Title: Aqua Knight

Story and Art by: Yukito Kishiro

Volume 1 opens up with Arrabarus The Lighthouse King (who holds a comical expression all the time) and his son (who is unnamed but called the little one) on their small island (which Arrabarus dubs Lighthouse Island) isolated on the western edge of Marmundo. One day the little one discovers a knight on the ocean bottom and with the help of his father recover it.  It is revealed that a young woman lay within near death and the two nurse her to health.  She reveals herself to be a Knight of the Kingdom of Enorme named Ruliya.  She later speaks with the little one whom she grants a wish in exchange for saving her life.  He request to become a knight and she tasks him with finding out his real name and to retrieve a jewel from a dragon’s lair which he heads off to the Catarata Termino to do just that.  He makes it to the massive waterfall but is nearly killed by the dragon (which is freakin huge…and when I say huge I mean huge) but is saved by Ruliya at the last minute who reveals his real name as Ashika.  Despite failing to get the dragon jewel (and how he nearly died which he seems to not have noticed) Ruliya makes him her squire.

Upon returning Ruliya informs Arrabarus of Ashika’s internship which Arrabarus retrieves his Barnacle Knight armor and challenges Ruliya to test her strength.  After an extended battle they are interrupted when the island is besieged by genius inventor Alcantara and his minions, Zycrow and Zykey.  Despite Arrabarus’ efforts (dude tossed a huge boulder at the ship, how beast is that), Ashika is kidnapped as well as the magical ball of light the father calls his wife, Niselle.   When it becomes night, an army of the dead rise from the sea led by the Knight of Parca named Tagmec, to retrieve Arrabarus for failing to keep the Light of Life safe.  He then task Ruliya with protecting Ashika and the Light.  Despite her efforts, Ruliya fails to save the father but does gain Tagmec as an alley, presenting her with the Muerto-Gara, the iron claw of the dead, which let’s her summon the army of the dead once every hundred days. Volume 1 ends with Ruliya as she watches Tagmec, Arrabarus, and the dead vanish into the sea.

The Verdict:  In the end, Volume 1 is a great introduction to a promising series.  The characters (Ruliya, Arrabarus, Ashika, Alcantara, and even Tagmec) are pretty cool.  It does leave off on a sad ending with Ashika’s kidnapping and Arrabarus’ “death” but looking forward to Ruliya taking the fight to Alcantara. Aqua Knight, Vol. 1 gets 3 out of 5.