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By Ako Yutenji (Tokyopop)
ISBN: 1-59532-519-0
The eponymous anti-hero of this series is the greatest thief in the World, and his capture is a major achievement. So what possible crisis could induce the government to release him? When arrested he had in his possession the legendary and mystical “Eight Great Treasures†which the authorities gratefully reclaimed. Now after a mere three months in prison, the Treasures have once again been stolen and Liling-Po is possibly the only person who can find them again.
For reasons of his own, the master thief accepts the proposition and eagerly prepares for the near-impossible task ahead of him. Naturally, as a professional thief, Po cannot be trusted, and in an effort to ensure that the Poacher keeps to his new role of Game-keeper, he is assigned two assistants, a scholar – Mei-Toku – and a warrior, Bu-Cho, with whom he must wander the medieval landscape, ever seeking and encountering new villains and old friends, whilst trying to accommodate his own new secret agenda. This volume contains not only the origin adventure but also the tale of the first two Treasures, a necklace and a piece of artwork.
The theme of secrets and subterfuge is thoroughly explored as the various characters, all initially hostile to each other, are forced to bond to further their quest, although whether there will ever be full trust or friendship between them is always doubtful when the goal is the ownership of objects that can grant a persons every wish.
The characters are all introspective, moody, determined and disturbingly, preternaturally beautiful in the manner of heroes in Shojo (or story for girls) manga, and often this wistful androgyny intrudes into the basic story-telling, whilst another minor quibble is the sheer amount of art-work obscuring word-bubbles in this book, not a thing I ever expected to say about a manga tale.
All in all, though this is an enjoyable, if slow-paced tale that combines crime-caper, historical adventure and buddy yarn to good effect.
© 1997, 2005 Ako Yutenji.
English script © 2005 Tokyopop Inc. All Rights Reserved.