Signal Boost: "Amaranthe Angels", Coming Soon From Yakov Merkin

The leading Israeli voice in Science Fiction, Yakov Merkin, has an announcement to make:

I figure that since it’s currently Chanukah, and that I just earned my freedom from quarantine, a good way to celebrate would be to publicly reveal my next project, which I plan to work on concurrently with Light Unto Another World.

So, I’m very pleased & excited to introduce to you all my upcoming manga project, Amaranth Angels.

Amaranth Angels (yes is also has a Japanese title because why not), is a sci-fi starfighter adventure inspired by military-esque anime such as Girls Und Panzer (though it’s decidedly not a sports story), and things like The Last Starfighter or even Star Wars‘s Rogue Squadron series (the book series, not the canceled/on hold tv show).

Girls Und Panzer is my favorite anime of all time, so I wanted to do something in a sort of similar vein (cute anime girls doing military-esque things) but in more of an adventure setting. And since my favorite parts of many sci-fi franchises is starfighter combat, the rest fell together pretty quickly. And it quickly became clear that a story like this needed to be told in a more visual format, a manga it became. The art will be done by Philip San Gaspar, who you might recognize as the artist who worked with me on Light Unto Another World. I’m really looking forward to working with him on this, and to continue working with him on Light Unto Another World, which isn’t slowing down at all.

So enough about why I’m making this manga. What’s it actually about?

In the year 2265, Earth is at peace. However, as humanity expands, gradually, out into space, many understand the importance of developing new starfighter technology–just in case there is something nasty out there. As a way to prevent countries from growing suspicious of one another as they develop new technology and fighter models, Performance Squadrons, which hold stunt flying demonstrations, simulated battles, and even competitive squadron-on-squadron combat–without live ammo, of course–became popular as both entertainment and a way to test and demonstrate new starfighter designs.

Despite being a little younger than average for a starfighter pilot, Saya Nishizawa is widely recognized as one of the best pilots in the world, and that skill got her a prime spot on one of the most popular and successful performance squadrons, the Amaranth Angels.

Due to a recent personal tragedy, however, Saya currently wants to be as far from a starfighter cockpit as possible. But a sudden crisis of a different kind is about to force her back inside of one as she and several friends, both old and new, find themselves stranded halfway across the galaxy, with no choice but to help a small alien starfighter squadron defend a key installation against a relentless, seemingly endless foe.

Saya and the others will each have to find a way to make the best of their new situation, and learn how to effectively work together, if they’re to survive and find a way back home.

You like cute anime girls? You like pulse-pounding starfighter combat? Expect a ton of both, along with just general fun, with a relatively large cast of characters.

You can find the rest, including additional concept art of one of the starfighters, at the blog post linked above. This looks like a good time, and I look forward to seeing what Yakov makes of this. Leave any comments on Yakov's blog; they do him no good here.