What do you think?
Rate this book
Star Wars Manga #1
Star Wars: A New Hope Manga 1
Now here is the complete screenplay of the film that launched a science fiction phenomenon. Experience the capture of Princess Leia by Lord Darth Vader and the evil minions of the Empire...Farmboy Luke Skywalker's discovery of her desperate message hidden in the droid R2-D2...Luke's fateful meetings with legendary Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi and intergalactic smuggler Han Solo...And the climactic battle to destroy the sinister Death Star.
Library Binding
First published September 1, 1998
32 people are currently reading
383 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
June 5, 2020
About time I got around reading this manga adaptation: I've heard a lot of things - good and bad - about it.
Judging by the first volume, I'm leaning towards the good bits I heard. It follows the movie script word to word, which I don't necessarily agree with, but it also adds in several of the scenes that ended up on the cutting floor (such as Biggs showing up earlier), and a whole new scene or two like the Stormtroopers attacking the Jawas. That's all very nice.
The art is good, the action fluid, and the expressions... well, rather exaggerated of course, as is the style, but here it works.
All in all, it's pretty solid. I'll keep up and see where it goes.
Judging by the first volume, I'm leaning towards the good bits I heard. It follows the movie script word to word, which I don't necessarily agree with, but it also adds in several of the scenes that ended up on the cutting floor (such as Biggs showing up earlier), and a whole new scene or two like the Stormtroopers attacking the Jawas. That's all very nice.
The art is good, the action fluid, and the expressions... well, rather exaggerated of course, as is the style, but here it works.
All in all, it's pretty solid. I'll keep up and see where it goes.
November 2, 2020
Hisao Tamakin "Star Wars: A New Hope" (Dark Horse, 1998) on ihka ensimmäisen Tähtien sota -elokuvan mangasovitus ja sellaisenaan ihan kelpo kamaa. Leffalle ollaan uskollisia ihan yksittäisiä repliikkejä myöten. Sarjakuvan kiinnostavimmat ansiot taitavatkin olla visuaalisessa ilmeessä, joka onkin ihan vinkeä. Kovimmille puristeille tiedoksi, että albumin lukusuunta on käännetty länsimaiseksi.
December 13, 2020
The story was great as expected but the drawings were just very confusing... even knowing the story for years didn't help much and still got confused about what I was looking at sometimes (especially actions scenes with X-wings, Y-wings, and Tie-Fighters)
December 28, 2018
Reading this book is something I have wanted to do for over a decade, and I am glad that I decided to finally pick it up. It was everything I had wanted from a Star Wars adaptation in comic form. The anime aspect adds a lot to it, and has a certain aesthetic which is very pleasing to the eye.
I actually love how Leia is drawn in this book, where her hair actually drops from her hair buns rather than being tied up tight. It actually makes her a lot cuter, in a way only anime can seem to do. Hisao Tamaki does a fantastic job portraying the movie panel to panel, and does a fantastic job in choosing what to portray vs what to leave out.
All in all, I am very happy with getting this, and finally reading it. I would greatly recommend this book to any Star Wars and anime fan.
I actually love how Leia is drawn in this book, where her hair actually drops from her hair buns rather than being tied up tight. It actually makes her a lot cuter, in a way only anime can seem to do. Hisao Tamaki does a fantastic job portraying the movie panel to panel, and does a fantastic job in choosing what to portray vs what to leave out.
All in all, I am very happy with getting this, and finally reading it. I would greatly recommend this book to any Star Wars and anime fan.
May 17, 2023
So far, a pretty faithful adaptation from the movies. I enjoy the art a lot, especially young Luke Skywalker. He kind of reminds me of an Ash Ketchum! This is very fun. Curious to see if I can catch any major deviations from the movie to the manga.
August 17, 2021
In anticipation of a lot more manga and anime in Star Wars, I’m finally going back to this manga of the original movie, drawn by Hisao Tamaki, published in 1998. I love the idea of manga Star Wars, but for me, this attempt plays it too safe. The text is word-for-word the original movie (with brief additions such as the Biggs scene on Tatooine), and the visuals are not very different from the film versions. (Darth Vader, the Death Star, lightsabers, and many other things look exactly the same.)
What’s most disappointing is that the American publisher decided to make the book read left-to-right, and so they simply flipped all the pages. I found it really disorienting to see such classic scenes presented in mirror-image orientation. Manga familiarity in the US has clearly increased enormously in the past couple of decades; I can’t imagine a publisher making this choice today.
What’s most disappointing is that the American publisher decided to make the book read left-to-right, and so they simply flipped all the pages. I found it really disorienting to see such classic scenes presented in mirror-image orientation. Manga familiarity in the US has clearly increased enormously in the past couple of decades; I can’t imagine a publisher making this choice today.
August 9, 2020
nobody:
me: *in love with leia organa in every shape or form*
me: *in love with leia organa in every shape or form*
November 18, 2022
Book one of four.
As you'd probably expect, this is a Manga adaptation of George Lucas' iconic first Star Wars film. This volume takes us from the capture of Princess Leia by Darth Vader through to Luke Skywalker's resolution to aid Obi-Wan Kenobi on Tatooine.
To be clear, this is a very direct adaptation of 'A New Hope', with the script pretty much word-for-word what appears onscreen. There are a couple of additions, such as the long-lost scene between Luke and Biggs, but for the most part this is just ANH in Manga form, so don't expect any new ground to be broken.
Luckily, I absolutely love ANH, so it's always a pleasure to revisit it.
More or less from Day One, Star Wars was heavily influenced by Japanese culture and aesthetics (Lucas cites Akira Kurosawa as an influence and Ralph McQuarrie designed Vader's armour to look like a samurai), so using Manga as a medium to retell the story is a perfect fit. Whilst I'm not a huge fan of how human beings are rendered in the Manga art style, the starships, aliens, Stormtroopers and Sith Lord all look incredible here.
A classic story and some gorgeous artwork. What's not to love?
* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.page *
As you'd probably expect, this is a Manga adaptation of George Lucas' iconic first Star Wars film. This volume takes us from the capture of Princess Leia by Darth Vader through to Luke Skywalker's resolution to aid Obi-Wan Kenobi on Tatooine.
To be clear, this is a very direct adaptation of 'A New Hope', with the script pretty much word-for-word what appears onscreen. There are a couple of additions, such as the long-lost scene between Luke and Biggs, but for the most part this is just ANH in Manga form, so don't expect any new ground to be broken.
Luckily, I absolutely love ANH, so it's always a pleasure to revisit it.
More or less from Day One, Star Wars was heavily influenced by Japanese culture and aesthetics (Lucas cites Akira Kurosawa as an influence and Ralph McQuarrie designed Vader's armour to look like a samurai), so using Manga as a medium to retell the story is a perfect fit. Whilst I'm not a huge fan of how human beings are rendered in the Manga art style, the starships, aliens, Stormtroopers and Sith Lord all look incredible here.
A classic story and some gorgeous artwork. What's not to love?
* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.page *
April 30, 2024
"Really liked it." - 4 out of 5 star rating.
Star Wars: A New Hope... but in Manga form!
These are awesome. I love the [Japanification] of this Star Wars film as a whole and characters contained therein delivered here. They were ever so kind to hybrid this, with Americanizing it where we read the "comic" from left to right and front to back, versus traditional Magna that is top right to left down and back cover to front.
They even provide a tutorial with R2 and C-3PO at the very beginning to explain how-to-read. Love it.
But yeah, these are as simple as that. Star Wars: A New Hope flipped into a Japanese inspired, anime-style, comic/magna hybrid that are truly awesome.
The only reason why I'm not giving these a 5-star rating is that they ultimately don't offer anything new and are a 1:1 conversion of the film.
Star Wars: A New Hope... but in Manga form!
These are awesome. I love the [Japanification] of this Star Wars film as a whole and characters contained therein delivered here. They were ever so kind to hybrid this, with Americanizing it where we read the "comic" from left to right and front to back, versus traditional Magna that is top right to left down and back cover to front.
They even provide a tutorial with R2 and C-3PO at the very beginning to explain how-to-read. Love it.
But yeah, these are as simple as that. Star Wars: A New Hope flipped into a Japanese inspired, anime-style, comic/magna hybrid that are truly awesome.
The only reason why I'm not giving these a 5-star rating is that they ultimately don't offer anything new and are a 1:1 conversion of the film.
May 17, 2021
I am just breaking in to manga, but Star Wars is nothing new to me. My library had this first volume of the Star Wars Manga, which covers A New Hope's first act. Unfortunately my library only had the first volume. How will I know what happens?!? Ok, obviously I know the story, but this is a really awesome way to relive it. I will procure the other volumes soon enough and then I'll have to tackle the rest of the trilogy. Great art panels in this, with loads of action!
December 27, 2017
A fun, manga stylization of Star Wars: A New Hope. I felt like the artist did a great job of capturing the different characters emotions and was true to the original story. I'm looking forward to reading some more of these.
January 28, 2020
Enjoyment throughout, Volume one of four... I felt like I was actually in the movie like a fly on the wall. I know this is basically a comic, however the illustrations really bring this tale to life .
August 20, 2023
Me gusto esta versión, es algo corto, pero se mantiene lo importante, el arte es estupendo. Aunque no podía dejar de leerlo con las voces de los personajes de la película. Este ejemplar contiene la primera parte (de cuatro) de Star Wars Una nueva esperanza.
August 4, 2017
Well done. Had some parts with Biggs Darklighter that weren't in the original movie.
April 1, 2019
Enjoyed it. I enjoyed the facial expressions and the illustrations. I wished it was a true manga format. I would have liked to experience reading from right to left.
April 2, 2019
Some of my students like Manga versions like this one better than traditional versions.
May 4, 2020
Perfect comic for May the forth!
May 17, 2020
Me encanta el dibujo.
June 26, 2020
The adaptation was pretty faithful to its source material as far as writing goes. I love the artwork.
May 6, 2021
Awesome! But only the first part....
March 25, 2013
*3.9 Stars*
**Warning: I'm assuming everyone who wants to read this and other reviews in the series has at least seen A New Hope once. Therefore, I will not be hiding any "spoilers".**
*The Gush*
During the late 90s and early 2000s, I was a huge Star Wars fan. I still am today, but then I was trying to get my hands on any novel, comic, etc. in the Star Wars universe. I had also only recently been introduced to manga and was hooked. Enter this, a manga about Star Wars...and the rest is history.
This is a great adaptation. Indeed, the dialogue is word for word; you can almost hear the soundtrack in the background as you read. The artwork is amazing. If you are not familiar with the art style of Japanese comics (what Manga essentially is), the wide eyes and unique facial dimensions might throw you for a moment; however, it does not take long for one to realize how close these characters are to their movie counterparts. The reader has no problem recognizing each one and the artwork soon appears normal or at least not so surprising. The inclusion of a couple cut scenes from the movie (Biggs Darklighter makes an appearance as well as the 'battle' between the Jawas and the Stormtroopers - if you don't know who Biggs is...you don't know your Star Wars, he's one of the X-wing pilots near the end of the movie) is wonderful and really adds to the familiar story.
It is however in the scenery and establishing 'shots' that the book truly shines. Some of the scenes on Tatooine are absolutely gorgeous and the two page spread showing the size and might of the Death Star is amazing.
*The Rant*
Two points:
1) The price. Dark Horse comics are always high and this was no exception. A admittedly flimsy paperback book cost ten dollars and with the breaking up of the story into four parts, that's $40 just for A New Hope and there are two more sets after this. The only reason I was able to get both this and Return of the Jedi was the lucky break of finding both sets in their entirety at a used book store. Since manga tended to be almost solely a teenage interest during the time this came out, I find it kinda shortsighted that they didn't knock this down to more of the price of Viz manga. This reason is also why I have vastly more Viz manga over Tokyopop because the later too was ten bucks a book.
2)The main reason for the lost of a star is the fact that this is a flipped manga. For non-manga readers, this phrase will make little sense, so let me try to explain. In Japanese, the words are read from right to left rather then left to right as most Western languages are. Therefore, what is the back of our books is actually the front of their books and viceversa. This means little when you deal with text but it means a HUGE deal when you are dealing with pictures. Until the late 2000s, nearly all manga brought over to America was 'flipped' or the pictures printed in mirror-image of the original. So a person standing on the right in Japan is suddenly standing on the left when the story is brought over here. The problems with this become very apparent when reading the Star Wars manga as the artist clearly took care to make each frame as close to the movie as possible...and then the picture was flipped and suddenly people are walking in the wrong direction or the group is standing wrong. Manga artists were very upset by all this as were manga readers and finally a solution was reached: we Westerners have learned to read the 'wrong way' ;P and the artwork is left alone. I prefer this method and sometimes will open a regular book at the end after reading a couple manga. This might not mean much to some people but manga readers will find this volume a bit aggravating to read.
*Conclusion*
Despite my moaning above by 90s manga practices, I really like this series and thoroughly enjoy revisiting it often. If you are a manga fan or a Star Wars fan, this is a must read. The artwork is incredible and it is a wonderful adaptation of the movie (at least the first fourth of it). If you like neither...you probably want to give this a miss.
**Warning: I'm assuming everyone who wants to read this and other reviews in the series has at least seen A New Hope once. Therefore, I will not be hiding any "spoilers".**
*The Gush*
During the late 90s and early 2000s, I was a huge Star Wars fan. I still am today, but then I was trying to get my hands on any novel, comic, etc. in the Star Wars universe. I had also only recently been introduced to manga and was hooked. Enter this, a manga about Star Wars...and the rest is history.
This is a great adaptation. Indeed, the dialogue is word for word; you can almost hear the soundtrack in the background as you read. The artwork is amazing. If you are not familiar with the art style of Japanese comics (what Manga essentially is), the wide eyes and unique facial dimensions might throw you for a moment; however, it does not take long for one to realize how close these characters are to their movie counterparts. The reader has no problem recognizing each one and the artwork soon appears normal or at least not so surprising. The inclusion of a couple cut scenes from the movie (Biggs Darklighter makes an appearance as well as the 'battle' between the Jawas and the Stormtroopers - if you don't know who Biggs is...you don't know your Star Wars, he's one of the X-wing pilots near the end of the movie) is wonderful and really adds to the familiar story.
It is however in the scenery and establishing 'shots' that the book truly shines. Some of the scenes on Tatooine are absolutely gorgeous and the two page spread showing the size and might of the Death Star is amazing.
*The Rant*
Two points:
1) The price. Dark Horse comics are always high and this was no exception. A admittedly flimsy paperback book cost ten dollars and with the breaking up of the story into four parts, that's $40 just for A New Hope and there are two more sets after this. The only reason I was able to get both this and Return of the Jedi was the lucky break of finding both sets in their entirety at a used book store. Since manga tended to be almost solely a teenage interest during the time this came out, I find it kinda shortsighted that they didn't knock this down to more of the price of Viz manga. This reason is also why I have vastly more Viz manga over Tokyopop because the later too was ten bucks a book.
2)The main reason for the lost of a star is the fact that this is a flipped manga. For non-manga readers, this phrase will make little sense, so let me try to explain. In Japanese, the words are read from right to left rather then left to right as most Western languages are. Therefore, what is the back of our books is actually the front of their books and viceversa. This means little when you deal with text but it means a HUGE deal when you are dealing with pictures. Until the late 2000s, nearly all manga brought over to America was 'flipped' or the pictures printed in mirror-image of the original. So a person standing on the right in Japan is suddenly standing on the left when the story is brought over here. The problems with this become very apparent when reading the Star Wars manga as the artist clearly took care to make each frame as close to the movie as possible...and then the picture was flipped and suddenly people are walking in the wrong direction or the group is standing wrong. Manga artists were very upset by all this as were manga readers and finally a solution was reached: we Westerners have learned to read the 'wrong way' ;P and the artwork is left alone. I prefer this method and sometimes will open a regular book at the end after reading a couple manga. This might not mean much to some people but manga readers will find this volume a bit aggravating to read.
*Conclusion*
Despite my moaning above by 90s manga practices, I really like this series and thoroughly enjoy revisiting it often. If you are a manga fan or a Star Wars fan, this is a must read. The artwork is incredible and it is a wonderful adaptation of the movie (at least the first fourth of it). If you like neither...you probably want to give this a miss.
February 27, 2012
While the lines come straight from the movie, I love the animation in the manga version of Star Wars. This first volume goes all the way up to Luke deciding to follow Ben and learn the ways of the force. It includes the scene between Biggs and Luke that was eventually cut out of the original film.
April 25, 2022
És molt difícil fer un mal còmic d’una de les millors pel·lícules de la història del cinema. El resultat és molt bo però s’ha de dir que moltes escenes d’acció no estan gens bé resoltes. Del contrari estariem davant de un 5/5. I és que la història i els personatges d’Star Wars són de les millors creacions de la ficció universal.
September 26, 2025
Quick little reread of just the first volume, in excitement for the complete manga being reprinted next year.
When I first reviewed this book I was a bit harsh on the art and layout, but I definitely appreciate it a bit more now. I just think it needs the proper tlc that the reprint is finally going to give it in its entirety
When I first reviewed this book I was a bit harsh on the art and layout, but I definitely appreciate it a bit more now. I just think it needs the proper tlc that the reprint is finally going to give it in its entirety
March 23, 2012
Aaaaaaah I remember this! There was a copy of this book at my old library--they hardly had a budget for new books, but they had a ton of really obscure titles in their shelves--and I was greatly amused when I found it. From what I can remember, I enjoyed it.
Read
April 18, 2015Pretty much a shot for shot remake of the movie done Manga style. The interpretations of the different characters are interesting, but it wasn't different enough to be exciting. Not bad, but not as crazy ad I'd hoped. Biggs in a cape was magnificent.
March 27, 2010
Star Wars IV? Manga? Yes please.
Read
July 5, 2010SW nh v.1
April 15, 2013
Clean, great artwork, a good (and fairly strict) adaptation of the film.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews