This review doesn't contain spoilers !
Red Prowling Devil was a manga that ran for 3 years from 1999 to 2002 with a niche fanbase and was cancelled before it could have a proper ending. Today it sits on Anilist with an extremely low count of 4 completed and on MyAnimeList with a similarly low 26 completed. To be fully honest I only found out about this manga when researching for an English project and in no way is this one of my favorites, but I think it needs some well deserved attention. Here you will learn about a simple manga about Naomi O'Brien, an ex-terrorist woman, who wants to find redemption and justice in a war riddled life as a fighter pilot.
First let's go over the basic of a manga when looking at RPD. It's not that special in it's bubbling, paneling, or the actual dialogue itself at all really. A lot of the charm comes from the gorgeous art of planes and characters. While some character designs can end up less than desired, many of the main cast do get to shine in the spotlight with often very sleek and clean designs that allow them to pop out in the manga. Though the author often draws full nudity and non explicit sex scenes which don't add much besides the fact that the author was really horny.
While reading RPD I often found myself in a surprise at how well drawn some panels were and how they help convey the emotion of the manga to the reader so well. At the core of it, RPD doesn't have a lot going for it. While it's story is very captivating at times it often feels either pointless or dragged out and while reading it myself I felt bored and didn't feel like it was doing anything. Then something happened, I hit a point in RPD where it felt like everything made more sense.
I believe that RPD was held back by the author's inability to make a interesting manga for the widespread audience required to pay the bills. However, the deeper themes and ideologies the manga provides are told fantastically and give the manga a deeper and more interesting side to it that isn't seen immediately.
Time to get into what makes RPD something good. The three best aspects of the manga are the art, story, and theme. These 3 aspects of the manga really shine and work in conjunction and show what RPD really is. One of the most important themes and ideas of RPD is how complicated war truly is. It shows off some pieces of how politics and world ideologies take part into war, but it mostly goes in depth about how people are affected by war. Naomi is often shown to be conflicted in her efforts as a fighter pilot because of how she does not want to hurt others anymore and just wants to protect those close to her, but due to her complicated past she is forced to fight as people learn of the legend called the "Red Prowling Devil", a title she wishes disappeared. Later in the manga, Naomi is shown to have serious trauma due to fighting and cannot live sanely without that tense action in her life. Many other characters in the manga go through similar problems as well as help expand on the lighter political themes prevalent throughout the story. The art and story help create this lonely feeling that constantly surrounds the manga that showcases what RPD is actually trying to do. RPD works to convey not the glamour of war or the need for it in the world we live in, but rather RPD looks to show people that war is evil even if necessary the actions made and the people involved are evil even with the slightest involvement. Naomi works hard to keep her loved ones safe, to help people when she can, and to repent for her crimes, but this all comes at the cost of fighting in war and perpetuating evil even further than before.
At the very least, you can take the time to appreciate what it had to say while it had it's chance in the spotlight.