, the charm of this comic lies in its art. Kytri demonstrates a wonderful
ability to draw dramatic poses. She also manages to keep the scenes interesting
without using any color at all. While there are times in the early issues where the
computer-added bubbles detract from the hand-drawn art, for the vast majority of
the comic, it all just works together. The style is also really impressive. For example,
the
starship our heroes pilot is a marvelous throwback to classic rocket ships, complete with
fins and
an obvious port for the engine to blast from. The characters draw heavily from
classic manga and anime, with such juicy bits as a cat-girl, a giant sword, and, of
course, a dangerous evil goddess who is trapped in a magical forehead seal
(actually, that manages to be both typical of mainstream manga and also
distinctive in its own right). It's all handled very well. Another thing that Kytri
demonstrates a profound knowledge in is handling the flow of text. In 200 pages,
there are only a few moments where one could possibly get confused by the dialogue.
The text-bubbles naturally progress from one to the next, and the feel
is very professional. The characters are each given a lot of depth, and there's
clearly a lot which has not been explained yet. This is welcome in a longer comic,
as having too much given away too soon can leave far too little upon which to
expand. The plots are rich, and the villains are complex. The story stays pretty
serious, but Kytri still slips in tasty bits of humor along the way. As the comic
progresses, and Kytri grows more comfortable with story-telling, the plots get
richer and progressively more complex.
The Criticisms
Unfortunately, the complexity of the comic has its drawbacks. There's something
like 10 characters involved in the story, not including the villains. Each one seems
to be rich with history, which means that there's a lot that is getting left out. A
character bio page would help this tremendously, allowing for each of the
characters to have a short summary detailing exactly who they are, and why they
matter. There are also times when the storyline seems too complex for the
medium. Far too many bits of background get thrown out and then abandoned,
and it's often difficult to see which comments are there merely for the sake of setting
and
which need to be remembered for later plot points. A tighter focus on the matters
at hand would help this, as would revisiting things said in previous issues to
explain them more strongly. The last bit is that the comic is still relying on the
standard default template. While this would be perfectly adequate, the fact that the
comic is over 200 pages long almost begs for something more customized. The
site really should have more outside content to help bring the reader into the world
of The Rift. Also, at some point, reintroducing each character would give newer
readers a way to get into it all.
The Conclusion
As manga comics go, this one is solid in art and depth. For the casual reader,
however, the complexity of the story and characters might be a serious deterrent.
If you have a few hours to invest in reading, and you are the type who loves details,
this comic might just be the one you're looking for.
(You can read The Rift at http://rift.smackjeeves.com)
- Joe
