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Star Wars Manga #14
Star Wars Manga: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, Volume 2
Podracing is the most exciting sport in the entire galaxy. Screaming along at 600 mph, dodging cliffs and rocks, risking your life for the thrill of speed . . . But something has been missing from the whole experience up until now-SPEEDLINES! Be here for the most exciting retelling of the movie of the century as Dark Horse presents Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace-MANGA! The only Phantom Menace adaptation to give you all the speedlines you can handle!
88 pages, Paperback
First published January 19, 2000
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79 people want to read
About the author
Kia Asamiya
450 books23 followersKia Asamiya(麻宮 騎亜, born in 1963) is the pen-name of a popular Japanese manga artist whose work spans multiple genres and appeals to diverse audiences (1990s).
He is well-known for using influences from American comics, television, and movies in his work, and describes himself as a big fan of both Batman and Star Wars. One of the most widely-published Japanese manga-ka, nearly all of his stories have been translated into other languages, including English. His two most successful and popular manga series to-date are Nadesico and Silent Möbius.
Prior to becoming a manga artist, Asamiya graduated from the Tokyo Designer School, and then worked as a character designer for a number of anime series, and even designed models for some of the later Godzilla movies (1980s). For this career, he used a different pen-name, Michitaka Kikuchi (菊地 道隆), and maintained the two professional identities separately for many years. Several of the anime series that he worked on were very popular both inside and outside of Japan, most notably including Sonic Soldier Borgman. Even after focusing primarily on his manga career, Asamiya continued to do character designs and creative consultation on anime series based on his stories, occasionally under the Kikuchi name.
In the early 2000s, Asamiya has shifted his focus from teenage and young-adult stories to stories designed for children and for an American audience. In the former case, he credits his young children as a motivation, but in the latter case, he points to a long-standing desire to work with his favorite American characters. To that end, he has worked on projects with Image Comics, Marvel Comics, and DC Comics, as well as developing a manga adaptation of the movie, "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace".
While many Japanese artists (and artists in general) are quite reclusive, Asamiya often makes an effort to be available to his fans. He maintains a website with news and information about his studio, Studio TRON (named after the Disney movie TRON). He also aids and assists his Official Fan Club by sending them regular announcements and limited-edition merchandise. Despite these actions, he shunned all public photography, and had the often-hilarious habit of depicting himself with a placeholder sign for a face. It has become a trademark feature of his books that instead of a picture of the artist, there is an elaborately decorated rectangle sporting the words "Now Printing".
He is well-known for using influences from American comics, television, and movies in his work, and describes himself as a big fan of both Batman and Star Wars. One of the most widely-published Japanese manga-ka, nearly all of his stories have been translated into other languages, including English. His two most successful and popular manga series to-date are Nadesico and Silent Möbius.
Prior to becoming a manga artist, Asamiya graduated from the Tokyo Designer School, and then worked as a character designer for a number of anime series, and even designed models for some of the later Godzilla movies (1980s). For this career, he used a different pen-name, Michitaka Kikuchi (菊地 道隆), and maintained the two professional identities separately for many years. Several of the anime series that he worked on were very popular both inside and outside of Japan, most notably including Sonic Soldier Borgman. Even after focusing primarily on his manga career, Asamiya continued to do character designs and creative consultation on anime series based on his stories, occasionally under the Kikuchi name.
In the early 2000s, Asamiya has shifted his focus from teenage and young-adult stories to stories designed for children and for an American audience. In the former case, he credits his young children as a motivation, but in the latter case, he points to a long-standing desire to work with his favorite American characters. To that end, he has worked on projects with Image Comics, Marvel Comics, and DC Comics, as well as developing a manga adaptation of the movie, "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace".
While many Japanese artists (and artists in general) are quite reclusive, Asamiya often makes an effort to be available to his fans. He maintains a website with news and information about his studio, Studio TRON (named after the Disney movie TRON). He also aids and assists his Official Fan Club by sending them regular announcements and limited-edition merchandise. Despite these actions, he shunned all public photography, and had the often-hilarious habit of depicting himself with a placeholder sign for a face. It has become a trademark feature of his books that instead of a picture of the artist, there is an elaborately decorated rectangle sporting the words "Now Printing".
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
June 8, 2023
This was a solid read. The adaptation bit seemed a bit off or maybe a bit lacking, but the main story that this gets across is still great. I especially enjoyed the anticipation and execution of the Maul/Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan battle in this one.
July 8, 2023
Set in 32BBY
What do you want from me? It's a manga adaptation of the film. It's good. But it's pretty much the film in manga form.
What do you want from me? It's a manga adaptation of the film. It's good. But it's pretty much the film in manga form.
November 12, 2024
A good manga adaptation of the film but felt rushed. Should have 4 books rather than 2.
May 12, 2024
"It was okay." - 2 out of 5 star rating.
Unfortunately, this is a near 1:1 copy of The Phantom Menace that offers basically nothing new whatsoever. On top of that, it doesn't quite feel 'Japanese' enough, meaning that the anime/magna theme is on the weak side as well and feels more like just a traditional American-style animated depiction of the film.
On top of that, trying to mash the entire film into two (2) ~80 page comics... as a reader you are missing out on a ton of crucial content which just stacks the negatives against this Star Wars entry.
This just doesn't do it for me. I've probably seen TPM... twenty (20) times or so being real... I need something a little bit unique/creative going on to bring new life into this part of Star Wars, which is what I thought I would get with the 'Magna' being in the title. No so much here in either front.
Unfortunately, this is a near 1:1 copy of The Phantom Menace that offers basically nothing new whatsoever. On top of that, it doesn't quite feel 'Japanese' enough, meaning that the anime/magna theme is on the weak side as well and feels more like just a traditional American-style animated depiction of the film.
On top of that, trying to mash the entire film into two (2) ~80 page comics... as a reader you are missing out on a ton of crucial content which just stacks the negatives against this Star Wars entry.
This just doesn't do it for me. I've probably seen TPM... twenty (20) times or so being real... I need something a little bit unique/creative going on to bring new life into this part of Star Wars, which is what I thought I would get with the 'Magna' being in the title. No so much here in either front.
December 1, 2023
Overall the artwork was much better in both phantom menace volumes as compared to the ROTJ volumes. There was a very clear choice to try and cram the whole movie into 2 volumes instead of 4, which left the pages feeling very over stuffed, no page felt like it had any room to breath.
Overall though I liked these 2 volumes more than some of the previous. And I'm glad I managed to find this series on Marvel unlimited to read them at a fair price, they were the last Star Wars manga on my list that I needed to read.
Wondering what the adaptations for the rest of the prequels would be like, and curious if we'd ever get sequel adaptations like the Mandalorian in our modern manga style.
Overall though I liked these 2 volumes more than some of the previous. And I'm glad I managed to find this series on Marvel unlimited to read them at a fair price, they were the last Star Wars manga on my list that I needed to read.
Wondering what the adaptations for the rest of the prequels would be like, and curious if we'd ever get sequel adaptations like the Mandalorian in our modern manga style.
July 25, 2017
Better than the last one but still had some inconsistencies.
October 27, 2019
Quick impression: The second volume of the two part adaptation in manga of Star Wars: Episode 1. As I said before, a nice and entertaining adaptation and an easy read.
March 29, 2008
I didn't even know this book exsisted! Star Wars and Manga together? WOW! THAT'S AMAZING!
February 8, 2017
This was slightly better than the first one and still a solid 2 for it being OK.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews