Today I'll be talking about late-80's sci fi manga!! Future Retro Hero Story, by Takehiko Ito (Outlaw Star...more on that later), started in 1988 and ran in Ultra Jump.
Space adventurer Roger Fortune was in the midst of a space battle to save a space princess when his enemies banished him to a far off world (our Earth). Fast forward several years later to modern day Japan(...well, 80's Japan), to his grandson, Juji Godoh, who is, what else, a high school transfer student. On an ordinary day, Fortune's enemies come to earth, and Juji ends up inheriting Fortune's ship and having to pick up where his grandfather (now just a brain/robot thing) left off.
When this manga first came out, the titled referred to it being an homage/spoof of old school science fiction from the 50's and so on. Now, the "Retro" part of the title actually refers to the style of the manga itself, which is now 21 years old and unmistakably drawn two decades ago. There are also multiple references to sci-fi stories such as Lensman.
One thing I really like about this series is how tongue-in-cheek it is. Though it's not a full on comedy, it doesn't take itself seriously at all. Take a look at these pages. The dialogue of the kids on the bus made me chuckle quite a bit. And check out our hero's supreme modesty, along with the innocent prayers of a Catholic school girl!
Also full of hilarity is his teacher, who is drawn in completely exaggerated poses in just about every action he does.
There's a certain universal charm to the typical 80's manga art style, and that's definitely present here. I'd really like to see more 80's manga released here (and several more of these will probably be about older manga), and this is one that's really high on my list. By the way, the images here are from scanlations, but the group behind it dismantled, and only did a few chapters of this series.
That's about it. Here's some nice action shots. There are some dynamic drawings here (like Juji summoning his ship), and the characters are all pretty cool looking. The whole thing is really energetic and cartoony.
Oh yea, I said I'd mention Outlaw Star. Outlaw Star is actually a spin off this series (the manga also ran in Ultra Jump), and by extension, so is Angel Links. I don't know how strongly they're connected beyond taking place in the same universe, but there is a definite similarity between the two. Both main characters are redheads, and have similar guns, and both series have a mix of science fiction and magic.
Who: Viz. Maybe CMX.
Likelihood: I say Viz because it's Shueisha and Ultra Jump, and I say maybe CMX, because they just seem like a wild card to me. They've released some older shojo, so why not some older seinen/shonen? But either way, the chances are probably pretty low. Manga this old doesn't get licensed, and when it does, it's because it already has some sort of following or big name attached to it (Takahashi, for instance). So I'd say the chances are lower than 10%...like 5%!!
It should also be noted that at one point in time Viz did have the license for Outlaw Star. I might be crazy, but I distinctly remember the announcement, and possibly even seeing it listed on their site at one point several years ago. Nothing ever came of it, but if they ever do decide to release Outlaw Star, then I could see a release of Future Retro Hero Story possibly going along with it. I'm still hopeful for both of them.
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