Shadow Lady, Vol. 01

Shadow Lady [シャドウレデ] #1

by Masakazu Katsura

In Gray City, a glorious but crumbling metropolis, a different world exists between night and day. Here we find Aimi Komori, a shy girl with a secret—her magic eyeshadow transforms her into Shadow Lady, an infamous thief who sees Gray City as her own personal playground. Along with her pint-sized, bat-winged sidekick, De-Mo, Shadow Lady turns the menacing metropolis absolutely upside-down!

Genres: Manga, Comics, Japan, Graphic Novels, Fantasy

200 pages, Paperback

First published January 15, 1996

About the author

Masakazu Katsura (桂正和) is a Japanese manga artist.

Reviews

[Bibliothecat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review for complete series



Aimi is incredibly shy and can barely get herself to hold a normal conversation. What no one knows: at night, she becomes the coquettish thief Shadow Lady. She never steals anything of value - to her, it's all about the thrill of the chase.

Shadow Lady is not the usual type of manga I would pick up and pretty much only did so because I like Katsura's art. I confess, my first read was rather a disappointment and I regretted buying it. Somehow over the years, I seem to have warmed up to it though, at the very least, I like it well enough to keep my copies. I think, a big reason why I wasn't so keen on this series is the simple fact that I'm not a huge fan of sexy and flirtatious characters - I prefer shy Aimi over her night-time alter ego any day.

Nonetheless, I found myself liking both sides of her personality and Shadow Lady's traits don't strike me as pronounced as they used to. It is nice to see Aimi grow a little confidence and I can see how at a later point in her life she could develop a personality that lies somewhere in between. But that is also a big drawback to this series: one can only imagine. I am pretty sure this series was cut short, at least I always see red flags if there's a quest to collect X amount of items and suddenly the bulk of it is skimmed over in a quick leap to complete the final task. The story itself doesn't exactly feel incomplete, but there's enough material for this to have been a longer one.

The whole thieving aspect of the story was very typical and used tropes I never quite got my head around why they are used to so much: Shadow Lady announces all her robberies in advance to make sure the police is well prepared. Although, unlike other manga of its kind, it doesn't take itself so seriously and there's at least somewhat of a logical explanation if one considers that Shadow Lady's main goal is the thrill.

While this is largely a comedy and action manga, the romance is pretty fun. Aimi falls in love with the handsome police agent next door who just so happens to be in love with Shadow Lady. Wait, does that count as a love triangle? As for the action, the setting and even the art has a bit of a Gotham City vibe, which does not surprise at all considering Katsura's interest in US comics.

I still don't think I would have picked this up if I hadn't already been familiar with the author. I also wouldn't know to whom exactly I would ever recommend this, but it is by no means a bad manga. It's funny, well-drawn and, despite the fact that it uses many known tropes and concepts, surprisingly different.

[Mike Foley · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit silly and the origins of Shadow Lady's powers is unexplained. The plot (thief and cop fall in love) is also a bit flat but good. But I found the action scenes well done, the art I liked, definitely a 90s manga. The main reason I liked it though is the cute romance triangle between the cop, the thief and the thief alter ego, Aime. It also got a surprised laugh out of me at a few scenes.

[Gonzalo Milano · Rating 2 out of 5]

Siempre me habían llamado la atención los dibujos y que gente mayor a mi generación parecía venerar sus obras con devoción. Hoy, casi por obligación comencé mi viaje dentro del mundo de Katsura.

Cuando lo agarré por primera vez, supuse que iba a ser un viaje para pajines noventeros. Y aunque era una observación que suponía exagerada, para nada esperaba una visión tan obtusa de una mujer. Por eso tardé bastante en trasladar mi mentalidad a una época donde muchas de estas tonterías en forma de fan service eran vistas como cosas graciosas y calenturientas para pasar el rato. Por desgracia, no importa cuánto me traslade a otra época, no puedo hacer nada con lo poco interesante de la premisa, personajes y relación que se comienza a gestar entre ellos. Hay pequeños indicios de querer tratar ciertos temas de identidad y aceptación, pero como que queda en un 5to plano frente a lo humorístico o lo calentón de las situaciones.

Igual los dibujos son increíblemente detallados y con un estilo característico que los diferencia de otros mangas por quizás retratar rostros mas japoneses de lo usual y otros mas caricaturizados parecidos a los de Tesuka o mismo Toriyama, cosa que quizás no se ve tanto en estas épocas. Los personajes atraen un montón con sus diseños cambiantes y la acción hace bailar a tus ojos de aquí para allá como un loco. Así que si debo elegir el tipo de fan service o acción sin importancia, que sea siempre de Katsura.

Además de decir que los gags de caer en baños o hacer trampas para poner en pelotas a la protagonista son por lo menos graciosos.

Ya veremos que nos deparan los siguientes tomos, así que mejor no decir mas que esta simple observacion.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

A charming series about a very shy young woman who is magically transformed into a whimsical, super-powered thief, and the young policeman who's decided to redeem her because he loves her. There's nothing deep here, but the action's well drawn and the Katsura's excellent at cheesecake artwork.

[Veronica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Diciamo che la storia non mi ha entusiasmato, una diciassettenne con poteri magici che fa la ladra e si innamora a prima vista? Già visto e sentito, e poi possibile che non si possa avere un'eroina che non viene sessualizzata in qualche modo?

[✨Sky✨ ♏ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 stars

[Tarapia]

amazing

[Doremili · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mi si me gustaba Shadow Lady, y lamentó que durará tan poco. Pero a la vez entiendo por qué. Son unos excelentes personajes pero una trama floja, muy divertida para un ambiente oscuro. Y al final eso confundía al lector. Sólo imagínense a Batman con minifalda y soltando chistes. Exacto.

[AndRhys Hend · Rating 4 out of 5]

totally ridiculous, but still cute

[Penguin · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐