The combo is unlikely: Vladimir Poutine, manga hero!
This is the bet of "The Ride-on King", written and drawn by Yasushi Baba, published in France by Kurokawa.
The story features an avatar of the Russian president transported to a fantasy world populated by elves and dragons.
A rather nice comic shift.
Have you ever dreamed of seeing Vladimir Putin ride a dragon and fight with trolls?
No ?
It does not matter, the dream becomes reality thanks to the manga
The Ride-on King
, created by the zany spirit of Yasushi Baba and whose publication has just begun in France by Kurokawa editions.
Specialist in martial arts stories, this mangaka embarked on a much more crazy adventure for his latest work by staging a hero strongly inspired by the Russian president in a fantasy world populated by magical creatures.
A daring bet that goes beyond a simple joke.
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Putin in the land of dragons
The hero of
The Ride-on King
is therefore called Alexandre Ploutinov.
President for life of the Republic of Prussia, he is a strong man, master of martial arts with an authoritarian tendency, erected as a demigod in his country.
In short, a thinly veiled caricature of Vladimir Putin.
But he is also a bored leader.
After having chained the military conquests, on horseback or in tank, Alexandre Ploutinov is stuck in the political routine of a head of state.
Until the day when, following an attack, he wakes up in a strange world, in the middle of a fight between magicians and a dragon.
© Yasushi Baba / Kodansha Ltd.
This crazy concept seduced Grégoire Hellot, editorial manager of Kurokawa editions, who therefore decided to publish it in France.
"When I discovered the manga, I was afraid that it would be little more than a joke, that we laugh at three chapters of this imitation Putin who rides dragons and then that it turns in circles", se he recalls. "But Yasushi Baba has created a very constructed world behind it, with rules. The hero's quest is not artificial at all, there is a real continuity and a story that holds together. It's a manga. respectful of the genre of
heroic fantasy
. "
A rereading of the traditional codes of manga
In fact, Alexander Ploutinov discovers a medieval world populated by elves, trolls and centaurs.
As guides, he makes an alliance with Saki and Bell, two low-level magicians who teach him the basics of history and geography of the kingdom.
"This is a manga that is in the tradition of isekai, a very popular genre currently in Japan that features heroes who feel bad about themselves accidentally transported into a fantastic universe. In general, they are failures. in our world which, thanks to their modern knowledge, is overpowered in the other world ", decrypts Grégoire Hellot.
© Yasushi Baba / Kodansha Ltd.
But here again, Yasushi Baba twists the neck to the codes of the genre.
"First, Alexander Plutinov knows nothing about the fantastic world in which he lands. Magicians, dragons, elves, all that does not speak to him at all. And then it is an adult, a fiftieth birthday who judges the events to the yardstick of his political experience. It's a very refreshing point of view, "said the editorial manager of Kurokawa.
Thanks to this lag, reading
The Ride-on King
is really pleasant.
A funny but not political caricature
Beyond the humor, the adventure is also well mastered, served by very detailed and dynamic drawings.
"Alexander Plutinov has a passion for the centaurs and discovers with horror that they are enslaved by a caste of nobles. He therefore gives himself the mission of liberating them and giving them a territory to live in peace, a kind of utopia. communist ", summarizes Grégoire Hellot.
"The hero fights extremely well but we also see him organizing political negotiations with the local lords. His leadership experience is used for the story."
© Yasushi Baba / Kodansha Ltd.
However, despite Putin's caricature, there isn't really any political talk in
The Ride-on King
, which is above all good entertainment. "Yasushi Baba denies being pro-Putin. On the contrary, he hopes that his manga will have a scratchy side," says Grégoire Hellot. In fact, the avatar of Vladimir Putin amused by his seriousness and the macho caricature of the Russian president, who spends his time shirtless, is sincerely funny.