About the Mangaka

Mizuno Ryo an author and game designer. He created not only the Record of Lodoss War game, but also Rune Soldier and the Sword World RPG system, and also the Starship Operators novels. He was also involved with the Galaxy Angel manga. He has shown talent in both dramatic and humorous genres. He was one of the founding members of Group SNE.

The art for the Lodoss War manga was done by various artists. Yamada Akihiro does the art for this series, Yamada is famous for his work across the board, having worked in both both manga, anime and various games. However he most well known for both this Lodoss Series, and his work on Ono Fuyumi’s Twelve Kingdom’s light novels.

About the manga

Damn it why isn’t this series longer!!

Out of all of the Lodoss Saga this is probably my favourite, and also the most surprising.

Unlike the other titles of the series this one is very dark, and while it’s classed as a shonen I think it’s more up there towards seinen.

The first time I read this, years and years ago, it was very easy to consider it as an American comic. The art, story, and script all have that feel to it. Out of all of the volumes this one alone practically hits you over the head with it’s westernisation.

Yamada’s art is just mind blowing, and if he’d done the art for the rest of the Saga, we’d have a totally different feel series of books.

I love his take on the characters, and I found that out of all of the stories Yamada brings a sense of reality to them. The characters are interesting in a way that none of the other volumes, nor the anime, have been able to bring. (Not that the other’s are bad, cause they aren’t!!)

Mizuno tells the story we’ve all wanted, the fall of the hundred heroes, the rise of King Beld, and the story of the seven saviours. The story he writes, tied with the art, gives this series an entirely different feel. Gone is the light hearted feel of the other volumes. Also missing here is the Pen & Paper RPG feel that the others have.

Personally I like this method more, since the story has a stronger feel to it than the others.

However like the rest of the Saga it suffers from a huge flaw, its far to short. What’s more after the half way mark of volume two, Mizuno seems to have realised this, and entire chunks of the story are missing. While they aren’t really essential, Mizuno muffed up the way he handled the pacing, and as a result the missing parts are clearly visible.

This is especially bad with this series, since it’s the one story that you don’t want to skimp on since it’s the foundation for the entire Saga.

This series has a very different feel to the others, it’s more adult, with the main ‘evil’ being a naked girl, and at times there’s nothing left to the imagination. It’s more graphic with it’s violence and blood compared to the others of the Saga as well.

Like the rest of the Saga this was released by CPM, for some reason they went with a different format for this series. In fact it’s the only one in the series that’s normal manga size. The rest are all oversize, yet this one is standard manga size, bizarre to say the least.

The way this was done is bad I think, the oversized manga allowed the volumes art to breath, and actually helps with the flow. This series suffers from heavy guttering, and flow problems. Mostly die to the size of the volume, it’s cramped and is hard to follow at times.

The ending, despite being rushed, is freaking awesome!! However the way it’s ended is a bit confusing, since Mizuno moves from the end of the fight with the Demon Lord, and flips straight away to Parn and Deedlit, which is bad flow handling.

However despite the flaws of the release, I still love it the most. I’ve read it so many times and I still love it. I can’t help but like the darkness, angst, romance and betrayals that the series mixes. Also the Mizuno handles magic in this release is very different, and overall much better than the others. Needless to say it goes on my Essential Read list, with the rest of the Lodoss Saga.

Where to Buy

Sadly the entire Lodoss Saga is now out of print, and CPM has ceased trading; so it’s highly unlikely we’ll ever see another release of it. It is still possible to find copies on the likes of Amazon Market Place and eBay. However make sure you check out the seller, especially given the costs involved.

However it’s worth the hassle of tracking the series down!!