Rosy's scrawled manga recommendation: Break Blade by Yoshinaga Yunosuke

Break Blade
Yoshinaga Yunosuke

Blurb

From Manga Abyss:
Which to choose, the country or my friend--!? The "Continent of Cruzon", a world where people are born with magic. Lygatto, one of the rare people "without magic" in this world, is getting swallowed up in the whirlpool of a massive war. With Lygatto as the core, four close friends are connected by cruel fate in a spectacular war tale!!!
In the continent of Cruzon, an impending war between the Kingdom of Krishna and the nation of Athens is brimming. The people of this land are able to wield the crystals from the ground for whatever purpose they desire. Yet one person, Lygatto Arrow, is not. He is an "un-sorcerer", a person unable to wield the crystals. But this characteristic will enable him to pilot an ancient mecha, one strong enough to put up a fight against the invading army of Athens.

From Baka-Updates:
Rygart Arrow is the only one in his world who lacks the inherent ability to power up quartz, the energy source that makes all of the machines run. Nevertheless, he's pretty well connected. The King and Queen of his country of Krisna happen to be old college friends. But so is Zess, the guy who is leading the army of a neighboring kingdom in an attack on Krisna.
How did it comes to this? There's little time to ponder the implications as an army in giant, mechanized battle suits attacks. Arrow just feels like he's in the way - until he comes across a powerful, ancient mech that no one has yet to be able to figure out how to run. But his natural affinity for the suit's operating mechanism may just turn Arrow into the most important player of all.


Alternate names
ブレイクブレイド
破刃之剑
Bureiku Bureido
Broken Blade
Espada Rota
Espada Quebrada
Bruten Klinga
Сломанный меч
Pedang Butut

Status
Ongoing

Manga reader sites (free)
Manga Fox, Manga Reader, Manga Anime

Rosy's scrawlings on Break Blade
Break Blade seems at first like its portrayal of war and heroism will be fairly fantastical, following the lines of a young man coming good, defeating foes and winning the day. Break Blade isn't like that at all though. There's a realism to the way war progresses, the situations that force people to make difficult decisions, the desperation, the cruelty and the useless casualties. There's also a fairly believable portrayal of the horrific glee some feel in dividing up a country's wealth, subjugating people, manipulating others into becoming cannon fodder for a cause they're unaware of and many other things besides. Even the mentally ill and the psychotic are given their roles within the war of Break Blade. And for all this, Break Blade is worth reading as it is worth knowing just how horrible people can be and how bitter heroism can be.
The story follows Lygatto and his friends, some divided by politics, as they try to survive and stand for what they believe in. Their beliefs and causes aren't grandiose of for the greater good but rather for the survival of themselves and their friends, loves and family. The reasons they fight are some of the most common aside from patriotism when it comes to real wars and only by dumb luck and bloody mistakes do they all manage to make it so far, even if the friendships are fracturing.
Aside from this realism there are mechanoids or golems to enjoy, castles, a regency system or two, and a simply magic system based on controlling quartz energies. The magic is mostly used for guns, communications and lighting etc. and there's no sign of black magic or spell slinging at all, something that likely wouldn't work within the tech-based war story.
The art of Break Blade is stark, tending to be light, which seems unusual for a war story until you see the desert/arid landscape of Lygatto's country Krishna. The starkness and light of the illustrations force you to see that there's little romance - dark or otherwise - in the war, even with the interesting weaponry to look at. While the style isn't blast-em-away original the subject matter of the artwork makes the manga pleasing to the eye. The flow is smooth and close ups on battle scenes and landscape views are both created with equal skill.
Break Blade, while a pleasure to read is also a little painful. But no good war story is a calm one. You might not come away happy but you will come away feeling more cynical and in touch with reality, which, as far as I'm concern, is a good thing to hang on to.

I'd recommend this manga to: anyone who likes alternate world fantasy, war stories and historical fantasy.

Notes on manga reader sites
The quality of manga readers can vary. The uploads are often done cheaply or as a serious hobby by a collective. Be aware that sometimes licence hasn't been given but the sites noted above, Manga Fox in particular, are extremely careful about adding and pulling mangas according to license agreements. So you shouldn't have to worry too much about the material being pirated. There are also translated works and non-translated. Amongst the translated works you will find that the quality of translation may vary according to the skills of the translators. Usually the works are perfectly readable anyway, with only a few added or dropped words or a word in the incorrect tense or with/out plurals. But sometimes the text becomes gobbledygook. In which case, either seek another version or give up and buy an official copy once a printed translation comes out. The other issue of note is you may need to expand the screen to read the text easily as sometimes the scans are minimised a little.
I find that if a page doesn't download properly or some other issue occurs (too slow or someone ordered the pages incorrectly etc.) with one reader then skipping across to another reader and picking up where I was is quite easy and rarely annoying.
Otherwise, enjoy and watch out you don't get too addicted you forget about the necessary things in life.

Female pirates: mythological, fictional and real

A little while ago I ran across an article on sexism which just happened to reference pirates as a good example of sexism at play: by our perceptions of pirates as male and our reinforcement of this perception by creating stories centring on male pirates. Apparently the thought of pirates being female, pirate captains in particular, is a little hard to swallow. Well, this was not exactly a shock to me but I still hummed in disappointment over one girl's reaction to the idea of female pirates, which was to say that "everyone knows the best pirates are boys". Obviously, she didn't know enough about female pirates and she had also become blinkered by seeing mainly the male pirates having the stage when it comes to action and leadership. Now, I'm not going to weigh in on the sexism debate, at least not where pirates are concerned, as even in history the number of female pirates and pirate captains were less than those of males. What I will weigh in on is the spreading of information on female pirates so that you at least know of one of two interesting ones when confronted by the female pirate issue.

So here's a few female pirates, fictional and real, you might like and/or fear. There are definitely quite a few I wouldn't have wanted to cross...

The Chinese female pirate Ch’iao K’uo Füü Jëën from 600 B.C. who may be mythical.

Queen Teuta of Illyria who lived from 232 B.C. to 228 B.C. near the Adriatic Sea.

The Norwegian Rusila may or may not be fictional but is said to have fought her brother for the thrones of Denmark and Norway. She is also possible part of or the origin of the Ingean Ruadh or Red Maid from Irish folklore. Rusila also had a sister, Stikla, who became a pirate to escape being married.

Princess Sela, who was the sister of the king of Norway, Koller, in c. 420 A.D., was apparently a skilled and experience warrior pirate. She fought to stop her brother Thrond from gaining the throne. She was eventually killed by the mann who could have been King of Jutland, Horwendil, but gave up the position in order to become a pirate. A man who'd been attacked by Koller only to see Koller dead.

The Norwegian pirate Alvid who lead many male and female pirates.

The Norwegian pirate captains Wigbiorg, Hetha and Wisna who lived in c. 8th century A.D.. Wigbiorg is said to have died in battle while Hetha became the queen of Zealand. Unfortunately for Wisna, she lost a hand in a duel and he career as a pirate is unknown from there.

The Swedish pirate Alfhild from post-850 A.D., sometimes said to live during the 5th century instead, is possibly fictional.

Ladgerda from c. 870 A.D. was apparently the inspiration for Ermintrude in William Shakespeare's Hamlet.

The English pirate Æthelflæd, aka The Lady of the Mercians, lived from 872–918 and was a pirate from 911-918. She was the Eldest daughter of Alfred the Great of England, a military leader of the Anglo-Saxons and commanded her fleets against the Vikings.

The French pirate Jeanne-Louise de Belleville was a pirate from 1343-1356 and was known as the "Lioness of Brittany". The worked to avenge the execution of her husband by attacking only French sea vessels.

The Irish Gráinne Ní Mháille, aka "The Sea Queen of Connaught", lived from 1530-1603. She was the Queen of Umaill, chieftain of the Ó Máille clan and a pirate. She appears in Irish folklore as well as Irish history.

The English pirate The Red Lady Veronica lived from 1500–1534 and was a pirate from 1528 - 1534. She never revealed her true identity and disguised herself as a singer and entertainer so that she was brought onto ships. Once alone she'd remove her disguise to reveal a top and pants, unusual at the time, along with her weapons. Once ready she'd then go kill everyone aboard and steal the ship.

The Morroccan pirate Sayyida al Hurra was a pirate from 1510-1542. She allied with  the Turkish corsair Barbaros of Algiers in order to control the western Mediterranean Sea at the time when Barbaros controlled the eastern Mediterranean Sea. She became Queen at the death of her husband and later married the King of Morocco.

The English pirate Lady Mary Killigrew was a pirate from 1530-1570. She was the daughter of a Suffolk pirate and wife of Sir Henry Killigrew who was also a former pirate. Sir Henry became the Vice-Admiral and was put in charge of fighting piracy by Queen Elizabeth I. While the husband was away Lady Mary took her household staff as ships crew. While Queen Elizabeth may or may not have know of this she was at least annoyed when Lady Mary attacked, took possession and sold a ship owned by the Queen's friend. Through means uncertain she managed to bargain for jail time rather than death. While she did give up piracy she apparently didn't give up being a crook as she proceeded to fence stolen goods from then on in.

The Caribbean pirate Jacquotte Delahaye was a pirate during the 1650s-1660s and was also known as "Back From The Dead Red". She had red hair and return to piracy after faking her death. While faking her death she dressed as a man for several years.

The French pirate Anne Dieu-le-Veut, aka Marie-Anne, was born around 1650 and was a pirate from the 1660s-1704 in the Caribbean and the Mississippi. Her nickname means "God wills it" as apparently anything she wanted she got. She married a pirate who was later killed by Laurens de Graaf. She challenged Laurens de Graaf to a duel but he refused. Somehow she ended up his common-law wife and they ended up pirating together.

The possibly fictional Maria Lindsey was a pirate during the early 1700s, operating on the Canadian east coast.

The Swedish pirate Ingela Gathenhielm lived from 1692-1729 and was a pirate from 1710-1721 operating in the Baltic. She was the wife and pirating partner of Lars Fathenhielm and when Lars died she took full control.

The Irish pirate Anne Bonny lived from 1698-1782 and was a pirate from 1719-1720 operating in the Caribbean. She apparently stabbed a servant woman with a butter knife, left home, married the pirate James Bonny and had an affair with John "Calico Jack" Rackham. She ended up joining Calico Jack's crew. Friends with Mary Read. There are multiple fictional depictions of Anne Bonny.

The English pirate Mary Read, known as Mark Read while disguised as a man, lived c.1690-1721 and was a pirate from 1718-1720. She was a Caribbean pirate after joining the British army as a man, going to sea and fighting the War Of The Spanish Succession. She later married and settled down but once her husband died she returned to pirating in the West Indies. She was captured by Calico Jack and, once her identity was discovered, she became friends with Anne Bonny. She ended her days in prison. She also has multiple fictional depictions.

Flora Burn was a pirate during 1751 and worked on the East Coast of North America.

Rachel Wall lived from 1760-1789 and was a pirate during the 1770s, operating on the New England Coast. Married to the privateer George Wall, she's thought to be the first American female pirate. Her husband and his crew we down in a storm in 1782 and she was later accused of robbery in 1789. She confessed to being a pirate and was hanged.

The Chinese pirate Ching Shih was active from 1801-1810. She'd been a prostitute but changed her career to piracy upon marrying a pirate. Upon his death she became the leader of the entire fleet of more than 1,500 ships, worked by 80,000 pirates. She controlled most of the South China Sea and defeated the British, Chinese and Portuguese navies whenever they attacked her. Eventually she was offered peace instead and retired to marry her second in command.

The English/Australian pirate Charlotte Badger, aka Catherine Hagerty, operated in 1806 and is regarded as the first Australian female pirate. She was a convict who helped seized The Venus from its captain while the captain went ashore and sail it to New Zealand.

Sweden's last pirate Johanna Hård was born in 1789 and active as a pirate during 1823. She and 4 men who worked as farmers followed the Danish ship Frau Mette in a fishing boat, requested water, boarded the ship and killed the crew in order to plunder it. The men weren't so lucky but there was insufficient evidence against Johanna Hård so she was released.

The possibly fictional Sadie the Goat, river pirate during 1869 around New York State, head butted and robbed her victims. She was also a member of the Charlton Street Gang. 

The fictional Gertrude Imogene Stubbs was said to be a pirate during 1898-1903 in the Kootenay Lake and river system in British Columbia. She is the result of an April Fools joke mistakenly believed as fact.

Lo Hon-cho from East China was a pirate during the 1920s. She commanded 64 ships and was reported to be the most ruthless of all China's pirates. She attacked villages and fishing fleets around Beihai, imprisoning young women and selling them into slavery. A Chinese warship destroy 40 ships in her fleet in 1922. She was later handed over by the remaining pirates in exchange for clemency.

Lai Sho Sz’en who was a pirate from 1922-1939 in East China and controlled 12 ships.

Huang P’ei-mei who was a pirate from 1937 to the 1950s in East China led 50,000 pirates.

The Fujian province (China) pirate Cheng Chui Ping, aka "Sister Ping", was a active during the 1970s-1990s in the South China Sea. She smuggled thousands of Chinese immigrants to the U.S. and Europe. She was caught and is serving 35 years in jail.

Bêlit from Robert E. Howard's Queen of the Black Coast, a Conan short-story.

The anime character Emeraldas from Space Pirate Captain Harlock, Galaxy Express 999, and Queen Emeraldas by Leiji Matsumoto.

Dragon Lady from Milton Caniff's Terry and the Pirates comic was inspired by Lai Sho Sz’en.

Morgan Adams from Cutthroat Island.

Mary "Jacky" Faber from Bloody Jack.

Elizabeth Swann from Pirates of the Caribbean.

Mistress Ching from Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.

Angelica from Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

Nami and Nico Robin from the manga and anime series One Piece.

Ruth from the Operetta Pirates of Penzance.

The Chinese female pirate captain Missee Lee in Missee Lee by Arthur Ransome.

Ezri Delmastro and Zamira Drakasha from Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch.

Elena Dugan, aka Lady Galbraith, in The Seas of Fionnghuala.

Nancy Kington and Minerva Sharpe in Pirates by Celia Rees.

Janme Dark from Aoike Yasuko's Sons of Eve manga series.

Space Pirate Sheila from the Space Thunder Kids anime.

Captain Marika Kato of the Bentenmaru from Bodacious Space Pirates.

Blackboots from Here Comes A Candle by Mary Hanson-Roberts.

The Surprisingly Curvaceous Pirate from Gideon Defoe's The Pirates! series.

Rosy's scrawled manhwa recommendation: Be Heun by Jung Jaehan

Be Heun
Jung Jaehan

Blurb

There are some heroes whose names you do not know, whose faces you have not seen. They operate secretly, and their actions can make a difference in the outcomes of wars. Be Huen is the story of such a man. To follow his story, one must search in the shadows, for that is the only place you could find him.

Alternative names

Bi Heun, 비흔

Status

Ongoing

Sites for reading online (free)
Manga Fox, Manga Reader

ManhwaIn short, a Korean version of a Manga. There are many similarities in the writing style and art but different cultural references do apply. Read left to right.

Rosy's scrawlings on Be Heun
The thing that interested me was oddly not entirely for the ninja aspect. What interested me was that the illustrations of the town were somewhat of a mix between a full colour Peanuts illustration and some of the newer Korean manhwa stylings. I could almost see the Peanuts characters wandering in at some stage. I also liked the way photographs were used for the sky or some background scenes. They added a depth to the illustrations that isn't usually present in any form of manhwa or manga. Or comics, for that matter.
Then my interest moved on to the quirkiness of this ninja story.
Usually you find ninjas portrayed fairly seriously, with the occasional comic relief ninja story thrown in for a touch of originality and a good laugh. You will also find yaoi ninjas who want to run away from the ninja clan or leaders so they can be together. Such romantic or romantic-comedy story doesn't always end well but luckily for the characters, the escape fairly often and live happily ever after.
Be Heun is somewhat different again although it does maintain elements of traditional ninja story telling. The ninja Be Heun is in post battle days and troubled times are returning but his activities are less for political reasons, as yet, and more for protecting his defeated people. He's a little flippant, laid back and boyish as well as a touch arrogant in his dealings but he always has a good cause and means well. Also, he builds friendships readily and fights for them as though he never wanted to be the lone wolf ninja. Even in the stories of his history you can see he is more a man of honour than the traditional sneaky ninja fighting for money or a master's whim. In other words, Be Heun seems an ordinary kind of guy most of the time but then comes the cause and the reason to fight and you begin to see that this man is not only lethal but missing a few components that other people naturally have from not being a warrior from an early age.
It is Be Heun and those he befriends who hold the spotlight in this story, which sets it apart from the other ninja stories you'll find, which generally focus on a single ninja fighting alone for a cause (the influence of which you'll see in many modern-day avenger stories, particularly within manga and manhwa).
All in all, I found this quite an enjoyable mix between bloody violence, political intrigue and light drama. There's a possibility of romance for Be Heun but who knows what will happen as the romance is subtly written and doesn't follow any standard romantic story guidelines but rather reflects a little of what first loves are like in reality - a tad awkward and slow moving. There's also several possibilities for tragedy as he strives not to live alone. The story is captivating in a way most ninja stories aren't. Instead of being drawn into a story of bloody revenge you'll find yourself wanting to see an awkward but fun guy make a life for himself despite everything.

I'd recommend this manga to: anyone who loves ninjas. So, pretty much anyone. This would appeal to men and women alike for its balanced approach to personalities and what's important in life. Also, the gore is less than it could be (potential is everything here) so it shouldn't turn anyone away in disgust.

Notes on manga reader sites
The quality of manga readers can vary. The uploads are often done cheaply or as a serious hobby by a collective. Be aware that sometimes licence hasn't been given but the sites noted above, Manga Fox in particular, are extremely careful about adding and pulling mangas according to license agreements. So you shouldn't have to worry too much about the material being pirated. There are also translated works and non-translated. Amongst the translated works you will find that the quality of translation may vary according to the skills of the translators. Usually the works are perfectly readable anyway, with only a few added or dropped words or a word in the incorrect tense or with/out plurals. But sometimes the text becomes gobbledygook. In which case, either seek another version or give up and buy an official copy once a printed translation comes out. The other issue of note is you may need to expand the screen to read the text easily as sometimes the scans are minimised a little.
I find that if a page doesn't download properly or some other issue occurs (too slow or someone ordered the pages incorrectly etc.) with one reader then skipping across to another reader and picking up where I was is quite easy and rarely annoying.
Otherwise, enjoy and watch out you don't get too addicted you forget about the necessary things in life.