But here's one that plans it from chapter 1. Words can't describe how vast this series is. And you'll need to read it 3-5 times to get the full impact (or just be really good at remembering names and years/keep a glossary or notes nearby).

Anyways, this is a masterpiece. Also it's been going on for 30 years and it doesn't even feel 1/10 done.

Every proper mecha and space opera fan has heard of this manga but it is a shame that it has been forgotten by the current audience and that the first anime movie is the only real adaptation. The scenario alone screams video game adaptation! The sheer scope of the story over stretches a bit i must admit and some of the many stories are better then others but the Joker galaxy is still a place i want to return to and will now that the manga has finally gone out of hiatus...in a way. I have no idea what is up with the related Gothicmade movie or Five Star Monogatari Tracer and how they tie in but it is somehow fitting that the series is a bit of a mess to this day.
The art is gorgeous, the designs are one of a kind and the much discussed setting is almost too well established.
There is violence and nudity but nothing too crazy and i bought the depiction of a war torn land for the most part. Actions have reactions down the line which makes me believe that we are ultimately going somewhere even if the ending is still far out of reach. If you liked the Legend of the Galactic Heroes (10/10) anime then this epic should be for you and isn´t it awesome that the similar Crest of the Stars (YONEMURA Kouichirou) (8,5/10) is being readapted too. It´s a glorious space age we live in and let´s hope that a translation of the remaining and new volumes comes sooner then later as the ones i have read kept up the high quality.

... Last updated on May 11th, 2015, 2:16am

It's amazing nobody had posted a review for this series before. Oh well, first time for everything, right?

The Five Star Stories (FSS) is a epic space opera by Nagano Mamoru. In this case, I mean epic as in comparable to such giants as Heinlein's Future History, Star Wars or Lensmen, or a bit closer to home, series like Tytania, Terra e and Legend of Galactic Heroes. It also happens to be one of the shortest, at a rather compact 12 volumes after over 20 years of serialization.

However, its length belies its scale; the story is written almost in an anthology format where little vignettes are woven into a sprawling history that spans millenia - much of which has yet to be written, but is extensively covered by generous 'databooks' and other supplementary material.

This series is different from most others in that these supplementary sources are quite necessary to make sense of the intricacies of the world that Nagano has created, and even then, there are enough inconsistencies in details to make bookkeeping a nightmare - or if one wants to look at it positively, create the illusion of a true history where there is generally no definitive source.

The art is gorgeous, the story is fantastic (in the literal and superlative sense), but only if one is really into the series. This manga is definitely not for the casual reader; it takes a true fanatic to obsessively make sense of every last detail. There is no grey area for FSS: you are either a fan, or you're not. And if you are, you follow it to the dot.

It's a pity FSS receives so little press. It definitely deserves more.

A classic for the ages.