Seraphim: 2-oku 6661-man 3336 no Tsubasa
Seraphim: 266613336 Wings

Edit

What would you like to edit?

SynopsisBackgroundAlternative TitlesPictureChapters/VolumesPublishing DatesRelationsTypeExternal Links  

Seraphim is for a niche audience. If you are not a huge fan of Mamoru Oshii or Satoshi Kon, this manga is not for you. This is a short-lived collaboration between the two anime director from 1994-95, and because of Satoshi Kon's passing in 2010, it will remain unfinished indefinitely.

The work itself is politically dense. The characters travel across a quarantined China, searching for a cure to a deadly disease. It's unbearably information-heavy at the front of the book, but thankfully slows down towards to a simpler action-packed race against time towards the end. Unfortunately, it leaves the reader on an indefinite cliffhanger as ... soon as they become invested.

Again, one should only read this out of pure curiosity. It was a "lost" work for a decade and a half before being collected into a single volume. The end of Dark Horse's publication includes a thirty or so page essay about the history and analysis of the work, although at the time of this review, I have only skimmed through it.










(I think it is hilariously fitting to end this review without a strong closing, just as the manga.)

This manga has the makings of a masterpiece, it's just a shame that it's (now and forever) unfinished. The story is gripping and exciting, the art is beautiful, and the world building is fascinating - all the ingredients necessary to leave a reader wanting more!

Unfortunately, we're left with half (a quarter? an eighth?) of a story, as Seraphim was abandoned over 20 years ago and one of its creators has since passed away. Still, it is most definitely worth picking up, especially for fans of Mamoru Ishii and Satoshi Kon, or those interested in abandoned art with an interesting history behind it (which is covered ... in depth in the English language edition's afterword).