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Orion
In the mighty Yamata Empire, magic and technology are one and the same. Now the Empire is preparing its ultimate feat of psycho-science: the destruction of all the negative karma in the galaxy. But will this mystical purification be the salvation of humanity -- or its ultimate destruction? Only one being can save the Empire from its folly: Susano, the God of Destruction.Wild, arrogant, and homicidal, Susano has come to teach the world the true nature of power! Masamune Shirow, creator of Appleseed, Dominion, Intron Depot, and Ghost in the Shell, has built a rabid worldwide following with his unique, eclectic, and visually stunning blend of science-fiction and fantasy.
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
About the author
Masamune Shirow
349 books453 followersMasamune Shirow (士郎 正宗) is an internationally renowned manga artist. He is best known for the manga Ghost in the Shell, which has since been turned into two theatrical anime movies, two anime TV series, an anime TV movie, and several video games. Shirow is also known for creating erotic art.
Born in the Hyōgo Prefecture capital city of Kobe, he studied oil painting at Osaka University of Arts. While in college, he developed an interest in manga, which led him to create his own complete work, Black Magic, which was published in the manga fanzine Atlas. His work caught the eye of Seishinsha President Harumichi Aoki, who offered to publish him. The result was Appleseed, a full volume of densely-plotted drama taking place in an ambiguous future. The story was a sensation, and won the 1986 Seiun Award for Best Manga. After a professional reprint of Black Magic and a second volume of Appleseed, he released Dominion in 1986. Two more volumes of Appleseed followed before he began work on Ghost in the Shell.
Born in the Hyōgo Prefecture capital city of Kobe, he studied oil painting at Osaka University of Arts. While in college, he developed an interest in manga, which led him to create his own complete work, Black Magic, which was published in the manga fanzine Atlas. His work caught the eye of Seishinsha President Harumichi Aoki, who offered to publish him. The result was Appleseed, a full volume of densely-plotted drama taking place in an ambiguous future. The story was a sensation, and won the 1986 Seiun Award for Best Manga. After a professional reprint of Black Magic and a second volume of Appleseed, he released Dominion in 1986. Two more volumes of Appleseed followed before he began work on Ghost in the Shell.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
July 22, 2018
The Yamata Empire tries to bring all of the negative karma in the universe to one world to destroy it. Thing's go wrong and only Susano, god of destruction, can save the universe from the nine-headed naga.
I rated this high but I'm going to get the thing that annoyed the shit out of me out of the way first before I get to praising it. This thing is jam-packed with babble about the magic system, or psycho-science, as it's called. You know that part in every Star Trek episode where they throw nonsensical words around to explain what they're going to modify to order to save the universe? Okay, now picture a few panels of that on every third or fourth page. Yeah. The Buddha-based magic system of psycho-science is jammed down your throat, making it a whole lot less magical.
Now that I've gotten that unpleasantness out of the way, I enjoyed the rest of this quite a bit. It feels like Black Magic 2.0 in a lot of ways. There's science juxtaposed against magic until they're nearly indistinguishable, gods interacting with mortals, and big ass battles. Once you get past the psycho-science talk, the plot is way easier to follow than either Appleseed or Black Magic.
The art is gorgeous. The culture of the Yamata Empire, including the power armor and ships, shows an influence from far into Japan's past rather than being straight up science fiction, making for some interesting visuals. The character designs are the best yet I've encountered in Masamune Shirow's work, particularly Hibeme. It's hard not to be afraid of an eyeless wizard with blood trickling out of his sockets. Susano, Seska, and the Princess all had great designs as well.
The battles are of epic scope. Gods vs. monsters, gods vs. gods, and the usual mortals thrown into the mix make for some great visuals. There were some hyper-detailed panels in Appleseed but this one takes the cake. I have to wonder how many days some of the panels took to draw.
I wonder if Masamune Shirow drew any inspiration from Roger Zelazny's Lord of Light or Jack Vance's Dying Earth. I see echoes of both in this but it could be coincidence since Shirow has mythological references in all of his works.
Orion is a gorgeous book. If you can sift through the flavor text regarding the psycho-science, it's a great read. Four out of five stars.
I rated this high but I'm going to get the thing that annoyed the shit out of me out of the way first before I get to praising it. This thing is jam-packed with babble about the magic system, or psycho-science, as it's called. You know that part in every Star Trek episode where they throw nonsensical words around to explain what they're going to modify to order to save the universe? Okay, now picture a few panels of that on every third or fourth page. Yeah. The Buddha-based magic system of psycho-science is jammed down your throat, making it a whole lot less magical.
Now that I've gotten that unpleasantness out of the way, I enjoyed the rest of this quite a bit. It feels like Black Magic 2.0 in a lot of ways. There's science juxtaposed against magic until they're nearly indistinguishable, gods interacting with mortals, and big ass battles. Once you get past the psycho-science talk, the plot is way easier to follow than either Appleseed or Black Magic.
The art is gorgeous. The culture of the Yamata Empire, including the power armor and ships, shows an influence from far into Japan's past rather than being straight up science fiction, making for some interesting visuals. The character designs are the best yet I've encountered in Masamune Shirow's work, particularly Hibeme. It's hard not to be afraid of an eyeless wizard with blood trickling out of his sockets. Susano, Seska, and the Princess all had great designs as well.
The battles are of epic scope. Gods vs. monsters, gods vs. gods, and the usual mortals thrown into the mix make for some great visuals. There were some hyper-detailed panels in Appleseed but this one takes the cake. I have to wonder how many days some of the panels took to draw.
I wonder if Masamune Shirow drew any inspiration from Roger Zelazny's Lord of Light or Jack Vance's Dying Earth. I see echoes of both in this but it could be coincidence since Shirow has mythological references in all of his works.
Orion is a gorgeous book. If you can sift through the flavor text regarding the psycho-science, it's a great read. Four out of five stars.
February 6, 2008
Orion is one of the most frenetically bizarre graphic novels I own. Author Masamune Shirow's work has always been quirky, but Orion frequently strays far beyond that into the worlds of the baffling and the absurd.
Orion is set in a world in which Hindu/Buddhist cosmology is a scientific fact (the underlying particles of the universe, for example, are "yinrons" and "yangrons"), and magic is not only real but has been mastered by science. The central conflict of the story is a three way battle between the forces of science, religion, and greed. On the one hand, psychoscientists have a plan to purge the galaxy of bad karma through an elaborate ritual, which on the other hand offends the will of the celestial heavens. Susano Orbatos, god of destruction, descends to put mankind in its place, only to face a third force: the avatar of the bad karma itself.
Confused? Welcome to the party. Orion is a dizzying pastiche of references, presented as a surprisingly coherent setting. Fortunately, the details of these references aren't important. What's important is the continuous and often peculiar violence. Once Susano descends and starts laying waste to his enemies, the story mostly consists of a string of elaborate fight scenes, mixing traditional violence with the setting's distinctive style of magic.
Orion is, at the end of the day, a guilty pleasure. It's essentially The Fifth Element of the manga world: an action movie with a rich setting and continuous crowd-pleasing action, all the while never taking itself especially seriously. And precisely like The Fifth Element, Orion is unlikely to be remembered as a great work of literature. Instead, it's likely to be recalled by a handful of fanboys who want their stupid violence to be as smart as possible.
Orion is set in a world in which Hindu/Buddhist cosmology is a scientific fact (the underlying particles of the universe, for example, are "yinrons" and "yangrons"), and magic is not only real but has been mastered by science. The central conflict of the story is a three way battle between the forces of science, religion, and greed. On the one hand, psychoscientists have a plan to purge the galaxy of bad karma through an elaborate ritual, which on the other hand offends the will of the celestial heavens. Susano Orbatos, god of destruction, descends to put mankind in its place, only to face a third force: the avatar of the bad karma itself.
Confused? Welcome to the party. Orion is a dizzying pastiche of references, presented as a surprisingly coherent setting. Fortunately, the details of these references aren't important. What's important is the continuous and often peculiar violence. Once Susano descends and starts laying waste to his enemies, the story mostly consists of a string of elaborate fight scenes, mixing traditional violence with the setting's distinctive style of magic.
Orion is, at the end of the day, a guilty pleasure. It's essentially The Fifth Element of the manga world: an action movie with a rich setting and continuous crowd-pleasing action, all the while never taking itself especially seriously. And precisely like The Fifth Element, Orion is unlikely to be remembered as a great work of literature. Instead, it's likely to be recalled by a handful of fanboys who want their stupid violence to be as smart as possible.
July 31, 2022
Чогось перед знайомством із привидом у мушлі вирішив читнути якусь іншу роботу Шіро Масамуне. Ви могли б спитати чому не Appleseed. Він теж у планах є, але пізніше. А на цей том якраз була знижка.
Отже, Orion. Від видавництва Dark Horse. Це однотомник з 6 розділів. Закінчена історія. Скільки тут всього намішано це просто жесть. Міфологія, кіберпанк, магія, космос. Все це тут намішано і приємно приправлено неймовірним малюнком. Загалом манґа дуже весела та комічна.
Сюжет же розказує про те, як імперія Ямато хоче знищити усю негативну карму у всесвіті шляхом використання Нага генератора. З іншого боку будисти проводять ритуал виклику бога руйнувань Сусано, який має знищити генератор. Генератор має вигляд Ямато но Орочі, але то таке. Також треба додати Сексу, дочку головного будиста, яка була злим духом і намагається у знищенні негативної карми.
Також видання містить додаткові матеріали у вигляді лору та пояснень автора.
Отже, Orion. Від видавництва Dark Horse. Це однотомник з 6 розділів. Закінчена історія. Скільки тут всього намішано це просто жесть. Міфологія, кіберпанк, магія, космос. Все це тут намішано і приємно приправлено неймовірним малюнком. Загалом манґа дуже весела та комічна.
Сюжет же розказує про те, як імперія Ямато хоче знищити усю негативну карму у всесвіті шляхом використання Нага генератора. З іншого боку будисти проводять ритуал виклику бога руйнувань Сусано, який має знищити генератор. Генератор має вигляд Ямато но Орочі, але то таке. Також треба додати Сексу, дочку головного будиста, яка була злим духом і намагається у знищенні негативної карми.
Також видання містить додаткові матеріали у вигляді лору та пояснень автора.
November 7, 2022
7.5/10
Humour Buddhist-ish sci-fi. Basically, 270 pages of non-stop action and verbal diarrhoea of eastern mystical non-sense that you are not supposed to understand. Joyful pen strokes and sophisticated use of screen tone mark the pick of Shirow's art-style, depicting blocky spaceships, beautiful pseudo-traditional robes, sexy girls and cartoony buffoons.
You will like it only if you like Masamune Shirow. This feels at the same time as his most playful/lighthearted work but also as his most experimental one.
Humour Buddhist-ish sci-fi. Basically, 270 pages of non-stop action and verbal diarrhoea of eastern mystical non-sense that you are not supposed to understand. Joyful pen strokes and sophisticated use of screen tone mark the pick of Shirow's art-style, depicting blocky spaceships, beautiful pseudo-traditional robes, sexy girls and cartoony buffoons.
You will like it only if you like Masamune Shirow. This feels at the same time as his most playful/lighthearted work but also as his most experimental one.
June 25, 2015
Far from the first time I've read (or re-read this), and a lot of the "science" in it still makes very little sense to me, but that's irrelevant to my enjoyment of the art and storyline.
Modern versions of ancient gods fighting to save the world from its own best intentions gone wrong, massive destruction ensues, but the world as a whole is saved in the end.
Masamune Shirow's art is (as always) hyper-detailed, stunning beautiful, and a real pleasure to see in all its glory.
Modern versions of ancient gods fighting to save the world from its own best intentions gone wrong, massive destruction ensues, but the world as a whole is saved in the end.
Masamune Shirow's art is (as always) hyper-detailed, stunning beautiful, and a real pleasure to see in all its glory.
September 16, 2019
Probably about as coherent as Shirow gets, which is not very. I wouldn't bother trying to decipher the complex magic system he elaborates on in the backmatter – it read to me like an overcomplicated riff on the need for balance between good and evil, or renunciation (purgation) and humanity's baser instincts. It's mostly an excuse for some truly extraordinary world-building, battle scenes, and Shirow's zany, mile-a-minute storytelling. Great fun.
January 16, 2020
Really fun and interesting story crafted by Masamune Shirow (Ghost in the Shell, Dominion, Appleseed). I found this one really fun because of the fantasy theme. The amount of effort that Shirow puts into his world building is really magnetic for me. It's so dense with detail and information, and not in a fatiguing way. The art is beautiful as usual. Shirow really is great at striking a balance between stylized and technical-accuracy.
If you liked Shirow's work and are interested in a mystical story, try it out.
If you liked Shirow's work and are interested in a mystical story, try it out.
April 29, 2020
I would be lying if I said I had any real idea what this book is about, but I would also be lying if I said there wasn't something enjoyable and infectious about the whole knockabout mishmash. It's sort of like Dragonball Z but with lots of long words. And Sun Wukong. And Susano. And Cthulhu. It's mental.
January 11, 2022
A sprawling, rich graphic novel. You almost have to read it twice to get over how overstimulating it is the first time. It's been about 10 years since I last read this, I'm probably due up for a reread. One of my favorite graphic novels ever!
June 4, 2020
Great artwork and world-building, however the actual characters are sometimes two-dimensional and the story isn't as engaging as it could have been.
November 20, 2022
I remember one of my comic book shops as a youth displaying the first book of this series featuring Susano on the cover as a back issue for 15 bucks. Those guys knew what they were doing back then using the eye-catching artwork of Masamune Shirow as a means to profit mercilessly amidst the unscrupulous back issue market that dominated the early 90s comic book shop scene. Nonetheless, I was intrigued and waited for a more level playing field. Thanks to the internet I scored all 6 issues for around 16 bucks which is less than cover-price for each.
And luckily I did, because while Orion boils with both artistic and textual creativity, it unfortunately reads like a baffling spell book mixed with a tech manual, set in a world where science and elements of Eastern mysticism are one. Yes this sounds very intriguing but the endless array of strange terminology over-saturates, making the books hard to read and understand. The reader is left bogged down and quite lost at times. A supplemental manual defining terms and events becomes nearly essential to aid in understanding what transpires.
Despite the textual set-back, Shirow still manages to shine unquestionably via his artwork. Each page, though quite busy at times (but not in a bad way), features layout upon layout of cosmic scenes and stylizations of various characters both manga-style-humanoid and Lovecraftian in mesmerizing detail. Of course the cover art is simply gorgeous, flawlessly executed. Ultimately, its not enough to save the series as the whole story, rich with elements of Hinduism, Buddhism and Space-tech melding together, is unable to effectively engross the reader through coherent dialogue among the characters of Shirow's Orion-Nebula system. I mean, I know its a magna and translation may have been an issue, but I suspect the very nature of what Shirow tries to convey makes it hard to understand regardless.
I chalk it up as an esoteric read with near cult classic status, fundamentally flawed in dialogue yet spellbinding in its artistic visualizations.
And luckily I did, because while Orion boils with both artistic and textual creativity, it unfortunately reads like a baffling spell book mixed with a tech manual, set in a world where science and elements of Eastern mysticism are one. Yes this sounds very intriguing but the endless array of strange terminology over-saturates, making the books hard to read and understand. The reader is left bogged down and quite lost at times. A supplemental manual defining terms and events becomes nearly essential to aid in understanding what transpires.
Despite the textual set-back, Shirow still manages to shine unquestionably via his artwork. Each page, though quite busy at times (but not in a bad way), features layout upon layout of cosmic scenes and stylizations of various characters both manga-style-humanoid and Lovecraftian in mesmerizing detail. Of course the cover art is simply gorgeous, flawlessly executed. Ultimately, its not enough to save the series as the whole story, rich with elements of Hinduism, Buddhism and Space-tech melding together, is unable to effectively engross the reader through coherent dialogue among the characters of Shirow's Orion-Nebula system. I mean, I know its a magna and translation may have been an issue, but I suspect the very nature of what Shirow tries to convey makes it hard to understand regardless.
I chalk it up as an esoteric read with near cult classic status, fundamentally flawed in dialogue yet spellbinding in its artistic visualizations.
April 24, 2012
Definitely not Shirow's best work. The art shows how skilled he can be, but comes of as half-hearted. Aside from that the only other thing I can say about this is "incomprehensible". Literally. There's lots of stuff about techno-magic, referred to in various mystical, pseudo-scientific terms. For example: "It's an aqua-loco type with a twisted hydro-element, an incredibly powerful vajra-naga force on this planet! In sixty-four harmonics it'll reach it's threshold and everything will disintegrate!!" What does that even mean? Nothing. Nothing at all.
The plot seems to be something about collecting all the negative karma of the universe in one place in order to destroy it. Of course things go wrong, there's a big fight between gods and sorcerers and deities and magicians and whatever and eventually cosmic balance is restored between good and evil, chaos and order. Or something.
I like Shirow's work and even when he sort of half-asses his art, it's still pretty great, but the story was such a confusing mess of techno-babble and mystic mush that it was literally chore to read. Such a chore that for probably the last 40 pages or so I just skimmed the dialogue, since it really didn't seem to make any difference to my comprehension of the plot.
The plot seems to be something about collecting all the negative karma of the universe in one place in order to destroy it. Of course things go wrong, there's a big fight between gods and sorcerers and deities and magicians and whatever and eventually cosmic balance is restored between good and evil, chaos and order. Or something.
I like Shirow's work and even when he sort of half-asses his art, it's still pretty great, but the story was such a confusing mess of techno-babble and mystic mush that it was literally chore to read. Such a chore that for probably the last 40 pages or so I just skimmed the dialogue, since it really didn't seem to make any difference to my comprehension of the plot.
September 23, 2011
An interesting combination of mythology, ranging from Japanese and Buddhist mythology to some Lovecraftian Cthulu mythos. Overall the story is moderately enjoyable, though nothing spectacular. The empire is attempting to create a naga that will swallow all negative karma, but they seem to have missed out on the fact that instead of destroying the karma the naga will just feed on it and grow. After having finished Masamune's Ghost in the Shell and Appleseed, Orion seems kind of weak in comparison. It's still enjoyable, and Masamune makes some of the best facial expressions in manga. Overall I'd say it's a decent read if you're a Shirow Masamune fan, but otherwise I'd recommend reading Ghost in the Shell or Appleseed instead as this definitely isn't his best.
January 11, 2014
Deux hyptohèses se disputent dans mon esprit face à cette oeuvre : de la divagation complète ou une tentative de créer une authentique oeuvre de fantasy basée sur les mythes et religions japonais (grâce à Usagi Yojimbo, je connaissais déja Susano, le dieu des ténèbres).
J'ai tendance à croire en la deuxième hypothèse : il y a une certaine forme de cohérence dans le récit, et je crois vraiment que l'auteur a tenté de créer un univers. C'est crédible, mais sacrément curieux. Curieux, et bien dessiné.
Curieux, bien dessiné et avec une intrigue ambitieuse, et raisonnablement bien scénarisé.
J'ai somme toute bien aimé ce premier tome.
J'ai tendance à croire en la deuxième hypothèse : il y a une certaine forme de cohérence dans le récit, et je crois vraiment que l'auteur a tenté de créer un univers. C'est crédible, mais sacrément curieux. Curieux, et bien dessiné.
Curieux, bien dessiné et avec une intrigue ambitieuse, et raisonnablement bien scénarisé.
J'ai somme toute bien aimé ce premier tome.
May 27, 2007
If you put into a box a student at a Shinto seminary, a math professor, an open jar of paprika, the slightest waft of marijuana smoke, a brush liberally slathered in India ink, and a frustrated 20-something comic book artist, then closed and shook the box for about a year, out would come "Orion".
September 1, 2016
Re-reading. I found this book to be a "it should be good but it's not happening" experience. It's got the Shirow drawing and techno-mystical babble but falls completely flat in the story and character aspects. For the visuals.
October 20, 2016
while the artwork is good, and there are tiny glimmers of awesomeness, this book continually falls short.
The story is so packed full of technobabble and filler, it ruins what could have potentially been a really awesome experience.
such a shame.
The story is so packed full of technobabble and filler, it ruins what could have potentially been a really awesome experience.
such a shame.
January 12, 2008
Confusing and almost impossible to understand, but hey, the art is pretty good if you're into that sort of Shirow manga thing.
February 13, 2011
All I can say is I hope you like boring exposition that goes on FOREVER!! Because that is all this book is. Don't waste your time. I just wasted it for you!
May 3, 2012
Awesome and hilarious.
May 3, 2013
Nonsense, albeit gleefully inventive nonsense. For some that's compensation enough.
February 23, 2014
Great art and story. Weird magic and technology, along with excellent images.
October 23, 2013
My favorite Shirow manga, excellent stuff.
Read
August 16, 2015悟性太低，完全看不懂這本想說什麼...
只比看黑鐵弘的幕末暗殺好一點
我已經找了據說是最好的中譯本來看了
(還差點買成別家出版社的另外一版)
但還是一點都看不懂
超級跳tone的一本書Orz
只比看黑鐵弘的幕末暗殺好一點
我已經找了據說是最好的中譯本來看了
(還差點買成別家出版社的另外一版)
但還是一點都看不懂
超級跳tone的一本書Orz
August 25, 2021
File under romp. Who else can romp through theology?
My only complaint is with the boring design of the main male character.
My only complaint is with the boring design of the main male character.
April 5, 2008
Very confusing. I keep it because I love Shirows art.
Want to read
June 14, 2016FALSE
Read
February 24, 2019Though hard to follow if you're not familiar with ancient Japanese mythology, or if you have trouble being dropped straight into a very strange world, Orion provides a fun, epic adventure that manages to combine Shinto, spaceships, Buddhism, a decadent empire, and over-the-top shonen-style fight scenes.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews