Books: Andromeda Stories Graphic Novel 3

Back when I read the first volume of Andromeda Stories I noted that any series that begins with the creation of the universe probably has no small amount of ambition in mind. The second volumefollowed suit and raised the bar even further. And now that I can see them in context, all three volumes of Andromeda Stories have not just been shooting for the moon or the stars but for the next couple of galaxies over. Anyone who’s into epic manga storytelling — and I do meanepic — needs to pick this series up from the beginning; they won’t be let down. If anything, they’ll be left wondering why most other manga never aim this high.

The first two volumes introduced us to a world being overrun by the Enemy, a machine civilization that assimilates all who come under its domain. Against them stand a few pockets of human resistance, including the two heirs to a kingdom long since subsumed by the machines: Prince Jimsa, and his twin Affle. The two were raised without knowledge of the other in radically different circumstances, but have now at last been brought together by chance. Jimsa feels strangely drawn to Affle without quite realizing why, but his twin doesn’t return the sentiment — not until they realize they’re empathically connected. What one feels, so does the other.

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