Yan Vol 3 Review
Writer & Artist: Chang Sheng
Translator: Vanessa Liu
Letterer: Tom Williams
Editor: Louis Yamani
Designer: David Colderley
Publisher: Titan Manga
Price: $24.99
Release Date: May 13, 2026
When Yan Tieh Hua abducted the Councilor's son and then
attacked the government official in his barricaded office, she sought justice
for her family's deaths. But retired Senior Detective Lei Ming Zhi, who
investigated the brutal slaying thirty years ago, wondered how Yan Tieh Hua had
appeared after seeing her corpse amid the rubble of a secret military research
center.
Now, Lei Ming Zhi is in the hospital. Yan Tieh Hua lies dead
in a church, while a superhuman robot directs its robotic soldiers to wipe out
Humanity. Can Yan Tieh Hua defy death a second time and destroy the seemingly
indestructible robot? And why does her lifeless body look the same as it did
thirty years ago, when the government arrested Yan Tieh Hua for her family's
murders? Let's leap into Yan Vol 3 and see!
Story
When she survived the car crash that killed her parents,
Flora told everyone about the girl who wandered onto the highway. No one
believed her story about a girl clutching a teddy bear, shrugging off a
speeding car. As the traumatized girl grew up, she dedicated her life to
proving that superheroes existed. Flora used her father's technology company to
fund her research, creating a computer system she dubbed Mr All-Powerful. After
Yan destroyed her giant robot, Flora unlocked the safety protocols on her creation,
freeing Mr All-Powerful to create an even greater weapon to destroy the young
woman who bore the name Yan Tieh Hua.
In Yan Vol 3, time rewinds to ten years following the
slaughter of Yan Tieh Hua’s family. When an explosion has damaged part of the military research facility, Yan Tieh Hua suffers a mortal blow. Yet "Yan Tieh Hua" lives on. She vows to destroy the company that conspired with the government to cover up
the slaughter of her family.
When Yan revives in the church, she returns to Flora
Technologies. There, she finds Miku Higa and Rabbit Herlock fighting Thirteen.
She reveals her identity as she aids them. Thirteen, whom Mika Higu dubbed Big Glass, now controls
the robot soldiers that Flora Technologies was building under a military
contract.
Even with Yan's superhuman skills, Mika Higu and Herlock
are formidable foes. Mika can see five minutes into the future. Herlock can
teleport from one place or time to another. Yet, Thirteen has evaded all their
attacks. So, Yan must conceive a way to destroy the robot that killed her.
And this becomes even more impossible when Thirteen attains a new ability that
makes Flora’s sarcastic term, “Mr All-Powerful,” a reality in Yan Vol 3.
Art
Images of Yan shine in the darkness. She wears her casual attire and her fighting costume. As she grows younger, she runs and crawls toward a white rectangle. Then the rectangle flares, white circles reveal a yelling face as someone straddles Yan Tieh Hua. Studio lights hang from a metal framework among elevated walkways in a warehouse. Inside the cottage in the middle of the warehouse, a horn loudspeaker chirps as Yan goes through her morning routine. Then, while Yan cooks eggs on the stove, a finger pushes a VHS tape into the player. A hero in a costume and cape appears, flying through a sky filled with stars and stripes.
Chang Sheng utilizes shading and meticulous penciling to
conjure lifelike portrayals of people, vehicles, and places in Yan Vol 3.
Herlock, with his buzz cut, walks resolutely to battle Thirteen with his
circular Rabbit device on his back. Miku Higa ties a bunch of hair atop her
head in a ponytail and wears a mask when entering battle. Lei Ming Zhi looks
worn out as his arm rests in a sling. A small, circular bomb seems their only
hope of stopping the metal skeleton with transparent skin. But Yan perches on a
building ledge in her opera-style fighting costume, surveying the destruction,
before leaping into the fray.
Physical Copy and Lettering
The glossy cover's French flap evokes a hardcover dust
jacket. The 7" x 10" prestige edition enlarges the font to a generous
size. Direction lines never obscure the high-speed action and fraught battles.
Characters speak into balloons and boxes that grow spiky amid the intense
emotions and fighting. Translated sound effects help readers hear combatants
crashing through buildings, energy beams, explosions, and fighter jets flying
overhead, carrying bombs that seem doomed to fail. Thanks to Titan Manga for providing
a physical review copy.
Final Thoughts
Our relationships with our parents and ancestors can
restrain us from achieving our abilities. Or they can empower us to build a
better future. Both Yan and Flora sought vindication for how they lost their family. But while Flora invested her life in building machines of destruction,
Yan safeguarded her community while investigating who covered up the
slaughter of her family.
Amid the action-packed finale, "Yan Tieh Hua" connects with the
spirit world and emerges wiser. Freed from the anger that previously drove her,
Yan welcomes her friends’ help to save her world from the artificial
intelligence intent on wiping out Humanity in the action-packed Yan Vol 3.
Rating 10/10
To look inside, see my preview of Yan Vol 3.
For what happened last time, see my review of Yan Vol 2.
For how this series started, see my review of Yan Vol 1.
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