Do you hate Yu-Gi-Oh?
I certainly do. Bad art, contrived story, cookie-cutter characters... those all get on my nerves. However, my biggest complaint involves suspension of disbelief. No matter how hard it tries, the series has never been able to convince me that the fate of the world could actually be decided by a children's card game. Even with all the ancient Egyptian mystical mumbo-jumbo thrown in, the whole thing seems patently ludicrous.
That's why I like the Culdcept manga by Shinya Kaneko so much. It's the antithesis of Yu-Gi-Oh. Even though the plot revolves around a card game, Kaneko winds up subverting the tropes usually associated with that genre. Instead, he creates his own unique card battling system, as well as a great story to go along with it. The end result is one of the best fantasy manga I've ever read. Pretty good for something based on a niche Dreamcast game, no?
Find out more after the break.
Culdcept is set in the fantasy world of Bablashca. Long ago, there was a great war between Baltheus, the dark rebel god, and the creator goddess Culdra. Baltheus possessed the book of creation, Culdcept, which he used to alter reality and bring into existence hordes of indestructible minions. In order to stop him, Culdra smote the Culdcept, causing it to splinter into innumerable pieces. These fragments fell to earth, where they were found by humans and named "cards." It was soon discovered that humans with an abundance of magical energy could use these cards to summon mystical items and monsters, as well as cast spells. Card-using humans became known as Cepters.
Okay, so we've got our backstory. Next up, an endless series of tournament battles where Cepters strategically maneuver their creatures and try to out-think each other with deception and clever strategies, right?
WRONG!
Cepter battles are fast and brutal. Instead of posing dramatically and yelling "I REVEAL A TRAP CARD!", your opponent is much more likely to summon a dragon and try to disintegrate you. If you don't have a defense ready in seconds, you're nothing but ash scattered on the wind. On to the next opponent...
See, Culdcept proves that card game stories don't have to be contrived and boring. The battles are fast-paced and fun, and never last more than a few chapters. (Take that, shonen genre!) The card battling system doesn't have labyrinthine rules that have to be continually explained to the reader. The story has a deep mythology, but doesn't bog itself down with exposition. The monsters are badass and awesome-looking, not childish and cute. In other words, it gets everything right that other card game manga get wrong. If high fantasy action is your forte, you will enjoy Culdcept.
Currently, five volumes of this manga have been released by Tokyopop, and rumor has it that a sixth has been published in Japan. Unfortunately, it's currently out-of-print in the States. However, if you find it in a used bookstore somewhere, go ahead and pick it up. You won't regret it.
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