Of Assassin’s Creed Chronicles trilogy, the China episode is the best of them all, by far. I could write a zillion reasons for that, but I will be quick and say that it is because of three things: solid gameplay, an incredible main character and beautiful art. THE Assassin’s Creed: Blade of Shao Jun manga brings this brilliant character to life and delves into the story the game originally presented.
Only the first volume of Viz Media is currently available, which covers the first third of the game. The game was released in 2016, so I don’t remember the smallest details of Shao Jun’s story in 2021, but it didn’t take long for things to click. The manga starts right at the beginning of the game, where Shao Jun flees China while the Emperor and the Order of the Templars hunt and end the Brotherhood. Shao Jun runs to Florence to study with the Brotherhood’s Grand Master, Ezio Auditore da Firenze himself. When she returns to China, she is ready to restore the Brotherhood and avenge her fallen comrades.
So it’s a story of revenge, like most Assassin’s Creed the stories go.
However, the Shao Jun’s Blade explores a new side of the story, one that the game didn’t mention and no one ever asked for. The manga delves into the current life of the descendant of Shao Jun, the person of Animus. I don’t know why Ubisoft wants everyone to be concerned with the issues of current Abstergo and Animus, but they really do. Evidently manga-ka Minoji Kurata also cares, although I secretly hope that Kurata doesn’t care and that was just a requirement of Ubisoft.
But that’s really the manga’s only low point. Is it a little interesting that Abstergo is supporting Animus as an intensive behavioral therapy device? And is a killer about to interrupt the therapy party? I admit it is a little bit, but nothing that happens in the present is as interesting (or fun) as what happens in the past.
As for what happened in the past, it’s one thing to play the game and follow those moves, but it’s another to read and really see the story unfold. As much as I love the Assassin’s Creed games, it is sometimes difficult to keep track of all the names of all the people the killer tracks to kill. Having everything in black and white in the manga, where it’s easy to go back and forth to see the information, is really the best way to keep up to date on a Assassin’s Creed story. In addition, it is sometimes difficult to keep up with everything that is going on when you have to run the fire exit sequence at least three times before you master it. Those who played the game know exactly what I’m talking about.
It is a pity that only the first volume of Assassin’s Creed: Blade of Shao Jun it is available, because it ends in a moment of anguish. Even though I already played the game and know what’s going to happen next, I want to see it in the manga! And I admit that I’m curious as to how the current story will resolve. A little bit.