Nighthead Genesis Volume 1
Nighthead Genesis’ story is over 18 years old; created by George Iida, it first aired as a live action series in Japan during 1992, which later spawned a 24-episode anime series in 2006 and a 4 volume manga in 2007. The manga is, currently, the only form of the story available in the UK and has been adapted by manga artist You Higuri, better known for her work on yaoi based manga. Don’t get too excited over this however, although the 2 male leads look very much like your typical bishōnen types, the story is far from yaoi.
Nighthead Genesis stars Naoto and Naoya Kirihara, brothers who both possess psychic powers. During their childhood, fearing their capabilities, their parents sent them away to a research center where the 2 boys remained trapped for over 15 years. After the pair manage to finally escape into the world, Naoya has a psychic vision where a deadly virus is set to destroy mankind. Can the boys stop it?
I have to admit that I like the premise, in stories such as these it’s mostly the villains who get cast away by their parents and therefore grow up hating the world, whilst heroes tend to go to special schools or have completely deluded parents so they can get away with hiding their gifts. Nighthead Genesis’ back cover does spark interest, the actual plot progression however is very much ‘go from point A to point B’ with little tension or build up in between. It’s literally; brothers escape research centre, brothers hear of premonition that will destroy world, talk to guy who had it, find out panels later it originates from a lab, go to lab and tell female professor to stop her work, female decides to believe them and stop a few pages later, brothers stop impending doom before something else comes along, and so on. There’s no mystery added or any effort to incorporate suspense as they try to hurry and stop the end of the world – it just seems to come at a turn of a page with little time wasted. Even their powers are used in a minimal way. Is this lazy storytelling? Or are they expecting only those who’ve seen the live action and anime series, who will know the plot in depth already, to pick this up? All I know is that I feel like I’m reading the cliff notes version of what could’ve been an interesting story.
The art itself is very basic; You Higuri’s character designs are easy on the eye due to the bishōnen style, but the art itself is not unique. It contains many elements from other, more established, manga artists including Sanami Matoh (FAKE), Yoko Matsushita (Descendants of Darkness) and Kei Kusunoki (Diabolo).
There are no side stories provided in this volume however at the start and end of the manga you’ll be provided with handy translation notes, including a 2 pager on prefixes used in names. You’ll also get a sneak preview of volume 2 in Japanese, a unique way to present a teaser that I’ve personally yet to see anywhere else.
It’s hard to recommend Nighthead Genesis as most of the content has been done much better previously, and not just in manga. Maybe it was a great story that was told better in its TV broadcasts during the 90s, but judging solely on the manga released in 2010, there’s little to admire. Borrow from a friend if you really feel the need to check it out, otherwise it’s safe to pass.
