From Far Away

From Far Away (彼方から, Kanata Kara) is a Japanese shōjo manga series written and illustrated by Kyoko Hikawa. It is a fantasy work where the main character is transported to another world and finds herself inadvertently involved in a battle between good and evil. 
==Overview==
===Plot===
One day, while walking home with friends, Noriko Tachiki, an ordinary schoolgirl is dropped into a fantastical world of golden trees and flying dragons. However, this world is in chaos due to the ancient foresaying of The Awakening. Every kingdom is in search for the Awakening as they believe that it has the power to control the Sky Demon, a destructive monster that will end the world. Noriko is saved by Izark, a traveling warrior, and accompanies him. Izark was born with a mysterious power that makes people hate him and causes him to travel alone. To change his fate, he must kill the Awakening, only to find out that the Awakening is Noriko. As she travels with him, it's hard for them to talk as they speak different languages.
Their leading pursuers are the young ruler of Rienka, Rachef who holds mysterious agendas for the duo, and the battle-thirsty warrior, Keimos Lee Goda who is obsessed with defeating Izark. As the world gradually fills with evil spirits, the number of enemies and problems increase and close their grip on Noriko and Izark. Amidst the chaos, the duo are lucky to meet a few brave individuals who are willing to help them as well as fight back the darkness. 
===Main Characters===
:See also: Characters
====Protagonists====
Noriko Tachiki
:An ordinary second-year high school student, who is described by her friends to be often dreamy and absent-minded. After falling into a strange world by an inexplicable bomb explosion, Izark was the first person she met and whom she traveled with to learn the language. Noriko did not know that she is The Awakening, who is wanted by many countries for its prophecised ability to awaken and control the Sky Demon. She sincerely trusts Izark, her lifesaver, and does everything she can to help him despite being physically powerless.
Izark Kia Tarj
:A young man with superhuman physical abilities that does not match his slender figure, and an amazing ability to heal in a short time even if heavily injured. His level of abilities is considered otherworldly even by this world's standards. As such, he is often called a "monster". He grew up being told by his parents that he would become the "Sky Demon", an entity that would bring darkness to the world, and was shunned by them as a result. Before meeting Noriko, he spent his days wandering while earning a living as a traveling warrior.
====Antagonists====
Lord Rachef
:The young ruler of the free city of Rienka. He has a regal and beautiful but cold appearance. He is ruthlessly ambitious and will resort to any means to achieve his goal of making the world his own. 
Keimos Lee Goda
:A mercenary of the free city of Rienka. He is a talented young man who specializes in high-powered "distance hits", but is constantly thirsting to show off his power. He relishes in other people's fear of his power and superiority, and ultimately suffers a devastating defeat to Izark. However, Rachef takes him under his protection, providing Keimos with the necessary power to secure the Sky Demon.
==Manga Information==
The From Far Away manga series had a total of 14 official tankōbon volumes published in Japan. It was originally serialized from 1992 to 2003 by Hakusensha in their monthly magazine, LaLa, before being collected into tankōbon format (Tankōbon, a Japanese term meaning independent/standalone book). Initially, the manga was released every month, however due to the author's physical condition, it became a bi-monthly serialization and was completed 12 years after its first publication due to several breaks. In 2004, the paperback edition was published as 7 volumes in Japan. The English version is licensed and published in North America by Viz Media on the same year.
Nonetheless, From Far Away is one of Kyoko Hikawa's best fantasy work. It gained widespread support due to its solid world view, engaging story and character development. In 2004, the manga won the 35th annual Seiun Award for best science fiction comicJapan Science Fiction Fan Group Congress: Seiun Award List (in Japanese). 
One of the most unique aspect of the manga is that the protagonist, Noriko, had to learn the language of this fantasy world she was transported into. Unlike most fantasy works involving two different worlds, Noriko did not have the advantage of any special abilities and must take a few months to be able to converse in the language, all while being on the run. The manga depicts the difficulty of communication with limited understanding of the world and culture, and thus the frustration of not being of any use to the people who have helped her. There are also several humorous instances where mistakenly used words create awkward situations between characters and embarrassed our beloved duo.
To find out more about each manga volume, see Volumes. 
==Other Media==
In 1999, the manga volumes were released as drama CDs, which contain voice narrations by Noriko, voice-acted storyline and music. Six volumes of Drama CD DUOs and one Original CD were broadcasted altogether. 
To find out more about each of these CDs, see Drama CDs.
==External Links==
*Official Japanese manga site
*English manga site
*MyAnimeList 
==References==
Category:Browse
Category:From Far Away