Two New ‘Star Wars’ Manga Adaptations Arrive This Fall
Stories from theStar Warsfranchise have been adapted into manga before, but two new adaptations are coming this fall from Yen Press, and they’re both set before the events ofA New Hope.Star Wars Rebelsand author Claudia Gray’s young adult novelLeia, Princess of Alderaanare each getting the manga treatment.
Star Wars Manga
Yen Press has announced that manga versions ofStar Wars RebelsandLeia, Princess of Alderaanwill be launching in print and digital versions sometime this fall, and both will be ongoing series.
Yen Press is collaborating with Lucasfilm to bring these stories to this medium. They’ve hired writer/artistAkira Aokito tackle the story ofRebels, andHaruichi Furudateto illustrateLeia. I’m not a manga reader myself, butCrunchyrollpoints out that Furudate created “the hit volleyball mangaHaikyu!!”, so maybe some of you recognize that title and are extra excited about this now.
Leading up to the release of 1999’sThe Phantom Menace, the original trilogy andThe Phantom Menacewere all adapted into manga for readers across the world. But years later, other manga adaptions came along which were only available overseas. In October 2006, two additionalStar Warsmanga were published by Tokyopop, but they took some liberties with the story and were deemed non-canonical. And in 2009, stills fromThe Clone Warsanimated series were used to create a manga adaptation of that story.
Here’s the plot breakdown forStar Wars Rebels, based on the Disney XD animated series:
Set during an era when theGalactic Empireis hunting down the last of theJedi, a fledglingrebellion against the Empirebegins to take form.Star Wars Rebelstakes place in the area surrounding the planet Lothal, where the Galactic Empire battles against Ezra, a teenage con artist with latent Force abilities, Kanan, one of the last surviving members of the Jedi Order, and the rest of the ragtag rebels on board the starshipGhost.
And here’s the description ofLeia, Princess of Alderaan(which, in this version, translates toLeia Organa – Ordeal of the Princess):
A young Princess Leia spends her days learning the ways of politics, aiding those in need and preparing for the traditional ceremony in which she declares her intention to one day rule Alderaan. But as Leia prepares herself to be named the heir of the throne, she becomes aware of the growing distance between her and her parents, who behind closed doors are leaders of the newly-formed Rebellion. Upon learning her parents' secrets, Leia must now make a choice between her responsibility to the people of Alderaan and her responsibility to save a galaxy crushed by the rule of the Empire.
