The tale in this new form of Star Wars storytelling was really cool. Edge of Balance makes the silly plant villains actually terrifying! Edge of Balance brought in some new characters that were interesting and written well. The plot that was mysterious and intriguing! I look forward to Vol. 2!

This Manga receives a B+

Review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ #JourneyToTheFallenStar

Edge of Balance by Justina Ireland & Shima Shinya. Art by Mizuki Sakakibara.

Set in the aftermath of the Great Hyperspace Disaster it follows Jedi Knight Lily Tora-Asi as she comes to terms with her role within the Jedi and the intentions and limitations of the Jedi as a whole in the wake of such a displacing event. To really shake things up and grant Lily the necessary perspective; enter unruly and inquisitive younglings, suspicious refugees and a certain demonic and carnivorous breed of plant life....

It's worth noting that this is a Manga. A longform comic in the Japanese style. Having not read many before I was immediately bowled over by the art. It is stunning. Not only that but it conveys such a sense of place and life that I'd strongly recommend you check it out. It may not be essential narratively but you get a feel for what it's like to live as a jedi during High Republic era. Fans that were compelled by the portrayal of living under imperial rule in @ruckawriter 's Guardian of the Whills will have a sense of what I mean.

The characters stand out with defined and unique personalities, something that's absolutely necessary in a publishing initiative chock-full of so many strong players. Lily's turmoil is refreshingly open and earnest which is in keeping with the traditions of the format. I'd also like to point out how genuinely creepy it is at times, tapping into that same Children of the Corn and Invasion of the Body Snatchers influence that I pointed out in my review @cavanscottwriter 's Marvel High Republic series. The book also invokes Japan's fear and reverence for forests which I found highly effective.

Roll on volume 2!

Edge of Balance is a wonderful addition to the High Republic era that is a more intimate story separate from the larger threads that we've been following. Lily is an up-and-coming Jedi that is so preoccupied with sticking to the "rules" that she finds it hard to often trust her instincts and see the larger picture of it all. Her character arc that is not entirely dissimilar from some of her counterparts, such as Vernestra Rwoh, in that she wants to be the best there ever was, but she quickly learns it's the difficulties, not the successes, that help one grow the most. It's also great to see another Wookiee Jedi in the mix, and I'm really looking forward to how this story ties into the Starlight Beacon!

Star Wars: The High Republic: The Edge of Balance, Vol 1, geschreven door Shima Shinya en Justina Ireland en geïllustreerd door Mizuki Sakakibara en Nezu Usugumo is de eerste manga die een nieuw Star Wars verhaal vertelt. Eerder zagen we van Yen Press al adaptaties van Lost Stars en Leia Princess of Alderaan, en van VIZ Media adaptaties van The Legends of Luke Skywalker en Guardians of the Whills. The Edge of Balance is een geheel nieuw verhaal dat zich in het High Republic tijdperk afspeelt.

We volgen Jedi Knight Lily Tora-Asi die helpt bij de herlocatie van inwoners van Ta-Klah, wat tijdens de Great Disaster vernietigd is, naar de afgelegen planeet Banchii. Samen met haar mentor Jedi Master Arkoff, Jedi archivist Ru-Ru, younglings Viv’nia en Nima, en haar padawan Keerin Fionn is Lily verantwoordelijk voor de Jedi Temple op Banchii en het dorp waar de vluchtelingen opgevangen worden. Maar al snel blijkt dat men op Banchii niet helemaal veilig is. In het dorp verdwijnen willekeurige spullen, en wanneer de Drengir aanvallen is het aan Lily en haar mede Jedi om iedereen te beschermen.

De manga’s van VIZ media zijn in tegenstelling tot die van Yen Press qua structuur heel westers opgebouwd, je leest ze ”gewoon” van links naar rechts en voor naar achter, maar visueel voelen ze helemaal als een traditionele manga. Dat wil zeggen dat alle pagina’s zwart-wit en met grijstinten getekend zijn, en dat de stijl van de illustraties een Japanse sfeer heeft. Het uiterlijk van Lily zou niet misstaan in andere verhalen die zich op Aarde afspelen en haar twee lightsabers zijn zwaar geïnspireerd door katana’s, met ronde cross guards die ze tegen haar heupen draagt zodat het lijkt alsof de twee zwaarden naast haar hangen.

Het verhaal in The Edge of Balance speelt zicht tijdens de grotere gebeurtenissen in the High Republic af maar staat er redelijk los van, we zien vijanden uit dezelfde groep en enkele bekende gezichten, maar het merendeel van de personages is nieuw en Banchii is afgelegen genoeg dat het een verhaal is dat op eigen benen staat en geen grote galactische consequenties heeft maar zich meer richt op de ontwikkeling van deze nieuwe personages.

Het artwork is erg indrukwekkend, de gezichtsuitdrukkingen spreken boekdelen, de personages zijn allemaal uniek en makkelijk van elkaar te onderscheiden en de achtergronden en omgevingen zijn ontzettend gedetailleerd zonder dat de panelen onoverzichtelijk worden, wat een uitdaging is bij zwart-wit illustraties. Gedachtes van personages staan niet in ballonnen maar zweven naast het personage wat verwarring met gesproken tekst onmogelijk maakt en wat het makkelijk maakt om snel te snappen wat er gaande is.

The Edge of Balance, Volume 1 telt ongeveer 140 pagina’s en sluit het eerste gedeelte van het verhaal af, maar laat een cliffhanger open voor Volume 2, wat volgens de planning in januari van volgend jaar gepubliceerd zal worden. Naast het hoofdverhaal worden we ook getrakteerd op een korter bonusverhaal getiteld ”The Banchiians”, waarin Lily en haar vrienden een mysterie proberen op te lossen waarbij ze kennis maken met de oorspronkelijke inwoners van Banchii. Dit super schattige verhaal is geïllustreerd door Nezu Usugumo en introduceert een nieuwe alien soort in de Star Wars wereld en is zeker het lezen waard.

The Edge of Balance is wat mij betreft een erg leuke toevoeging aan het High Republic verhaal, geen verplichte kost maar een interessant uitstapje met personages met diepgang. Ik kijk erg uit naar Volume 2 en kan Volume 1 zeker aanraden aan mensen die graag manga’s of comics lezen. En voor mensen die nog nooit eerder een stripverhaal gelezen hebben maar zich tot dusver goed vermaken met de High Republic publicaties is dit wellicht een leuke manier om kennis te maken met het medium.

Yet another wonderful installment into Star Wars' The High Republic! Lily is a Jedi helping to resettle refugees on Banchii after The Great Hyperspace Disaster when she is confronted with a terrifying threat!! This story was simple enough to easily follow, but also features important conversations about growth and duty, furthering the conversation on the Jedi's complexities in The High Republic. While this may not feel like an essential SWTHR read like the main novels, it definitely adds a valuable story to this time period and gives us exciting new characters I can't wait to follow!

Conclusion of my review: I love the multimedia storytelling in the High Republic - novels and comics for all age groups, VR games, audio dramas and now also manga. There's something for everybody and even though I'm lukewarm on the manga medium, Vol. 1 of THE EDGE OF BALANCE convinced me with its characters and its efficient worldbuilding. I'm already looking forward to Volume 2.

(Full review at blog)

As a manga reader, I’ve been hoping for an original Star Wars manga for years and it was definitely worth the wait! The characters are interesting, the setting is unique with so much potential, and I have a general feeling the story is going to be great. Mizuki Sakakibara’s artwork is flawless and I feel like the artwork suits the tone of the story very well. My only complaint is Edge of Balance isn’t structured like a normal manga (reads front to back rather than back to front,) which I understand could be because Edge of Balance may be an entry to manga for some audiences, but that’s one of the characteristics of manga I enjoy so I was a little disappointed in that aspect. Regardless, I’m excited for Volume II and can’t wait for its release next year!

It seems unbelievable that it took Star Wars this long to get an original manga story.

There have been adaptations of The Legend of Luke Skywalker, Leia: Princess of Alderaan,

Lost Stars and Guardians of the Whills, but Star Wars canon gets its first manga story designed for that specific medium with Shima Shinya and Justina Ireland’s The High Republic: The Edge of Balance.

Manga feels like a very natural fit for a Star Wars story. Beyond the Japanese roots of Star Wars itself, the medium allows for the same kind of dynamic movement we see in comic books, but with a unique visual style. Mizuki Sakakibara’s art lends a beautiful touch, visually conveying the balance the story finds between the philosophical aspects of communing with the Force, and the more action heavy side of things that we’ve come to expect from Star Wars.

Set initially after the Hyperspace Disaster, The Edge of Balance is focused not on the core worlds and the heart of the action as the novels are, but rather on the frontier world of Banchii, where settlers and refugees are being relocated in the hopes of starting over. Leading the resettlement effort is Jedi Knight Lily Tora-Asi. Accompanied by her Padawan Keerin, her mentor Master Arkoff, and two younglings named Viv’nia and Nima, Lily strives to maintain that balance between training the next generation of Jedi, and fulfilling her duty to the order, while also doing right by the people under her care.

Idyllic as Banchii may seem, it is not immune from the threats haunting the rest of the galaxy. Soon after arriving with the last of the settlers, the community is faced with a Drengir infestation and attack. Unable to figure out how the Drengir even got there, Lily spearheads an investigation, aided not only by the Jedi of the Banchii temple, but by newly-arrived settlement medic Dr. Silar. Also there to provide some insight is Master Stellan Gios, who stops by to shed some light on the issue, and bring news from the wider galaxy.

Character-wise, Stellan Gios is the only connective tissue between The Edge of Balanceand the rest of the High Republic. While I appreciate his presence on a personal level, I also acknowledge the strength of allowing this series to tell a story completely apart from the rest. This is the golden age of the Jedi after all. Why not branch out as far as possible?

As a protagonist, Lily Tora-Asi joins the ranks of some of the High Republic’s greats. Despite her young age, she consistently strives to do the best by those around her, pushing through her own trauma related to the Hyperspace Disaster. Though she wasn’t on Valo when the Nihil attacked, it’s hard to believe the weight of the lives lost won’t press on her in some way. Especially when they’re being related to her by Stellan, the Hero of Valo himself.

In a lot of ways, Lily is reminiscent of Vernestra Rwoh – another character of Ireland’s. It’s not just that both of them are very young, and are not only knights, but masters with padawans. It’s also not that they have extremely cool lightsaber designs (Lily wields two lightsabers with beautiful circular crossguards). Rather, it’s because both of them take on a very heavy burden of responsibility, their own needs taking a backseat to those who may have need of them. Many have expressed concern at Vernestra crashing and burning, and I’d venture to say we should worry about Lily as well.

Volume 1 ends on a cliffhanger that answers as many questions as it brings up, connects the story to the conflict as a whole and makes the wait for volume 2 feel that much longer.

The Edge of Balance vol. 1 is available now.

Special thanks to Viz Media for the advance copy for review purposes.