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Spriggan #1
SPRIGGAN: Deluxe Edition, Vol. 1
THE CLASSIC ACTION-ADVENTURE TALE OF SUPERSPIES AND ALIEN RELICS THAT INSPIRED A FILM AND AN ANIMATED SERIES!
An ancient civilization once hid artifacts of immense power across the Earth, and now the world's governments will stop at nothing to seize those relics for their own nefarious purposes. Only the ARCAM corporation stands against them, whose special agents, the Spriggan, are the world's last line of defense against the alien doomsday weapons. Equipped with experimental armor that grants him unmatched strength, Ominae Yu is the Spriggans' ace operator, sent to avert catastrophes around the world.
An ancient civilization once hid artifacts of immense power across the Earth, and now the world's governments will stop at nothing to seize those relics for their own nefarious purposes. Only the ARCAM corporation stands against them, whose special agents, the Spriggan, are the world's last line of defense against the alien doomsday weapons. Equipped with experimental armor that grants him unmatched strength, Ominae Yu is the Spriggans' ace operator, sent to avert catastrophes around the world.
652 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
15 people are currently reading
100 people want to read
About the author
Hiroshi Takashige
123 books30 followersHiroshi Takashige (たかしげ宙) is a Japanese manga artist best known in various manga communities in Japan and overseas for his work in Spriggan and later in Until Death Do Us Part.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
January 16, 2026
After reading this volume, I realized that the Netflix anime tried to fixed some of the issues with the plot and dialogue of this manga, while still managing to be more source accurate adaptation than the earlier movie. This made me appreciate the show a lot more than I already did.
This volume was filled with so many cool ideas and dope fight scenes. And the ancient civilization setting makes for relatively easy but complex and interesting world building. I love the fact that Yu is always trying to be a normal kid by constantly reminding himself that he isn’t just a weapon and doing normal kid stuff.
I can't wait to learn more about Yu's past to better understand the character, and to explore the world building better in these books. I mean, how could anyone think that a teenage Ethan Hunt with a far more tragic past, hunting multiple incredibly powerful Indiana Jones style relics, all bundled in the 1990’s Akira asthetic, is anything but cool.
This volume was filled with so many cool ideas and dope fight scenes. And the ancient civilization setting makes for relatively easy but complex and interesting world building. I love the fact that Yu is always trying to be a normal kid by constantly reminding himself that he isn’t just a weapon and doing normal kid stuff.
I can't wait to learn more about Yu's past to better understand the character, and to explore the world building better in these books. I mean, how could anyone think that a teenage Ethan Hunt with a far more tragic past, hunting multiple incredibly powerful Indiana Jones style relics, all bundled in the 1990’s Akira asthetic, is anything but cool.
December 21, 2024
Cyberpunkish hothead young Indiana Jones meets James Bond meets fantasy artefacts. What's not to like?
Well, let's face it, this isn't a psychological manga, is it? It's pure shonen, ultra-rough action with no finesse whatsoever. But it's fun! You put your brain in a cupboard, you enjoy this totally decomplexed B-series, in its original early 90's state, with its 2-bit-but-funny punchlines, its total lack of character development and its relentless action. Then you pick up your brain and get on with your life, a slight smile on your face.
The design smacks of the 90s, influenced by Akira and Ghost in the Shell in terms of style and the use of zipatones very typical of the period. I discovered manga at that time so I have a great affection for this particular style.
Well, let's face it, this isn't a psychological manga, is it? It's pure shonen, ultra-rough action with no finesse whatsoever. But it's fun! You put your brain in a cupboard, you enjoy this totally decomplexed B-series, in its original early 90's state, with its 2-bit-but-funny punchlines, its total lack of character development and its relentless action. Then you pick up your brain and get on with your life, a slight smile on your face.
The design smacks of the 90s, influenced by Akira and Ghost in the Shell in terms of style and the use of zipatones very typical of the period. I discovered manga at that time so I have a great affection for this particular style.
May 26, 2025
This was a fun time, at times thrilling and frequently funny.
November 13, 2023
3.9/5
This first batch of stories is rather uneven, but a lot of fun. Yu is your typical hotheaded, over-confident shonen protagonist who can't seem to die despite his insane wounds sustained in every mission, which even the manga starts to joke about near the end of this deluxe edition. The first two stories are alright, and the arc which the 1998 film adapted was fun, although the film is the superior version of that story. The final chapter, Berserker, was pretty straightforward and an enjoyable monster battle of sorts.
There isn't much else to say about Spriggan, really. The battles (of which there are many) are for the most part easy to follow. The dialogue is corny as all hell. The characterization is thin. The art is uneven, with character's faces looking pretty wonky most of the time, but when it's good, it's really good. So, there's that.
Still, as far as cyberpunk Indiana Jones/high-tech spy thrillers go, this one's off to a fairly entertaining start.
This first batch of stories is rather uneven, but a lot of fun. Yu is your typical hotheaded, over-confident shonen protagonist who can't seem to die despite his insane wounds sustained in every mission, which even the manga starts to joke about near the end of this deluxe edition. The first two stories are alright, and the arc which the 1998 film adapted was fun, although the film is the superior version of that story. The final chapter, Berserker, was pretty straightforward and an enjoyable monster battle of sorts.
There isn't much else to say about Spriggan, really. The battles (of which there are many) are for the most part easy to follow. The dialogue is corny as all hell. The characterization is thin. The art is uneven, with character's faces looking pretty wonky most of the time, but when it's good, it's really good. So, there's that.
Still, as far as cyberpunk Indiana Jones/high-tech spy thrillers go, this one's off to a fairly entertaining start.
September 19, 2022
This is a manga series that I have been hoping for a translation of for years (This is not a new series). I had read the few volumes that Viz published, but a new publisher has the rights now and hopefully their plans for publishing the entire series in three large volumes will happen.
This is very much like a 1980s action film, with a little bit of tomb raiding/treasure hunting going on. Onimae Yu is the top operative for Arcam's Spriggan division. In this universe Arcam's goal is to seal away artifacts that could be used as super weapons, instead of letting them been viewed or studied in museums.
Yeah, that does seem a bit contradictory. Arcam will dig up Noah's Ark, then seal it way because it is actually a super advanced terraforming device.
BTW this has recently been adapted as an anime series on Netflix. The Noah's Ark and Berserker stories follow the manga version very faithfully. So if you've watched those episodes, honestly you can skip those chapters if you want.
The hazard here is what I have found in many manga that I enjoy. A combination of repetition of tropes (Yu has to assist an Arcam team with understanding or sealing up a new artifact), tons of OTT action, and not a lot of character development (I like Lone Wolf and Cub, but I like the same creator's Samurai Executioner more because it felt less repetitious with better character work). Supposedly Viz dumped the title because of its anti-western sentiments (Yu's most common opponents in this volume are the S.A.S., CIA and Spetsnaz).
Regardless the series is fun for fans of action/adventure films. It is my understanding that as the series progresses Yu begins to question's Arcam's motives and goals, and characters swing more into gray areas.
This is very much like a 1980s action film, with a little bit of tomb raiding/treasure hunting going on. Onimae Yu is the top operative for Arcam's Spriggan division. In this universe Arcam's goal is to seal away artifacts that could be used as super weapons, instead of letting them been viewed or studied in museums.
Yeah, that does seem a bit contradictory. Arcam will dig up Noah's Ark, then seal it way because it is actually a super advanced terraforming device.
BTW this has recently been adapted as an anime series on Netflix. The Noah's Ark and Berserker stories follow the manga version very faithfully. So if you've watched those episodes, honestly you can skip those chapters if you want.
The hazard here is what I have found in many manga that I enjoy. A combination of repetition of tropes (Yu has to assist an Arcam team with understanding or sealing up a new artifact), tons of OTT action, and not a lot of character development (I like Lone Wolf and Cub, but I like the same creator's Samurai Executioner more because it felt less repetitious with better character work). Supposedly Viz dumped the title because of its anti-western sentiments (Yu's most common opponents in this volume are the S.A.S., CIA and Spetsnaz).
Regardless the series is fun for fans of action/adventure films. It is my understanding that as the series progresses Yu begins to question's Arcam's motives and goals, and characters swing more into gray areas.
March 7, 2023
Indiana Jones meets James Bond with a helping of manga style cyberpunk. This is one of the most fun action manga I've ever read and it checks so many boxes for things I love in fiction.
Ancient powerful artifacts from unknown civilizations.
Stateless intelligence organizations out to prevent the artifacts from being used as weapons.
Shadowy government and military operations with supernatural and science fiction elements.
In no other book will you find a were-ape shoot a US Special Forces member who uses wires to assassinate targets in the face with a combat shotgun.
If you like Metal Gear, Spriggan is a clear inspiration for the games. Highly recommended for fans of action, scifi, ultraviolence and conspiracies.
Ancient powerful artifacts from unknown civilizations.
Stateless intelligence organizations out to prevent the artifacts from being used as weapons.
Shadowy government and military operations with supernatural and science fiction elements.
In no other book will you find a were-ape shoot a US Special Forces member who uses wires to assassinate targets in the face with a combat shotgun.
If you like Metal Gear, Spriggan is a clear inspiration for the games. Highly recommended for fans of action, scifi, ultraviolence and conspiracies.
May 14, 2023
Cosmological archeology is tough business.
Translating ancient proclamations of doom. Unearthing hidden sacraments left to rot. Protecting prehistoric weapons of widespread destruction. The ARCAM Foundation is in the heart of a dangerous and blood-spattered line of work, often on the wrong end of a globe-spanning conflict involving derelict scientists, western army groups, and rogue cyborgs. Amid the madness rests a single high-school boy, a spriggan (top-class paramilitary operative), whom ARCAM assigns to all of its most hazardous missions. It's tough work. Maddening work. But Ominae Yu is as tough as they come.
SPRIGGAN v1 is a highly entertaining sci-fi manga. The comic is definitely a product of its time, whose cultural antecedent of historic 1970s and 1980s film and literature begat myriad adventures into fresh otherworldly dangers, obscenely advanced technology, and intoxicatingly fragrant dances with the unknown. In SPRIGGAN v1, cyborgs with weapons-mounted arms cut a bloody swath through jungle landscapes, ageless South American wizards conjure the elements to smite their primeval rivals, and everyday soldiers test their mettle against indestructible tools, weapons, and artefacts believed to have been crafted by the gods.
This comic possesses an extremely narrow but well-conceived narrative schema: Old artefacts of tremendous destructive power could fall into the wrong hands; that means someone has to protect those artefacts, or crush the hands intent on stealing them. In exploring this narrative concept, readers encounter intelligent and practical bad guys, diverse settings of legitimate historical esteem, rogue villains who betray their comrades, and secondary characters who humanize Ominae, who, to be blunt, is a trained killer. However much this manga initially skewed toward readers with a taste for action, contemporary comics fans will learn rather quickly that quality content will forever age well.
Ominae is the proverbial underdog who never knows when to quit, and his status as an undersized but overvalued asset to a corporate paramilitary enterprise situates him well against traditionally overengineered foes. But Ominae's confidence and resilience isn't the only reason his character works. SPRIGGAN v1 allows the character to show off his battle smarts, his affection for his fellow soldiers, and his high-regard for others' emotional vulnerability.
Diversity of skill and character are essential to Ominae's survival. When the kid is up against the odds, he assembles reasonable tactics on the spot. He knows how to handle a supersonic assault device; he has a good idea on how to contain the fallout of a massive explosion deep in a military black site; he knows how to topple an opponent who is twice his size and equipped with multiple brain augmentations or cybernetic enhancements. And it's just as well; Ominae finds himself on various battlefields against the British Special Air Services, the U.S. CIA, the U.S. Special Forces Machiner's Platoon, Russia's Spetsnaz personnel, and so forth.
This is a dynamic and beautiful comic. In narrative terms, the story doesn't waste a moment getting into the action. SPRIGGAN v1 incorporates much of the brilliant storytelling tactics native to shounen and seinen science fiction and general action tales of its historical precedent. In short, this book gets its characters into trouble. Fast. Early chapters feature the usual push and pull of a creative team searching for its trademark, but Minagawa's art eventually loosens, leaving behind claustrophobic detail and forging a newer and more engaging path that involves an impressive use of scale, effective inlaid text effects, realistic and humanizing secondary behaviors, and kinetic page composition.
Some episodes are more heavily rooted in science fantasy than in science fiction, but it all spins toward Ominae and his cohorts finding their way to a bloody solution. Difficult as it is to believe, Minagawa's art treasures violence and gore without deigning to revel in it. Menacing, ensorcelled jaguar-people? Toothless psychotics with a lust for slicing up their opponents? Pet projects from the U.S. Department of Defense who happen to have a magnetic field amplifier installed in their brain?
Anytime the comic strays from demanding the good guys do good things, readers will find the tonal shift is deliberate. For example, fellow spriggan veteran Jean Jacquemonde loses his mind when tearing apart some opposing forces at a mountain base camp. Jacquemonde is a far colder, less forgiving, and more efficient a soldier than Ominae, and it's clear the two young men's strengths lay in vastly different areas. Interestingly, the opposite is also true, meaning the manga's gallery of antagonists covers a mouthwatering spectrum of villainy. Some baddies have family on the mind, some have lost everything to war, some are purely opportunistic, and some are willing to change their path due to a chance encounter.
SPRIGGAN v1 excels because of its orderly narrative structure, rational yet impatient characters, and engaging artwork. The creative team's use of longer story arcs works well, particularly when published in omnibus books. It remains to be seen whether clever secondary or tertiary character will reappear later in the manga (e.g., blacklisted treasure hunter, prodigy linguistics professor, stubborn British lieutenant colonel), but the comic has a deep cast that can take each narrative arc in many interesting directions.
Translating ancient proclamations of doom. Unearthing hidden sacraments left to rot. Protecting prehistoric weapons of widespread destruction. The ARCAM Foundation is in the heart of a dangerous and blood-spattered line of work, often on the wrong end of a globe-spanning conflict involving derelict scientists, western army groups, and rogue cyborgs. Amid the madness rests a single high-school boy, a spriggan (top-class paramilitary operative), whom ARCAM assigns to all of its most hazardous missions. It's tough work. Maddening work. But Ominae Yu is as tough as they come.
SPRIGGAN v1 is a highly entertaining sci-fi manga. The comic is definitely a product of its time, whose cultural antecedent of historic 1970s and 1980s film and literature begat myriad adventures into fresh otherworldly dangers, obscenely advanced technology, and intoxicatingly fragrant dances with the unknown. In SPRIGGAN v1, cyborgs with weapons-mounted arms cut a bloody swath through jungle landscapes, ageless South American wizards conjure the elements to smite their primeval rivals, and everyday soldiers test their mettle against indestructible tools, weapons, and artefacts believed to have been crafted by the gods.
This comic possesses an extremely narrow but well-conceived narrative schema: Old artefacts of tremendous destructive power could fall into the wrong hands; that means someone has to protect those artefacts, or crush the hands intent on stealing them. In exploring this narrative concept, readers encounter intelligent and practical bad guys, diverse settings of legitimate historical esteem, rogue villains who betray their comrades, and secondary characters who humanize Ominae, who, to be blunt, is a trained killer. However much this manga initially skewed toward readers with a taste for action, contemporary comics fans will learn rather quickly that quality content will forever age well.
Ominae is the proverbial underdog who never knows when to quit, and his status as an undersized but overvalued asset to a corporate paramilitary enterprise situates him well against traditionally overengineered foes. But Ominae's confidence and resilience isn't the only reason his character works. SPRIGGAN v1 allows the character to show off his battle smarts, his affection for his fellow soldiers, and his high-regard for others' emotional vulnerability.
Diversity of skill and character are essential to Ominae's survival. When the kid is up against the odds, he assembles reasonable tactics on the spot. He knows how to handle a supersonic assault device; he has a good idea on how to contain the fallout of a massive explosion deep in a military black site; he knows how to topple an opponent who is twice his size and equipped with multiple brain augmentations or cybernetic enhancements. And it's just as well; Ominae finds himself on various battlefields against the British Special Air Services, the U.S. CIA, the U.S. Special Forces Machiner's Platoon, Russia's Spetsnaz personnel, and so forth.
This is a dynamic and beautiful comic. In narrative terms, the story doesn't waste a moment getting into the action. SPRIGGAN v1 incorporates much of the brilliant storytelling tactics native to shounen and seinen science fiction and general action tales of its historical precedent. In short, this book gets its characters into trouble. Fast. Early chapters feature the usual push and pull of a creative team searching for its trademark, but Minagawa's art eventually loosens, leaving behind claustrophobic detail and forging a newer and more engaging path that involves an impressive use of scale, effective inlaid text effects, realistic and humanizing secondary behaviors, and kinetic page composition.
Some episodes are more heavily rooted in science fantasy than in science fiction, but it all spins toward Ominae and his cohorts finding their way to a bloody solution. Difficult as it is to believe, Minagawa's art treasures violence and gore without deigning to revel in it. Menacing, ensorcelled jaguar-people? Toothless psychotics with a lust for slicing up their opponents? Pet projects from the U.S. Department of Defense who happen to have a magnetic field amplifier installed in their brain?
Anytime the comic strays from demanding the good guys do good things, readers will find the tonal shift is deliberate. For example, fellow spriggan veteran Jean Jacquemonde loses his mind when tearing apart some opposing forces at a mountain base camp. Jacquemonde is a far colder, less forgiving, and more efficient a soldier than Ominae, and it's clear the two young men's strengths lay in vastly different areas. Interestingly, the opposite is also true, meaning the manga's gallery of antagonists covers a mouthwatering spectrum of villainy. Some baddies have family on the mind, some have lost everything to war, some are purely opportunistic, and some are willing to change their path due to a chance encounter.
SPRIGGAN v1 excels because of its orderly narrative structure, rational yet impatient characters, and engaging artwork. The creative team's use of longer story arcs works well, particularly when published in omnibus books. It remains to be seen whether clever secondary or tertiary character will reappear later in the manga (e.g., blacklisted treasure hunter, prodigy linguistics professor, stubborn British lieutenant colonel), but the comic has a deep cast that can take each narrative arc in many interesting directions.
June 29, 2024
there's a lot of commentary within 80s manga especially about imperialism and the younger generation being forced to cope with the horrors of a war they didn't start but also it's objectively hilarious to have a supervillain's world domination plan be utterly shattered because some little 16-year-old punk wearing an artificial muscle suit skipped school to wreck their shit
May 15, 2023
Fun if bloody Shonen manga that reads like a cross between Indiana Jones and Metal Gear Solid.
Really awesome manga art from the 1980s. The premise is also pretty cool. Certain archaeological sites are the remnants of super advanced civilizations. The author has come up with cool ways to reimagine famous artifacts as technological marvels. The power hungry Americans and Russians send their sinister cyborgs out to retrieve them, only to be stopped by a private corporation, Arcam and its super powered Spriggan operatives.
Who is funding Arcam and how does it compete with the two super powers? No idea, maybe it's explained in a later volume. The premise reminds me a little of the first season of Gundam 00 and how it presented the world as essentially unjust, as power is monopolised by a few nations that act as laws unto themselves. Like Celestial Being in Gundam 00, Arcam disrupts this monopoly on force through its superior technology. Also like Celestial Being, Arcam as a private company, does not even have to answer to any kind of population, through democratic or otherwise. Will Spriggan end up addressing this? There are sort of hints that maybe the series will go that way. The crazy supernatural plots, cool technology, details about archaeology and excellent pacing are enough to hold up this sizeable volume, but hopefully there is a bit more expansion on the nature of Arcam and further details about the way archaeological relics are being used in Spriggan's world in future volumes. As it is, it's a bit like: Arcam finds a relic, the american's or the russians try to steal it, the relic activates and almost ends the world, the Spriggan stop the bad guys at the last minute.
The only downsides:
It does get a bit repetitive.
It does get a bit repetitive.
Really awesome manga art from the 1980s. The premise is also pretty cool. Certain archaeological sites are the remnants of super advanced civilizations. The author has come up with cool ways to reimagine famous artifacts as technological marvels. The power hungry Americans and Russians send their sinister cyborgs out to retrieve them, only to be stopped by a private corporation, Arcam and its super powered Spriggan operatives.
Who is funding Arcam and how does it compete with the two super powers? No idea, maybe it's explained in a later volume. The premise reminds me a little of the first season of Gundam 00 and how it presented the world as essentially unjust, as power is monopolised by a few nations that act as laws unto themselves. Like Celestial Being in Gundam 00, Arcam disrupts this monopoly on force through its superior technology. Also like Celestial Being, Arcam as a private company, does not even have to answer to any kind of population, through democratic or otherwise. Will Spriggan end up addressing this? There are sort of hints that maybe the series will go that way. The crazy supernatural plots, cool technology, details about archaeology and excellent pacing are enough to hold up this sizeable volume, but hopefully there is a bit more expansion on the nature of Arcam and further details about the way archaeological relics are being used in Spriggan's world in future volumes. As it is, it's a bit like: Arcam finds a relic, the american's or the russians try to steal it, the relic activates and almost ends the world, the Spriggan stop the bad guys at the last minute.
The only downsides:
It does get a bit repetitive.
It does get a bit repetitive.
January 13, 2023
4 stars out of 5
Spriggan is a manga with very harsh criticisms directed at it. Originally an eleven volume manga that was later adapted into anime twice - first as a movie in 1998 and secondly as an ONA in 2022 - the manga has gotten critcisms due to the anti-American content...and having one of the good guys being a clone of ADOLF HITLER HIMSELF. I'd heard so much weird things about this manga, but I still wanted to read it due to it looking similar to manga/anime I really enjoyed. I got the first deluxe edition for Christmas, and...
...I like Spriggan. I enjoyed this volume quite a bit.
As the Cold War is getting to a close, the ARCAM Corporation's elite special operatives, the SPRIGGAN, are assigned to uncover the recently discovered relics of an ancient alien race. Hotheaded Ominae Yu is one of these Spriggans, and he will do anything he can to keep the legacy of the past buried away.
Let's get this out of the way: Spriggan is straight up late 1980's manga/anime ultraviolent action cheese. From the writing to the art style, this manga doesn't strive to be the most deep or thoughtful manga out there. It's straight up fun, ant I have a soft spot for these kinds of manga, so this was very enjoyable to me. I won't say Spriggan is the best manga out there, but it is very enjoyable.
If you like the insanity of 1980's OVAs, Spriggan is a great recommendation. While it isn't as violent, it still has that distinct feeling. I will definitely be continuing with this series. I'll see you next time!
-- Sebastian C
Spriggan is a manga with very harsh criticisms directed at it. Originally an eleven volume manga that was later adapted into anime twice - first as a movie in 1998 and secondly as an ONA in 2022 - the manga has gotten critcisms due to the anti-American content...and having one of the good guys being a clone of ADOLF HITLER HIMSELF. I'd heard so much weird things about this manga, but I still wanted to read it due to it looking similar to manga/anime I really enjoyed. I got the first deluxe edition for Christmas, and...
...I like Spriggan. I enjoyed this volume quite a bit.
As the Cold War is getting to a close, the ARCAM Corporation's elite special operatives, the SPRIGGAN, are assigned to uncover the recently discovered relics of an ancient alien race. Hotheaded Ominae Yu is one of these Spriggans, and he will do anything he can to keep the legacy of the past buried away.
Let's get this out of the way: Spriggan is straight up late 1980's manga/anime ultraviolent action cheese. From the writing to the art style, this manga doesn't strive to be the most deep or thoughtful manga out there. It's straight up fun, ant I have a soft spot for these kinds of manga, so this was very enjoyable to me. I won't say Spriggan is the best manga out there, but it is very enjoyable.
If you like the insanity of 1980's OVAs, Spriggan is a great recommendation. While it isn't as violent, it still has that distinct feeling. I will definitely be continuing with this series. I'll see you next time!
-- Sebastian C
June 18, 2024
I’ve had a copy of Ryouji Minagawa’s manga Arms9 in Japanese for twenty years sitting on my shelf - waiting for it to be translated (still waiting). Then I saw this pop up - weird publisher but also a Netflix adaptation? Weirder.
This first massive volume is worth a deep dive for any manga fan. We’ve got a great sci-fi / revisionist history concept- the Spriggans race around the world trying to keep ancient secret artifacts out of the CIA or the Russians hands, lest they use them for world
Domination. Chapter three has a very cool mind bending revision on Noah’s Arc, as an example.
Minagawa’s art is truly sumptuous, and each subsequent story - there are four complete arcs here, one very long - provides different opportunities to really show his dynamic, fluid and hyper detailed work.
The script is the hold up - the stories are sometimes awesome, the last one especially - but the dialogue is almost always just B level ok. Bummer.
Glad there are at least three more big volumes of this out there.
This first massive volume is worth a deep dive for any manga fan. We’ve got a great sci-fi / revisionist history concept- the Spriggans race around the world trying to keep ancient secret artifacts out of the CIA or the Russians hands, lest they use them for world
Domination. Chapter three has a very cool mind bending revision on Noah’s Arc, as an example.
Minagawa’s art is truly sumptuous, and each subsequent story - there are four complete arcs here, one very long - provides different opportunities to really show his dynamic, fluid and hyper detailed work.
The script is the hold up - the stories are sometimes awesome, the last one especially - but the dialogue is almost always just B level ok. Bummer.
Glad there are at least three more big volumes of this out there.
September 25, 2022
This rating is definitely skewed by my personal preferences for the basic conceits of the series, as I love the whole ancient aliens crossed with Indiana Jones through a late 80s-early 90s action movie lens thing this series does. If you have little interest in the concept, however, this is a highly competent but very repetitive action manga with solid art and very little else.
February 5, 2023
Bueno... Me lo acabare porque son solo 6 a ver que tal, pero de momento regular.
March 13, 2023
Seriously high-quality manga from the Kawajiri-era golden age of violent action-adventure manga & anime.
January 12, 2025
3.5 stars.
October 29, 2025
4.5 stars.
February 11, 2026
Will always be a great reference for my future action comics.
So much to learn here.
So much to learn here.
February 21, 2024
I really love the concept of Spriggan. The idea of a group going around collecting all-powerful ancient artefacts is right up my street.
However, the manga itself is a little hit and miss. I enjoyed this omnibus, but I have to admit that it did have it's flaws.
For starters, the storytelling is done very much in a case-of the-week sort of way, with little, if any, plot carrying over from story to story. And that's not always a problem. But with Spriggan, every new story has to have a new artefact, a new villain, and a new love interest. And to me, that really limits how attached you can get to the story, because the time you have grown fond of a new love-interest, she is shipped off in place of someone else.
I will be reading omnibus 2. But I really hope that we get some reoccuring characters, or over-arching plot in the next volume. Otherwise that could be me checking out.
C'mon Hiroshi Takashige, Don't let me down! 3/5.
However, the manga itself is a little hit and miss. I enjoyed this omnibus, but I have to admit that it did have it's flaws.
For starters, the storytelling is done very much in a case-of the-week sort of way, with little, if any, plot carrying over from story to story. And that's not always a problem. But with Spriggan, every new story has to have a new artefact, a new villain, and a new love interest. And to me, that really limits how attached you can get to the story, because the time you have grown fond of a new love-interest, she is shipped off in place of someone else.
I will be reading omnibus 2. But I really hope that we get some reoccuring characters, or over-arching plot in the next volume. Otherwise that could be me checking out.
C'mon Hiroshi Takashige, Don't let me down! 3/5.
November 2, 2022
Finally getting the English version!!
I saw the anime back in the 90s and was blown away but never read the manga because it was not widely available. After seeing the Netflix limited series, this is gold!
I saw the anime back in the 90s and was blown away but never read the manga because it was not widely available. After seeing the Netflix limited series, this is gold!
May 27, 2023
DNF
It wasn't for me. I could see why some people might enjoy it but it just felt outdated and confusing. It felt like the fight scenes were written by a kid...I don't know....just didn't vibe with it.
It wasn't for me. I could see why some people might enjoy it but it just felt outdated and confusing. It felt like the fight scenes were written by a kid...I don't know....just didn't vibe with it.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews