Olympos TP (Manga)
Publisher: Yen Press
Release Date: June 26, 2012
Price: $18.99
Creator: Aki
Format: 352 pgs; B&W; Trade Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-3162-0950-2
Age Rating: Older Teen
ICv2 Rating: 2 Stars out of 5

Ganymede is a beautiful Greek prince who just came of age.  The world is his playground and he feels ready to take on all the challenges that adulthood has in store for him.  The gods have taken notice of him as well, however, and on the day of his coming of age ceremony, Ganymede is stolen by the god Apollo and taken to an eternal garden where he is to spend the rest of eternity serving no other purpose than to amuse the gods.  That's not the real story of this manga though.

The god Apollo is the god of sunlight and the people of Greece worship him as such.  Unfortunately, Apollo doesn't want to be worshiped and has very little affection for the humans on the ground who only wish to curry his favor.  All he wants is to find some entertainment from his life whether that come from the sea god Poseidon, his twin sister Artemis or the human he's locked up in an invisible prison.  And that's where the bulk of this manga's story lies.

Olympos does many interesting things in its 300+ pages, not the least of which is deliver a very unique and interesting view of the Greek pantheon.  The artwork in this book is also striking to look at.  As humans, we have always placed the immortals on pedestals and picture them as beautiful and manga-ka Aki does not break that tradition.  All of the immortals in this book have an ethereal quality to them which captures their beauty in a stunning manner.  Page after page this book is filled with wonderful artwork that captures the readers’ imagination and transports them with beautiful landscapes and character designs that touch the heart.

Despite the beautiful designs however, Olympos is not nearly as fascinating a read as it is an art book.  With the bulk of the story centering on Apollo, the dialogue and general flow of the story tends to grind more often than it should.  Pages are filled with whining and Apollo’s general lack of understanding of Earth and its population, which made this volume only tolerable in small doses. While the flowery language and dialogue is poetic, the older teen audience it targets will find little to relate to within these pages.   Unevenly paced and lacking in any sort of satisfying conclusion, this is a manga for those looking primarily for attractive images of immortals.

--L.B. Bryant