Pumpkin Scissors Vol 2
Apr. 1st, 2008 02:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meganbmooreVolume 1 of Pumpkin Scissors focused primarily on out nominal leads, Alice and Oland. Volumes 2 shifts the majority of the focus to two other members of Section III, Oreldo, the laid back playboy with a serious side, and Machs, his sensible and overly serious childhood friend.
After Oland saves Machs from a tank, Machs very understandably goes into "WTF is this guy?" mode and starts investigating him, despite Oreldo's warnings that it's none of his business, only to realize that Oland's unit couldn't have existed in the war. I actually really like how this played out. Machs's common sense and desire for the truth were in conflict with the fact that he really just didn't like being suspicious of a subordinate, and I liked that he decided that the best thing to do was just ask Oland, and then he decided that it didn't matter after all. In one amusing scene in there, Machs and Oreldo are heading to the hospital to see Oland and try to convince Alice that there's nothing important going on and she shouldn't come, because they know she'll be mad if she finds out Machs is suspicious. Alice, however, got mad at Oland earlier for leaving the hospital without permission, and told him she wasn't going to visit him again, and so thought they were trying to guilt her into visiting. There's also the requisite-but well done-typical scene of Oland realizing he's found a place to belong.
Oreldo, I think, takes lessons from Roy Mustang in how to hide your true self between womanizing and supposed laziness, except I think he takes the womanizing much more to heart than Mustang. In fact, he seems to have a girlfriend conveniently stashed everywhere Section III might need to get information from. He also gets to strut his stuff a bit in the second half, when Section III is sent to relocate war refugees, only to find some don't want to leave because the people in charge of the area have gotten them addicted to drugs, though he does get Machs and himself rather beat up in the process. Oreldo also seems to be assigned to the task of keeping Alice from killing people when she gets mad.
We also get an explanation for how Section III got its nickname, as well as for why Alice is always so gung ho about things it seems it would be more sensible to leave for later.
On the flipside, the mangaka seems to be working in some sex jokes that, while minor, are a bit on the odd side, and I'm not sure how I feel about those.
Oreldo, I think, takes lessons from Roy Mustang in how to hide your true self between womanizing and supposed laziness, except I think he takes the womanizing much more to heart than Mustang. In fact, he seems to have a girlfriend conveniently stashed everywhere Section III might need to get information from. He also gets to strut his stuff a bit in the second half, when Section III is sent to relocate war refugees, only to find some don't want to leave because the people in charge of the area have gotten them addicted to drugs, though he does get Machs and himself rather beat up in the process. Oreldo also seems to be assigned to the task of keeping Alice from killing people when she gets mad.
We also get an explanation for how Section III got its nickname, as well as for why Alice is always so gung ho about things it seems it would be more sensible to leave for later.
On the flipside, the mangaka seems to be working in some sex jokes that, while minor, are a bit on the odd side, and I'm not sure how I feel about those.