is a shōnen

Shonen

The term refers to manga marketed to a male audience aged roughly 10 and up. The Kanji characters literally mean "few" and "year", respectively, where the characters generally mean "comic"...

 science fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 manga

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

 by Johji Manabe

Johji Manabe

is a Japanese manga artist.He is not to be confused with an animator of the same name , who worked mainly in the 1970s for Oh! Production: A Dog of Flanders, Genshi Shōnen Ryû, Marco, Dokonjō Gaeru, King Arthur, Galaxy Express 999, Lupin the 3rd: Season 1, Lupin the 3rd: The Castle of Cagliostro,...

. It was published in the United States and Canada in English by Dark Horse Comics

Dark Horse Comics

Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...

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Plot

Wataru and his partner Babo, two black market merchants with no morals to speak of, get caught up in a battle between the Helgebard Empire and the mysterious girl Mian Toris. To reward Wataru for saving her life, Mian collars both Wataru and Babo and declares them to be her pets. While dragging them across the continent

Continent

A continent is one of several very large landmasses on Earth. They are generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, with seven regions commonly regarded as continents—they are : Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia.Plate tectonics is...

, they learn that Mian's destination is a head-on confrontation with Shion, the empress of the Helgebard Empire itself, at Kyuraweil Keep.

Characters

Wataru

A human black marketeer and partner of Babo who gets caught up in Mian's scheme to destroy the Helgebard Empire.

Mian Toris

A young lady whose sword can even destroy armored tanks. In reality, she is a "Breaker", a highly advanced combat android with enhanced physical capabilites.

Babo

An Akogi businessman of non-existent moral character, motivated only by the acquisition of more wealth.

Empress Shion

Supreme commander of Helgebard; she rules with an iron fist but her fate seems inextricably bound with Mian's.