The Nihil have come to Banchii! But what do they want? The answer lies in the past – and at the core of what makes Wookiee Jedi Arkhoff tick! Join me as I review The High Republic – Edge of Balance: Precedent!
When The High Republic was first announced, one of the most interesting hints at what was to come was all of the publishers involved in the initiative. As the list went on, I was mostly surprised when I saw Viz Media, a manga publisher. Eventually, this announcement turned into the Edge of Balance duology, written by Justina Ireland (volume 1) and Daniel José Older (volume 2). This duology focused on Jedi Knight Lily Tora-Asi and her Jedi Master, a Wookiee named Arkoff. These stories focused on a Nihil attack on the Jedi Temple on Banchii, where the Nihil were looking for….something. As Phase I ended, the second volume ended with the promise of more stories in the series. Precedent, a stand-alone story for Phase II, continues both in the “present” of Phases I and III and in the Phase II “past.” Instead of focusing on Lily, however, this graphic novel stars Arkhoff, as he is old enough to have experienced both Phases as a Jedi.
Focusing on Arkhoff brings a tough task to Older: how do you write a main character with a compelling narrative when, well, he can’t speak to the main audience? Turns out, quite well, especially with some dynamic art. Older and artist Tomio Ogata work together to create an expressive main character, able to carry the plot forward even without speaking a word of Basic. This mostly succeeds, in my opinion, on Ogata’s art. Ogata’s art is dynamic, bringing a lot of movement to the book – even though, sometimes, it does come at the cost of being able to follow the action completely. The book truly feels like a manga thanks to Ogata’s art style, bringing in some fresh perspective to the story. It’s not like reading Marvel comics, where the art is something closer to “realistic.” Ogata also brings a lot of horror elements to the series, drawing on Junji Ito, Kazuo Umezu, and Kentarou Miur (even if not explicitly, I thought of them immediately) to bring a darker edge to the story. This might create one of the most scary pictures (literally and figuratively) of the Shrii Kai Rai, where they’re not just killers dusting our heroes, but are actual psychological terrors. (I’ll return to them in a bit…)
The narrative is also carried by a stronger side cast, featuring ZZ-10 and Azlin Rell. They serve as both main characters, and also as foils or companions for Arkhoff. ZZ provides most of Arkhoff’s translations in the story, meaning that we’ll still be able to understand the Jedi. Rell, on the other hand, is severely impacted by the Battle of Dalna, pushing along the central mystery of the Phase II era story in the manga. There are also a few other characters who teach us about Arkhoff, such as his Jedi Master Ravna. Since Older wrote Ravna, Arkhoff, and Lily, I feel like you can really feel the generational continuity between this Jedi family tree. This makes both for an entertaining solo story, but it also brings a lot of depth to the Edge of Balance series, making me look forward to Phase III.
For villains, the story does have a Harch named Vol Garat and the Nameless. Vol Garat is an intimidating villain, able to stand up physically to Arkhoff as an adversary. I wouldn’t call him the most compelling villain of all time, though, as he does serve mostly as a brute who can sustain pretty heavy physical damage. He is smart, and he keeps Arkhoff and ZZ on their toes. The narrative hints at a terse but storied history between him and Marchion Ro, one that I would’ve liked to see fleshed out a bit more. But in this story, it’s the genuinely horror-genre-fueled Shrii Kai Rai that star as the villains here. They push the Jedi to their absolute furthest, bringing them into the depths of horror and fear itself. As I noted before, Ogata’s artwork really serves as a horrible, in a good way, representation of what they do to your mind. I’ve felt before that Phase II’s biggest concern was showing the Nameless as a threat, and only did so by killing too many Jedi (in such a way we’re numb to the essentially dime-a-dozen Jedi being killed off). This manga changes that, bringing them in as a severe threat, one capable of ruining your mind, even if you don’t die in your encounter with them. This alone, to me, makes the manga worth investing in, and hopefully you’d be interested in going back to the previous volumes.
This manga serves as an epilogue to the Phase II storyline, but it also brings us into Phase III. I think it succeeds, and meets my expectations for what Phase II set out to do. It introduces a few mysteries, but brings some depth and clarity to events from Phase I while helping us look forward to Phase III. Our Head Butler Ryan says that Path of Vengeance is Phase II’s most required reading, which I agree, but I would say that Edge of Balance: Precedent sits right behind it!
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