Crest of the Stars | Banner of the Stars

Seikai: Crest of the Stars
Seikai: Crest of the Stars

English Title: Crest of the Stars | Banner of the Stars
Japanese Title: 星界の紋章 — Seikai no Monshou — “Crest of the Stars” | 星界の戦旗 — Seikai no Senki — “Banner of the Stars”
Author: Hiroyuki Morioka — 森岡 浩之
Illustrator: Toshihiro Ono — 小野 敏洋
Translator: Sue Shambaugh (Tokyopop), Giuseppe di Martino (J-Novel Club)
Genre: Sci-fi, Space Opera, Military
Original Run: Crest: April 1996 – June 1996, Banner: December 1996 – ongoing
English Run: Tokyopop: September 2006 – May 2007, J-Novel Club: June 2019 – ongoing
Japanese Publisher: Hayakawa Bunko JA (Hayakawa Shobo)
English Publisher: Tokyopop (discontinued), J-Novel Club (license rescued)
Volumes in Japanese: Crest: 3 (Completed), Banner: 6 (Complete)
Note: Tokyopop released all three volumes of Crest of the Stars back in 2006 – 2007. They did not release any volumes of the sequel series, Banner of the Stars. J-Novel Club has released the Crest of the Stars volumes again with a new translation, and will continue the series with a translation of Banner of the Stars.
Volumes in English: Crest: 3 (Completed), Banner: 5 (In Progress)

Note: Also available to read online through a J-Novel Club subscription.
J-Novel Club will eventually release hardcover “3 volumes in 1” omnibus editions for this series.

Synopsis: In the far-distant future, mankind has traversed the stars and settled distant worlds. But no matter how advanced the technology of the future becomes, it seems the spacefaring nations cannot entirely shed their human nature. Jint Lin finds this out the hard way when, as a child, his home world is conquered by the powerful Abh Empire: the self-proclaimed Kin of the Stars, and rulers of vast swaths of the known universe. As a newly-appointed member of the Abh's imperial aristocracy, Jint must learn to forge his own destiny in the wider universe while bearing burdens he never asked for, caught between his surface-dweller “Lander” heritage and the byzantine culture of the Abh, of which he is now nominally a member. A chance meeting with the brave-but-lonely Apprentice Starpilot Lafier aboard the Patrol Ship Goslauth will lead them both headfirst down a path of galaxy-spanning intrigue and warfare that will forever change the fate of all of humankind.

— Crest of the Stars —

J-Novel Club releases:

Volume 1 — The Imperial Princess
Amazon -- iBook -- J-Novel Club -- Kobo -- Nook
Released June 9, 2019 -- ASIN: B07R5Q9FGS

Volume 2 — A War Most Modest
Amazon -- iBook -- J-Novel Club -- Kobo -- Nook
Released August 10, 2019 -- ASIN: B07SSCL11Y

Volume 3 — The Return to Strange Skies
Amazon -- iBook -- J-Novel Club -- Kobo -- Nook
Released October 12, 2019 -- ASIN: B07W7QMSB1

Crest of the Stars Collected Edition Volumes 1-3 (imitation leather)
Amazon -- Barnes and Noble -- Book Depository -- Rightstuf
Releasing March 03, 2020 -- ISBN-13: 978-1718350700

Tokyopop releases:

Volume 1 — Princess of the Empire
Released September 5, 2006 -- ISBN-13: 978-1598165753

Volume 2 — A Modest War
Released January 9, 2007 -- ISBN-13: 978-1598165760

Volume 3 — Return to a Savage World
Released May 1, 2007 -- ISBN-13: 978-1598165777

— Banner of the Stars —

Volume 1 — The Ties that Bind
Amazon -- iBook -- J-Novel Club -- Kobo -- Nook
Released December 17, 2019 -- ASIN: B07Z234ZBM

Volume 2 — What Needs Defending
Amazon -- iBook -- J-Novel Club -- Kobo -- Nook
Releasing February 22, 2020 -- ASIN: B0836Z4ZYS

Volume 3 — Dinner With Family
Amazon -- iBook -- Kobo -- Google Play -- Bookwalker
Released May 17, 2020 -- ASIN: B085TD3HYJ

Volume 4 
Amazon -- iBook -- Kobo -- Google Play -- Bookwalker
Released November 29, 2020 -- ASIN: B08J3W573M

Volumes 1-3 Collector’s Edition (imitation leather)
Amazon -- Barnes and Noble -- Book Depository -- Rightstuf
Releasing February 02, 2021 -- ISBN-13: 9781718350717

Volume 5
Amazon -- iBook -- Kobo -- Google PlayBookwalker
Released February 6, 2021 — ASIN: B08NN8LZQ6

Reviews of Crest of the Stars and Banner of the Stars

Anime Adaptations

Crest of the StarsMAL Entry -- 13 episodes -- Aired January 1999 – March 1999
Funimation (streaming) -- Amazon -- RightStuf

Banner of the StarsMAL Entry — 23 episodes — Aired April 2000 – September 2001 | 2 OVAs — Aired August 2005
Funimation (streaming) -- Amazon -- RightStuf

Manga Adaptation

Seikai TrilogyMAL Entry -- 3 volumes (English release by Tokyopop)
Amazon -- Barnes and Noble -- Book DepositoryRightStuf

If you liked Crest of the Stars and Banner of the Stars, you might also want to try…

If you find any errors or broken links in this entry, leave a comment!

3 thoughts on “Crest of the Stars | Banner of the Stars

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.