A causa di forti eruzioni solari, la Terra ha perso i suoi colori e l’intera umanità, vittima di mutazioni genetiche, è in declino. Avida, che indaga sul potere racchiuso nei colori, rischia la vita per proteggere la giovane Chia dal Culto, che brama di impossessarsi dei frammenti di colore rimasti per dominare il mondo.
Hundreds of years ago, a man-made disaster stripped the world of its colour (I’m Canadian, so this’ll be a thing) and mutated the nature of humanity. In this monochromatic existence, people like Avidia are hunting down the last scraps of colour. But when he stumbles upon an unusual young woman, Avidia may have found something even rarer, plus all the attention that goes along with it…
In their notes, KENT mentions that this was first released in an earlier incarnation as an American-style comic and you can easily see the influence. The best way to describe the series is superhero noir, with Avidia firmly in the ‘man of action’ camp and, for the most part, it works.
Large chunks of this feel like a comic book written by a manga artist and I mean that in the best sense. The sense of action and heft is good, the use of shadow befits the setting and the colour is used very sparingly.
The two tone printing that they use for surprise splashes of beautiful neon blues is a gimmick, but it’s a solid one (oddly enough it was less impressive to me because I’d kind of seen this done already in the yuri title If You Could See Love to excellent effect, which is pretty much guaranteed to be the only point of commonality between the two series).
Keeping it (mostly) restricted to Avidia’s gun was a smart touch, as it gives him an extra cool factor and unique little hero thing, even though they smartly build in some issues with it that keep it from being a total deus ex machina when the palette hits the fan.
The world-building is pretty fun, giving the manga an excuse to look like, well, manga, and not needing the reader to try and figure out how anything would actually look. It’s right there on the page.
With the city split into an upper crust and lower crust section connected by a heavily regulated bridge, it’s welcome that the series dives right into that for one of its major set pieces that provides a welcome dollop of solid action amidst its snitches and crooks and flapping trench coats.
Now, the heart of this story is a kidnapping and the big reveal of the young woman in question would land a lot harder if they didn’t spoil it right on the cover of the damn volume. Still, she and Avidia have a strong dynamic forming and it’s nice to see a shonen heroine not portrayed as a sex object from the get-go (although they sure get her in glasses pretty fast).
The evil organization behind it all might as well be a church, in keeping with the usual rules, but so far they’re more string-pulling and weird and their worship of colour is interesting. I also like how the head evil guy pulls off the very wrongheaded ‘you amuse me so I will let you live’, but it is clear that at that moment, at least, our heroes definitely owe their continued existence to that bit of gratitude (excellent cutaway during that last fight).
I mean, it still has the typical genre flaws. While it does do a better than average job getting its rules and such in place and playing by them, it isn’t afraid to pull something out of its butt just to get away with something in the narrative like, say, a giant clamp out of nowhere.
The monstrous enemies that show up at the end are a cut above the usual villainous stock, but they are still the most obvious escalation ever (the gun stuff does nearly make up for this) and all that.
And, yeah, the colour stuff is neat, but there’s not a heck of a lot you haven’t seen before. I think it’s a fun ride, and no mistake, with some great ideas and cute toys in its bag, but it doesn’t break the mold quite as much as you’d expect.
3.5 stars - rounded up for being thoroughly entertaining. A neat homage to American comics and a little technical pizazz make for a pretty enjoyable ride and one that’s worth a look.
A resounding 'meh' for this sci-fi noir. A solar flare destroyed modern technology, wiped out all colour (turning the world black-and-white), and mutated humanity to they all have reptilian or insectoid features. In the years after the event, cults have arisen deifying colour and certain people, like the Batman/Dick Tracey-like protagonist, hunt down the last traces of pigment...which can somehow fuel powerful gadgets. So yeah, that was a very busy solar flare to cause ALL those changes. I found the physical mutation part to be unnecessary, basically just an excuse to draw a bunch of monster- or armor-type designs. The story plods along at a fairly slow pace, wallowing in the inky urban noir atmosphere (if you're a noir fan, maybe you'll enjoy this more than I did just because of that). It looks like this colour-cult is going to play a major role, but the author spent too much time emphasizing their mysteriousness ("Ooo, the Organization!" "The who...?" "...The ORGANIZATION!!!") and not enough explaining or introducing them--what explanation there was came too late to keep me interested. The two male leads feel pretty two-dimensional so far, with nothing to make them stand out from legions of other Mysterious Dark Heroes and Sketchy Plucky Informers. The female lead is, so far, a typical dull damsel in distress who exists to be rescued, make tea, and look cute (though thankfully she's not hyper-sexualized, at least not yet). Other female side-characters exist, likewise, to cry at the hero or to be in need of rescue. To be fair this is the first volume and maybe Chie might grow into less of a flat character over time, but there are no hints of that yet. The art is okay, aside from the limited expressiveness of largely exoskeletal faces, but because everything was so dark and cluttered in the urban wasteland setting, I found it sometimes difficult to follow what was going on in action panels. The use of isolated splashes of colour in usually-all-b&w manga was a cool touch to emphasize the setting, though apparently ALL surviving traces of colour are the same teal-green. Not my cup of tea. I won't look for volume 2.
Renklerin kaybolduğu siyah beyaz bir kıyamet sonrası dünyada geçen "özel kişiyi korumalıyım" hikayesi. Bu özel kişinin elinde tuttuğu ama kullanamadığı güç direnişçiler için barışın, güçten yozlaşmışlar için de yıkımın anahtarı. Hikayede zaman zaman sıkıcı diyaloglar yer alsa da karakterleri hemen sevdim. Avidia'yı biraz daha karanlık bir tip olarak beklemiştim ama aksine fazlasıyla iyi çıktı. Görsellik kitabın kuşkusuz en güçlü yönü. Çizimler çok güzel fakat asıl önemlisi hikayede nadirde olsa renklerin bulunduğu kısımlar var. O kısımların kitapta da renkli basılmış olması çok hoş bir dokunuş olmuş. Bir de şu dövüş sahneleri daha anlaşılır çizilse de görsel şölen tam olsa.
Non so se quello che il protagonista dice sul potere dei colori sia una cosa scientificamente possibile e francamente non mi interessa.
La storia di base è simile a tantissimi altri shonen: un protagonista che si ritrova a dover proteggere una giovane ragazza poiché pare nascondere una storia interessante (fmp sei tu?)
In questo volume non succede granché, sembra un albo introduttivo poiché ci vengono spiegate diverse cose e nel concreto non accade nulla più di quello predetto dalla trama.
La storia mi ha intrattenuto e penso proprio che la porterò avanti.
Unica cosa che non mi ha conquistata sono in parte i disegni: a parer mio alcune scene di azione sono troppo abbozzate, schizzate e non si capisce molto.
Science fiction manga: interesting. Arguably, the gimmick that got me to bite the bullet in this manga was the use of colour as a story element and its inclusion within. I find the current use of colour a little underwhelming compared to my expectations. Aside from that, the character designs all seem interesting, but the plot and the character motivations all feel like things I've read/seen before. Special girl who knows nothing of why she was captured is rescued by quirky and messy professor, with a layer of "noir-punk" over top of it all. Not a bad read, but with all the manga out there, it is hard to recommend.
An interesting and promising start. Like how they include little bits of color throughout to really highlight it. Characters are fun too. Curious to see how it develops.
Цікавий бойовичок.Дивна суміш умовного бламу,нуару та трохи неонового кіберпанку.
Сюжет розказує про світ після катаклізму. Сонячний вибух зніс всі кольори. Люди мутували. Таємний орден збирає залишки кольорів та досліджує монстрів. Це була умовна зав’язка.
Викрадено офіціантку в ресторані. І наш «детектив-професор» Овідій (чи Овідія) вирушає на пошуки дівчині в біді, рятує, і виявляється вона має імунітет до мутації та якось пов’язана з катастрофою. Але нічого не пам'ятає. Паралельно таємничий орден починає полювати на Овідія (ну і на дівчину теж). Дівчину до речі звуть Чі. Виявляється він теж непроста людина, зібрав деякі залишки кольору, та експериментує з предметами з минулого. Для вдосконалення свого екзоскелета.
Загалом сюжет принаймні зараз дуже клішований. Але читається доволі легко. Завдяки малюнку. Він прикольний. Екшн змальовано класно. Особливо вставки з кольором дуже атмосферні. Цікаво чи це якось далі розвинеться.
A colourless world after the events of a solar flare that resulted in human mutations and a complete loss of colours, this new noir cyberpunk manga is pretty cool. I wish the action scenes would be more readable, and as usual with first volumes in a manga series I feel like I never know enough about the story or plot to make up my mind as to whether I want to continue it or not. I will give it until vol. 3!
Feeling pretty mixed on this. It's an interesting idea with a cool art style, but the dialogue is really generic. Feels like it's trying way too hard. The plotting also comes across that way. The ending feels a bit nonsensical. Maybe I'll try Vol. 2 at some point, but wasn't as hooked as I would've liked.
El manga de Colorless ya me atrajo por su premisa de sociedad post-apocalíptica y distópica, y conforme iba leyendo el primer tomo su historia me ha ido atrayendo cada vez más.
La historia parte de una catástrofe mundial en la que los colores desaparecieron de la faz de la Tierra y cambió a la humanidad poco a poco mutándola. A partir de ahí, los colores se convirtieron en lo más valioso, llegando a ser tratados como dioses por una religión llamada Yadopsia, también conocida como "La Iglesia", que busca recuperarlos cueste lo que cueste, incluso raptando a la única persona que no ha perdido su forma humana. Aquí es donde entra en escena Avidya, un científico que estudia el poder que tienen los pigmentos de color y protegerá a Chie a todo costa de sus perseguidores, aunque tenga que luchar contra la propia Iglesia.
El primer tomo es un poco introductorio, explicando como funciona la sociedad, y sus personajes, pero ya deja ver una trama que va a esconder muchos misterios y secretos. Como por ejemplo quién es Chie en realidad y cómo termino sin recuerdos o cuál es le verdadero propósito de La Iglesia. Todo el tema de la falta de colores, o que se puedan usar como armas, me tiene muy intrigada y estoy deseando ver más.
Si os gustan las historias distópicas, en las que los protagonistas deben luchas contra un poder superior para hacer justicia, o videojuegos como Scarlet Nexus, os recomiendo Colorless. Un manga con intriga y una edición espectacular. Espero que el deis una oportunidad, merece la pena.
Pas mal. J'aime bien le concept, et les petites touches de couleur verte de temps en temps dans ce monde incolore, ou plutôt monde qui a perdu ses couleurs. J'aurais cependant aimé en savoir un peu plus dans ce premier tome :') ça vaut sûrement plus que 3*, mais bon, subjectivité coucou.
Colorless 1 ist der erste Band einer 7-teiligen Mangareihe . Es ist im Sci-Fi Bereich angesiedelt und ich war wirklich skeptisch, ob er mich begeistern würde.
Die Aufmachung, auch die Details und Illustrationen sind unglaublich toll und ausdrucksstark. Zudem mochte ich den Schreibstil unglaublich gern. Sehr stimmungsvoll sind die Farbakzente in dem sonst in schwarz weiß gehaltenen Manga, was sich sehr gut mit der Storyline deckt und somit auch mehr Ausdruck erhält. Gerade am Anfang ist es sehr locker gehalten und ich musste oft schmunzeln. Es gibt ruhige ,aber auch actionreiche Szenen, die eine wundervolle Dynamik erzeugen und man damit diesen Manga auch gar nicht mehr aus der Hand legen möchte. Ebenso mochte ich die Protagonisten total gern. Sie sind in meinen Augen sehr gut ausgearbeitet und verstehen mit ihrer Präsenz in den Bann zu ziehen. Man entwickelt enorm schnell Emotionen, was ich so gar nicht in dieser Form erwartet hätte, was mir aber unglaublich gut gefallen hat. Die Protagonisten sind sehr eigenwillig und ja ,ich mochte diese monsterhafte Andersartigkeit unglaublich gern. Es klingt seltsam, aber man möchte sie einfach nur knuddeln.
Die Story hat mich sofort begeistert. Der Plot ist richtig gut und kommt auch sehr gut herüber. Zudem entwickelt man während des Lesens eine gewisse Beklemmung. Es ist beängstigend, was sich dabei herauskristallisiert und wie sich diese Veränderung immer mehr manifestiert. Die Idee mit dem verschwundenen Mädchen und dem Geheimnis, ist absolut gekonnt eingearbeitet. Zudem fühlt man sehr mit Chie, als auch mit Avidya unglaublich mit. Das nicht alles ist, wie es den Anschein hat, ist quasi offensichtlich. Insgesamt bin ich absolut hin und weg und kann diesem Manga absolut weiterempfehlen. Sehr spannend, witzig, atmosphärisch und temporeich.
Fazit: Der erste Band der Colorless Mangareihe konnte mich absolut begeistern. Unglaublich spannend, witzig und es passiert ununterbrochen etwas. Definitiv empfehlenswert. Zudem ist die Idee dahinter unglaublich gut.
Si je vous demande de me donner des mots qui vous font penser au manga, vous allez sûrement me dire BD, Japon, noir et blanc, lecture inversée, aventure etc, etc… Et je suis presque sûr que le terme de couleur ne sortira pas et plutôt à raison pour le coup.
De ce fait si je vous dis que c’est justement le thème de l’œuvre qui nous intéresse aujourd’hui cela va potentiellement vous intriguer et à raison (bon vu le titre de la série en question, ce n’est pas si étonnant) !
« Colorless » est le premier manga de l’auteur Kent et est publié chez nous aux jeunes éditions Shiba. Il vient, de plus, de se terminer avec son septième tome sorti dans nos contrées durant ce mois de juillet.
Mais de quoi ça parle ? Il y a de cela 300 ans la plus grande éruption solaire jamais connue par l’humanité a eu lieu, détruisant toute forme de technologie mais aussi toute forme de couleur ! Jamais deux sans trois, l’ensemble de l’humanité a également subi de terribles déformations physiques. Cependant des fragments de couleurs ont été découverts, redonnant espoir mais attisant également l’avidité de « L’Eglise ». Dans ce contexte nous suivons Avidya, un scientifique, qui va faire la rencontre de Tchié ; une rencontre qui va tout accélérer.
« Colorless » étant un manga tournant autour de la couleur, il nous en propose régulièrement au fur et à mesure des pages. Nous sommes ainsi face à une œuvre un peu atypique dont le graphisme, très efficace et détaillé, est régulièrement sublimé par des pointes de vert, de rouge ou de bleu, ce qui fait que ce manga m’a fortement marqué. Le scénario et les personnages n’étant pas en reste, nous sommes donc en présence d’une courte mais excellente série que je vous recommande chaudement !
The earth was stripped of color, making mutants out of man. When a massive solar flare destroyed all of mankind's digitally stored knowledge, it also caused mutations in the surviving humans. Now, resembling creatures, it's been 300 years in a world without color.
Avidia (aka Professor) is a lone investigator working to find any remaining scraps of color left in the world. That is until his favorite cafe loses their best tea girl to a kidnapping.
He could have found a new cafe to frequent, if said kidnappers didn't have the backing of The Order. A prominent group looking to control color once it's found. They have backing from the criminal to the government side.
Intrigued as to why The Order would go to the trouble of kidnapping a tea girl, Avidia takes the kidnapping case. Turns out a humanoid figure with memories of color was right under his nose, well mask, all along.
Colorless is good on action, reminding me a bit of 90s anime/manga. The information dump of world setup detracted a bit, but I think Vol 2 will be better.
On a side note: I'd like to hypothesize Avidia looks human too, because of the mask, & Chie was somehow cryogenically preserved from 300 years ago. Just a theory.
Auf Deutsch bei Manga Cult erschienen Das nenne ich mal einen besonderen Auftakt. Sci-Fi ist ja generell ein Genre, welches es nicht ganz so leicht auf dem deutschen Markt hat. Dabei birgt es wirklich viele spannende Geschichten. Dazu gehört definitiv auch „Colorless“. Das dystopische Setting und die Prämisse, dass der Welt nach einer Sonneneruption die Farben (und die Technik) fehlen, finde ich richtig spannend. Die Genmutationen sind nicht ganz so mein Fall, wobei sich auch hinter diesem Handlungsstrang ein Geheimnis verbirgt. Das Mädchen auf dem Cover ist nämlich offensichtlich nicht davon betroffen. Chie, so heißt sie, spielt im ersten Band noch eher eine Nebenrolle. Ich hoffe, sie ist in den Folgebänden präsenter. Potenzial für Charakterentwicklung ist auf jeden Fall da. Der Protagonist Avi ist aber ebenso geheimnisvoll und ich bin gespannt darauf mehr über ihn zu erfahren. Die Story ist sehr actionreich und es gibt viele Kampfszenen. Der dunkle Zeichenstil ist nicht ganz so meins, passt aber mMn zum O-Ton der Geschichte. Ich bin noch nicht ganz hooked, aber meine Neugier ist auf jeden Fall geweckt. Die Story ist einzigartig und dadurch sehr spannend. Mal sehen, was Band 2 so bringt. Instagram: @sandrasmangas
So far, this series is flat-out striking. In a visual sense, yes; the first time I flipped a page and saw a splash of color (a rarity in manga), I really came to appreciate just how interwoven the story is with the presentation. The setting is pretty novel, too: 300 years ago, Earth was hit by a solar flare so intense that it literally bleached the world, fried most technology, and altered the human genome enough that people aren't really recognizable as "human" anymore. Wrap it all up in a techno-noir story about a cult, a girl with amnesia, and a hard-boiled scholar trying to keep the last remnants of color from falling into the wrong hands, and Colorless is shaping up to be something special. Great character designs, a lot of action, an engaging setting, and a rough, high-contrast art style that stands out amongst a lot of the overly-clean lines you see in contemporary manga. It's an incredible package, and I'm excited to see where it goes from here!
I think this is not for me, but I can get the appeal. The punk-noir setting is kind of cool, and the use of color is an interesting gimmick. The character designs feel unique, and should make it easy to keep an expanding cast identifiable. I appreciate that, although the heroine is nothing but a damsel in distress, she's at least not sexualized. For me, the stumbling block is that all of the characters feel like empty tropes, with nothing to make them feel at all rounded. But this is a first volume, and maybe there will be further development later.
Para mí las ideas de esta serie son muy novedosas. Manga impreso a color dado (aunque se llame Colorless) tiene algunas partes en color simulando completamente la realidad de ese mundo.
A causa de una erupción solar los humanos han mutado y la tierra ha perdido el color. Pero, aún quedan resquicios de este y nos encontramos con una chica con apariencia normal. Una premisa más que interesante.
Mir hat das Manga recht gut gefallen. Es ist ein interessanter Reihenauftakt, auch wenn hier noch nicht so viel passiert ist. Man erfährt einiges über die neue Welt und ihre Bewohner.
Die Zeichnungen sind natürlich hauptsächlich in schwarz-weiß, aber trotzdem gibt es einige wenige Farbelemente, was in Mangas ja auch eher selten ist und deshalb verleiht es dem Buch noch einen zusätzlichen interessanten Aspekt.
Very interesting concept of a world drained of color which adds to the ascetic of a black and white manga. When color shows up, it is interesting. However the artwork is a little hard for me to follow at times, but not bad by any means. The story is just starting to take off with some interesting concepts hinted at, but not on the same level of some other first volumes that I’ve read, so it only gets 3 stars.
In this near future dystopian series, a lone-wolf investigator uses his wits and his impressive technology to help a special girl who could restore the earth. The black-and-white art is moody, noir, and beautifully detailed. The plot is fast-paced, and the decaying urban setting is unique and interesting. On the downside, the translated dialog is terrible, the villains are comically evil, and the main character, Avidia, is pretty much a Japanese version of Batman.