“Life beyond death…A foolish notion with which to deceive oneself. But what happens when death does not come? Hanbei the Undying has lived longer than most, yet he's found no sense of purpose along the way-no reason to swing his blade. With a history vaster than most could hope to comprehend, it's only natural to wonder: Who exactly was he before he met the Wolf?” (Official)
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Given that this entry is a side story to a videogame, “Sekiro Side Story: Hanbei the Undying” straddles between content geared towards the fans of the popular video game, “Sekiro Shadows Die Twice” by From Software, and fans of samurai manga. Thankfully, the editions' strength lies in being able to appease fans of the action title and of samurai fiction.
In approaching the tie-in to the video game, many fans will be familiar with From Software's somewhat minimalistic approach to narrative, often allowing players to explore the world and make their own storylines. In this regard, it is refreshing to get a bit more background into a notable character within one of their franchises, which wonderfully captures the lore and the aesthetic of the video game.
By no means a comprehensive history of the character of Hanbei, the manga manages to show a segment of the warrior's struggles before his meeting with the iconic “Wolf” from the video game. However, the lack of comprehensive back story works in favor to just give the samurai some more flair and complement the approach of self explored narrative the game pulls off so effectively. This journey also does help define the swordsman's own kind of disconnect, in seeing what is the last tragic event he suffered before making his appearance in the game.
On the other end, fans of manga may struggle to get involved in this story, with the concept of a cursed immortal samurai having been previously explored in the genre defining “Blade of the Immortal”. However, treating it as a stand alone tale based on a character whose influences in the game are obvious, pushes this sentiment to the background as the story unravels. Furthermore, while the story lacks originality, it is still a full arc that has a nice narrative flow to it as it explores a few different areas and villains' from the game.
Helping to give the manga a more defined vibe is the art and direction of mangaka Shin Yamamoto, who does a glorious job of capturing the action and presenting a visual direction that feels true to the game. Consequently, there is a nice flow to the action that will please fans of the genre. For those who enjoy their action series full of flashy and bloody violence, “Sekiro Side Story” does not disappoint.
The story of Hanbei works well as a standalone samurai story, and is an ideal addition for fans of the game who hold “Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice” in high regard in aesthetic approach and lore. While it may be harder to convince readers unfamiliar with the video game to check out this release, there is still enough here to enjoy without worrying about the tie-in, while knowledge of the game is non-essential, rather a nice bonus for those in the know.
With an art book on the horizon from Yen Press, this release works as a prelude to their commitment to do the series justice in bringing some great additional material for fans.
