Prime Rose

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In the 1980s, there was a real craze for the sword and sorcery genre, especially at the audiovisual cinematic level. The works of Robert E. Howard, Clark Ashton Smith or Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter were a source of inspiration for hundreds of works that captured worlds of kitsch fantasy; the lower the budget, the more embarrassing the result. Examples of this amazing homage to pulp and Weird Tales were the well-known Conan movies starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, the animated feature films Heavy Metal by Gerald Potterton (1981) and Fire and Ice (1983) by Ralph Bakshi, Roy Thomas and Frank Frazetta. Some of them dared to ... cross the border of fantasy to venture into the territory of science fiction (science fantasy), and this is where we can place Tezuka's Prime Rose.

Although Tezuka knew how to immerse himself in the trends of the moment and explore them with ease, he did whatever he pleased, mixing various different influences and creating his own original world. It is also very evident that Tezuka was familiar with Marvel's Conan the Barbarian comics from the 1970s, at the same time when Red Sonja began to have her own series. There we have our protagonist, the classic bikini-clad warrior handing out steel to whoever approached her: Princess Emiya Tachi nicknamed Prime Rose.

Prime Rose is much more than a hybrid of science fiction and fantasy: it is Tezuka. Although it contains all the ingredients that are usually found in this kind of genres, in the hands of Tezuka it achieves different heights than expected. Tezuka certainly knew how to soak up Western culture well; however he could not help but be a very Japanese genius. But all of this is merely a façade because inside Prime Rose beats the hearts of Shin'ichi Hoshi, Unno Juza and even Tezuka himself, who was no slouch when it came to writing sci-fi and fantasy.

As the author himself indicates in the epilogue at the end of each volume. Prime Rose was always planned as an atypical story, and he did not intend to pay attention to the science fiction elements, but rather give himself some creative freedom, allowing the narrative to flow and grow; so that by the end this manga becomes "a unique kind of story". The Prime Rose manga was published between July 1982 and June 1983 in Weekly Shounen Champion, and had its anime adaptation in August 1983 as Time Slip Ichimannen: Prime Rose. The movie contains some differences from the manga. Tezuka introduced certain changes in the anime which he felt were more fitting and appropriate for the film format.

Groman and Kukrit are two nations at war separated by the ocean. To maintain peace, the royal houses of each nation exchange their third prince and third princess. However, it is in vain, since the Gromans end up colonizing the Kukrit people. The occupation is almost total, with the Kukrits receiving similar education to the Gromans and harsh social oppression that the privileged classes of Kukrit notice very little. Our Heroine Emiya Tachi is a Kukrit noblewoman who unbeknownst to her is the Kukrit princess and the rightful heir to the Kukrit throne. She has been raised in a privileged environment with a Kukrit noble family. But she is a rebel, she does not like the status quo nor does she wish to become the wife of the Groman monarch, his Royal Highness Pilar. She is not a very good student, but she likes sword fighting and trains fervently. It just so happens that one day she entered sword fighting competition against the will of her adoptive parents and she ended up losing to a Groman noblewoman. From then on, her life took a different turn. Growing up and maturing from a spoiled rich girl with an unbearable personality, raised in opulence with a lavish adolescence to a courageous and brave young woman as she discovers the brutal and unforgiving reality of the country she lives in.

Her mood does not improve much, throughout most of the manga she remains the archetype of a stubborn and childish girl, although what at first appear to be flaws become virtues as her circumstances change. And boy do they change! In Prime Rose, we will encounter very different types of settings, ranging from nineteenth-century palaces and their intrigues, futuristic hyper-technified cities, time machines traversing singularities, desolate wastelands inhabited by monstrous creatures or prisons as extermination camps. They are only a reflection of the development of the narrative itself. Of course, we will find the traditional "hero's journey", but with some variations that will make the story of this manga what it was promised: a unique distinctive work.

Prime Rose is a very complex and profound story, in which Emiya, changes and develops as different characters come into the scene and take over the narrative with their own experiences and stories to enrich the world building this manga. These figures come and go, as do their plots, which are almost always brought up again to offer twists and turns that will not cease to amaze until the very end. To achieve this, Tezuka resorts to his brilliant talent in dynamic panels and fast-moving vignettes. This manga reads very easily thanks to its admirable pacing, it is very enjoyable and varied and it is impossible to get bored. Not only that, but the author took special care to capture the social dilemmas and philosophical concerns which he encountered throughout his career, there is more than enough action and emotion in the adventures of Prime Rose.

To recap: we have romance (a rather unrequited love triangle), adventure, fantasy, action, sci-fi and... DRAMA. Lots of drama. The dramatic tension coupled with moments of gratuitous violence is incredibly exhilarating; but Tezuka, the genius that he was, knew how to balance the more serious moments with some interspersed lighthearted moments, giving him the freedom to explore his distinctive sense of humor. In fact, the humor is often quite erotic which heavily contrasts with the bloody scenes, making Prime Rose a huge roller coaster of emotions in its 882 pages.

Overall, Prime Rose is a rather harmonious work given its scope, both narratively and visually, where Tezuka's deceptively simple art is one of its best aspects. However it should be noted given its influences (Conan and Red Sonja) and the decade it was released in (early 80’s) the female characters are incredibly hypersexualized so it might not be everyone’s taste, since it is very much a product of its time. Nevertheless, these superfluous details do not undermine its high quality and brilliance. It may not be Tezuka's best manga, but it’s not too far off.