Gundam Seed Destiny Book

Orion is one of the most frenetically bizarre graphic novels I own. Author Masamune Shirow's work has always been quirky, but Orion frequently strays far beyond that into the worlds of the baffling and the absurd.

Orion is set in a world in which Hindu/Buddhist cosmology is a scientific fact (the underlying particles of the universe, for example, are "yinrons" and "yangrons"), and magic is not only real but has been mastered by science. The central conflict of the story is a three way battle between the forces of science, religion, and greed. On the one hand, psychoscientists have a plan to purge the galaxy of bad karma through an elaborate ritual, which on the other hand offends the will of the celestial heavens. Susano Orbatos, god of destruction, descends to put mankind in its place, only to face a third force: the avatar of the bad karma itself.

Confused? Welcome to the party. Orion is a dizzying pastiche of references, presented as a surprisingly coherent setting. Fortunately, the details of these references aren't important. What's important is the continuous and often peculiar violence. Once Susano descends and starts laying waste to his enemies, the story mostly consists of a string of elaborate fight scenes, mixing traditional violence with the setting's distinctive style of magic.

Orion is, at the end of the day, a guilty pleasure. It's essentially The Fifth Element of the manga world: an action movie with a rich setting and continuous crowd-pleasing action, all the while never taking itself especially seriously. And precisely like The Fifth Element, Orion is unlikely to be remembered as a great work of literature. Instead, it's likely to be recalled by a handful of fanboys who want their stupid violence to be as smart as possible.