彼方から

KANATA KARA

MANGA

STATUS
COMPLETE
VOLUMES
14
RELEASE
January 24, 2003
CHAPTERS
61

DESCRIPTION

On her way home from school one day, Noriko is unexpectedly plunged into a strange and extraordinary fantasy world. Her troubles compound exponentially when she is rescued and befriended by a handsome young man by the name of Izark. He may be brave and courageous, but inside Izark lurks the darkest evil imaginable. And according to an ancient prophecy, Noriko possesses the power to unleash that evil. Now, inexorably bound together, these two unlikely allies must navigate a world both wondrous and hostile.

(Source: Viz)

Note:

Includes two side stories
Includes one epilogue
Includes one extra
Includes a sequel one-shot for "Onnanoko wa Yoyuu!" titled "Mata Ashita!" (また明日!)

CAST

Izark Kia Tarj
Noriko Tachiki
Rachef
Keimos Lee Goda
Agol Dena Ofa
Geena Haas
Gaya Il Biska
Irktule
Doros
Barago
Jeida De Girene

CHAPTERS

REVIEWS

FloralFlames
80/100
A chick with 3 facial expressions falls in love with the most non-Gary-stu character ever, and it's beautiful.
Story:
Kanata Kara/From Far Away was an interesting read with a few twists that make it one of the better "teenager transported to another world" stories. There is a constant feeling of dread, and, after every two pages of happiness and two cracked eggs and milk, the readers are in for two arcs of trouble. The Murphy Law is fully in effect here, and nothing stays perfect for long. What's a story without (constant) mishaps? Well, it isn't Kanata Kara that's for sure.

The ending was really lackluster, but I enjoyed the journey and finished the series in two days. I think it was decent fun, not delirious but decent. Halfway Spoiler: There aren't any weddings or babies, so, if that's what you like, don't get invested in fourteen volumes.

Characters:
Noriko is really bland. She is not very expressive with only three to four facial expressions but that might be because of the art style. I liked that she took up the effort to pick up the language because I have always admired bilingual characters or characters forced to learn a language.

In volume nine, she finally showed some spunk in her character and took the initiative to do something dangerous. I think that is truly her only shining moment since every single scene in this entire manga is her wanting Izark, her crying, and her having a fish-out-of-water expression. I understand the situations present were very horrific for her, but, if that blank 80-90's anime face doesn't get you, her Studio Ghibli tears will. This chick could have replenished any drought and most definitely has SCS (Shoujo Crying Syndrome).

Izark was my favorite character though not many others got developed in this series. I enjoyed the development of his character and powers. He had a lot of angsty brooding moments and kept pushing Noriko away too often. He reminded me of a gentleman white knight character who got dealt a bad hand, which was being the spawn (descendant?) of Satan. His devil heritage gives him Superman-like powers and Wolverine's quick healing ability, but he constantly has inner turmoil about using these devil powers. Instead, he prefers swordsmanship and hand-to-hand combat.

A good point with Kanta Kara is Izark, arguably the strongest character alive, isn't a Gary-stu. I think him being at war with his powers kept his character anchored, made me feel honest sympathy for him, and gave him room to evolve. However, I just couldn't stand watching him push Noriko away constantly though when that stopped I couldn't find any other qualms with him. Also, it's so cute how he cried at the end when he got frustrated. Him learning to get in touch with his emotions was a major stepping stone for him too.

Gaya would have been the stereotypical ugly woman in any other manga, scratch that any other media, but in Kanata Kara she is treated like an actual character. Gasp! She is a great warrior, mother figure, and shrewd businesswoman. Since she never shunned Izark, who had been rejected and shunned way too many times, I instantly took a liking to her and it never left.

Rabamadan was almost like a one-note character. He was there when the plot needed to move along but not in much else. I thank him immensely for being the catalyst to knock some sense into Izark. So yay for love rivals, who you already know are going to lose from their first appearance!

Garabog and Doros are two ugly guys that were more than their looks. Garabog, a once bloodthirsty gambling warrior, finds purpose after encountering Noriko and Izark, and Doros finds peace from a simple gesture. I loved these two! I honestly felt sympathy for more characters than just the main couple.

Agol and Geena were two I wished could have had more backstory. Although more backstory is not something the manga needed for them, I personally wanted to know more. Who was Geena's mother?

I liked the black-haired girl and her mother too who were both so beautiful but not very memorable. The people of the last town were hilarious and imaginative!

Art:
Izark is handsome, but, in certain shots, his mullet looks unflattering and his pointed Dorito chip nose did not help. In other shots, he's the heartthrob the manga intended him to be. I like seeing him in motion during his numerous fight scenes and his agility on display.

Noriko, like before stated, had very few expressions that were repeated often, but she looked beyond gorgeous whenever Izark would pick her up when she was sleeping. Noriko's side views sometimes looked like her forehead would sink in and her eyes would be two inches above her mouth which is not a look I like. Keep that for chibis.

The backgrounds were diverse and the clothing (a mixture of Japanese and Middle Eastern) was very appealing. I liked the nice collars, stylish boots, and long jackets!

The monsters were gruesome just like you would expect too!

Overall:

[SCORE: 8/10 | 80% | SMILEY FACE :) ]

I am glad I read this, and I want to find another manga in this vein. I love those “girl gets teleported to another world” shoujo stories. Still, I wish Kanata Kara could have been a bit more romantic. There were like three kisses in total, and they were less than pecks! Maybe the timeframe of this manga made it super chaste, but come on, I like a nice shoujo kiss with or without cherry blossoms in the background.

But yes, definitely read this!
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