“What if a Peking Opera actress became a Superhero?” 

That question is both the inspiration and premise of Chang Sheng’s Taiwanese manga Yan, a series which pays homage to a variety of influences including the Peking Opera, martial arts movies, spy thrillers, revenge flicks, and sci-fi manga of all kinds of premises. Centering on Yan Tien Hua, a former teenage Peking Opera performer who resurfaces after 30 years to get revenge on those who wronged her, what starts as a seemingly straightforward revenge story a la Kill Bill soon takes twists and turns with layers of different supernatural and sci-fi concepts and premises added on top, making for a thoroughly unpredictable thrill ride as we follow Yan and her allies in their efforts to uncover the truth behind a conspiracy of potentially world-ending consequences. 

Lum and VLord discuss Yan’s unique blend of influences, how it balances escalating the stakes of the story without losing its core narrative focus, Chang Sheng’s gorgeously detailed artwork and cinematic paneling, and the immaculate production design of the book from Titan Manga. Oh, and point out how one of the characters is clearly based on Keanu Reeves as John Wick. Don’t tell me you don’t see it!

Thanks so much to Titan Manga for providing us a copy of the book for this review, and for inviting us to participate in the blog tour for Yan! Check out more coverage of Yan at the outlets listed here!

PODCAST BREAKDOWN:

00:00  – Pre-Order Manga Mavericks Books! 

00:44 –  Yan Review 

1:05:55 – Wrap-up

Enjoy the show, and follow us on Twitter at @manga_mavericks, on Bluesky at @mangamavericks.bsky.social, on Instagram at @mangamavericks_official, and on Youtube! You can also follow the hosts on Twitter at @VLordGTZ and @lumranmayasha. If you’d like to help support the show financially you can pledge to our Patreon or our Substack and receive some awesome rewards like our exclusive Bonus pods! Don’t forget to also like and subscribe to us on Youtube and Apple Podcasts and leave us reviews to help us curate the show and create better content! If there are any topics, series or mangaka you would like to see us talk about on the show, drop us a line in the comments below, or email us at mangamavericks@gmail.com! Thanks for listening!

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About The Author Siddharth Gupta

Siddharth Gupta is an illustrator, video editor, and writer based in Minnesota. They graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Animation from the School of Visual Arts and from the Master's of Science in Leadership for the Creative Enterprises program (MSLCE) at Northwestern University. They have worked on projects for the University of Minnesota, Shreya R. Dixit Foundation, and TriCoast Worldwide among others. An avid animation and comics fan since childhood, they've turned their passion towards being both a creator and a critic. They credit their love for both mediums to Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball, which has also defined their artistic and comedic sensibilities. A frequent visitor to their local comic book shops, they are an avid reader and collector, particularly fond of manga. Their favorite comics include The Adventures of Tintin by Herge, Bloom County by Berkeley Breathed, and pretty much anything and everything by Rumiko Takahashi.

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