Issak Vol. 1

イサック [Issak] #1

by Shinji Makari, DOUBLE–S (Artist)

Anno Domini 1620. Europe is riven with the conflagrations that will grow into the Thirty Years War. Catholic and Protestant forces clash across battlefields ruled by sword and gunpowder alike, and mercenaries of every stripe ply their trade. Among them is Issak, a lone Japanese warrior bearing a matchlock of strange design, and fighting in service to his sworn mission-to find and kill the man who murdered his master and fled Japan for the other side of the world.  

Meticulously researched and gorgeously illustrated, Issak is the next character-driven, historical action epic that fans of Vinland Saga can sink their teeth into.

Genres: Manga, Comics, Historical Fiction, War, Comic Book, Graphic Novels

220 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 21, 2017

About the author

Also known as 真刈信二 in Japanese.

Reviews

[John Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

A manga set during the 30 Years war and I really enjoyed it. The art work was fantastic and the action scenes were top tier. The thing that brought this down a star is because some of the scene changes were really jarring and the scene placements were off on the digital version.

[Tom Ewing · Rating 3 out of 5]

A historical manga set in the Thirty Years War should be very much my jam, and Issak is good but there’s some spark lacking to raise it above the genre average story-wise. Issak is a Japanese marksman who’s made the long voyage to Europe to fight as a mercenary, but he has a more personal mission: finding the man who killed his mentor. No ground being broken here, in other words, though these opening chapters are well told. The art, on the other hand, is very nice - at the end artist “Double-S” tells us to forgive his inaccuracies in a period he knew nothing about, but he’s doing nothing wrong that I can see: violent but clear storytelling and a real sense of the brutality of the era.

[Cecilia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got an arc from Netgalley for this and I honestly loved this. In the summary it said it was a mix of Vinland saga and Shogun. I haven't seen Shogun but Vinland saga is probably my current favorite series so I decided to check this out. I loved the art in this and the story kept me so intrigued. I can't speak on how historical accurate this is but I loved it and will be continuing the series

[RatGrrrl · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received an ARC though NetGalley for an honest review.

Maybe I'm cynical, but this read like what if, instead of having an ultra greatsword and crossbow hand, Guts was a samurai sniper with a long gun, and instead of a medievalish world with monsters and demons, it was Europe during the thirty years war...like, from the gross classic trope of showing an awful ye olde setting by having a young girl being sexually assaulted by a bunch of solideds and out bad arse protagonist nonchalantly coming to the rescue...

Some of the art was great, but otherwise there was nothing particularly interesting or original, besides the historical setting.

This just didn't grab me.

[Kenny Ketner · Rating 5 out of 5]

good historical manga with an unusual but plausible setting. the art is good too, especially combat and villainous facial expressions

[Daniel Rivera · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reseña manga: Issak, de Shinji Makari.

⚔️Hoy os traigo un manga diferente al resto de series que os he enseñado hasta ahora, y es que Issak (que no Isaac) es un manga de género histórico con todo lo que conlleva!

⚔️Lo primero que pensé es que no iba a gustarme demasiado, ya que la novela histórica no es mi favorita ni de lejos. La parte bélica, batallas, armas, conquistas,... No son mi fuerte, me marean mucho cuando leo una historia con demasiado de todo esto. Sin embargo en el caso de Issak quedé muy pero que muy sorprendido!

⚔️Os aviso desde ya que Issak no tiene fantasía ni nada por el estilo, se centra en La guerra de los treinta años que tuvo lugar en el siglo XVII en Europa, y no me voy a meter más en temas históricos que seguro que la cago con fechas o países!

⚔️El caso es que al estar representado en imágenes en vez de en texto, me pareció una pasada, me sumergí en la historia y a pesar de no tener ese componente fantástico, me enganchó mucho.

⚔️Además es bastante original, la trama nos cuenta la historia de un Japonés que se ve envuelto en dicha guerra mientras intenta salvar su honor y consumar una venganza que arrastraba desde su país de origen.

⚔️El choque entre culturas está muy bien llevado, los detalles, las zonas,... El autor ha hecho un gran trabajo de investigación para representar algo así en dibujo, el cual debo decir que es genial!

⚔️Además agradezco después de tanto Shonen el disponer de una historia más adulta y sería, la verdad que merece mucho la pena.

⚔️Lo único que no me ha gustado es que los Españoles somos el bando enemigo, y nos dibujan con una pedazo de napia horrible ajajjaja, por el resto no me quejo, se nota que el autor es asiático porque al Issak y Renzo bien guapos que los ha puesto.

⚔️Os recomiendo muchísimo esta serie si os gusta la novela histórica, si queréis adentrarnos en este género aunque sea en novelas (ya que os servirá mucho para la memoria espacial) o si buscáis una temática bélica o más adulta!

⚔️Contadme que os ha parecido, si la conocíais o si os llama la atención!

Para más reseñas como estas seguidme en mis redes sociales:
IG: @dani_rivera13
Twitter: @daniriv13

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful realistic art and an increasingly interesting protagonist of few words (so you have to figure him out largely by observation). Inspired by the little-known historical fact of Japanese mercenary gunmen who popped up in Europe during the wars of the 1600s, this revenge story has the added edge of wondering whether Issak will stay focused on his mission of revenge or if he'll end up sidetracked by his associations with the people he encounters--will he ever become actual friends with the people who come to think of him as a friend or ally? Or will he put his revenge first?
Since the war is the frame around which everyone's lives revolves, much of the story revolves around military strategy--characters figuring out how to get through the next battle or siege. It doesn't go into pages and pages of massive detail to put you to sleep, but strategy and morale make up a big chunk of what characters discuss and worry about. Issak's mission and people's personal lives and backstories are slowly revealed in between.
There are a couple of trope-y things here and there: the wide-eyed innocent girl who ends up tagging along after Issak (that better not turn into a romance -_-; so far it seems firmly in friend territory) and the way Issak is kind of a fount of wisom among the European barbarians (feels like the White Saviour trope, but Japanese), though at least this seems mostly confined to military matters, which makes some sense considering he's toting the high-tech (for the era) firepower. The tropes don't overwhelm the story, though, so they're tolerable.
I highly recommend this for anyone who likes historical fiction, war stories, or military adventure, or who is just a sucker for gorgeous artwork ;P

Warning: bloody violence (obviously--it's a war!), and one attempted assault early in the first volume.

[Carlee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a partial e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Firstly, I'd like to explain the "partial" part of this. The listing of the e-ARC I received says "Issak Omnibus 1 (Vol. 1-2)," which is what I thought I would be receiving. I even had the Goodreads entry for the Omnibus pulled up and ready to add to my "Currently Reading." However, I quickly noticed the page count and read some of the first pages, which has an explanation stating that the e-ARC only had the first volume, not the second. That being said, it's a little misleading and I want to urge people to check the reviews of both the Omnibus and Volume 1 individually because I don't think some people realized the e-ARC was only half and their reviews may not be truly indicative of the Omnibus. I will be posting my review on Volume 1 and not the Omnibus because I do not want to lead people astray in that regard.

All that being said, I did enjoy this first volume. I can see where a lot of people are coming from, however, on not really connecting with Issak in the first volume. I think some flashbacks, even minimal, would've been helpful to the audience to connect with him on an emotional level. He is very stoic so I think a lot of people may have trouble understanding where his motives are coming from. I think leaving the first volume off at the end of Chapter 2 and adding in flashbacks of what happened before (even just visual panels showing some of Issak's emotions) would've been a better idea.

I really do like the art style. It feels both modern and traditional, which I enjoy. Some panels feel very cinematic. It's also reminiscent of an older art style (think late 90s to early 00s) without the awkwardness of it. The story flows quite well. I was disappointed that I didn't get volume 2 because I felt I didn't get a proper grasp on Issak within volume 1 alone.

I would give Volume 1 a 3.75/5. I think the art style and plot made up for the lacking in character relationship and I'm interested enough to pick up the next volume. With my tastes, I really do think my rating would go up if I'd had volume 2 since I'd have a bit more time with Issak so I will go ahead and round my rating up to 4/5.

CW/TW: SA within the first few pages, but it does not get far once Issak steps in.

[Paul Spence · Rating 4 out of 5]

The critical and financial success of Vinland Saga seems to have convinced Kodansha to bring over more of their seinen historical fiction titles to the USA. Issak is one such title. The setting is southern Germany, AD 1620. The Thirty Years War is raging and central Europe is being devastated by the armies of the Protestant Union and Catholic League in equal measure.

A mysterious lone mercenary arrives at a besieged German Protestant fortress, explaining in broken Dutch that he has been sent by the Netherlands to help them repel a mighty Spanish Catholic army. But “Issak” is clearly no Dutchman, and he soon reveals that he is a samurai who has travelled halfway across the world to hunt down and kill a man known only as “Lorenzo”. This Lorenzo murdered his master and is now fighting as a mercenary for the Spanish side. But to have any chance of success in his manhunt, Issak will need to survive the upcoming battle – no small task given that the Protestants are outnumbered several times over.

Like Vinland Saga, this series is both magnificently illustrated and at times gorily violently. The two series’ premises also appear noticeably similar, both centering on a protagonist wholly devoted to a mission of revenge. But while young Thorfinn was a nearly mindless whirlwind of knives and rage, Issak is a grown man and a far more coldly calculating and capable warrior. This first volume of Issak also gives off a “playing it straight” vibe, rather than how Vinland Saga dropped clues from the earliest chapters that it was going to subvert its revenge story line. It’s too early to judge if this series will live up to Yukimura Makoto’s masterpiece, but fans of Vinland Saga should absolutely check this series out. Also, it has a samurai sniper, how can you not find a samurai sniper cool?

[Kelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

(goodreads isn’t always good at ordering manga so excuse the cross posting)

So, this is FANTASTIC on every level.

I couldn’t put this down. This is the action-packed, historical fiction meets high drama story that I wish was more prevalent in the genre. The back cover describes this as “Vinland Saga” meets “Shogun”—and I think that’s pretty accurate.

This whole story is just SO captivating and compelling the whole way through. It’s the definition of GRIPPING.

All of the characters are just so fleshed-out and their motivations braid together in such interesting ways. Issak and his personal history is obviously the star here but few characters are relegated to the background.

I especially appreciate how we have a FMC in this story and she’s not relegated to menial or peripheral tasks—she’s part of the action. In a story full of intimidating and intense male characters, Zetta holds her own on the page.

This manga is in a tier above most series.

If you enjoy a manga with a more “elevated” level of storytelling, this is for you.

Though, to be honest, I can’t imagine anyone who wouldn’t be RIVETED by this story. It blew me away~

[Ruth Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Artwork is stunning - on par with Black Clover. Funnily enough, the artist includes a note in the manga saying this was his first history drama manga. It looks amazing for someone who’s never done this style. Main character looks the part, cut throat and fierce. The plot is so good! Main character is a Japanese man named Issak on a revenge mission in Europe. There is war between Protestants and Catholics. He is a remarkable marksman. At first I was surprised since Japanese at that time would’ve been samurai (swordsman), but the author included a note at the end saying that they is a lot of evidence that during this time period, Japanese traveled to Europe and were marksman due to a war in Osaka forcing them into artillery warfare. I really appreciated the historical notes they included at the end so I didn’t have to go research everything. This manga is top tier and can’t wait for the next volume. 10/10 recommend

[Doc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Making the shot count

Set in the 30 Year War this is primarily the story of a lone Japanese man hired as a mercenary for his own reasons though those he is fighting with are in for a rough fight in this well illustrated story brought to life by the mangaka DOUBLE-S who I originally have seen in another fantastic action series called Until Death Do Us Part. A story of vengeance and fighting against the odds has begun but within the gruesome battles I wonder how long it will be before Issak finds his target and if it will turn into something like Vinland Saga in tone. Only time will tell. :)

[Shiritaku · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brutal, blutig, actionreich, dynamisch - so würde ich sowohl das Artwork, als auch die Story und Geschehnisse betiteln. Das Artwork ist sehr detailliert und an vielen Stellen sprechen die Bilder für sich - da braucht man kaum noch Text. Was den Plot angeht: man muss Kriegsgeschichten mögen, sonst hat man hier sicherlich wenig Spaß mit. Das ganze spielt Anfang des 30 jährigen Krieges in Europa (bzw Deutschland). Die Charaktere sind noch etwas unnahbar und es umgibt sie etwas mysteriöses. Issak ist aber ein interessanter Charakter, wenn auch bisher schwer durchschaubar.
Kriegsgeschichten sind immer so nen 50:50 Ding - zusätzlich dazu hatte ich an ein paar Stellen paar Probleme mit bestimmten Wörtern (übersetzungstechnisch). Im Großen und Ganzen las es sich aber sehr flüssig und war auch sehr interessant.

[isabella. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this ARC.

Set during the Thirty Year War, this manga follows a warrior named Issak who's sworn to find the man who murdered his master. I enjoyed this manga, but I don't think it's for me personally. I liked the historical aspect of this manga. I wasn't aware of this war or period of history so reading this manga made me want to look up a some information about this war. While I did enjoy the historical aspect, I had a hard time really connecting to what was happening. I could definitely see people who are fans of historical manga series being into this one.

[Niche · Rating 2 out of 5]

Set in 1600s Europe during the Thirty Years' War, the story follows Issak, a Japanese samurai and skilled marksman serving as a mercenary to track down the man that killed his master. Plenty of bloody combat between warring armies and roving bandits and the art is solid. It's the stoic wandering warrior trope, but it didn't feel like it had much of a hook other than well drawn battles and the time period/setting. The "man shooting with a strange gun over long distances" made me think of Quigley Down Under of all things, but with religious conflict instead of racial.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Japanese man travels to Europe to avenge his master's murder and becomes involved in the Thirty Years' War.

Shinji Makari uses a little known bit of history—that there were Japanese people in Europe during the 17th century and some of them were soldiers—and uses it to craft an intriguing tale. Double-S's art is sharp, and shows the brutality of battle without making it stomach churning.

Received via NetGalley.

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Europe in 1620, the Thirty Years War. Issak (I) (a samurai) is tracking down the man who killed his master. Armed with a matchlock (that is cutting edge in material and design) he joins a group of mercenaries caught in the midst of chaos and betrayal. I is able to make incredibly accurate shots from unheard of distances (he is a sniper). This is a wonderfully engaging story that is both exciting and suspenseful. Warning: extremely graphic!

[Joanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love historical (fantasy) series, and Issak is a perfect example! A Japanese samurai who traveled to Europe to fight and enact revenge for a loved one, he is one marksman you do not want to mess with. The art caught me off guard with how amazing it is, and I can't help but be curious on what happens next with Issak and his target.

[Crimson Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you, NetGalley for an advanced ARC of this manga

This was an enjoyable read to an extent but it felt a little dry when it came to the main character and I did not care much about their revenge tale, but I definitely can see others enjoying this

[Zvonimir · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great art, both the scenery and battle scenes. Interesting plot, just starting to intertwine.

[Laia · Rating 2 out of 5]

2’5

[Jesus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muy interesante

[Raul Santiago Almunia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me ha gustado mucho esta obra. Es un manga histórico muy agradable de leer Con un dibujo muy bueno.

[The Sombre Nook · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lone Japanese mercenary in the middle of Europe's battlefield, if that interests you then check this series out.

[Silvio Carrera · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic art style. The story looks interesting so far but the dialogue could be better.

[scarlettraces · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not sure if this is truly a 5-star series (yet) but it gets an extra star for the setting alone. It's a rare time / place [which I have always been fascinated by but that's another story] in English media let alone Japanese. And I LOVE the art.

[LordTBR · Rating 4 out of 5]

Guts enters the Thirty Years War with a matchlock

[Eros · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good manga. The story is very intriguing. Issaki is so tough and zetta is pretty cool too.

[Q · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Wick but he fights in the 30 Years War

[Cell · Rating 3 out of 5]

劇情是在17世紀的三十年戰爭前期，日本武士在新教陣營作為傭兵的故事
平常奇幻歐洲的作品看多了，看到這本有新鮮感
這時期會涉及到的國家不少，感覺是考據會有點辛苦的作品

在歐美《海盜戰記》很紅，而這部不紅的理由是什麼呢
台版《戰武傳奇》最後一集第4集是在2019/03/24出版……