Iwa ni Hana

Fans of 'The Legend of Galactic Heroes' rejoice! Tanaka Yoshiki's space opera 'Titania' to be animated!

Breaking news indeed! Just 2 days after we learned that Titania is to be adapted into manga format, we now learn that it is to be animated as well. 

Referring back to my 2008 wishlist, it seems that I can now check off item 2 (ie. a revival of interest in Tanaka Yoshiki). As for the remaining items:

1) Gankutsuou-like art direction in Amatsuki

I have more or less given up on this after looking at the pictures on the official website.

2) At least one adaptation from an old-school shoujo classic

Nothing like that on the horizon yet. Though one wonders if Shimizu Reiko may be considered as 'old school shoujo'.

3) At least one series of serious historic drama

Maybe Mugen no Juunin (無限の住人) will fit the bill, but I have yet to learn more about this series.

4) A new series from Watanabe Shinichirou

No news from the creator of Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo yet.

5) Shinbo Akiyuki coming to his senses at last

No sign of that happening any time soon.

6) Something groundbreaking in terms of art direction

Thankfully, Kaiba will fit this description quite nicely.

Tanaka Yoshiki's novel series 'Titania' to be adapted into manga

Breaking news! Apparently, the space opera novel series Titania (タイタニア) by Tanaka Yoshiki (田中芳樹) is to be adapted into manga format on the magazine Shounen Sirius:

Here is what I have learned so far about Titania compared The Legend of Galactic Heroes, a.k.a. the space opera classic Tanaka Yoshiki is famous for:

• The novel series is not yet finished.
• Titania portrays a multipolar political world as opposed to a bipolar political world like in The Legend of Galactic Heroes.
• The characters just sort of go with the flow of events and no clear winner has emerged in the process.
• Whereas The Legend of Galactic Heroes places a greater emphasis on military issues, Titania is heavier on the political side of things.
• Whereas The Legend of Galactic Heroes has quite a few quotable passages, Titania has very little of those. Instead, there are more depictions of the characters' interactions with each other and their psychology.
• Titania is on the whole darker than The Legend of Galactic Heroes. Instead of splendid military strategies, you get dirty political plots winning the day.

What do I know? Referring to my 2008 wishlist, perhaps Tanaka Yoshiki is to experience a comeback after all. Now if only Titania is to become an anime series...