Shadow Lady

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For the Marvel vs. Capcom character, see Chun-Li.

Shadow Lady
シャドウレディ
Genre	{{{genre}}}
Manga
Authored by	Masakazu Katsura
Publisher	Shueisha Editions Tonkam Star Comics Grupo Editorial Vid Norma Editorial, Planeta DeAgostini Dark Horse Comics
Serialized in	V-Jump , Shonen Jump Japan Storie di Kappa Manga Gran Volumen
Original run	1995 – 1996
No. of volumes	3[1]

Shadow Lady is a manga series written and drawn by Masakazu Katsura. It was translated into English by Dark Horse Comics. It is influenced by the artist's love of Batman comics. Shadow Lady was cancelled partway through its run, resulting in the severe compression of a new story arc and a finale.

Shadow Lady takes place in the fictional city of Gray City, around a girl named Aimi Komomori. She leads an ordinary, unassuming life as a waitress in a cafe until a small oni (De-mo) attacks her in an alley. Oddly, it brushes eyeshadow on her, transforming her into the daring, flirtatious cat burglar named Shadow Lady. To remain on Earth undetected, De-mo takes a human form and they pass him off as her little brother.

Shadow Lady's crimes befuddle the Gray City police, and a detective named Bright Honda takes it upon himself to discover Shadow Lady's true identity. Bright is also an inventor, and uses his inventions to try and apprehend Shadow Lady, but she is too crafty, and escapes him numerous times.

Aimi thinks she's falling in love with Bright, when another girl appears, who is apparently Bright's former love interest. Aimi invites her over to talk, and she learns that Bright wasn't as interested in her as she was in him, and started to ignore her when he took on the Shadow Lady case. The girl's name is Lime Hokosawa.

Later, a news broadcast announces an unsigned challenge to Shadow Lady. She arrives at the Gray City Art Center, where the challenger reveals herself: Spark Girl, and she brought a news team with her. The two do battle, and Spark Girl gains the upper hand, brushing the eyeshadow off to reveal Shadow Lady's true identity to the news.

Aimi had planned head, however, and layered her eyeshadow; all that is revealed is the secondary Cat Shadow, and she frees herself, humiliating Spark Girl by shredding her uniform and leaving her dangling from a cord. Bright rescues her, and we learn that Spark Girl is actually Lime.

Aimi returns home to discover three demons holding De-mo captive. They have come to execute De-mo for interacting with mortals, but Aimi wants to bargain. They agree to spare him if she can recover five stolen Demon Stones without letting anyone else know, and before the seals break on the Arch-Demons they hold.

Thinking that a recent rash of kidnappings is the work of someone under the influence of a Demon Stone, Aimi goes out as bait. A monster attacks her, but just as she's about to transform, Spark Girl appears.

Bright is tracking Spark Girl/Lime, but the monster catches her and starts turning her to stone. Taken away, Aimi discovers that the monster is actually philanthropic businessman Klein Hanayama, who is kidnapping young girls and turning them to stone. He smashes one partially-petrified girl who still wants to leave, and Aimi has had enough. She and Klein transform while De-mo makes his escape.

Shadow Lady fights Klein, who resorts to smashing the petrified girls. That infuriates Shadow Lady, who throws him across the room. She and De-mo head for the Demon Stone, which makes Klein stronger through his evil desires. He has both Shadow Lady and De-mo in his clutches when the Demon Stone shatters, killing him and releasing the Arch-Demon Medu.

Medu smashes every reflective surface in Klein's mansion, preventing Shadow Lady from using his power against him, but he does not need to see her to induce her clothing to petrify, which will slowly spread to her body as well. She tears off the petrified cloth and hurls a sofa at the Arch-Demon, which turns to stone in midair and falls. Shadow Lady lunges and uses a piece of polished black marble to reflect Medu's gaze.

Shadow Lady turns to stone, having met Medu's gaze to attack him, and shatters against the floor, while Medu tears off his petrified arm and regenerates it. As Bright moves in, De-mo tries to reason with Medu, telling him that he's not in the demon world, and Medu allows his power's effects to disappear, bringing the other girls back to life and restoring Shadow Lady. Lime also is restored, as well as Klein, whom Medu kills for abusing his Demon Stone before disappearing.

Bright arrives on the scene just in time to think that Shadow Lady killed Klein Hanayama. Unable to tell Bright the truth, she takes the Demon Stone and flees.

Two other Demon Stones are captured off-panel. De-mo makes a "Demon Stone Detector™," which tracks one to the frustrated Mayor Karman. He defends himself with an M-16 and other military hardware. A grenade explodes near an ammo stash, destroying the office and a circling helicopter. Shadow Lady saves the crowd but receives no thanks, so she makes her escape. In a park, Aimi and Bright talk about Shadow Lady; Aimi believes Bright liked her for her abilities, not as a woman.

Shadow Lady tracks the last Demon Stone to an avaricious bishop at Gray City Cathedral, but Bright is waiting for her. He grabs her and uses a rain-making device to wash her eyeshadow off, but De-mo is too late to seal the Demon Stone. The other Demon Stones race to its location, while Bright is about to learn Shadow Lady's true identity. Just before he can, Zera, the Arch-Demon of Destruction, is released, collapsing the cathedral. Medu confronts him, but he is absorbed. Medu calls to Aimi from beyond, and she awakens.

Vin, head of the Demon World Police trio, tells her that all the worlds will be destroyed if Zera is allowed to ascend to his final form. Medu speaks to her and tells her everything she needs to know. Unfortunately, her magic compact has been destroyed, and only a small amount of Midnight Black (the Shadow Lady colour) is left. She can transform one last time.

As she races to find the combined Demon Stone, a mob howls for her head. De-mo confronts the mob and Spark Girl rouses Bright from unconsciousness. Zera's huge form sends waves of evil emotion across Gray City, causing riots and looting, which in turn enhances his own power. She confronts the core of Zera's penultimate form, which impales her and drags her toward him, taunting her with the Demon Stone to seal. When he declares that the Stone is fully charged, two arms burst from his back, making Shadow Lady think he's changing.

It's actually Medu, who holds him back long enough for Shadow Lady to seal the Demon Stone. Zera's monstrous form disintegrates, and an exhausted Shadow Lady falls. She thinks she's going to die, but Bright saves her.

Shadow Lady disappears from Gray City after that, until Inspector Dory receives a phone call several weeks later.

Shadow Lady: Another World is a short retelling of the Shadow Lady story, where Aimi and Bright meet at school, and she receives the magic eyeshadow from her grandmother. Together, Aimi/Shadow Lady (Bunny Expert Change only) and Bright foil a mad bomber.

[edit] References

1. ^ Shadow Lady (manga) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia