Inspired by Yu-Gi-Oh!, sports anime, and video games, Status Royale is an extremely exciting addition to VIZ’s catalog.
Status Royale is set in the late 2030s, at the height of VR technology as the titular game of the series dominates the world of eSports. Competitive Status Royale is played in teams of three, with three possible player classes introduced at the start: Tank, Attack and Support.
It’s an immersive story about gaming.
Status Royale is that it is the only manga currently that takes place largely within a game; however, the offline lives of the characters bear the most significance. What makes Status Royale an immersive experience is this balance, but also Ru Xu’s art style and composition, which play into it being a story about a VR game.
The story begins with Min-Jun’s team winning the Winter Warfare Status Royale tournament, which is a few months before the story takes place in the Spring. A large part of the manga is made of visuals other than drawings of characters or background, with the futuristic aspect of the story made clear through the presentation of various text windows, screens, panels and the like, but also through the “Tutorial Stages” – pages dedicated to briefly explaining the rules of Status Royale that are placed in between each “Game” (chapter).
Several pages set the scene in interesting ways that give the feeling of immersion by showing more than just how the game is important to the lives of the main characters, but also how developments in technology, eSports, and the overall gaming market in 2037-38 have importance in the greater society. News headlines and excerpts, screenshots of social media posts, and even in-universe memes all come together to broaden the reader’s understanding of not just the game, but the version of America in which the story of Status Royale is set.
Navkiran Dhaliwal is a seasoned content writer with 10+ years of experience. When she's not writing, she can be found cooking up a storm or spending time with her dog, Rain.
