official cover of the first volume
Age I- Age of Darkness
is a Fantasy, Action Drama webcomic/manga created by the italian artist Doublekey. The series was first published on Tapas and Webtoon on June 12, 2020 and is still ongoing. The manga is set in pseudo-medieval times in the fictional region of Tami and narrates the story of two brothers: Frederick and Nigel, whose lives forever change after a terrible accident. Years later, the brothers have seemingly moved on from their tragic past and are now young adults. One day, the two are met by a strange individual who seems to know about their past and allegedly wants to help them. Thus, they embark on a journey to settle thing with their past and save region of Tami from darkness.
Age I- Age of Darkness provides examples of:
- Anime Hair: Frederick, Nigel, Drake and Miriam all have unusually colored hair.
- Arc Villain: Each arc in the story, so far, has had a main antagonist/opposing force who goes against the protagonists:
- Introductory arc: In the very first arc of the series, the main antagonist is a mysterious dark entity who has taken control of Drake's body and is the main cause of Frederick and Nigel's misfortune.
- Kay Hole Arc: As the name itself implies, the main antagonist of this arc is a bounty hunter named Kay Hole, who proceeds to attack the brothers during their daily stroll.
- Badass Cape: Both Frederick and Nigel possess a long and badass-looking cape, similar to that of superheroes.
- Beam of Enlightenment: Often throughout the webcomic, the "beam of enlightenment", also known as beta flash, pops up. It appears whenever a character has had a realization, in the typical style of manga.
- Being Good Sucks: Frederick has endured a lot of pain and suffering just for doing the right thing. Being good or making a good action doesn't always bring about good consequences, in this world. The perfect example is in chapter 2, when Frederick decides to fight against Travis in order to save his brother and the other kids, but ends up being brutally beaten. After defeating Travis, the caretaker comes in and decides to punish Nigel for what happened. Frederick bravely steps in and admits his guilt to save his brother, yet again. Being honest doesn't reward Frederick, though, as admitting the truth gets him into trouble. The caretaker decides to punish the young man by throwing him into an old cell.
- Big Bad: The main antagonist of the story is a dark overlord known as The Shadow Horseman, whose objective is still unknown.
- Breather Episode: After all the turmoil of the first three chapters, things seem to have calmed down a bit.
- In chapter 5, Frederick and Nigel follow Kay Hole to a tavern, where they listen to what the man has to say regarding The Shadow Horseman and have dinner.
- Frederick and Nigel go back home thanks to an unexpected gift of Kay's: two magnificent stallions. Despite still being wary of the man, the two genuinely have fun riding on the horses. Chapter 6 as a whole appears to have more visual gags and jokes then usual, so that the reader can catch a breather from all the tragedy and action.
- In chapter 7, so far, Kay and Lord Kingstone have only talked to each other, without anything major occuring.
- Call to Adventure: The brothers have to embark on an epic journey to save their loved ones and their land from evil.
- Calling Your Attacks: One of the characters, during a fight, has called their attack out loud.
- Cross-Popping Veins: When a character gets particularly mad or impatient, cross-popping veins appear on their head. This trope is mainly seen during visual gags/funny scenes.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Frederick and Nigel had a tragic past. First, their older brother gets sick, then they lose both parents and, some time later, their sister disappears as well. During their inspection in Drake's room, the house suddenly collapses and the two become homeless and go into a coma. After all these tragic events, life still inflicts them pain by sending them to an abusive orphanage.
- Death Glare: Various time, throughout the webcomic, Frederick and Kay exchange death glares.
- No, I Am Behind You: In Chapter 4, Kay surprises Frederick by suddenly appearing behind his back.
- Odd Couple: Frederick and Nigel are two complete opposites, yet manage to get along. Frederick is a very zealous person who will try his best to help other people out and is often deemed as courageous. Nigel, on the other hand is a coward and will try his best to avoid work. In addition to his laziness, Nigel is also very greedy and loves eating all the time.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here!: Being a coward, Nigel often flees from the danger instead of facing it. This is seen both in chapter 2 and chapter 4: during Frederick's fights, Nigel usually tries to be as far as possible from the enemy.
- Snot Bubble: Whenever a character is seen sleeping (especially Nigel), a snot bubble appears on their nose. This trope is mainly seen in funny gags.
- Speed Stripes: Speed stripes appear in the manga whenever something extremely dynamic happens (e.g. someone runs away or attacks).
- Split-Screen Reaction: Whenever something shocking occurs in the manga, two split panels appear near each other. An example of this is seen in chapter 6, right before Kay brings the horses inside Kingstone's mansion. The shocked reaction of the two brothers is shown through a split panel.
- Sweat Drop: The typical comedic giant sweat drop seen in anime and manga also appears in this webcomic. It is seen when a character gets contradicted, is embarassed, annoyed by someone else or something, or is just disappointed. An example of this is seen in chapter 4, when Nigel replies to Lord Kingstone that Frederick and him will gladly stay. Frederick, who was trying to politely decline, gets overshadowed by his little brother and as a result is annoyed. A sweat drop appears on Frederick's forehead for comedic purposes
- Tragic Hero: Like every tragic hero, Frederick and Nigel have fatal flaws which brings about their downfall. Frederick is very impulsive and this hot-headedness of his, usually gets him into trouble (e.g. going up against Travis). Nigel's fatal flaw, on the other hand, is his own cowardice and his laziness, which make him unable to step in and take his responsibilities. He never likes the idea of facing danger and will let Frederick get beaten for the sake of his own self-preservation.
