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manga: Var. Yen debut titles.
Jun. 14th, 2010 05:10 pmI have had much time for reading since returning from WisCon(mostly Yen Press manga, since RightStuf had a sale), but not as much time on the computer. And so, mini-writeups.
Hero Tales Vol 1: A wuxia-like shounen manga by Hiromu Arakawa and people less important in my head. My understanding is that Arakawa initially only did character designs, and then adapted it from another medium. Loud boy learns he has an epic destiny and sets off to find his fellow destined warriors accompanied by his sister and another warrior. So far, it’s mostly the lead, Taitou, wandering around looking for companions and getting into fights, as wuxia heroes do, with only bits on the bigger story. Taitou and his sister, Laila, have a dynamic similar to Ed and Winry’s, only platonic (and there’s one nice scene where someone is surprised that he isn’t rushing to protect her, and he explains that he didn’t because he knew she didn’t need it, and he was right) and Arakawa’s touch for family and almost immediately establishing characters is present, but it lacks FMA’s sense of World and feeling of a developed metaplot, which was present even in the earlier volumes. Not amazing yet, but entertaining.
Nabari no Ou Vol 1: Apathetic schoolboy gets caught between rival ninja (and one samurai) clan because he has special powers. Apparent love interest looks to be uber-angstmuffin mass murderer. Sadly, I didn’t pay much attention because, well, it bored me. The ninja bodyguards/sidekicks were fun, but the main character was meh and I can already tell I’ll just be annoyed by the other dude. It’s super-popular, though, so I suspect I’m in the minority in finding it dull.
Pandora Hearts Vol 1: 15-year-old lord gets dropkicked into an abyss for crimes he doesn’t know about and only escapes by letting himself get possessed by a cocky, vicious spirit named Alice, only to be arrested by another group saying he’s committed crimes. But a nicer one, since they don’t dropkick him into the abyss. The abyss is a messed-up Wonderland (which is saying a lot) and the plot and characters read like Kaori Yuki trying to find her footing. But no angels, incest, bodyparts in jars, or butlers in love with teenaged lords. Yet. As with Black Butler, I’m withholding judgment until I read another volume or two. Though, so far, Oz is a more appealing lead than Ciel.
Time and Again Vol 1: Part of the “mysterious shopkeeper/traveler changes the lives of those s/he encounters and talks about fate and balance a lot” subgenre which I adore, but set during the Tang dynasty, which means I get to have pretty period costumes, too. Baek-On and Ho-Yeon are traveling exorcists-for-hire, though Ho-Yeon seems to be more of a bodyguard. He does, though, have a magic sword that apparently sometimes transforms into a beautiful woman who’s in love with him. Two of the stories involve the leads being hired to take care of ghosts and curses that Baek-On believes should be left alone, and two-one involving a guard in love with the isolated concubine he protects, and the other is a fox demon story-are seemingly independent, and don’t involve the leads. Oddly, the two independent stories are stronger than the ones connected to the main plot, but that may be because they’re seemingly self-contained, as opposed to hinting at a larger picture.
Hero Tales Vol 1: A wuxia-like shounen manga by Hiromu Arakawa and people less important in my head. My understanding is that Arakawa initially only did character designs, and then adapted it from another medium. Loud boy learns he has an epic destiny and sets off to find his fellow destined warriors accompanied by his sister and another warrior. So far, it’s mostly the lead, Taitou, wandering around looking for companions and getting into fights, as wuxia heroes do, with only bits on the bigger story. Taitou and his sister, Laila, have a dynamic similar to Ed and Winry’s, only platonic (and there’s one nice scene where someone is surprised that he isn’t rushing to protect her, and he explains that he didn’t because he knew she didn’t need it, and he was right) and Arakawa’s touch for family and almost immediately establishing characters is present, but it lacks FMA’s sense of World and feeling of a developed metaplot, which was present even in the earlier volumes. Not amazing yet, but entertaining.
Nabari no Ou Vol 1: Apathetic schoolboy gets caught between rival ninja (and one samurai) clan because he has special powers. Apparent love interest looks to be uber-angstmuffin mass murderer. Sadly, I didn’t pay much attention because, well, it bored me. The ninja bodyguards/sidekicks were fun, but the main character was meh and I can already tell I’ll just be annoyed by the other dude. It’s super-popular, though, so I suspect I’m in the minority in finding it dull.
Pandora Hearts Vol 1: 15-year-old lord gets dropkicked into an abyss for crimes he doesn’t know about and only escapes by letting himself get possessed by a cocky, vicious spirit named Alice, only to be arrested by another group saying he’s committed crimes. But a nicer one, since they don’t dropkick him into the abyss. The abyss is a messed-up Wonderland (which is saying a lot) and the plot and characters read like Kaori Yuki trying to find her footing. But no angels, incest, bodyparts in jars, or butlers in love with teenaged lords. Yet. As with Black Butler, I’m withholding judgment until I read another volume or two. Though, so far, Oz is a more appealing lead than Ciel.
Time and Again Vol 1: Part of the “mysterious shopkeeper/traveler changes the lives of those s/he encounters and talks about fate and balance a lot” subgenre which I adore, but set during the Tang dynasty, which means I get to have pretty period costumes, too. Baek-On and Ho-Yeon are traveling exorcists-for-hire, though Ho-Yeon seems to be more of a bodyguard. He does, though, have a magic sword that apparently sometimes transforms into a beautiful woman who’s in love with him. Two of the stories involve the leads being hired to take care of ghosts and curses that Baek-On believes should be left alone, and two-one involving a guard in love with the isolated concubine he protects, and the other is a fox demon story-are seemingly independent, and don’t involve the leads. Oddly, the two independent stories are stronger than the ones connected to the main plot, but that may be because they’re seemingly self-contained, as opposed to hinting at a larger picture.
