Comic Review: Hitomi #1

Image Comics

Writer: HS Tak

Artist: Isabella Mazzanti

Layouts: Nicoleta Bea

Colors: Valentina Napolitano

Letters: Rob Jones

HS Tak’s tale of revenge in feudal era Japan immediately recalls to mind Shinichirō Watanabe’s Samurai Champloo. We follow a so-far unnamed protagonist (Hitomi?) searching the lands for a samurai, Yasuke, who killed her family years prior. Tak handles the familiar setup well, particularly when it comes to introducing readers to the vengeful protagonist. The young girl is tough but does not appear wholly consumed by bloodlust. She’s capable and resilient, but far from infallible; ultimately, the strength of this story will likely hinge on her growth over the next four issues.

Tak’s story evokes the old western feel that often overlaps with samurai stories: a lone figure wandering the countryside, in search of glory and honor, if not simply food and shelter. Hitomi #1 has a natural, easy feel, almost as if it were a slice-of-life book. Tak balances several low-stakes, seemingly unrelated scenes that come to a point on the final page, setting up an interesting new dynamic for the protagonist and, it seems, her target, Yasuke.

Isabella Mazzanti’s art fits Tak’s story like a finely knotted sedge hat, especially her colors. Her approach to Hitomi #1 could be described as traditional nihonga art meets early 80’s anime, like Nausicaa and Lupin the Third. Character designs, meanwhile, are reminiscent of contemporaries like Peach Momoko’s Demon Days (and Demon Wars) and Kit Wallis’ work on Garrett Gunn’s Little Red Ronin. That said, Mazzanti’s style and characters are very much her own, an interesting mesh of fine detail and cartoonish simplicity. She is especially adept at designing outfits. The protagonist’s layered winter garb is immediately identifiable and stands in stark contrast to Yasuke’s sumo get-up or the lethal finery of the samurai.

Layouts never become boring or confusing in Hitomi #1, but they are a bit static for a book with a dedicated layout artist. There are a few full-page scenes, one of which is segmented by snowy tree branches as opposed to traditional gutters, and there are some diagonals during a brief sumo match, but otherwise, the issue is all squares and rectangles. It’s not very ambitious, but at its best, it provides a cinematic feel, especially the opening page: a series of wide panels builds to a sweeping panorama of mountains and tanada. It sets the tone for the rest of the story.

While Hitomi #1 is a fine start, it’s already started tiptoeing the tightrope that is pacing a comic mini-series. The relatively calm, almost serene atmosphere of the issue is enjoyable in a vacuum but does not exactly catapult readers into a narrative that only has four issues remaining to resolve. In fact, the protagonist’s search of Yasuke is literally the only bit of plot or character insight provided. While the issue never drags or jumps, it also fails to offer a sense of direction.

Gradually showing readers which characters are important and outlining themes and motifs is, of course, part of the storytelling process; but we are already 20 percent finished with the story. In other words, Hitomi #1 functions better as a #1 of 12, or the first of an ongoing series, as opposed to the first of a five-act play.