Legends of the Pierced Veil: Izuna

Legends of the Pierced Veil

by Saverio Tenuta, Bruno Letizia, Carita Lupattelli (Illustrator)

Mythical tales of bloodshed set in a Feudal Japan that runs rampant with spirits both demonic and heroic fighting for the fate of their world, from acclaimed creator Saverio Tenuta.

Since the dawn of time, the Izuna wolves have been entrusted as guardians against Japan's evil spirits without piercing the veil that keeps the spirit world of the Kami and the human world separate. One day, a dark force known as the Noggo appears, spreading infection among the spiritual plane, and the Izuna, sworn to protect this realm, attempt to fight it off. But when an Izuna cub is born in the shape of a young human girl, the divide between the spirit world and the waking world becomes threatened.

Genres: Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Comics, Japan

200 pages, Hardcover

First published March 4, 2020

About the author

Dopo aver conseguito il diploma all'accademia di Belle Arti di Roma in pittura, iniziò a lavorare come grafico pubblicitario e incisore. Esordì come autore di fumetti nel 1992, collaborando con diversi editori, fra i quali Cierre per Arthur King, Casa Editrice Universo per Intrepido, RCS, Phoenix e altri. Con Phoenix pubblicò Cold Graze - risvegli di ghiaccio e Gli Incubi tecnologici di Saverio Tenuta. Lavorò anche negli Stati Uniti con Dolls per la Sirius, su testi di Lorenzo Bartoli, pubblicato successivamente anche in Italia, tratto dal libro Bambole edito da Fanucci. Collaborò poi anche con la Event Comics. Dal 2003 lavorò sia per il mercato italiano (ad esempio con uno speciale di Morrigan) che USA, per la DC Comics e con la rivista Heavy Metal. Nel 2006 iniziò la collaborazione con l'editore francese Les Homanoïdes Associés, per il quale pubblicò La Légende des Nuées Écarlates, in quattro volumi, e che verrà poi tradotta in italiano (La leggenda delle nubi scarlatte), in tedesco, in spagnolo e in inglese. Nel 2007 una sua storia venne pubblicata sulla rivista giapponese Mandala, edita da Kōdansha. Nel 1995 iniziò a insegnare fumetto e tecniche di disegno in scuole di settore e nel 2010 costituì il Daishō Studio, un atelier dove seguì i suoi allievi e sviluppò nuovi progetti di fumetto e illustrazione.

Reviews

[Tawfek · Rating 5 out of 5]

You must learn not to be taken in by false shows of affection.

I have received this ARC in exchange for an honest review, Thanks to The Greats Saverio and Carita, and NetGalley, for the opportunity.
This was my Third ARC, in such a short time, 1 ARC review is not published yet, per the publisher's request.
This will be released, in just 11 days, June 13, 2023, be in the lookout if you are interested, hopefully my review can convey a fragment of how i feel about this book.

I called the creative team the greats, because they won me over utterly and completely, it's my very first read for either of them, but WOW, Just WOW, Great Writing, that has consumed me, even though i was sick, Great Art that along with the writing took me to an entirely different place and time, that might not have been, but it was so real, so strong in this Graphic novel.

What can i say about the art, Generous Details, from the fight scenes that included armies, to the nature scenes, to the amazingly drawn creations, each character was unique, to the graceful mythological animals, that showed beauty, strength, and nobility.
You saw me talking about a previous ARC by the same publisher Humanoids Eight Limbs, that it lacked Uniqueness, and actually you see me always mention unique, i am in the lookout for Unique!
Here the uniqueness is in abundance, life is unfair sometimes to cram so much talent in one individual, but i don't care, i got to enjoy all of it, over and over and over again, This was a really long Graphic novel 200 pages, of mostly 6+ panels per page, each more beautifully drawn than the previous.
Japanese myths are just beautiful specially with this art, that compliments them and brings them to life, The Art was reminiscent of old Japanese drawings, but much much more advanced.

Foolish Humans, it wouldn't be the first time their actions go against nature and her children.

The Story felt at many points, that it was nature vs humans, It's definitely Kamis (Gods) vs humans.
But it's not really one to beat the other, but more like an attempt to create harmony between Nature and Humans, Or Gods and Humans.
For Most of the story i thought this was a Japanese mythological story retelling, but turns out it's an original story by the writer, as i can't find the source of the Izunas (Those Graceful beautiful wolves in the pics) who were the main focus of this story.
Which really blew me away even more, This felt like an ancient Epic that has been honed by ages of telling the story over and over, and making small edits over and over, and adding bits and parts and new characters to it, over thousands of years.
You know what's awesome though more than all that?
The Writer has 2 more stories like this out there, i ll start looking for them to read them sometime soon.

-Names are dangerous if someone manages to take yours...He could ruin your life, it's best not to have a name kid.
-My Name is Daisuke!

This was a funny moment, but full of innocence and bravery at the same time, a moment that changes the heart, this moment and many others reminded me of old Kung Fu movies.

I could tell you but i don't see the point, given that you're already all dead.

Badass catchphrases at many points, that also reminded me of Kung Fu movies, even though, no hand to hand fighting was involved her, all lethal weapons only!

I am not sure if i am rushing or not, But this Graphic novel, will join my favorites shelf, which only includes 12 novels and books and graphic novels and manga from the thousands of books, i have read in my life, Next Graphic novel i read by Saverio Legend of the Scarlet Blades Will tell me if i made the right choice.
Thanks Forever, for the amazing experience.

[Dana · Rating 1 out of 5]

Though I'm a sucker for folklore, especially Japanese tales, Legends of the Pierced Veil: Izuna failed on every level for me. The story was boring and I found myself skipping over pages, just wanting it to be over. The only part I really liked, artistically as well as writing-wise, was the tale about Namaenashi - the ukiyo-e-like art style looked great and I wish the whole comic book had been illustrated this way.

I found the use of Japanese terms especially puzzling - almost felt like someone typed some stuff into Google Translate and went on from there. The "sacred tree" is called munemori - mori 森 doesn't mean tree, it means forest, and mune 胸 could be something like heart or soul. They probably wanted to name the tree "heartwood" or "soulwood", typed that into a translator, got "munemori" out of it and just slapped it in there. Same with keeping the Izuna separated into senshi and onba - there are translations for these words, you can just say warriors and caregivers, it'd be much easier for an international audience to understand, and the Japanese terms have no merit other than making the story feel "cultural".

But the biggest fucking slap in the face came in the form of Aki's revelation. The Izuna (wolf-/fox-like creatures with antlers (I think)) are born through the fruits of their holy tree, which I think is cool. Apparently, Izuna can't sexually reproduce and may all be male from what I gather based on context clues. Well, when our main character Aki, who got some powers from their heartwood or whatever, has some huge revelation because she witnessed human birth, she proudly proclaims that she brings the gift of sexual reproduction to the Izuna, who are divided into senshi (warriors) and onba (lit. wetnurse, but as I said, I'm going with caregivers) MUCH LIKE MEN AND WOMEN ARE DIVIDED (her words), and from here on out will instead be categorized into FATHERS AND MOTHERS AND SHE DOESN'T SAY IT BUT YOU CAN GUESS WHICH OF THE GROUPS GOT TURNED INTO MOTHERS. I fucking hate this so much. And during Pride Month? The audacity.

I could at least appreciate the artistry and the soft blend of colors, but still all the images looked blurry and washed out. There were a handful of panels I liked composition-wise, but most of the time the interplay of text bubbles and panels/images just made for an unpleasant visual experience. Every page was PACKED, there was no room for the art or text to breathe, which resulted in the pacing feeling very monotonous and me only skimming pages.
You can change and control a comic book's pace by mixing full-page illustrations without any text, pages with so many panels they take up the whole space, or pages that utilize space by having panels arranged unconventionally. Legends of the Pierced Veil: Izuna did none of that and that made it quickly boring visually.

There was also the old sexualization of female characters and I'm not even gonna go into detail here cause I'm just so over it. I liked the design of the Izuna a lot, but that's about it. None of the characters were interesting in the least; the creators wanted the female lead to be San from Mononoke-hime without understanding what made her such a good character, and Aki ends up as a badly written discount version of her, lacking any of San's strength. I honestly feel like I wasted time I could've spent rereading Wayward , which is a much much better comic book based on Japanese folk tales.

- ARC provided by NetGalley -

[Senga krew_w_piach · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ostatni z dostępnych w mojej bibliotece komiks z samurajskiego świata Saveiro Tenuty. Tym razem zaprosił do współpracy scenarzystę Bruno Letizię i ilustratorkę Caritę Lupatelli. Scenariusz tego spin-offu „Legendy o Szkarłatnych Obłokach” jest trochę bardziej skomplikowany. Rzecz dzieje się na skrzyżowaniu dwóch światów - ludzkiego i żyjących za zasłoną duchów kami z plemienia Izuna, mających postać pięknych białych wilków z porożem. Obu im zagrażają okrutne demony noggo. Żeby stawić im opór pomiędzy stworzeniami żyjącymi dotąd obok siebie będzie musiał powstać pomost i przyjdzie im mierzyć się z zupełnie nową rzeczywistością.
Nie będę się powtarzać - niezmiennie pozostaję pod ogromnym wrażeniem tego świata i piękna jego przedstawienia graficznego. Co ciekawe, w „Izunie” wyraźnie widać, że do współpracy zaproszono kobietę, bo rysy postaci, szczególnie damskich, uległy złagodzeniu. Bardzo jestem ciekawa co kryją pozostałe komiksy Tenuty. Polecam!

[May · Rating 5 out of 5]

Plot:
To save the Kamigakushi, a tree that magically shields the Kami (spirits) world from humans, from an infection by the Noggo(Spirits of dead innocents), the Munemori (Spirit protectors) must reveal themselves to find a cure. Because I haven’t been exposed to Japanese mythology, I had to create a list to remember the terms. But once I had a reference, I wished for more books like Legends of the Pierced Veil: Izuna.
Each chapter is a time jump, coursing the book over about twenty years. Chapter 1 and 2 focus on Aki and the Senshi (The wolves). Chapter 2 was by far my favorite. Chapter 3 and 4 focus more on Daisuke and a Nameless Samurai.

Characters:
Aki – Born from the Kamigakushi, she’s not like other Kami, because she’s a white-haired human. She never really feels like the main character (in a good way), because she is what ties all the characters together.
Kenshin – Used by his father and basically brainwashed into being a warrior. Romance didn’t just feel instantaneous, it was. Besides, their whole relationship in the end was Kenshin chasing Aki screaming “THIS ISN’T WHO YOU ARE.”




Daisuke – The main focus in chapters 3 and 4 who remains the plucky little boy character. His tie in between the chapters is interesting and leaves me excited in his final chapter.
Side Characters:
Kenta of the Senshi – Reborn with Aki from the Kamigakushi, making them practically siblings.

There’s a lot more, but he’s my favorite.

Art:
Love aesthetically pleasing, hand-drawn, watercolor? Yup, this pretty book is for you.


Overall: Thank you to #NetGalley and #LegendsofthePiercedVeilIzuna in exchange for an honest review. 4.5/5 Graphic Novel was approximately 200 pages.
The plots felt like a frayed rope that comes together because of Aki, so if you like a lot of characters, I’d recommend it. If you love LOK’s Spirit World in a Samurai setting, I’d highly recommend it.

[Marie Chalupová (Levitara) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This graphic novel is very obviously inspired by Japanese mythology. We are introduced to a world where Kami are separated by a veil from the human world. Protecting that veil from dark creatures called Noggo is a race of mythic wolfs Izuna. When one of them dies, a sacred tree births a new one, until one day it also gives birth to a human child. That child is Aki, whose story we follow as the veil is collapsing and darkness is endangering both worlds.

The art is beautiful, especially the nature in the background. I also enjoyed the design of all the mythological creatures. On the other hand, I found the humans, especially their expressions, less appealing in some places.

The story started off a bit boring but improved as it went. It's separated into two parts with a time skip in between and a change of the main character, even though the story and characters of the first part still play a big role in the second part.

The first part was a bit rushed. I felt like I didn't get a chance to connect with the characters. I didn't care much about Aki and her romantic interest, Kenshin, but there was quite a bit of focus on some wolf characters and those shine through towards the end of the first part. The second part introduces more interesting characters and made me care much more about them. It also had a good twist. The end suggested there might be a continuation.

There was one other slight issue regarding the use of Japanese words. I am fine with it when it's used for a word that lacks exact translation and to give it a bit of atmosphere, but I feel like using it for jigoku=hell or gaijin=foreigner/outsider felt a bit stupid in the way it was used:
"...suffer in jigoku for eternity." or "Gaijin traveler, if you were to wander off the beaten path one day..."

I give 2,75* to the first part and 3,25* to the second.

I received an ARC for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Katharine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

This graphic novel does have gorgeous art. Every panel on a page looks like a painting, and the colors are rich and luscious. Some parts of the art, such as characters' expressions fell a little frozen at times, mostly because the art leans so hard on the painted style. About the story, my feelings are mixed. The story is certainly interesting on the surface, but it just feels like a lot of cool events happening with little overall plot cohesion. I won't lie, the time skips and flashbacks at certain parts of the story confused me. Everything felt like a series of disconnected events, though according to the story, they are all connected. Also, you don't get to know the characters at all. You know who they are from their backstories and what you are told, but you never get to see how the character themselves feel. This left characters feeling like a collection of tropes, not like actual people. The character designs were certainly interesting, but I have a minor grievance with how the women were portrayed. Why is it that both main female characters are almost CONSTANTLY naked? It felt like both women were weirdly over-sexualized for no apparent reason. There is no reason, story-wise at least, for them to be constantly nude or near-nude. I'm just annoyed that they were designed this way, because the men are fully covered, from neck to ankle. If you want to look at some gorgeous art, this is a good graphic novel. I cannot say as much for the story.

[H. Bentham · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have very mixed feelings about this graphic novel bec it had gorgeous art and the premise was very intriguing. Its potential to be an epic comic series was great and I guess that was what carried me to push through and read it towards the end.

Bec oh my god, the pacing was unclear if it wanted to be fast or slow. Aki being born out of the tree was fantastic but it was unclear what her purpose was in all of this. Even when it was revealed how she would unite the spirit world and the human world, it seemed arbitrary and useless, and idk, the ending of the story arc didn't really satisfy and/or make sense to me. Such violence and sacrifice, but for what??

I have to address some problematic themes too, like the over-sexualization of the female characters, their one-dimensional characterizations, and the haphazard use of Japanese names *just because*. Initially, I would have recommended this to those who liked comics with Japanese lore themes but nah, I didn't really like this as much as I thought i would.

Again, the art is it's only saving grace. The design of the Izuna, Aki's powers (I would be less harsh of her nudity if it meant to signify her connection to the natural state of things but she - and all the other women - can be clothed too. It doesn''t change the narrative when they have tops on), and the action sequences were visually appealing, the story and development just was too hollow and boring for me.

*The eARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley for free in exchange for an honest review. It doesn't affect my opinion of the book. Thank you.

[Angelica Dominguez · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all I want to thank netgalley for providing me with this graphic novel.

Legend of the Pierced Veil: Izuna tells us about the mythical events of Japan's feudal era, where demonic and heroic spirits fight for the fate of the world.

Here the izunas wolves are the guardians of Japan, they are in charge of protecting them from evil spirits.
However, one day an evil being known as Noggo arrives, contaminating the spiritual world, when trying to fight against it, an Izuna cub is born in human form. Time passes and the izunas continue to protect the world, however everything is affected and they must count on the help of other creatures and humans to protect the human and spiritual world.

from the drawing to the story are two things that hook you, the first reminds me a lot of old manga, the story ranges from action, romance, to found family. When you think that everything is getting better for the protagonists, something comes and stabs you and you realize that you will only suffer, but at the same time you want more.

The story reads very fast. so I recommend it for an afternoon or two maximum.

I give it a 4.5 out of 5 stars, more than anything because of the calligraphy than because of the font, sometimes it was difficult to read and I had to zoom.

[mi.terapia.alternativa · Rating 4 out of 5]

¿Os gustan las leyendas, la mitología y las criaturas fascinantes? Pues os encantará Izunas.

Los Izunas son unos seres que parecen lobos gigantes y gran cornamenta que mantienen el equilibrio entre el mundo de los humanos y el mundo de los espíritus de la naturaleza.
Sus enemigos son los noggos, que nacen cuando se asesinan inocentes.

Los Izunas nacen de un árbol mágico pero un día de este árbol nace un ser humano y no un Izuna.
Asi que la historia girará en torno al por qué de este nacimiento y también en torno al enfrentamiento entre las fuerzas del bien y del mal teniendo a este humano en mitad de esta batalla.


Un cómic con un dibujo espectacular lleno de acción, leyendas, amor y familia. Pero también reflexiones sobre la capacidad destructora del ser humano y reflexiones sobre el bien y el mal, algo difícil de tratar porque nos muestra que no todo es blanco y negro, hay que ponerse en el lugar de los demás para intentar entender el por qué de según que actos.

Os recomiendo leerlo con calma, disfrutando de la belleza de las ilustraciones porque os querréis quedar viendo cada detalle y deleitaros con esta belleza. Es tan visual y tan bonito que lo veo ideal para hacer una película. Ahí lo dejo 😉.

[Susanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

The worlds of humans and guardian spirits of the forest have been separated by a magical veil. But when a human girl Aki is born to the spirit world, the veil comes down. People controlling evil spirits want to destroy the guardian spirits completely, forcing a war that doesn’t have an easy solution. The story has a natural ending, with an opening for more.

The comic is set in feudal Japan with samurais and ninjas, and it’s gorgeously illustrated with full-colour images and good historical details. However, the faces of the people were difficult to tell the apart, as were the animal charcaters, and there were some confusing time jumps, but otherwise the story was enjoyable.

I receiwed a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Laura Law · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley & Humanoid Inc for an ARC in exchange for an honest & fair review.

This comic was honestly amazing. The characters drew me in and got me invested in their storylines, the artwork was amazing and the plot was super interesting. You can tell it's a build up to another volume and once I got to the end my immediate thought was "I need more! This is brilliant." I won't give away too many spoilers but I loved the Japanese-style fantasy and in particular I like Kitsune Hime, who seems to be a sort of all-knowing character floating between worlds. Absolutely recommend this for anyone looking for a fantasy comic.

[Czterysta Czterdzieścicztery · Rating 3 out of 5]

To moja druga seria od Saveiro Tenuty po "Masce Fudo", która nie ukrywam była dla mnie rozczarowaniem. "Izuna" jest dużo ciekawszą pozycją, graficznie nawet lepszą (być może dzięki współpracy z dodatkową rysowniczką/kolorystką), bardzo ciekawe projekty postaci, szczególnie samych Izuna, czyli wielkich białych wilków z rogami. Sama opowieść dzieli się na dwie części. O ile w pierwszej więcej dowiadujemy się o samej mitologii związanej z kami, to konflikt i wątki poszczególnych postaci wypadają przeciętnie. W drugiej części mniej o samej mitologii, za to jest dużo ciekawszy konflikt, a wątki postaci znacznie lepiej napisane.

Scenariusz:***
Rysunki:****

[Misa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Amazing!
I loved everything about this book either the pretty art style or the story that is inspired by Japanese Mythology and it also reminded me a lot of Princess Mononoke' s story and Okami Amaterasu video game. I could not put it down and I'm happy that we have here the 4 chapters with a satisfying and beautiful ending.

[Ije the Devourer of Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

This graphic novel overflows with magic and myths. It is a long detailed story with great artwork. The reader is taken to feudal Japan and the struggle between the world of the Kami and the human world. There is drama, a quest and many heros all wrapped up in Japanese Mythology.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent but dense read set in Japanese mythology of some sort. But this isn't Manga. It's put out by a French publisher. There are a lot of terms that weren't familiar to me. But it's about two different realms, one of man and one where the Kami reside, these fox creatures with antlers. The two realms end up clashing together due to the humans, of course. Some of the motivations and reasonings were hard to decipher with this first go through. Where this book really shines is the art. It's exquisite. I could just look at these pages for days.

[Adelaide McIntyre · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is left me with so many questions. It's also feels like it should have been three separate volumes instead of one, and I feel like I'm missing a lot of backstory.

[Santiago Gª Soláns · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

[Johan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The artwork is well done, but I found the story and the storytelling confusing.

[Andrei · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

An enjoyable read, although probably the weakest entry from the Pierced Veil trilogy, this story explores the Izuna and how they came to be a part of the human world, as seen in the Scarlet Blades book.

What I liked: Aki's arc and the sacrifices she had to make. The setting of the story - feudal Japan, but with a heavy accent on mythology (kamis, demons etc.). The artwork is just breathtaking, it has a painted style to it and it works great with the setting - I could look at countless pages of this.

What I didn't like: the story didn't feel cohesive enough - it's basically split in two parts, which despite having plenty of continuity elements, somehow feel separate. Couldn't really connect to any of the side characters.