“Ronin Island” #4 sees Hana and Kenichi meet the mysterious Shogun and deal with a threat that’s closer to home than anyone realizes. Warning: minor spoilers ahead.
Cover by Giannis Milonogiannis
Written by Greg Pak
Illustrated by Giannis Milonogiannis
Colored by Irma Kniivila
Lettered by Simon Bowland Hana and Kenichi come face-to-face with the Shogun himself, and discover a startling secret behind the disaster that destroyed their homelands more than twenty years ago.
“Ronin Island” #4 continues the book’s nuanced look at honor and politics as we meet the bombastic, egotistical and callous Shogun. The character is a perfect example the moments when Pak and Milonogiannis work in harmony in Ronin Island: Milonogiannis draws him as youthful as can be, with a perpetual arrogant smile and broad, sweeping physical motions that portray both his inexperience and his inability to care about anyone but himself. Pak does some subtle work on the character to highlight both the worst of Hana and Kenichi’s character – he’s bound to tradition and classist, as is Kenichi, and stubborn and rash, like Hana. He’s a good villain at the outset, with potential to be a more nuanced foe or achieve some character growth over time. He’s also privileged, and treats pretty much everyone else around him like garbage as you’d expect from a noble or an elite in this world.
While the Shogun’s a great example of what works well in this book, some of the pacing suffers as a result of Pak trying to push too much through each issue. With a large cast and an interesting immediate threat, “Ronin Island” could do with a few less faces or one less action scene per issue to help spread the story out. The lull in this issue doesn’t really feel like one, packed as it is with dialogue and asides from Ito to Hana and Kenichi.
Speaking of our dueling protagonists, we still don’t know much about Hana or Kenichi. Issue #4 does put in some character development work, but we still learn about them primarily through the actions and reactions of the people around them. That works well in the book’s historical context – they are kids, after all, even if they’ve just come of age – but not so well when it comes to crafting protagonists that readers can relate to. It’s very clear how they’re different, but not yet entirely clear how they’re similar or why they keep tolerating each other, and their conflict undermines the Island’s motto. Some of this unevenness and surface-level tension would be better served by a deeper dive into their characters. We might get that kind of depth in the next issue, however, as the main mystery of the mutant horde seems to be solved (which in itself feels premature) and they’re both going to be lacking some guidance as they each go in different directions.
Milonogiannis’s art is beautiful, with a great mix of fine detail and cartooning. The Shogun in particular sports what he would think is a rakish smile throughout most of this issue, and Milonogiannis’s perspective in a lot of the palace shots doesn’t suffer from a more confined space in which to work. The mutants are threatening and weird enough without being too gross or grotesque to break the book’s refined style. He also puts a lot of good facial and wardrobe detail into the large, diverse cast, which gives “Ronin Island” a lot to play with as it explores hierarchy, diaspora and warfare. Milonogiannis also makes good use of manga-style shading and action lines to build a sinister mood as Hana uncovers what’s going on within the palace.
Kniivila’s colors are deceptively sedate at the beginning of “Ronin Island” #4, with a post-battle haze blanketing the impressive palace and muted interior hues giving way to some primary-hued pops during the juxtaposed banquet scenes. There’s a bit too much dialogue at play in those scenes that does fight with the subtler visual cues the book includes, but Kniivila sets the stage nicely for Hana’s grisly discovery. The book’s climax is done in beautiful blues, greens and gnarly yellows for maximum weird, fungal impact that recalls Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind’s bizarre, sickly and wondrous fungal forest. From there, some nice fiery tones help seal the deal. Kniivila’s work on this issue in particular is moody and refined, and subsequent issues might give us more dramatic palettes to enjoy.
Continued belowBowland’s lettering is clean, concise and clear, as you’d expect from a book with a large cast that has a lot to say. Bowland goes for a very subtle stroke on the balloons to complement Milonogiannis’s fine line and minimal inks. The font is a touch small and there are a few balloons that do feel crowded, but there’s a lot to fit on the page. Bowland also does nice work to differentiate asides and whispering without adding too many sound effects until we get to the main action, and those are appropriately weird and placed quite well on the page.
Overall, “Ronin Island” is an enjoyable book that hits the right level of weird and gruesome in introducing a mutant threat to a feudal landscape. The book needs to take a break from its focus on character introduction and plot progression to dig into Kenichi and Hana’s characters, however, else it’ll miss its chance to let the good work it’s done so far really breathe. There’s a lot at stake in “Ronin Island,” and taking a moment to let that resonate would be very nice.
Final Verdict: 7.0 – “Ronin Island” #4 serves up some good plot progression and action with great art, but suffers a bit on character development.
