YAN VOL. 1 [Advance Review]

YAN VOL.1/ Script and Art by CHANG SHENG / Published by TITAN MANGA

30 years ago, the opera world was stunned by the violent deaths of the Yan Opera Troupe. The crimes were pinned on the sole survivor and youngest member of the troupe, 15-year-old Yan Tieh Hua. For reasons nobody could explain, she was spirited away to a medical research facility after her trial. She was held there for 20 years before dying when the facility exploded under mysterious circumstances.

Something about the case of Yan Tieh Hua never sat right with Detective Lei – the then-rookie investigator who originally took the teenager into custody. Now he’s retired, but he’s called back in to service after a noted Councilor’s son is killed execution style on a live-stream. One hosted by a woman in opera make-up who claims to be the ghost of Yan Tieh Hua back for justice.

Detective Lei soon finds himself up to his eyebrows in mysteries. The mystery of what really happened to Yan Tieh Hua and the strange circumstances of her death 10 years earlier. The masked school girl who claims to be able to see five minutes into the future. The strange figure who confronted him and asked him what year it was before vanishing in a flash of light. And a murderous robot unleashed on the city, with weapons far beyond what is known to exist today…

Yan Vol. 1 is unlike any manga I’ve read in recent memory. There are elements of familiar genres, from supernatural horror to police procedural. Yet there are also superpowers, mecha, and a little bit of magic girl shojo mixed with science fiction and old fashioned opera.

Creator Chang Sheng is widely recognized as one of the premiere comic creators in Taiwan. However, Yan is unlikel his earlier works Oldmen and The Hidden Level. The blend of genres employed here is truly innovative and kept me riveted throughout.