The High Republic Introduced the First Original Manga in the Star Wars Universe and it Delivers

So far the High Republic has whisked readers into fast-paced adventures around the galaxy, confronting the Nihil and Drengir left and right; but The Edge of Balance by Shima Shinya and Justina Ireland is a refreshing change of pace from the chaos enveloping the galaxy. Lily Tora-Asi is a young Jedi Knight tasked with relocating civilians to Banchii: a newly inhabited planet in the far outer rim. Lily finds herself yearning to do more to help her fellow Jedi bring peace to the galaxy, but little does she know she doesn't have to look far to find the reaches of evil. The Banchii Jedi Temple also is home to Master Arkoff, a mentor to Lily and the younglings on the outpost; an archivist named Ru-Ru; a handful of younglings; Dr. Silar, a civilian doctor; and a droid companion named DeeDee. As suspicions increase, everyone has to work together in order to discover the dangers lurking in the shadows.

I feel like the story is very relatable, because on one hand, we have the main Jedi who are front and center tackling the Nihil and Drengir at every turn. On the other hand, we are introduced to Lily who doesn’t have a prominent role in the main action, so we get to see how she learns to trust herself, how she comes to balance different aspects of her life to maintain her “spiritual zen” (balance in the Force and balancing her psyche,) as well as finding balance in her responsibilities: looking over the younglings on the outpost, mentoring her Padawan, and helping the incoming settlers. In many ways I see subtle connections to Vernestra Rwoh which doesn’t surprise me since Ireland created both of these characters who also happen to be in a similar Master and Apprentice dynamic. I love seeing similarities between characters; however, I hope Vernestra and Lily don’t become copies of each other.

Keerin Fionin, Lily’s Padawan, also has a substantial presence throughout the book and I enjoyed seeing his training sessions with Lily. From what I can tell so far Keerin doesn’t have a miraculous gift like Imri, but there are some personality overlaps when it comes to curiosity and the need for mentoring. Keerin, however, seems more responsible and conscientious so I’m glad there’s a distinct difference between Ireland’s Padawan characters.

The story itself is slow start but leaves off at a decent place for Volume II to pick up and enter the main parts of this story. My only issue is Edge of Balance isn’t structured to read from back to front like most manga which, as a manga reader, is disappointing. I do, however, understand Edge of Balance may bring new audiences to manga who aren’t familiar with the traditional style of reading manga from back to front which is presumably why this format decision was made; so there’s definitely a balance there, but I hope for the subsequent volumes this is changed. On a positive note, the artwork for the cover and panels done by Mizuki Sakakibara is wonderful, and I think her style suits the tone of the story very well.

Final Thoughts: Edge of Balance is a great introduction to Lily, Keerin, and the rest of the personnel located at the Banchii Jedi Temple. We’ve mostly seen Jedi who are a Padawan or higher, with the exception of some younglings in the IDW High Republic Adventures series, and I’m thrilled we got more younglings in Edge of Balance; Nima and Viv’nia are younglings who are also somewhat prominent throughout the volume, and I’m looking forward to seeing more of them in subsequent installments. If you’re interested in checking out a manga or if you’re a completionist, definitely check out The Edge of Balance - you won’t regret it.

Click the image to see my visual review on Instagram