Day 6: Clockwork Planet by Yuu Kamiya and Kuro

Kodansha Comics recently released “No Game No Life” creator Yuu Kamiya writer and Tsubaki Himana’s 2014 series “Clockwork Planet” with artist Kuro.

The series transports readers to Japan, but due to the ability of a powerful clocksmith named Y, it lives off of the gear-filled Earth. Naoto Miura is a young student in this mechanical and modern world, trapped in his dreams of building his own grand creations. With his headphones always covering his ears, he pay little mind to the bullies that pester him. However, they couldn’t cover the sound of the crash that destroyed a big chunk of his home. Naoto finds a large box in the center of the rubble and inside is a beautifully designed female automaton. He notices that something is broken inside of her, preventing her from being activated. It is in his lab where he takes off his headphones and uses his unique hearing to find the problematic part. With focus and skill. Naoto brings her RyuZU Yourslave into life and she asks the teen to become her master. With no hesitation, he accepts and she registers him into her memory. Little does he know that he is now part of the ever turning wheel of destiny that will change his life, those in Japan and possibly the rest of the Clockwork Planet.

Kuro did an excellent job adapting Kamiya and Himana’s novel. The two writers spoke in an afterword interview how many of the visual details that their novel character designer Sino didn’t make were in Kamiya’s mind. There was only so much the artist could get from the original text, especially seeing how many cogs and contraptions were part of the landscape. It seemed she did a lot to stay faithful to the creative team’s work, enough that Sino apologizes to her about some of the intricate character models. Volume One seemed a bit rushed with revealing a bit of its major plot points, but it definitely laid down the main route of the story as its introduction. It removed some of the guess work and readers can focus on the development of the characters.

“Clockwork Planet” is currently part of the Spring 2017 anime season. Crunchyroll will be releasing each new episode made by Studio Xebec on its site and also has all of “No Game No Life.” To check those out, visit their pages. Go to Kodansha Comics’ site to find information on the “Clockwork Planet” manga including a small preview. Visit Yen Press if you want to look into the “No Game No Life” light novel. The two publishers currently have a contest where fans submit pictures how readers would live in the Clockwork Planet and possibly win copies of the two series along with artwork from Kuro. Click on this link to read the rules and enter. Contest ends on May 15th, 2017.