WHAT IS ASHEN VICTOR/HAISHA?
Ashen Victor is the English-Language name for Yukito Kishiro’s second work. Originally titled “Haisha”, or “Loser”, the name was a pun on the two kanji in the title. Note from murakami@av.crl.sony.co.jp: The Japanese title ‘Haisya’ is originally written in Kanji. Two Kanji characters are used, the 1st one means ‘ashen’ and the 2nd one means ‘man’ or ‘person’. But if you replace the 1st one with the other character which has same pronunciation, you will find the meaning of the title becomes ‘loser’. Probably this double meaning is the intention of the author. AV, as it is referred to, is a four-part series that appeared in Ultra Jump Special. It marks a radical change in style for Kishiro: while Gunnm had been marked by its elegance and attention to detail (with a few rather cartoony moments), AV shows a style–both in art and in the narrative story–much closer to Frank Miller’s “Sin City”. Although unusual, this change is not surprising; Kishiro has mentioned his admiration of Miller’
