Drifters Volume 1

Drifters

by Kohta Hirano

First he pitted the Catholic church against vampires, Nazis and Great Britain, bathing London in a flood of blood. But Hellsing creator Kohta Hirano still had something crazy up his sleeve when he created his new series, Drifters. Imagine a world of magic, full of elves and hobbits and dragons and orcs. Inside this world of magic and wonder there is a great war being waged, using warriors from human history as chess pieces in a bloody, endless battle. Hirano's new concept gathers famous warriors throughout history and puts them on both sides of good and evil - and then turns them loose in a bloody melee of madness!

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Comics, Graphic Novels, Seinen, Historical, Fiction

216 pages, Paperback

First published July 7, 2010

About the author

Kohta Hirano (平野 耕太 Hirano Kōta) is a Japanese mangaka most famous for his manga Hellsing. Starting his career first as a mangaka's assistant (self-described as "horrible" and "lazy" in said assistant position), and later an H manga artist, he went on to enjoy somewhat limited success with other relatively unknown manga titles such as Angel Dust, Coyote, Gun Mania and Hi-Tension. His first major success came with his manga series Hellsing, which got its start and was subsequently serialized in a monthly manga magazine, Young King OURs, towards the latter half of 1997.

Reviews

[Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best things I can say about this are the same things I loved from his other series. Hellsing was a glorious monster of a manga, and his art is really something beautiful and grotesque. This carries over nicely into Drifters, too, but whereas I wanted the same mystery and the fantastic over the top reveals associated with some pretty awesome storytelling, we get a real mess of over the top uberviolence permeating a glancing blow of a premise.

Don't get me wrong, the premise might turn out to be something pretty cool if it gets more time than the piss jokes or the language elitism, but it isn't there yet.

The art... is amazing. Everything pops like blood engorged candy in my mouth. The mix of all these historical figures thrown into a land of elves and dragons and magic is too much to take in to care. There's just too little time or development, and where there could be substance, there was instead crude humor.

Believe it or not, I'm still okay with that, because, holy crap, did that WWII pilot just blow the crap out of a fire breathing dragon? Yup. And the art tells a wonderful story of madness and bloodlust that hasn't quite topped Hellsing, but it comes close, and if the story picks up, I'm definitely in this for the long haul.

Fan status will buy this a lot of grace. I hope I'm not disappointed in the end.

[Tilly · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars - Solid start in the series but I hope for more story in the following volumes

[shea · Rating 4 out of 5]

historical figures play a gore version of capture the flag (or in this case, capture all of middle earth)

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Obwohl der Zeichenstil nicht ganz meins ist, hat es mir doch ganz gut gefallen.

[Tesutamento · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hirano'nun akla gelen ilk eseri olmasa da malum seriden sonra neler yaptığını merak ettiğim için okumuş bulundum ve henüz net bir yanıt bulamadım. Güzel başlayıp kötü sonlanan bir ilk cilt oldu.

Tarihten önemli figürlerin kendilerini bir çeşit savaş dünyasında bulduğu ve iki cepheye ayrılıp birbirleriyle savaştığı bir hikaye olarak karşımıza çıkıyor. Konsept benzerliğinden dolayı Marvel'ın ilk Secret Wars'ına benzettim. Tabii orada iyiler kötülere karşıydı. Burada biraz daha karışık. Bu savaş dünyasında tarihsel figürlerin yanı sıra fantezi hikayelerinden herkesin bildiği elfler, cüceler vs de mevcut.

Hikaye başta yavaş ve derli toplu bir haldeyken biz de kapaktaki karakterler beraber dünyayı yaşayıp öğreniyorduk. Kitabın ikinci yarısından sonra ise kontrolsüz bir tempo yükselişi yaşandı ve neler olduğunu takip edemez oldum. Yeni karakterler çıkıyor, birilerini biçiyorlar sonra başkaları geliyor benzer şeyler yapıyor derken sonlarda iyice koptum. Kimin kim olduğunu ve neyi ne için yaptığını anladığımda fena olmayacak gibi gözüküyor fakat bunun için devamını okuyacak isteği bulabilir miyim bilmiyorum.

[Mitsuki Kikuchi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a fun of Kota Hirano and I read "Hellsing". I think if you are good at history (particularly Japanese history), you would like this manga. This first volume doesn't explain the background in detailed and you will know only the three main characters come to the another world from Japanese Sengoku era. One of the three characters, Nobunaga is my most favorite character because I think he includes some attractive things of Hirano's character. He is often joking, but sometime you can look his essence as a Sengoku warrior. Also the other characters have a gag side and a
historical side. I think this manga becomes a good book for readers who have knowledge about history and could adapt hirano's characteristic. Of course, this is so strange manga for an ordinary person expect the readers.

[pareidolia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just watched the anime, which was surprisingly boring and wordy for an action-focused story. But I liked the trio of Nobunaga, Toyohisa and Yoishi, famous samurai from different periods, and the premise - historical figures being transported to a Tolkien-inspired fantasy world - is not entirely original, but interesting enough. Also, the antagonist could or could not be Jesus. (Most fun thing about Drifters is actually reading people arguing online if the Black King is Jesus or Moses). The pacing works a lot better on page than it did on screen and Hirano's artwork is brilliant as usual. Not as grotesque as in Hellsing, but still unmistakably Hirano.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

A interesting concept, part battle royale part historical fiction. like drafting all stars of history to fight your fantasy war for you. But it also kinda reads very "All we have is hype moments and aura" so far. I know Hellsing got by a lot on the "Rule of Cool", but I'm hoping there's a little more to this going forward. always have loved Hirano's art style and inking.
also wild to see the Xtra pages have the being that looks like death say "kingdom of tits". Wild indeed.

[Raven Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've waited years for the second season to come out! And it didn't! One of my favorite animes and the manga is just as epic!

[Иван Величков · Rating 4 out of 5]

Мангаката на „Хелзинг“ Хирано Кота прави зверска заявка с началото на този проект в стил алтернативна история, примесена с високо фентъзи - Drifters (което бих превел Бродяги, пък ако ще да се разчуе).

Стилът му на рисуване е доста по-изчистен в сравнение с култовото му предишно заглавие, но е запазил умишлената шеговита „немарливост“ към второстепенните детайли, както и психопатските искрици в погледа на главния герой. Тоновете мазилаж в битките и историческите личности омесени в сюжета, отново са на лице.
Вместо да загине в битката при Сакагахара, защитавайки отстъплението на чичо си - Демона на Шимазу – Тойохиса минава през портал и попада в странен толкинов свят, където е спасен от елфи селяни. Там се среша с уж загиналия преди 18 години Нобунага Ода, както и със стрелеца Насу но Йоичи, живял 400 години по-рано в края на периода Хейян. Тримата не знаят как и защо са събрани в този нов свят, но когато селото до тях е нападнато, Шимазу се хвърля да помага на спасителите си. След успешната битка тримата самураи започват да правят, това което могат най-добре – да завладяват земя, надъхвайки смазаните под човешкия ботуш елфи за саморазправа.
На друго място Сципон Африкански и Ханибал Барка бранят губещ обсаден от орки, и нещо като назгули яздещи дракони, град. Оказва се, че във фентъзийния свят има много други Бродяги, които са на различни страни в разкъсващите го конфликти, както и фракция магьосници, които искат да си изчистят земята от земната измет.
Жана д'Арк, Буч Касиди и Сънданс Кид, Анастрасия Романова, Минамато но Йошитцуне(от същият период като Насу), Кано Наоши (пилот от втората световна война), Распутин и други, които не можах да разпозная се включват в безумни битки. Картечница „Гатлинг“ разбива орда орки, самолет Накаджима във въздушен бой с дракон, самураи сечащи глави, пълчища орки, помитащи елински фаланги...
Първият том е объркваща лудница, заливаща читателя с тонове герои, информация и мистерии. Дано успее да задържи темпото.

[osoi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Дрифтеры при первом знакомстве сразу были отнесены к категории “хэээ? я такое не смотрю”. Потому что! Самураи (к которым я до этой знаменательной встречи дышала абсолютно ровно), исторические личности (про которых я знаю две строки википедии, а зачастую и того нет), средневековый сеттинг с множеством воюющих фракций (аргх, а еще и эльфов подвезли), и вишенкой на торте - кукловоды с неясными мотивами.

Но тут же яростное лингвистическое непонимание между местными эльфами и свалившимся неизвестно откуда самураями заставило меня хихикать до неприличия громко. Наверное, меня как потомственного “грамор нации” тайно восхищает способность других коверкать язык :D

Честно скажу - обожаю этих ребят. Тут столько абсолютно прозрачного (грубого) юмора и сопутствующих кривых рож, что умиление пробивает уже на первых главах. Самурайский броманс :D Безбашенные персонажи, которым наплевать на спасение мира. Никаких сюси-пуси про чувства и неразделенную любовь! Только хардкор (читай: грязь да кровища, и вдогонку отрубленные бошки). А еще я.. узнала столько всего нового в процессе :D (После старательного штудирования вики-справочника) на моменте, где Тоёхиса задумчиво признается, что сначала принял Ёичи за Мори Ранмару, меня сложило пополам и я только что не хрюкала. Это прекрасно. Дай мне сил дочитать это до конца :D

lukk.svbtle

[Nick F · Rating 4 out of 5]

Follows the many historical figures who get transported to a place where now have to live with other people from history as well as the natives. The natives are all sorts of creatures from fantasy such as dwarves and elves etc. the first bit of this manga focuses on Shimazu Toyohisa a samurai from the late 1500s. Toyohisa nearly dies in a fight when he suddenly gets transported to a long corridor. In this corridor he gets pushed into a door and appears in this world. This manga takes place in a fantasy world. During this time other people form history show up such as Oda Nobunaga a warlord that lived in Japan during the mid to late 1500s. However the characters are not limited to Japan a Carthaginian general shows up by the name of Hannibal Barca. I really enjoyed this manga and would recommend people read it.

[Matthew Rabon · Rating 3 out of 5]

7/10, rounded down. A fun, action-packed read. I love the art and the concept, and the characters are all very fun as well. However, the way it's written can be very confusing at times. I don't know if it's a bad translation, but I found myself kind of lost in the 2nd half of the volume, being unsure what was going on for multiple pages at a time. The dialogue can also be pretty stilted at times, which is why I think it could be a translation issue. Regardless, I like it enough to read more and will likely check out volume 2 given the opportunity.

[Karina Catellan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Como faz uns anos que vi o anime, não lembrava de alguns detalhes, só da história em geral.
A parte dos Ends fica mais fácil de entender no mangá do que no anime.
Toyohisa é demais em qualquer lugar <3

[Anirudh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know to describe this Manga but it's terribly entertaining!

[Sarah Maddaford · Rating 3 out of 5]

It only gets three stars because it was confusing. It is hard to tell who is on what side and which characters the reader should be rooting for. Even with an anti-hero, the reader is given obvious clues as to their identity. Yet, the "drifter" to whom we are introduced isn't really redeemable in any sense of the term I can think of and his two allies aren't really either. For another thing, these characters are supposed to be famous historical figures I recognize Oda Nobunaga, from the Sengoku era (a particularly bloody part of Japanese history. Are we supposed to recognize Nasu Suketaka Yoichi (who after looking it up is apparently Nasu no Yoichi a MAN) or Shimazu Toyohisa (an apparently random samurai)? And Joan of Arc is on the opposite side (which may be the evil side) as well as Anastasia? Why are all the girls evil (if the Ends are actually evil which they seem to be)?

I'm not sure whether to identify this as strictly adult or to say that the parents at my library would be comfortable with their teens reading it. It is definitely violent and bloody. The battles don't seem to have much sense to them yet either which is another dimension towards a parental objection. The fact that there is a man who looks so much like a girl that it was practically impossible to tell without looking him up might disturb parents especially after he is revealed to be a guy. I'm not sure if the English version cut this out or if the Wikipedia page was discussing future chapters, but there is also a homosexual cross-dresser on Hitler's side in building an Empire, which could be objectionable cubed (I think it would be rather interesting to see the reasoning behind that one). I don't really remember any cursing (maybe some talk of going to Hell or the Underworld), but the talk of wanting someone's head in battle was rather disturbing as well as the bonus chapter about Joan of Arc's lack of boobs and Anastasia's name.

[Gus · Rating 3 out of 5]

--- Drifters 1-? ---
Plot: Cepat dan seru, selipan humornya juga sangat membantu mencairkan suasana.
Gambar: Rapih dan mengerikan (penuh dengan potong-potongan (haha)).
Penokohan: Buang ekspektasi tokoh dunia nyata. Semua di komik ini berbeda.

Baru saja ingin kembali mengejar nyawa kapten lawannya, tokoh utama kita yang sekarat tiba-tiba ditarik ke sebuah dunia lain. Diapun harus menerima banyak fakta mencegangkan dan bertemu dengan tokoh-tokoh yang tidak disangkanya. Serasa tidak cukup memusingkan, ada juga peperangan lain yang terpercik di dunia baru ini!

Parade tokoh dunia.


Entah kenapa kata-kata itu melekat dan rasanya cocok menjadi kalimat promosional untuk Drifters (haha). Meski belum sebanyak-- sampai bisa disebut parade, tapi tokoh-tokoh yang ditampilkan memang lumayan dan semuanya membuat saya kaget. Lebih kaget lagi karena kubunya terasa... terbalik. Atau mungkin memang dunia merekalah yang melihat dari sudut pandang terbalik, jadi...



Yah, saya akan menyimpan teoriku untuk sekarang.
Saya menantikan kelanjutannya yang semoga saja makin keren^^. Ah, mengenai plot komik ini... saya benar-benar menikmati beberapa yang lucu, dan takut pada beberapa yang terlalu... realistis dan mengerikan. Sedikit hal yang saya herankan, temanku yang biasanya memiliki kesukaan yang sama denganku tidak begitu menikmati komik ini. Heran, padahal dia jadi menggebu-gebu karena saya menceritakannya soal komik ini. Tapi saat dia baca, dia bilang tidak sebagus ceritaku. Padahal saya yakin menceritakannya dengan baik dan benar kok^^ (mungkin bisa terjadi pada kalian juga).
[8.1/10]

[Chelsea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a big fan of Hirano's Hellsing series, so another manga that promised to pull in even more famous historical figures sounded intriguing. The first volume of Drifters has a little too much going on to make it completely successful as an introduction, but I'm hoping the pacing will slow down a little so readers can get a chance to really untangle the mythology. And it's a great one--Earth's most famous warriors are mysteriously pulled into an alternate dimension populated by magical creatures, a world that seems to be controlled by an organization ready to correct any problems that are sure to incur during culture clashes. There are complicated politics at work here that are only hinted at (so I guess Anastasia and Joan of Arc are bad guys? and what does that make our three protagonists?), which I really hope are laid out more clearly as the series goes on. But this series has that same blend of humor, violence, and unapologetically vicious characters that made Hellsing so great.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kohta Hirano did Hellsing one of my manga guilty pleasures. The first volume of Drifters shows promise. Just before his death in battle in 1600 Shimazu Toyohisa is snatched away to a different reality where warriors from various historical eras are pawns in a war. At this stage it is not apparent if either side is better than the other, or even what the war's ultimate goal is. We spend most of this volume in exposition dumps and battles.

Among the historical personages we meet are Nobunaga Oda, Joan of Arc, and Hannibal.

My criticism of Hirano though is the same as in Hellsing. His (or his studio's) art style makes it difficult to sometimes figure out who is who.

[Maija · Rating 1 out of 5]

Meeeeeh. Should perhaps know who Oda saki no ufu Nobunaga or Nasu Suketaka Yoichi etc are. But apart from that, this is pretty generic "gritty action" while also being confusing.

Usually I give 2 stars to "meh" and 1 star to actively disliked books, but in this case I was so far off the target market that I couldn't form any kind of connection with any part of what I was reading.

Hirano's horse drawing game isn't strong, it makes me smile. I hope he doesn't need to draw many of them in future volumes... Not that I'll pick them up, though.

[Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Drifters has a lot of potential. I'm mostly in it for the art. The driving idea is interesting enough. Historical figures of note, particularly martial ones, are dropped into a fantasy world where they go at it. The manga is very gung ho! Not for all, but it feels fresh and opened up strongly. Wouldn't mind stumbling upon volume 2.

[নাজমুল হাসান · Rating 3 out of 5]

The setting is promising and interesting. But so far, can't make much of the storyline. Even though its a fantasy , bringing all those historical figures and throwing them in a battle royale seems a bit of a stretch. Lets just see how this goes on , in the next volumes.

[Karissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Series Info/Source: This is the first volume in the Drifters series. I bought this book.

Story (3/5): The concept here is an interesting one, if not fully fleshed out in this volume. Basically, heroes from human history are thrown into this one fantasy world where they become Drifters. The Drifters fight in a giant battle with a number of magical creatures. It is a cool idea but completely confusing in how it is presented.

Characters (3/5): At first it looks like we are going to get a solid group of characters to interact with but then more and more and more characters are rapidly thrown at the reader. By the end of it all I had no idea who was who or what they were doing or where they were from. It started out with some pretty kick-butt characters but dissolved into complete chaos.

Setting (3/5): Again, this was a neat idea but ended up confusing. This seems to be set on a fantasy world that warrior humans are teleported to. It started out pretty engaging but then dissolved into a mess.

Writing/Drawing Style (3/5): This is all drawn in Hirano’s trademark illustration style (It’s overly characterized and bloody.) which I love. There are lots of pages of battles which were a bit hard to follow because of all the characters thrown in and all the scene changes. I feel like Hirano tried to do too much too fast and kind of lost everything on the way there.

My Summary (3/5): Overall I loved Hellsing and wanted to love this as well but it was just too chaotic and messy. By the end I wasn’t even sure what was happening here or who the main characters were. Ugh, this is a series I am setting aside because it is just so poorly done and I am soooo disappointed. I hope for the sake of fans who continue to read this that future volumes are better.

[John Blacksad · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 yıldız.

Ülkedeki manga yayıncılığının lise kantininizdeki tostlarla ortak noktasını görmek istiyorsanız bu cildi alın! Şömizin kıvamı kantin tostu kaşarıyla yarışıyor :)

Kitap, Anadolu Türk birliğinin pardon Japonya japon birliğinin tesisinde önemli bir muharebe olan Sekigahara ile başlıyor :) Baş karakterimiz bir çeşit boyut değiştiriyor ve kendisi gibi boyut değiştirenlerin/drifters’ın olduğu bir çeşit orta dünya benzeri dünyaya geçiyor. Orada da dünyamızda, tarihte gerçekten var olmuş kişiler üzerinden bir kurgu var. Burada bir parça Sümeyye Kesgin’in ilk fasiküllerini okuduğum “Elsewhere” işi aklıma geliyor.

Gerçek tarihi karakterlere adapte olmak için biraz tarih ve özellikle japon tarihi bilgisi şart. Çizimler bir mangaya göre çok iyi. Aksiyon sahneleri, çizimler gayet doyurucu. Fikir bir yandan hoşuma gidiyor ama bir yandan da cildin sonlarına doğru ilgimi kaybetmeye başlıyorum. Bunda biraz arka planın henüz çok flu olmasının, az şey bilmemizin de etkisi var. Hele yine sonlara doğru hem olaylar hızlanıyor hem üzerimize karakterler adeta boca ediliyor ki bu sindirememe halini sevmiyorum. Allahtan iki cilt beraber piyasaya çıktılar. Tamam mı devam mı, ivme yukarı mı aşağı mı ikinci ciltle karar vermek daha doğru olabilir. Şu haliyle net bir “must read” değil ama ortalama üstü. Bakalım.

[Erika · Rating 3 out of 5]

1-4巻をいっぺんに読んだ感想：3.5
友人が話題にしてた(それまで存在も全く知らず、なんとなく昔の漫画かと思ってた)
+関ヶ原の戦いあたりが舞台の、日本版「キングダム」かなと思ってた
ので、「歴史上の有名人物達が死に際に次々と異世界に取り込まれて、ファンタジー世界で戦う物語」と知って物凄く驚くと同時にそのファンタジー要素にワクワクしながら読み進めた。

織田信長や那須与一、土方歳三やハンニバル、そしてラスプーチンとアナスタシアやジャンヌダルク���と次々と見覚えのあるキャラ達が登場するも、その登場には無理矢理感がなく、「この世界は煉獄なのかな」と思わせる感じが面白い。
勿論、日本の漫画家が書いてるからか、主人公島津豊久以外にもWW２のパイロットや山口多聞などと、日本の歴史人物が多め。ついつい翻訳家の目で見てしまうと、どこまで歴史の知識が無くて行けるかな、という感じ。
（新選組の話とかも...まぁ、日本史が苦手であまり覚えてない私レベルでもわかる人々なので、平気か）

また、ヒトラーの悪行じゃない側面(政治的求心力の高め方等)がこの世界のオルタ帝国建国の大きな要となっていて、欧米の漫画だったらヒトラー＝完全悪と簡単に片づけられそうな設定も、ある意味日本だから可能な描写なんだろうなと思った。

一巻最後(11話)でやっと、「漂流者」と「廃棄物」の対立に人間界の人々が巻き込まれてるっぽい事が分かるくらい、物語はカオススタートで、いつまでたってもイマイチわからないまま物語が進むが、それも楽しい。
(織田信長が猪突猛進の島津豊久に多少振り回されつつも、戦国武将として、そして年上として汚れ仕事は自分がやろうとしているシーンもたまにあって、それも良い。)

絵は「キングダム」的に暑苦しいし、ギャグシーンは「進撃の巨人」並みに唐突。けれど、それも慣れてくれば特に気にせず楽しめるようになった。

が、「オカマキャラ」や「オッバイ/貧乳ネタ」が物凄く古臭く感じる(というか、あぁ、男性作家なんだろうなとゲンナリする)ので、☆４つには届かず。

[Julia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I made this attempt at manga because I'm all for exploring all styles and types of literature.
However I just figure that this is entirely not my scene. Apparently straightforward coarse language does not appeal to me, though I need to give all possible credit for the artwork which I really appreciate.
I don't think it's particularly fair to give this manga the lowest rating just becasue it's manga - you don't judge a book by it's cover and neither by sole genre. Definitely people who are really into manga or like it in general, are the ones suited to assess this particular volume, not me. Still I did not like it and that remains my opinion.

[Johnathon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb first issue that introduces the world of 'drifters', famous warriors of the past who now find themselves in a fantasy world where they are pitted against each other. Hirano crafts a cool universe that is pretty accurate to the actual historical figures (Odo Nobonaga is an instant scene stealer), while making a cool mystery about why they are all put together. HIs art is equally equally, with a nice mix of humor and breakneck action. Great introductory volume to this exciting new series.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

The next manga from the creator of Hellsing. There's not many details on what is actually happening in this first volume. A warrior from feudal Japan somehow gets transported to a fantasy realm, where you fight either on the side of Drifters or Ends. It's a decent setup. We'll see where this heads.

[Tanjirul Islam · Rating 5 out of 5]

One hell of a charecter that Shimazu Toyohisa. Oda Nabunaga as well as brilliant strategiest. This kind of brilliant storyline are very much common in manga world, but the storytelling was great. Just great. Hell of a series i encoutered recently. If you like fantasy, war, strategy, actions and emotions, you must dig in. Strong recommendation from me.

[Glauconar Yue · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not a trace of the rich characters, the witty dialogue, well paced action and weird fantasy of Hellsing. Drifters manages to be clunky and plain at the same time. Meanigful quote from chapter 11: "I have no idea what's going on, but I'll shoot you all, goddamit!"