Sarai

    (ComicsOne, 2002)
™ and © ComicsOne

The world has become a dangerous place, as people are destined to mutate, once they reach the age of 18. Faced with genetic uncertainty, civilization has devolved into feudal fiefdoms controlled by superstitions and curses. However, the elite can still afford bodyguards. Guard maids are instructed to protect and to serve (in more ways than one), but Sarai blazes her own path, realizing that her clients and their circumstances are not always what they seem to be.

Along with her fellow maid Flicker, Sarai undertakes a series of jobs, ranging from safeguarding a possessed pair of aristocrats and their precious fountain of water, a monastery hounded by stone monsters, an orphaned boy desired by cannibals, and a village surrounded by bloodthirsty wildlife.

Like his heroine, Masahiro Shibata wields a deft, cutting stroke and displays an aptitude for action. However, in the voyeuristic hentai tradition, he indulges in depicting women in sexually subjugated positions at the expense of giving them three-dimensional characterizations and motivations. Much is left unexplained, as episodic adventures show the extent of a fallen society without making the reader truly care (except for those who await the next underwear shot).

— Oliver Chin
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