To Terra... Volume 1

by Keiko Takemiya

Despite hundreds of years of peace, mankind has exhausted the Earth with its enormous cities - mere hubs for advanced machines. It is the age of Superior Domination where children are no longer the offspring of parents but the progeny of a universal computer. Amidst the calm, however, lurks the hidden chaos. There has been the creation of a new subrace of humans, the Mu, whose only marked distinction is their extra-sensory powers. But they have been...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1932234675
• ISBN13: 9781932234671
• Release Date: February 2007
• Publisher: Vertical
• Length: 343 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 8.0"
• Age Range: 13 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 8 and higher

Customer Reviews

"a refreshing Story that is as important today as it was in 1977"

"To Terra..." is a refreshing Story that is as important today as it was in 1977. The Art is unique, creative and genuinely epic. It's narrative is well developed, mature and really does an excellent job of developing multiple characters in grand design. A worthy piece of Sci-Fi Manga that speaks in a prophetical manner.

Interesting Begining...

I have never read sci-fi manga before..but that's not really the point of the series....it's just the setting. I rate this volume on the threshold of reading the third volume. There's a lot of introspection in this first volume and lots of set up. But you have to set the stage so it's a vital part of enjoying what is to come even if it's not as enjoyable as when the ball gets rolling. however. i highly recommend this manga, it deals with concepts that are above your typical manga fare. there are no girls in school uniforms or boys fighting little monsters here. The drawing is very beautiful,...but not as forceful as the intensity of the story may dictate. hang in there for volume 2!! it's completely worth it!

Best Manga I've read thus far

I got into Manga with Shonen Jump where one of my favorite's is Hikaru No Go (A Manga based around the board game GO, the same author also wrote Death Note...another good Manga). I've also read Dragon Ball and a number of the other serialized Jump Manga. I picked up To Terra on the recommendation/review of the Geek Nights podcast[...] All that being said, this is by far the best Manga I've read to date. It goes into far more depth than any of the Shonen Manga will ever go and while they are entertaining To Terra just feels more well rounded and gives a much more solid read. The artwork is fantastic...particularly for a 20+ year old Manga. I guess if you can draw...well...then you can draw! By all means pick this manga up if you enjoy a good storyline and good artwork which is pretty much the point isn't it?

Great story so far!

A very compelling story that's told at a comfortable pace about two sides of a civilization that has been forced to leave Earth (Terra) and one side of that civilization finding the chosen one to lead them back to a world that they were banished from. This has very good art all throughout all though many of the male characters look feminine at times. I haven't read too many manga translated into English, but this was by far the easiest to read. I was able to fly through this and I can't wait for Volume 2!!

An Elegant Space Opera

With the manga boom tapering off, publishers are generally following two rules when it comes to licenses: nothing more than a few years old and nothing really long. Classic manga artist Keiko Takemiya's To Terra is over thirty years old, so its a minor miracle that we are seeing its first English edition. Although I was introduced to the artist through the more modern Clan of the Heavenly Horse, its easy to see from To Terra why Takemiya's work is considered a classic of the shojo genre. It's elegant, thought-provoking, and emotional. Far in the future, Earth was nearly destroyed by human activities. For the planet to survive, human kind became strictly regulated by psychic, super computers that constantly monitor people's emotional state and decide their fates. Children are grown in labs, and kept segregated from adult society. Their foster parents are carefully selected to guide them through childhood. However, when they reach age 14, the computer gives them a maturity check that wipes away all their memories to remold them into model citizens of Terra, the home planet that only a chosen few ever get to set foot upon. To Terra follows to very different boys, trying to find there way if this hostile society. Jomy Marcus Shin thought he was a normal boy. Secretly, he fears the maturity check, which is akin to an act of treason. He discovers that he is Mu, a physically frail, emotional race with ESP powers. The government wants him terminated as the Mu are not allowed to live. However, he is saved by a gang of Mu lead by Soldier Blue. And so begins his life among the Mu as they journey towards Terra. Keith Anyan is a student at the adult re-education space station to prepare him for adult life as a Terran elite. He is not like the other young people. The Mother Computer rarely needs to even out his thoughts, and most troubling of all to Keith is that he can not remember his maturity check, something everyone else can. When one of his classmates becomes a Mu, Keith learns many shocking secrets about himself and the plans the Mother Computer has for him on Terra. With the lives of the two set to intersect, will Jomy and Keith find themselves allies or enemies? Is Terra the promised land everyone thinks it is? I can't wait to find out.