Endless Myth and Cobra
— From Printed Manga to Digital Art: The Future That Buichi Terasawa Saw —
At first glance, Endless Myth and Cobra appear to be very different works.
One is a modern cosmic mythology exploring infinite universes, omniverses, and realities beyond conventional existence.
The other is a classic space opera following the adventures of a charismatic space pirate.
Yet both works share an important characteristic:
they constantly expand beyond their original boundaries.
Both are stories about exploration—not only of worlds, but of possibilities.
The Universe of Cobra
One of the defining qualities of Cobra is freedom.
The protagonist, Cobra, belongs to no government, no military, and no grand ideology.
He travels through space, encounters strange civilizations, searches for treasure, and becomes involved in galaxy-spanning conflicts.
The universe of Cobra feels vast and limitless.
Readers experience the excitement of constantly discovering something new.
This sense of exploration is also present in Endless Myth.
While Cobra travels between planets and civilizations, Endless Myth expands outward through multiverses, omniverses, higher dimensions, and entirely different structures of reality.
Both works are ultimately journeys into the unknown.
Buichi Terasawa and the Digital Revolution
Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of Cobra is not only its story, but its creator.
Buichi Terasawa was one of the earliest manga artists to embrace digital technology.
At a time when most manga production remained firmly rooted in paper, ink, and traditional methods, Terasawa was already experimenting with computers and digital graphics.
During the era of the PC-98 and early personal computers, he began exploring the possibilities of computer-generated imagery.
Today, digital illustration is standard throughout the manga industry.
But when Terasawa began using these tools, the approach was considered revolutionary.
He was not simply imagining the future.
He was actively building it.
From Manga to Digital Art
The evolution of Cobra mirrors the evolution of visual media itself.
What began as a manga gradually incorporated digital techniques and computer graphics.
The series became more than a comic.
It became an experiment in the future of visual storytelling.
This is a deeply science-fictional idea.
The work was not only depicting futuristic worlds—it was using futuristic methods to create them.
In a similar way, Endless Myth expands beyond the traditional novel format.
The project incorporates:
Observation logs
Reports
Social-media-style records
Multilingual publications
Expanding cosmological archives
Both projects push beyond the limits of a single medium.
Expanding Worlds
In Cobra, new planets, civilizations, technologies, and enemies constantly appear.
The universe itself is the stage for endless adventure.
In Endless Myth, the scale expands even further:
Universe
→ Multiverse
→ Omniverse
→ The Uncertain Infinite Domain
The approaches differ, but both works create the feeling that reality continues far beyond what has already been revealed.
The journey never truly ends.
Cobra as a Vision of the Future
Looking back from today's perspective, Terasawa's work seems remarkably prophetic.
Modern comics are now:
Created digitally
Distributed electronically
Enhanced with 3D tools
Influenced by AI-assisted workflows
Many aspects of contemporary visual production resemble ideas Terasawa was already exploring decades ago.
In this sense, Cobra was not only a space adventure.
It was also an early glimpse into the future of digital comics.
The Evolution of Storytelling
A major theme connecting Cobra and Endless Myth is evolution.
Cobra evolved through technology.
Endless Myth evolves through expanding cosmology and narrative structure.
Neither remains fixed.
Instead, both continuously grow larger than their original forms.
One expands the possibilities of visual storytelling.
The other expands the possibilities of fictional universes.
Conclusion
Endless Myth and Cobra are both works of expansion.
Endless Myth expands the structure of reality itself.
Cobra expanded the possibilities of manga and digital art.
The greatest achievement of Buichi Terasawa may not simply have been creating a beloved science-fiction hero.
It was recognizing, long before many others, that the future of storytelling would be intertwined with technology.
Cobra did not merely travel across space.
In many ways, he also traveled into the future of the medium itself.
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