Hideo Kojima loves good snipers, especially if they are women. Its Metal Gear Solid franchise includes 2, Sniper Wolf and Quiet, as well as The End if you want to top up your account. So, when the game author recommended the manga with a young female sniper as the main character, it wasn't much of a surprise, but that doesn't mean I wasn't intrigued.
War Seat of Miharuwritten by Hamada Guten (Shimazaki on peaceful land), very similar to the popular manga-turned-anime. Shooter girl. But instead of a league of young female assassins, it combines the typical shonen tropes of a young robber who trusts her comrades with a more mature, seinen backdrop. Besides girls with big guns, the manga also explores classic Kojima themes: what it means to be a soldier, war, and the geopolitical state of Japan. But despite the heavy subject matter, the story isn't afraid to be silly and touching.
Miharu's throne at war is currently available to read for free in Japanese. in the manga there is oneand English translations are floating around the web and can be found via Google. It's worth the effort, especially if you're a Kojima fan like me.
The manga is set during the fictional outbreak of World War III, during which Japan was devastated and partially occupied by foreign powers. Miharu is a young girl with exceptional sniper skills whose personal mission of revenge is intertwined with the larger fight to save her homeland. She crosses paths with Shu, a former expert marksman who has lost the will to fight, and together they are drawn into pivotal battles that could determine the fate of their nation, forming a tense “buddy-sniper” dynamic as they face both external enemies and their own psychological burdens in war-torn Japan.
Their partnership is reminiscent of different versions of Batman and Robin; a carefree adult holding a wonderful teenager at bay. Or the Killer and the Big Daddy from Kick assa young girl destined for violence, with an adult father figure helping her, teaching her, but knowing when to treat her like a child. However, Miharu and Shaw are most reminiscent of Solid Snake and Otacon. Miharu is stoic and calm, ready to learn new information; The show provides this information and acts as its observer. He is a little more involved in this area than Otacon, but their plans and personalities are almost identical. Shu is comical and stupid, despite his knowledge and experience as a soldier. He also wears glasses and has a ridiculous afro style outfit that will no doubt show up on the battlefield and become a nuisance. Their odd couple partnership is funny, with their unusual behavior, but also sincere, as Shou is one of the few people Miharu can warm to. Miharu even has a little stuffed pig named Buu-chan, which she treats as her support animal, and Shou also treats him as an equal partner on the field, much to Miharu's delight.
Without spoiling too much, Miharu is a product of war and was left alone to witness these horrors, which forges her as a survivalist seeking revenge on the man who ransacked her home and killed the people most important to her. Now that she has been drafted into the army, she considers it her home, but does not know how to become a member of this found family because she has been alone for so long. She believes that might is right, and it is Shu and their squad leader Louise who must teach Miharu that war is not violence; it's about tact and negotiation. Miharu is tasked with learning to work as a team rather than relying solely on his own strength, and that soldiers are not killers; they are deterrents. To become a good soldier, she must look beyond herself and her path of revenge, which makes Miharu's eventual confrontation with the mysterious man (who looks like Vulcan and Skull Face combined) even more interesting. The camaraderie of the game creates momentum Attack on Titan, and you can expect just as many friends to be lost in this story.
Fujimoto KenshiThe presentation is also excellent and the paneling is phenomenal. They are large and wide, showing off the characters in full scale or highlighting their designs, as well as the massive sniper rifle that Miharu uses. It also makes it easy to read and less confusing to follow, unlike more modern manga. The action is also ruthless: military weapons rip out entire torsos of people from under their feet. The headshots look as great as they do gruesome, and I couldn't help but cheer for Miharu's fantastic stunt followed by the blood-splatter grimace in the next panel.
If you're knee-deep in Death in Stranding 2but miss some key aspects that made you fall in love with Kojima's work, give War Seat of Miharu read it – and then pray that it becomes popular enough for an anime adaptation soon.
