Planet Ladder

Planet Ladder
Cover of Planet Ladder Vol. 1
Genre	Fantasy, Science fiction
Manga
Written by	Yuri Narushima
Published by	Sobisha Tokyopop

Planet Ladder (プラネット・ラダー, Puranetto Radā) is a Japanese manga created by Yuri Narushima who also wrote and drew the art for Young Magician, a gothic supernatural manga. Planet Ladder was published by Sobisha Inc. and appeared in Crimson from 1998 to 2004. The series consists of seven volumes, the last volume released in Japan in May 2004. It is also licensed in North America by Tokyopop, which has released the English translations of all seven volumes of the manga.

The story focuses on a teenage girl, Kaguya, who is kidnapped from her home on Earth and is sent to a parallel world where she learns of her destiny as the savior of one of the nine parallel worlds. Kaguya attempts to bring peace to a waring universe while discovering her true identity.

Plot

The story centers around a teenage girl named Kaguya Haruyama who, when about four years of age, was found abandoned looking like a refugee of a war, with no memory of her past. After living with her foster family for many years, strange events occur as she is abducted by Gold, a robot who resembles a boy she only knows from her dreams. Soon, she is swept away to another world, called Telene, where she is referred to as a princess and the 'Girl of Ananai', the only person said to not be influenced by fate. The series chronicles Kaguya's travels through these worlds and her encounters with strange and enigmatic characters in each one, including a woman named Shiina Mol Bamvivrie and an emotionally distant prince named Seeu, as she also struggles to find out her self-identity.

Characters

Kaguya Haruyama

The protagonist of Planet Ladder. A fourteen-year-old, black haired, blue eyed girl who was the sole survivor of a calamatic war and was adopted by a family on Earth at the age of four, crying on the side of the road in tattered clothes. Her purpose as the famed "Girl of Ananai" is to choose the planet which will survive, as it is foretold that all nine worlds will collide. Kaguya does not know what to make of this great responsibility and eventually claims she will side with a person who can think of the solution that will save the most lives.

Prince Seeu

Called "the Mad Prince," he is a mysterious ruler who expresses little or no emotion. Because a deadly disease swept across his planet, Asu, when Seeu was young, he was not allowed any contact with his subjects to prevent him from contracting the virus. As time went on, Seeu watched all of his beloved subjects fall victim to the disease. Having some scientific knowledge, he desperately experimented with transferring the souls of his subjects into dolls. These experiments were unsuccessful, and the pain of loss drove Seeu mad. He is the creator of the robotic doll, Gold.

Kagami

The original wielder of the Organic Gold. Kagami is the biological brother of Kaguya, and hence is the only fighter to not come from any of the doomed worlds. He died in battle while fighting alongside Seeu, but before his death, he set a plan into motion in which Kaguya would be able to save the nine worlds. This plan included inventing the legend of "The Girl of Ananai" and using Kaguya's image to give hope to the worlds and break the pattern of collision.

Gold

A doll made by Seeu to resemble Kagami. Gold wields the Organic Gold, the living weapon of Kagami, and has one of Kagami's arms. Kagami's personality seems to emerge from Gold from time to time, helping Kaguya along the way and yet vanishing moments later.

Shiina Mol Bamvivrie (or Sheena Moru Banivirie, depending on the translation

An attractive blonde woman who is one of Kaguya's companions in her travels. Shiina Mol Bamvivrie is her birthname, but she receives the nickname "Bambi" from her grandfather. Because of her heritage as the genetic descendant of Ragunahaan, she was locked away in a castle on the planet Telene, which she later leaves to assist Kaguya on her travels. Shiina is highly intelligent, which makes her desirable to Kura, who values IQ as much as he does beauty in his lovers.

Takeyoshi Waseda

A former resident of Eden, and a student at Tokyo University in the 1940s, Waseda was somehow transported to Asu and meets the young Prince Seeu there. Waseda is one of the last to die from the virus that swept Asu, and the first successful soul/doll transfer, having his consciousness trapped in a body resembling a giant rooster. Waseda travels with Bambi and Kaguya for a while, and later becomes a companion of Sarita.

Kura

The dictator of Geo, the most powerful of all the worlds. The main antagonist of the series, he is selfish and decadent. He is the conqueror of many planets who abuses the subjects of his conquests with his imposing rule. Kura wants to capture Kaguya so that he can use her reputation as "Girl of Ananai" to gain support.

Idou

A monk who once fought in the war and the guardian of Sarita. Trapped between loyalties to his fallen allies and the dominant will of Kura. He desires to find a peaceful resolution to the war and ultimately chooses to work alongside Kura.

Sereus Val Ragunahaan/Lagunahaan (Depending on the translation)

Shiina's and Sarita's father as well as the former owner of the Pyro. Up to the 4th volume of Planet Ladder, he was frozen and stashed away in the basement of Shiina's castle. During the 4th volume, Ragunahaan's remains were lifted out of the castle to an unknown location. It is because of Raguahaan's death at the hands of the people of the ninth world, that Kura ordered the planet to be destroyed.

Sarita

A young survivor of the 9th world, which was destroyed by Kura. She has deep feelings or adoration for Idou and hates Shiina who is her sister.

Damien Shume(or Deimion Shume, depending on the translation)

Kura's most trusted officer in his army. Considered very good-looking by the women of Geo, Damien falls in love with Shiina who has little interest in him. Damien wields a weapon which draws its power from the Nox Light.

Didius Dee

Considered to be a prophet who continually speaks of the future. However, Didius speaks all possible outcomes depending on what circumstances affect the universe. Kura has her as a prisoner, cruelly having her mouth sewn shut so he can no longer hear her "prophecies". She is later revealed to be the biological mother of Kaguya and Kagami and stays in a vegetable-like state for the rest of the series.

Meshie

A sage who helps Kaguya on her quest and has a connection to Didius Dee. He has the power of the comet and works for most of the series to settle the conflict between the worlds.

He is the one to have figured out what Kagami's plan is - to return the worlds to their original condition which can only happen if the four who wield the living weapons give them up. He takes lead in the plan to destroy the weapons.

Gaviella

She is a sage who assists Meshie. She has the power of the shooting star and she has a bond with Kaguya, understanding Kaguya's want to become useful, especially in Seeu's castle.

Worlds

There are nine earthlike 'worlds' in the universe of Planet Ladder that appear to be like parallel worlds.People use Collapsers, fictional hourglasslike items that work by creating a bend in the dimensional fabric, to move from one 'world' to the other.

Within the Planet Ladder universe, there is a war repeats itself over and over, ending in the collision of the Earths. Each time the war is repeated, a slight change in the universe happens, eventually resulting in Kaguya's birth. The worlds are as follows:

1. Ancient. According to Shiina, this is the first civilized world, and was destroyed a long time ago, leaving behind only oceans. Kaguya and Kagami are descendants of the Blue Clan Weimar, which is from this world.
2. Asu. Seeu's world. It used to be the most beautiful of all the worlds before it was destroyed by disease. At the start of the series, Asu has disintegrated so much, that it no longer resembles a planet. Seeu is the last survivor of Asu and lives in Asu, in his castle which has also fallen into disrepair.
3. Eden. Present day Earth and the earth with the most people. Many criminals were sent there, and even now, there is no communication between it and the other worlds. This is where Kaguya grew up and is considered to be very ugly by many of the characters of Planet Ladder.
4. Telene. Where Kaguya and Gold begin their journey, and where Shiina grew up. A very small empire which is in the midst of war and is beginning to destroy itself. According to Shiina, its rulers are idiots who survive only by sucking up to those of the seventh world. The emperor of Telene sends women to Kura for his harem. This is also the resting place of Ragunahaan.
5. The Fifth World. A collection of small countries, each with their own way of thinking and current situation. Meshie, sage of the comet, and Gaviella, sage of the shooting star, live here.
6. Geus. A planet with little civilization, it is relatively calm and is under the control of Geo, the seventh world. Later in volume 6, it is destroyed by Kura.
7. Geo. Kura has controlled the empire for over 300 years, and is the most politically powerful of all the worlds. Didius Dee is there, held by Kura who sewed her mouth shut to prevent her from speaking her predictions. People of Geo believe strongly in the wisdom passed down from Ancient, and also forecast the end of the world.
8. Asuraitsu. This world's main religion is sun worship. Idou is from this world. Later in volume 6, it is destroyed by Kura along with Geus.
9. The Ninth World. Characters from this world include Sarita, Shiina and Ragunahaan. Geo's dictator, Kura expresses hatred for the people of this world. It was destroyed in the last war before the start of the series.

Production

As said in the back of the 1st volume of Planet Ladder, the author has stated that she began the manga with "a dramatic feeling in mind " and wanted to "start off with a comic book for young girls (shojo manga)." Planet Ladder was inspired by the Japanese folk tale "The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter" about a beautiful girl named Kaguya-Hime who is discovered to be the princess of the moon.

Planet Ladder was serialized in Crimson from 1998 to 2004 in Japan. It was first published in Japanese by Sobisha Inc. The English translation of Planet Ladder was serialized in Smile Magazine. The English translation of Planet Ladder volume 1 was released on March 2002 by Tokyopop as part of Tokyopop's commitment to "unflopped manga" along with other manga such as Chobits and Dragon Knights.

Promotion

On January 31, 2002, plans were announced for display cases containing four copies each of the new, right to left formatted manga titles: Planet Ladder, Chobits, Cowboy Bebop, Dragon Knights, GTO, Marmalade Boy, Mars, Real Bout High School, and The Skull Man. Tokyopop also placed ads and promotions for its new manga titles in magazines such as Wizard, Animerica, Anime Invasion, and online fan sites.

Reception

In February 2003, Planet Ladder volume 5 reached the 44th spot of the Top 50 Graphic Novels. A year later, Planet Ladder volume 6 reached the 71th place on the Top 100 Graphic Novels, with the sales estimate of 984.

Planet Ladder was recently reviewed in Manga: The Complete Guide which gave Planet Ladder 3 out of 4 stars. It called Planet Ladder, "[a]n interesting story told in an evocative fashion, Planet Ladder is reminiscent of prose science fiction such as Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time and Roger Zelazny's Nine Princes in Amber...The story is marked by moments of spookiness and strange imagery, heaps of corpses and dead robotic dolls, a prince that has never been touched, a giant rooster with a human mind. However, the art is not great, with inconsistent designs, crude faces,and too much greasy looking screentone."

There is an ongoing poll on Anime News Network, to rate Planet Ladder. Currently, it has been rated by 52 people and has a median rating of 'good'.

External links

• Template:En icon Anime News Network
• Template:Ja icon Official Planet Ladder site

• Template:En icon http://lijaka.tripod.com/planetladdermain.html
• Template:En icon http://www.angel-winds.com/theananai/