For those who enjoyed the artwork of 'The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess' manga's adaptation, the artists brings a new story to life with Kamudo vol 1 by Akira Himekawa. Within a world run by demi-beings, before humanity was even a concept, demi-dragons maintained order within the skyborne paradise called 'Hinoaruchi'. We're introduced to their religion: God created the world, the winds, and the Kamudo (the Gate of God) in which the first creature, the first dragon - Ryusui, emerged. Ryusui created Pulse - the embodiment of life, which brought us to where we are now.
Inviting all demis around their skyborne island to partake in the Festival of Newborn Winds to celebrate the ceremonial hatching of dragon eggs, some demis are excited and welcome the births, some demis attempt drastic measures to better their circumstances, but it all leads up to the last dragon egg hatching; the egg of the Elder's granddaughter, where "an ancient myth says that the child born of the last egg will either the greatest of the most ill-fated...". When the egg hatches with a dragon hand popping out, there's a sigh of relief that the child is unharmed, but when it completely breaks, leaving a smooth and non-scaled infant in the nest, the tension is palpable.
The demi-dragons all teach their youngest about Ryusui, the first dragon. But this story is about Kamuna, the first human.
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If I'm being honest, all the cliche tropes about an 'outsider' being born in tribe is there; Kamuna is accepted since he's the Elder's great-grandkid, but he's not truly welcomed by all. There's the rivalry between 'hatchmates', that we all know is going to develop into a brotherly bond after Gindu gets over his jealousy drama. And we all know that in the end that the 'outsider' Kamuna' will go through several difficult trauma/hardships in order to grow mentally/physically to become strong enough to defeat the BBEG (Big Bad Evil Guy) in order to save his village.
AND I'M SO HERE FOR IT.
I mean, the trope's a thing because more times than not, it's done right.
The art is beautiful, the writing style is 'ye olde'-y enough that I don't need to grab a dictionary convertor to understand what's trying to be said. The beginning is a bit slow because they're lore dumping with religion and story, but hey, it's not too heavy where I needed to reread anything to comprehend.
Rating?
4.5 Dragon Claws out of 5.