Highlights
- "Ed-0: Zombie Uprising manga expands the world of Japan's Edo era with crisp art style and bombastic storytelling."
- "The manga captures the fast-paced action of the game, with distinct characters and expert use of gutters to indicate speed."
- "Fans of the game will enjoy the manga, while manga lovers may be enticed to try out the game, creating a symbiotic relationship between the two."
Ed-0: Zombie Uprising, the roguelike zombie game from developer Lancarse and D3Publisher, recently dropped on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X, and fans of that world will be able to get even more soon thanks to a new three-part manga series. Indeed, the premise of Ed-0: Zombie Uprising—facing zombies during the Edo period of Japan as a Ninja, Samurai, or Sumo Wrestler—is bombastic enough that its translation to manga results in a fast-paced but fun reading.
Ed-0: Zombie Uprising takes place during a fictional time of isolation, while the rest of the world undergoes a fictional event called the "Zombie Industrial Revolution." This leads to a newfound colonialization of Japan via Zombies, as Black Ships demand it open to the outside world. As Zombies from these Black Ships attack Japan, citizens turn to the "Zom-beings," three figures who can resurrect to fight the hordes but are ultimately unaffected by zombies. The game sees players strengthen themselves through unique dungeons, while the roguelike elements come to life in that every run is different thanks to its random generation.
Ed-0: Zombie Uprising Manga: First Installment
While the Ed-0: Zombie Uprising manga will look to expand the fictional zombie-ridden world of Japan's Edo era, as well as provide new background and insight into the Zombeings, perhaps the biggest attention-getter is the crisp art style. Everything is conveyed very cleanly, with each character being distinct and every zombie standing out from the next. What's more, the third page is one of many that show an expert use of gutters to indicate speed and action. Indeed, it seems the very core tenets of Ed-0: Zombie Uprising find themselves naturally at home in manga form, even with its bombastic tendencies.
Those who have played Ed-0: Zombie Uprising are likely to enjoy this manga and vice versa; manga lovers may love these and go to check out the game. There's definitely a symbiotic relationship at work between the manga presentation and its gameplay style. For the lore lovers too, it'll be interesting to see how that's expanded and how other characters are treated as well.
After all, if the manga is this great at depicting speed, then it'll be interesting to see how Matoka the ninja shakes out with her arsenal of flying weapons, ninjutsu, and so on. At the same time, it'll be interesting to see how the panels break down to give a glimpse into Raiden the Sumo Wrestler and his very physical techniques.
Ed-0: Zombie Uprising is available now for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X.
