1 Well now I'm curious to see what the guts inside look like. It screams "manga" right there on the back, but is it the anime adapted to a manga, or the translation of the original novels being printed under TokyoPop's manga label?

2

Is that supposed to be Admiral Spoor? And they're using her for cheese-cake? They do realize, don't they that Grand Duchess Spoor is the most powerful noble in the empire who isn't an Abriel?

We definitely need a report on these when you've read them, but I'm expecting a complete trainwreck. That neotenized art style approaches the sacrilegious.

3 It screams "manga" right there on the back, but is it the anime adapted to a manga, or the translation of the original novels being printed under TokyoPop's manga label?

It's a manga, Will.  I have it right here.  It's full of pictures. ;)

4

Does the art on the inside match the cover art?

I'm wondering if the cover art was redesigned and produced "domestically" to appeal to some preconceived notion of the target audience.

5

They do realize, don't they that Grand Duchess Spoor is the most powerful noble in the empire who isn't an Abriel?

...who's also ssssssssmokin'!

6 The art inside is similar to the cover, though Lafiel isn't as kawaii as on the cover of Banner. 

You have to understand that I haven't watched the anime.  Only Crest has been released in Australia, and I don't have it.  (I think it was out of stock when I did my big order in November, when it would only have cost $20.)

So... do I watch the anime first, which might take a while (possibly forever if I wait for the rest of it to be released here) or do I go ahead with the manga?

7 I'd read the novels, if they're available in Australia.

8 Why not grab the torrents now then buy them when they're available?  If that's not an option, go with what you've got -- no sense in letting them just sit there ^_^

9

I could've gotten you Banner easily but I had no idea. Oh well.

Greetings from the land of hideously expensive inet kiosks

-- P

10 It's cool.  I had no idea that I was going to want to watch Banner all of a sudden either. :)

11

Well, I've been wrong (frequently) before. I'll be wrong again.

Being one of the few cases where the anime pre-dates the manga, I know my preference is usually to see the earliest material possible. Now I'm curious if the manga is a straight adaptation of the anime, or makes any attempt to include some of the material cut from the novels to create the anime. Until you see the anime, you won't be able to tell us *hint* ;)

12 The most obvious thing to look for is Sobaash's sex. In the original books, Sobaash was a man. In the anime Sobaash is a woman. (Sobaash is the executive officer under Lafiel in Basroil.)

13 Apparently, TOKYOPOP released the same manga design in both the U.S. and Australia, as the copy of Crest of the Stars that I have has the exact same cover. 

The story in the manga pretty much follows the anime, from what I can remember. 

As for the art-style, I have a feeling that Steven would not want to see Banner of the Stars III, the 2-episode OVA that features even more rounder characters than ever before.  And a disappointing story and very little advancement between Jinto and Lafiel to boot (though it deals with a very important part of Jinto's life, though).

Well, I guess the artstyle is to be expected.  You can see the evolution of the character-design style as you go through Crest of the Stars -> Banner of the Stars -> Banner of the Stars II.

At least I have the novels to look forward to.

14 Apparently, TOKYOPOP released the same manga design in both the U.S. and Australia, as the copy of Crest of the Stars that I have has the exact same cover.

That would be because it's the exact same edition.

We have a very good anime publisher in Australia, Madman Entertainment, but I don't think any manga is published here at all.  We import everything. :(

15

The difference in style is quote jarring if you jump straight from Crest to Banner 3. I think part of the reason Lafiel is drawn with such a unique style early on is to enhance the "alien" aspect. She's very gaunt, and between the paleness of her skin and the shape of her head, they give her head an almost Grey-like look. The more they flesh her out (both figuratively and literally (not much has been said about how and when the Abh experience puberty)), the less foreign they make her features.

That doesn't excuse the treatment the Abh have been given on these manga covers.

16

I don't think any changes in art style can be rationalized as being the result of physical maturation. Sobaash in the anime is older than Samson -- she's probably about 50. Like all Abh she doesn't show any sign of aging, and like all Abh women she's gorgeous. But she sure isn't round and cuddly.

I know about the story in Banner III. As mentioned, it's important mainly in terms of a major continuity change, but it doesn't really seem like it's a story I'd be very interested in watching. Probably the coolest thing in it would be seeing Atosuryua's new squadron training. Watching Jinto start crying doesn't sound like a good time.

17

I won't disagree that the characters as shown in the manga are a bastardized version of what appears in the anime. I'm sure they didn't want to spend the time or money to have the manga artists study the anime in detail and duplicate the style.

I'm trying to remember the details of how Lafiel described the Abh aging process. Didn't she say they mature to something resembling a human in their late 20's to early 30's, then freeze? From that point they live a large number of years basically unchanged until they start sleeping longer and longer each night until one day they don't wake up. I'll have to go back and see if I can find that scene.

18 Aww crud... two "untils" in one sentence... My freshman English teacher would flay me alive...

19 I liked that cute Lafiel. Sorry, Steven.

BTW, The manga has a glaring error right at the first page. The computer in the anime says "the ship has been destroyed", and in the manga it says "the enemy ship has been destroyed" (which makes no sense in terms of the simulation).