Another Hidden Gem manga that instantly becomes my Top-10 Manga list! While i get into Masatoshi Kawahara's work through Shura no Toki, i would say his Tale of Sea King or Kaiouki is easily his Magnum Opus. Just to tell how great the series is, i bothered to get the complete locally translated set just because the english translations are really slow. If Legend of Galactic Heroes taken place into medieval settings with liberal dose of Naval Battle then we have Tale of Sea King! Kaiouki's story is all about the adventure of an enigmatic man called Fan Gamma Bizen who belong to a tribe famous for their seafaring abilities who also happen to be the captain of one of the eight infamous Black Ship in a medieval setting that had relics from futuristic civilization. Throughout the story Fan Gamma with his wits and charisma accompanied by his loyal crews encounter many Great people and fight many battles both land and sea.
What makes this series especially good apart from the similar Quality that it shares with LoGH is that Fan Gamma is one heck of protagonist. You won't see any character development with him but you will get to see Fan Gamma showcasing his awesomeness. While your average Shonen protagonists rely on their brawn to solve their problems, Fan Gamma uses his wits and charm to solve his even though he is strong in his own right. Starting from winning his enemies heart to become his allies to fighting Armies with Gunpowder weapons merely with medieval weapons. Kaiouki span over 45 Volumes while it takes a bit slow for the story to build up, the ride is very satisfying. I guess the only flaw with the manga is that it rather lacks of world building due to the strong presence of the main characters but seriously not many shonen manga able to reach the caliber of Kaioki. It is unfortunate that the english scanlations are rather slow for this title and i still wonder why such great series havent got any anime yet. Even if you dont like Naval Battles, Kaioki is very good epic adventure manga even though the fantasy theme is rather dry.
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