Content Warning: Graphic depictions of violence, guns, death, organized crime, amnesia, and brainwashing
Synopsis
In the face of her amnesia, Luna lives a happy life with her older sister. But when her sister suddenly disappears, and the local yakuza try to force Luna into selling her sister’s beloved flower shop, something awakens within her. She finds herself re-entering into a world of Soviet spies, hyper violence, and a game of cat and mouse she has no idea she’s been playing.
The Art of Manga
In terms of artistic technique, Luna Knight shines. It has a careful thoughtfulness to it that adds to the overall Cold War revival tone. This isn’t a fun action shonen—it’s a Soviet spy thriller with a touch of magic. In a world of webtoons with pre-set panels and comics made up only of splash pages, artist Hiru Morino proves that the art of panelling is still alive. Their varied composition made each page unique and entertaining to look at. It’s the kind of thing Wally Wood would be proud of.
That said, there were times when it felt more like looking at layouts than a fully-realised piece. Whilst a plain background can work, over use makes it less effective, especially when your characters just look like they’re floating in space. That said, I much prefer being able to make in-depth criticism of someone’s panelling than having to continue being a stuck record complaining that it’s all so basic and boring.
I was impressed by the first couple of action sequences. They were skilfully drawn, and incredibly dynamic. However, as the volume went on, I noticed that the moves were all at the same angle and used the same techniques. A Watsonian response would be that Luna only remembers those exact moves in that exact order. A Doylian response would say that Morino has only learnt how to draw a small selection of action sequences and is choosing to just repeat them. Hopefully, this will change in the future as the series goes on, but for now I found it a little disappointing after the early promise the art showed.
It’s a Man’s World
Despite having a female lead (or perhaps because of it), there were few female characters overall. We need our stories about women to feature women who aren’t just throwaway friends or sexy rivals. Otherwise, it just feels like watching women fighting for a man’s entertainment. It had the same vibe as an action shonen where the token girls fight it out in an attempt at diversity. But really, just goes to prove that they’re just side characters in a man’s story: think Ochako vs. Toga in My Hero Academia, Lucy vs. Flare in Fairy Tale, and Nobara vs. Mai in Jujitsu Kaisen.
The character designs for the male characters are incredibly varied and creative. It’s a shame the same cannot be said for the female characters. Like many who have come before, creator Morino falls into the trap of being afraid to draw ugly women. I also took umbrage with the costume design. Luna is an orphaned high school student hiding from the yakuza. She would not sleep in a frilly negligée.
Here We Go Again
Luna Knight felt like a complete rehash of everything that has come before. “Young Woman with Amnesia Turns Out to be Secret Government Operative” has been done multiple times before, and with better female characters. There’s nothing on offer here that I’ve not seen done better by the likes of The Long Kiss Goodnight, Ballerina, and Black Widow. Plot-wise, it felt like a Disney Channel version of The Bourne Identity.
To be clear, I’m not opposed to tropes! I’ll happily read the same knight/servant romance over and over again. And I’m sure those who are fans of this particular spy thriller trope would love this. However, if you’re going to make something that’s based on a particular trope, you need to make sure your main character is compelling enough to carry the entire story on their shoulders. That is simply not the case with Luna Knight.
Final Thoughts
Whilst Morino’s art style and technical ability is so great, I actually have something meaningful to say about it, the overall story is lacking. So far, it has been unoriginal, with a main character whose only depth comes from their backstory, and not their personality. Perhaps there will be more to come with this series. It is, after all, only volume one. I do believe that Morino is capable of making Luna more compelling and giving us an entertaining twist on a classic. But with so much else in my TBR pile, this is not a series that I will be continuing with. I’d rather just wait for the next appearance of Florence Pugh’s ex-Russian sleeper agent in the MCU. At least with that I can guaranteed some substance.
You can buy Luna Knight from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Bookshop
If you liked Luna Knight you may also like…
- Black Widow: The Name of the Rose by Majorie Liu and Daniel Acuño
- Gangsta by Kohske
- I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day by Nachi Aono
Credits
Story and Art: Hiru Morino
Translation: John Neal
Lettering: Vet Phuong Vu
Logo Design: Mariel Dágá
Cover Design: Nicky Lim
Copy Editor: B. Lillian Martin
Proofreader: Kendall Jennings
Production Designer: Brennan Thome
Senior Editor: Jenn Grunigen
Published in English by Seven Seas Entertainment
Thank you to Seven Seas for providing a review copy. Receiving this copy had no effect on the reviewer’s opinions as expressed here.
Article edited by: Anne Estrada
The Good
- True to genre
- Unique art
- Diverse panelling
The Bad
- Unoriginal
- Repetitive action sequences
- Female characters look too similar compared to the diversity of the male characters
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