Abiding by three laws, Tripeace’s purpose is to eradicate war from the world. The first two laws the organization members follow are Love and Peace, with the third changing on an individual basis. Nana has joined Tripeace in the hope of ending all war. Despite the feminine name, Nana is a guy… a guy who has forgotten his past. His new life greets him with terror — the very first people he befriends are killed in front of him during an invasion by Xyece. Nana vows to stop at nothing for a peaceful world… even cross-dressing?

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The squad Nana joins upon entering Tripeace lives under a banner of violence. However, although Nana gains strength, he doesn’t draw upon it as much as his cross-dressed feminine charm. This gives you a good idea of the manga. Although it’s an action story, it has a humorous undertone. Tripeace is not your run-of-the-mill action manga because it features characters with deep backgrounds and plenty of cross-dressing (the majority done by Nana).

It is an interesting paradox - a character who can’t remember his past and also trying to portray a detailed background for him. Tripeace does a good job of providing a background for Nana, who can’t remember his past. The plot quickly establishes a temporary background for Nana, in which his friends are killed in a war, and as the plot progresses, more of Nana’s actual past are revealed. Other characters such as Belial and Shiro have more traditional backgrounds; but the mangaka, Maru Tomoyuki-sensei, inserts aspects of their backgrounds throughout the present plot makes the characters’ pasts more relevant to the plot. I think deep characters are important for action manga because it can incite a reader to empathize more.  If you’re empathetic to a character, then this invests you in the fighting and the outcome. 

Action scenes in Tripeace are clearly drawn and easily comprehended. This can be chalked up to Tomoyuki-sensei’s use of blurring to show movement. Blurs range from a minimal blurring of edges to the complete blurring of limbs and objects. These signals can be quickly interpreted by a reader. I don’t have much else to say about the battles. Besides from what I just mentioned, nothing else in particular stands out.

Following the premise, each arc is divided by Nana’s assignments within Tripeace. These assignments, usually involving war, can vary from simple incognito missions or battles between armies. Each arc has very different circumstances and will keep you interested. Additionally, some nice touches are the varying word bubble border thickness, which serves to show emotion. However, the occasional over expressive and unnatural “Cool Guy” pose really distracts from the situation. 

This manga is a very enjoyable read, but still is a very mainstream action story.  If you’re looking for something truly unique, don’t let the cross-dressing fool you.

GO Rating: 3.5/5

[Batoto.net]