While the second volume of Divci Valka will be released in July, we take the time to come back to the first volume released in April by Komikku!
Divci Valka – The War of the Maids (Otome sensô – Dívčí Válka)
Author : Kouichi Ohnishi
Seller : Komikku (Futabasha in Japan)
Release date : 21/04/2016
Number of volumes : 5 in Japan, current series, 1 in France
Price : 8,50 €
Synopsis :
1415: Jan Hus, a Prague theologian opposed to the corruption of the Church, is burned as a heretic. This event marked the beginning of a fierce struggle between the Hussites, who advocated equality among all disciples, and Catholics who supported the authority of the clergy.
1419: Beginning of the conflicts that will be known as the "Hussite Wars".
1420: A small village in the Kingdom of Bohemia is massacred by the Catholic knights of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem. The young Šárka, the only survivor of the massacre, crosses paths with the Hussite warlord Jan Žižka and chooses to take up arms…
A religious war breaks out in Eastern Europe! The Catholic Church wants to eradicate the growing Hussite movement. Despite the execution of Jan Hus, its leader, some villages continue to promote this religion, which is harmful to Catholicism. For this she calls on her loyal warriors, such as Lord Heinrich Von Strakonice. This colossus enjoys looting all the heretical villages and takes the opportunity to rape his women. Victim of her passage, the young Sarka is the last survivor of her hamlet. Left for dead, she is taken in by the troupe of Jan Zizka, a mercenary who works for the moment for the Hussites. He will treat the girl and even offer her to join his company. Thanks to his invention, the " pist'ala" even the weakest without military education can make themselves useful on the battlefield.
Divci Valka plunges us into a first volume captivating. It depicts the wars of Western religions in a bloody and lackluster way. It shows the Catholic state in an inglorious light, which tries to impose its vision even if it means exterminating its opponents. Clashes and manipulations are commonplace in this creepy and cold narrative. Kouichi Ohnishi, the author of this manga who signs his first work published in France, takes the reader on the opposite foot by choosing a weak and naive heroine. Sarka will learn soon enough that you have to know how to get your hands dirty to stay alive. She will have to grow in strength and spirit, if she wants to survive on the blood-soaked battlefield. And she will have a lot to do with Sigismund, the Holy Roman Emperor, who seems cruel and ruthless.
The first volume of Divci Valka is interesting. It takes up a Western historical theme, which mixes wars and religions. Ordinary villagers will have to take up arms to defend their lives threatened by extremist Catholics who think they are making the world a better place by imposing their doctrine. You will be able to continue the adventure next week with the release of the second volume.
Finally, I leave you an excerpt from the first volume here !
