Aoki, Mitsuru
AVERAGE REVIEW SCORE:
3 out of 5
(2 books)
TOP PICK:
Star Wars: Rebels Vol. 3
Star Wars: Rebels Vol. 2
(Art by Mitsuru Aoki)
The second Manga book adapting episodes of the first season of Rebels, set 4 BBY. Kanan finds his efforts to train Ezra as a Jedi impeded by his own lack of experience as a teacher, so when a rumour reaches the Ghost crew that Jedi Master Luminara Unduli is alive, they set out to rescue her from a secret Imperial prison. Ezra's path to becoming a Jedi Padawan is further challenged by his first encounters with the dark side of the Force, embodied by the ruthless Grand Inquisitor.
As with the first volume (by Akira Aoki), it's nice to see some more attention drawn to the brilliant storylines of Rebels. Here we get a focus on the relationship between Kanan and Ezra, exploring how a mentor who never advanced beyond Padawan himself struggles to train a headstrong and wilful youth in the ways of the Force. There's a lot more focus on character relationships in this book than the last one and I certainly appreciated that.
My big problem with these Manga volumes, however, is that they just don't capture the feel of the show and, as a result, don't feel like the best adaptations. To someone without my affinity for the TV series, this won't be a problem and you should really enjoy this book. For me, however, it just doesn't quite hit the right note, even if the Grand Inquisitor is made brilliantly terrifying here.
3 out of 5
Star Wars: Rebels Vol. 3
(Art by Mitsuru Aoki)
The third and final Manga volume adapting episodes of the animated series Rebels, including the finale of season one. Kanan and Ezra enter Lothal's long-abandoned Jedi Temple and each progress in their journeys as Jedi. They and the rest of the Ghost crew then launch a major operation against the Empire but have reckoned without the intervention of the Grand Inquisitor and Grand Moff Tarkin himself.
It's fair to say that these Manga adaptations don't really do justice to Hera, Sabine, Zeb and Chopper, but in many ways I'm glad that their focus is on the Jedi path of Kanan and Ezra, which was one of the most compelling aspects of the TV series for me (the other, from later seasons, was the formation of the Rebel Alliance). So having this book feature both their important sojourn within the Lothal Temple (including an encounter with a certain little green Jedi Master) and their final confrontation with the Grand Inquisitor, really worked for me.
Unfortunately, much like the previous two volumes, I didn't feel that this adaptation did the best job of capturing the spirit of the show itself. In particular here some of the dialogue just didn't work for me. Whilst it was just weird seeing Ezra exclaim "Crap!" and "Damn it!", the changes to Kanan's confrontation with the Grand Inquisitor were much more of a problem. It could be that this was a Japanese adaptation of an English story which has then been translated back into English but the dialogue just didn't have the same impact.
Overall, a nice conclusion to the trilogy of adaptations but absolutely no substitute for actually watching the series itself.
3 out of 5
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