![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
manga: Crown Vol 1
Aug. 13th, 2009 06:50 pmRen is a mercenary who is leaving his organization for personal reasons. He drags his best friend, Jake, along with him, blackmailing him with a $20,000 debt, and later reveals to Jake that the reason they left is that he has to go to Japan to protect his teenaged sister, Mahiro, from their evil-stepmother, the queen of a small Asian country. Mahiro, it seems, is unknowingly in possession of an heirloom that marks her as the rightful heir.
It’s a bit odd to be seeing Higuri You’s art in a modern story that’s obviously influenced by her kinks, but in something that’s still very much not Higuri You. (Such as how I’m rather surprised that I don’t get the impression that Ren or Jake either one has an interest in jumping the other, even when they shower together.) There are also some odd moments with Ren and Mahiro that I’m totally handwaving as their not having seen each other since they were (judging by how they looked in the flashbacks) probably around 10 and 4. It’s just not the same without “my father sold my soul to Satan before I was born so he could be pope.” Actually, despite “separated siblings finding each other” being a big thing of mine in fiction, a lot of Ren and Mahiro’s scenes are too goofy and huggy for me. I’m much more entertained by both their interactions with Jake, he of the glasses and long hair.
One of the best bits is how Jake, who is uneasy around women due to his sister, is jealous of all the hugging and, having designated Mahiro as something similar to an exceptionally cute puppy, is so petrified when he gets a hug that he’s like stone with frazzled hair. (Ren, of course, does not approve of the hugging.)
I’m also bugged that, aside from other mercenaries (one of whom seems to be being set up as a future love interest for Mahiro, and who seems to be based on Sagara Sousuke) all the bad guys are fat and ugly. Except for the evil stepmother’s henchman, who controls the worst of her evil impulses. *rolls eyes*
But I generally had fun, and will be reading more.
It’s a bit odd to be seeing Higuri You’s art in a modern story that’s obviously influenced by her kinks, but in something that’s still very much not Higuri You. (Such as how I’m rather surprised that I don’t get the impression that Ren or Jake either one has an interest in jumping the other, even when they shower together.) There are also some odd moments with Ren and Mahiro that I’m totally handwaving as their not having seen each other since they were (judging by how they looked in the flashbacks) probably around 10 and 4. It’s just not the same without “my father sold my soul to Satan before I was born so he could be pope.” Actually, despite “separated siblings finding each other” being a big thing of mine in fiction, a lot of Ren and Mahiro’s scenes are too goofy and huggy for me. I’m much more entertained by both their interactions with Jake, he of the glasses and long hair.
One of the best bits is how Jake, who is uneasy around women due to his sister, is jealous of all the hugging and, having designated Mahiro as something similar to an exceptionally cute puppy, is so petrified when he gets a hug that he’s like stone with frazzled hair. (Ren, of course, does not approve of the hugging.)
I’m also bugged that, aside from other mercenaries (one of whom seems to be being set up as a future love interest for Mahiro, and who seems to be based on Sagara Sousuke) all the bad guys are fat and ugly. Except for the evil stepmother’s henchman, who controls the worst of her evil impulses. *rolls eyes*
But I generally had fun, and will be reading more.
