Sign in with Facebook
Paul Spence's Reviews > Issak, vol. 1
Issak, vol. 1
by
by
The critical and financial success of Vinland Saga seems to have convinced Kodansha to bring over more of their seinen historical fiction titles to the USA. Issak is one such title. The setting is southern Germany, AD 1620. The Thirty Years War is raging and central Europe is being devastated by the armies of the Protestant Union and Catholic League in equal measure.
A mysterious lone mercenary arrives at a besieged German Protestant fortress, explaining in broken Dutch that he has been sent by the Netherlands to help them repel a mighty Spanish Catholic army. But “Issak” is clearly no Dutchman, and he soon reveals that he is a samurai who has travelled halfway across the world to hunt down and kill a man known only as “Lorenzo”. This Lorenzo murdered his master and is now fighting as a mercenary for the Spanish side. But to have any chance of success in his manhunt, Issak will need to survive the upcoming battle – no small task given that the Protestants are outnumbered several times over.
Like Vinland Saga, this series is both magnificently illustrated and at times gorily violently. The two series’ premises also appear noticeably similar, both centering on a protagonist wholly devoted to a mission of revenge. But while young Thorfinn was a nearly mindless whirlwind of knives and rage, Issak is a grown man and a far more coldly calculating and capable warrior. This first volume of Issak also gives off a “playing it straight” vibe, rather than how Vinland Saga dropped clues from the earliest chapters that it was going to subvert its revenge story line. It’s too early to judge if this series will live up to Yukimura Makoto’s masterpiece, but fans of Vinland Saga should absolutely check this series out. Also, it has a samurai sniper, how can you not find a samurai sniper cool?
A mysterious lone mercenary arrives at a besieged German Protestant fortress, explaining in broken Dutch that he has been sent by the Netherlands to help them repel a mighty Spanish Catholic army. But “Issak” is clearly no Dutchman, and he soon reveals that he is a samurai who has travelled halfway across the world to hunt down and kill a man known only as “Lorenzo”. This Lorenzo murdered his master and is now fighting as a mercenary for the Spanish side. But to have any chance of success in his manhunt, Issak will need to survive the upcoming battle – no small task given that the Protestants are outnumbered several times over.
Like Vinland Saga, this series is both magnificently illustrated and at times gorily violently. The two series’ premises also appear noticeably similar, both centering on a protagonist wholly devoted to a mission of revenge. But while young Thorfinn was a nearly mindless whirlwind of knives and rage, Issak is a grown man and a far more coldly calculating and capable warrior. This first volume of Issak also gives off a “playing it straight” vibe, rather than how Vinland Saga dropped clues from the earliest chapters that it was going to subvert its revenge story line. It’s too early to judge if this series will live up to Yukimura Makoto’s masterpiece, but fans of Vinland Saga should absolutely check this series out. Also, it has a samurai sniper, how can you not find a samurai sniper cool?
Sign into Goodreads to see if any of your friends have read
Issak, vol. 1.
Sign In »
