The Adventures of Young Det 3 by Gyojeong Kwon: B+

August 7, 2009 by 2 Comments

youngdet3-125Book description:
Two adventure-loving boys from the country set out on their quest to defeat the evil dragon that threatens the world. Det and Osen battle their way to glory, finding romance and the life of heroes along the way.

Review:
Having left Ogean, their small village, behind, friends Det and Osen are traveling toward Dedeil, a large city where they hope to “make it big.” The first village they come to is beset by dog-headed monsters, however, so they stop a while and use some knowledge imparted by their hometown’s sorcerer to help the villagers defend themselves against the creatures. Things aren’t much better at the next town, where giant, corpse-faced birds are plucking off the populace one by one. Det and Osen again help out but the volume abruptly ends in the middle of a nocturnal skirmish.

This volume feels more like a medieval fantasy novel than either of the earlier ones in the series, mostly due to all the traveling and the encounters with mystical beasts. Actually, it reminds me a little of an RPG, a resemblance definitely not lost on Gyojeong Kwon when he/she writes, “The tempolite, Fore, has joined Det on his journey! Party level +1!” While Det and Osen (though mostly Det) are still determined to make their way to Dedeil, they aren’t adverse to pausing and helping people in need, resulting in a pace that is best described as unhurried.

As a result, there is time for plenty of small moments, like testing to see whether a certain plant stem, when burned, really can repel the monsters, or talking about Det’s feelings for the girl he left behind in Ogean. The friendship between Det and Osen is warm and secure; not only do they look out for each other, they also clearly admire one another’s particular qualities and skills. Even though they may appear to be your typical “odd couple,” with Det being more outgoing and Osen more reserved, Kwon never portrays their relationship in so simple a manner. Their personalities do make for some funny moments, though, like these final lines from chapter eight when they’ve finally seen the gruesome faces of the giant birds up close.

Det: By the way, that face is a real gag.
Osen: Yeah. A little bit.

Besides a nicely nuanced story, The Adventures of Young Det also offers gorgeous art from Gyojeong Kwon. Aside from just being generally beautiful, I find that backgrounds and scene composition provide a stronger sense of place than I usually encounter in manga. Too, Kwon is adept at drawing all sorts of people, especially at depicting age in a way that goes beyond simply taking a young-looking character and drawing some lines under his eyes.

The one major complaint I could make about this volume is that it doesn’t move the overall story forward much, but I suspect that taking the time to set groundwork will pay off in the end, just as the lengthy explanations of the magical system did in earlier volumes.

Filed Under: Fantasy, Manhwa Tagged With:

Tsubasa: Those with Wings 2 by Natsuki Takaya: C+

August 3, 2009 by Leave a Comment

tsubasawings125Oh, if only Tsubasa: Those with Wings were as good as its gorgeous cover suggests!

Former thief Kotobuki and her companion/love interest, erstwhile Army officer Raimon, are still searching for Tsubasa, a legend rumored to grant wishes. But first, they must slog through an excruciatingly dull plot about the Army enlisting the help of Raimon’s gun-smuggling foster father to destroy orphanages as part of a nefarious and nebulous plan. The most ridiculous moment occurs when Kotobuki spews a little bit of Shojo Heroine Optimism™ at one of the officers in charge, causing the woman to finally realize, “Hey, killing orphans is murder!”

The rest of the volume is somewhat better, despite the introduction of far too many new characters, as Kotobuki and Raimon team up with some others to pursue Tsubasa clues in a ruined 21st century city known as “the cursed forest.” First, they must infiltrate a fancy party (given by a guy who evidently stole Yuki Sohma’s body) to learn how to deactivate an electric barrier preventing entry to the forest. Once they’ve made it inside, they encounter the Akito of the piece, a colonel who is obsessed with Raimon and has implanted a bomb in his brain to prevent him from leaving the country. He’s pretty crazy, which certainly livens things up.

While there are some moments that are actually good, they are overrun by messy plotting, cryptic hinting, lame gags, and angsty backstories for everyone (even robots). I’m left with the itch to go at the thing with a cleaver, hacking off all the excess bits in search of a better story that might lurk within.

Review copy provided by the publisher. Review originally published at Manga Recon.

Filed Under: Fantasy, Manga, Shoujo Tagged With: ,

Flora Segunda by Ysabeau S. Wilce: A-

July 28, 2009 by Leave a Comment

floraFrom the back cover:
Flora Fyrdraaca knows taking shortcuts in Crackpot Hall can be risky. After all, when a House has eleven thousand decaying rooms that shift about at random, there’s no telling where a person might end up. But it’s not just household confusion that vexes Flora, what with Mamma always away being Commanding General of the Army, Poppy drowning his sorrows in drink, and Crackpot Hall too broken down to magically provide the clean towels and hot waffles that are a Fyrdraaca’s birthright.

Yet Flora is nothing if not a Girl of Spirit. So when she takes a forbidden shortcut and stumbles upon her family’s biggest secret—Valefor, the banished Butler—she and her best friend plunge happily into the grand adventure of restoring Valefor to his rightful (or so he says) position. If only Flora knew that meddling with a magical being can go terribly awry—and that soon she will have to find a way to restore herself before it is too late.

Review:
This is the story of Flora Fyrdraaca, referred to by some as Flora Segunda because she is the second Flora to have been born to her parents. She is on the verge of turning fourteen, an age at which Fyrdraaca family members go off to the Barracks to embark upon their careers as soldiers. Flora does not want to be a soldier, though; her ambition is to become a ranger like her heroine, Nini Mo, and use magic, stealth, and cunning while having exciting adventures. Flora’s mother, a high-ranking general, disapproves of magic, so Flora cannot express this preference, and the Ranger Corps has been disbanded anyway, so she contents herself with devouring every bit of information she can find on Nini Mo.

The Fyrdraaca family occupies an enormous house known as Crackpot Hall. At one time, there was a magical butler, but in his absence (banished by Flora’s mother), things have fallen into disrepair: rooms shift about at random, the elevator is unreliable, and most of the house is uninhabitable. One morning, while late for school and darting back inside to retrieve an overdue library book on Nini Mo, Flora decides to use the forbidden magical elevator and ends up in a new part of the house where she encounters the abrogated butler, Valefor. Tempted by the prospect of shifting the burden of her many chores upon him, she agrees to feed him a little of her Will (the power behind magic) to help get his strength back. This starts her on the path of various adventures, culminating in the useful lesson, “No one can take you from yourself unless you allow them to.”

There are many things to like about Flora Segunda. I particularly appreciate the lessons that Flora has learned from her adulation of Nini Mo—sprinkled liberally throughout the book as Flora calls them to mind during difficult situations—since they emphasize things like “being strong, fast, and clever is more important than looks.” Traditional gender roles are also dispensed with. It’s an absolute given that women can become soldiers—two powerful generals referenced within the story are female—and there’s a male character (awesomely described as “a glass-gazing font of frivolity”) who’s into fashion, eyeliner, and crinoline, which doesn’t seem to be a problem with anyone, either. The setting is unique, as it’s seemingly an alternate universe sort of 19th century California (dubbed Califa) that’s made peace with an invading Aztec-like culture, and the magical system is original and intriguingly complex.

Above all these things, however, is my deep and abiding love for Flora’s father, Hotspur. He had been a bright-eyed and magnificent soldier in his day, but when we meet him, he’s a broken, half-mad drunk with hollow eyes who spends most of his time holed up in a remote spot of Crackpot Hall, grieving over tragic losses sustained during the war. (I’ve just noticed that description sounds very like Sirius Black.) He sobers up a little bit along the way, offering unexpected help a couple of times, and there are some terrific moments with and revelations concerning him near the end of the book that had me teary and desperate to know more about his history and his future.

On the negative side, the plotting, while on the whole pretty tidy, feels a bit haphazard at times. Flora misjudges people time and again, leading to lots of running about hither and thither to try to solve problems created by her previous actions. I also don’t really feel I have a good grasp on Califa’s culture, though I grant that more detail probably would’ve been unnecessary and a detriment to the story’s momentum. Lastly, although I admire Flora’s amusingly snarky turns of phrase and the fact that I had to look up more unfamiliar words for this, a children’s book, than I have in quite a while, Wilce has this annoying habit of using the same word multiple times within the span of a few pages. With common words, this is no problem, but when the word is “scarpered” or “sangyn,” it’s much more obvious.

Like its sometimes foolish, sometimes courageous namesake, Flora Segunda isn’t perfect. However, its merits, originality, and knack for leaving me wanting more spur me to cry, “Bravo!”

Additional reviews of Flora Segunda can be found at Triple Take.

Filed Under: Books, Children's Fiction, Fantasy, Triple Take

The Sharing Knife: Passage by Lois McMaster Bujold: B+

July 6, 2009 by 2 Comments

From the front flap:
Young Fawn Bluefield and soldier-sorcerer Dag Redwing Hickory have survived magical dangers and found, in each other, love and loyalty. But even their strength and passion cannot overcome the bigotry of their own kin, and so, leaving behind all they have known, the couple sets off to find fresh solutions to the perilous split between their peoples.

But they will not journey alone, as they acquire comrades along the way. As the ill-assorted crew is tested and tempered on its journey to where great rivers join, Fawn and Dag will discover surprising new abilities both Lakewalker and farmer, a growing understanding of the bonds between themselves and their kinfolk, and a new world of hazards both human and uncanny.

Review:
After one book taking place primarily in the farmer world and another that focuses on Lakewalker life, Passage, the third book in The Sharing Knife series, finds Dag and Fawn working to bring those two worlds closer together. Having witnessed the loss of life caused by farmers’ ignorance of the warning signs of a forming Malice, and not willing to stay at a camp at which the validity of his marriage is questioned, Dag gives up his patroller life and decides to become an ambassador of sorts, explaining some of the most fundamental Lakewalker secrets to what farmers as will listen.

After a brief stay with Fawn’s family, Dag and Fawn (along with her brother, Whit) hit the road, visiting a few towns and eventually booking passage on the Fetch, a flatboat headed downriver to the sea. From there, they encounter a variety of (mostly) likable characters, like Berry (boss of the Fetch), Remo and Barr (a pair of disgraced young patrollers), and a bevy of other boatmen. Dag performs several impressive feats of healing, works out some finer details of groundwork, ponders some troubling questions, and makes a lot of rather repetitive speeches. The action picks up a little when Berry’s search for her missing father, brother, and fiancé yields some unexpected results, and Dag is ultimately forced to question whether farmers and Lakewalkers aren’t better off living separate lives after all.

Although parts of Passage are quite slow—like the speeches and the many discussions on the ethics of Dag’s developing abilities—it’s still my favorite of the series thus far, a factor I attribute mostly to the influx of new people. Suddenly, a series that has been almost exclusively about two characters has developed an ensemble cast, and I find it to be a big improvement. My favorite of the new characters is actually not so new—Fawn’s brother Whit has been around before, but really becomes a new person due to the things he sees and experiences on this journey.

Whit’s growth also serves a handy example for one of my favorite things about the series: women’s roles. Bujold manages to show women in positions of power—boat captains, patrol leaders—about as often as women living more domestic lives without making a judgment about which has more value. Whit, having grown up on a farm, is used to men being in charge, and early on accuses Fawn of being “just a girl.” Dag expertly turns this around to talk about all of the brave and valiant things his first wife, Kauneo, accomplished when she was “just a girl.” After witnessing Fawn’s practical cleverness on several occasions, and having his notions of gender roles challenged by Berry, with whom he falls in love, Whit comes to value Fawn’s input in a way that the rest of her family does not.

Despite enjoying Passage quite a bit, I find I have some trepidations about Horizon, the fourth and final volume in the series. I do like Dag and Fawn, but they weren’t the main attraction for me this time. I hope Berry, Whit, Remo, and Barr have significant roles in Horizon else I shall be disappointed.

Additional reviews of The Sharing Knife: Passage can be found at Triple Take.

Filed Under: Books, Fantasy, Romance, Triple Take Tagged With:

The Lapis Lazuli Crown 1 by Natsuna Kawase: B

June 29, 2009 by 2 Comments

lapislazuli1In the country of Savarin, about 20% of the population can perform magic. Seventeen-year-old Miel comes from a long line of sorcerers, and though the family has fallen a bit since the days when their services were sought after at the palace, they’re still very respectable. Miel doesn’t have much interest in improving her own skills, though, until she meets Prince Radian (also known as Radi), whose positive encouragement inspires her to develop her magic so that she might be hired by the palace and be of use to him.

Though part of me takes umbrage with the idea that Miel doesn’t get serious about magic until a boy comes along, I can’t deny that The Lapis Lazuli Crown is a cute story, particularly for a younger audience. The episodic adventures, the art, and Miel’s plight—she’s good at written exams but not so hot at practical magic—all remind me of another CMX series, The Palette of 12 Secret Colors, which is a compliment.

The one genuine complaint I have is in regards to the bonus story, “Daisy Romance.” The lead character, Hanagiku, looks exactly like Miel, and the two male characters bear more than a passing resemblance to Radi and his retainer, Sieg. This makes for some disconcerting reading at first.

The Lapis Lazuli Crown is two volumes long and is published in English by CMX. Volume two is due out in September.

Review copy provided by the publisher. Review originally published at Manga Recon.

Filed Under: Fantasy, Manga, Shoujo Tagged With:

Fairy Tail 6 by Hiro Mashima: B

June 10, 2009 by 1 Comment

From the back cover:
Hotshot Natsu and his cool rival Gray are fighting to stop a calamity demon from being revived by Gray’s fellow disciple Lyon and Zalty, a master of lost magic. But while they try to defeat the bad guys, the magical ice binding the demon keeps melting. Then a grudge between Fairy Tail and a rival guild turns to all-out war!

Review:
In the Author’s Note at the end of the volume, Mashima says that he doesn’t do much planning ahead with his story. I think that shows with the way the Deliora arc plays out. There are a couple of switcheroos that, while they very well may have been intended from the beginning, make me suspect a last-minute easy out. Also, Lucy’s sudden escalation in importance at the end of the volume comes out of nowhere.

That’s not to say the result isn’t entertaining, though. The battles between Gray and Natsu and their opponents are pretty fun, with some new ice techniques from Gray and a new kind of magic—the ability to control time as it relates to objects—for Natsu’s opponent. Shounen staples like having faith in one’s companions, preventing one’s rival/ally from completing a noble self-sacrifice, forgiving the enemies’ sins due to mitigating angst, and delayed-reaction spurting wounds abound.

Though it’s disappointing that our heroes face virtually no punishment whatsoever (aside from some very creepy spanking the Master administers to Lucy) for undertaking an S-class quest (played up as an offense worthy of expulsion), the story picks up a bit once they return home to find that Fairy Tail headquarters has been virtually destroyed by a rival guild called Phantom Lord. Throughout the volume, less prominent members of Fairy Tail had been introduced on the chapter splash pages, and just as I’d been thinking I’d like to see some of these folks get to do something cool they’re given an opportunity to do so in a rather awesome brawl when Fairy Tail pays the rival guild a retaliatory visit.

Even though Lucy’s capture at the end of the volume is not the most original shounen plot device, some of the Phantom Lord opponents look interesting, so I’m looking forward to what’s to come.

Filed Under: Fantasy, Manga, Shounen Tagged With: ,

Animal Academy 1 by Moyamu Fujino: C+

June 1, 2009 by Leave a Comment

When Neko Fukuta is rejected by every other high school to which she applies, she ends up at Morimori Academy, a school where shape-shifting animals learn to act like humans. She’s allowed to remain, under the condition that she keeps her species a secret, and proceeds to make friends with her roommate, learn about the importance of road signs, encounter a mysterious snake, and meet a boy in her class who claims to be human and who seems awfully determined to get her away from Morimori.

Animal Academy will probably appeal most to its target demographic, since most of the story consists of Neko encountering cute animals and dealing with issues like “how do I make new friends without my possessive roommate feeling neglected?” There is some superficial mystery, too, like a last-minute addition that the school is all a “big lie,” but for the most part it’s pretty lightweight fare.

This is one of those series where the protagonists look a lot younger than they actually are, probably in an attempt to help the presumed ten-year-olds readers identify with high school students. I conducted an impromptu audit of the nearest human and asked my husband what grade he thought Neko was in. “Fourth or fifth?” he guessed. When I told him that the American equivalent is actually tenth, he responded, “Pfft. Maybe she’s the runt of the litter.”

While I doubt Animal Academy is a story that adults would enjoy, it really isn’t that bad. I confess that I am actually considering picking up volume two because I want to know what that snake’s deal is.

Animal Academy is published by TOKYOPOP. One volume has been released so far, while the series is complete in Japan at seven volumes.

Review copy provided by the publisher. Review originally published at Manga Recon.

Filed Under: Fantasy, Manga, Shounen Tagged With:

Gakuen Alice 7 by Tachibana Higuchi: B

May 25, 2009 by Leave a Comment

gakuen7For the most part, Gakuen Alice is a fairly episodic series about the adventures of spunky ten-year-old Mikan as she acclimates to attending a mysterious school whose students all have special powers known as Alices. Beginning in volume six, however, its first multi-volume arc, involving an organization that’s opposed to the Alice Academy and is responsible for infecting Mikan’s best friend, Hotaru, with a virus, gets underway. In volume seven, Mikan and friends are pursuing the organization responsible through a forest beset with dangerous traps.

The strong point of Gakuen Alice is the way it mixes darker revelations about the nature of the Academy and the uses to which it puts certain students with warmer scenes of Mikan and her friends. In this volume, this balance is somewhat thrust aside due to the “we’re journeying along a spooky trail, watch out for that laser beam” action that’s going on, but occasional nice moments shine through, mostly involving the sweet romantic triangle going on between Mikan, gentle animal-loving Luca, and Luca’s best friend Natsume. Natsume’s one of those tortured, self-denying characters who, rather than seek his own happiness, instead nudges Luca and Mikan together, because Luca being happy “is enough.” In other words, just the kind to win a shoujo fan’s heart.

While all of the journeying gets a little tiresome, the cliffhanger ending suggests that we might soon get some facts about Mikan’s mysterious origins, which would certainly be nice after all of the cryptic hinting that’s been going on. I’m looking forward to it.

Review originally published at Manga Recon.

Filed Under: Fantasy, Manga, Shoujo Tagged With: ,

Gakuen Alice 6 by Tachibana Higuchi: B+

May 25, 2009 by 3 Comments

gakuen6From the back cover:
A series of mysterious incidents in which Alices lose their powers strikes close to home when Prez’s abilities suddenly disappear! As if that isn’t bad enough, an encounter with “Z,” the Anti-Academy organization (who might be behind the missing Alices), leaves Hotaru sorely wounded. A cure may lie outside the school, but how will Mikan and her friends get past campus security?

Review:
Well, this is certainly an action-packed volume and more Potter-like than ever, involving several instances of students defying rules and taking matters into their own hands (and sometimes making things worse).

We’re probably supposed to admire the plucky bravery that makes Mikan declare she’s going to fight Z and help Hotaru, but seriously, how?! Still, I liked the reasons that made both Luca and Natsume decide to help her. Too, I like learning more about Hotaru—turns out she’s the kind of seemingly detached person who secretly relies a lot on the steady happiness of those around her, a personality with which I can completely identify.

While the plot to thwart the invaders and save Hotaru is the main focus, there are a lot of other questions and tidbits floating around, too. Things like Natsume overhearing some faculty talking about Mikan and also shirking an assignment from headquarters in order to help her, some mysterious girl who once lived with Luca and Natsume, Hotaru resolving to investigate the Academy’s treatment of Mikan, some possible recognition of the invaders from Z, and the fact that one of them may’ve recognized Mikan… At times, it can actually get to be rather too much, and part of why I’ve ennumerated all those things here is to help me keep track of them and see whether they’re adequately resolved in the future.

So far, this series has been pretty episodic, though there’ve always been some continuing threads woven throughout. Are we finally coming to the start of something more epic, or will this all be resolved tidily in a volume or so and we’ll be back to watching Luca frolic with woodland creatures?

Filed Under: Fantasy, Manga, Shoujo Tagged With: ,

Gakuen Alice 5 by Tachibana Higuchi: B+

May 24, 2009 by Leave a Comment

gakuen5From the back cover:
The Alice Festival is coming to a close, but the surprises and fun aren’t over for Mikan and her friends yet! Things get a little crazy for Narumi’s musical when an accident takes out some of the performers and Mikan has to step in as the star of the show. But what will happen when she and Luca have to kiss on stage?! And as if that’s not enough, as soon as the kids are back in class, it’s time for exams, and Mikan is in for some bad news when the scores come back!

Review:
I wonder how it is that this series is able to use common manga clichés without annoying me. First there was the genuinely entertaining school festival, and now there’s the tried and true “school play wherein the princess is played by a boy in drag” bit. I think it’s because Higuchi-sensei is able to use each scenario to both show the uniqueness of the school and bring about some nice moments for the characters. The play is totally goofy, for example, but Natsume ends up being kind to a super-cute little kid as well as thwarting a smooch between Mikan and Luca, so how could I not like that?

I also like that one’s expectations are subverted. Like, of course whenever a group works really hard like Mikan’s Special class did on their festival attraction, they’ll get the big medal at the end! Except they don’t, though they do get recognition of a sort. And, of course, when our plucky heroine buckles down to study for her exams (cue studying montage!) so that she can earn a visit to her grandpa, she’s going to win! Except Mikan gets the lowest grade in the class.

In addition to this, some of the mystery has returned with this volume, with some more details about Mikan’s parentage coming to light and more notice of her presence, and affect on Natsume, by the headmasters, which is definitely not a good thing. So far, at least, I get the impression that Higuchi knows where she’s going with this story, which is always something I appreciate.

Filed Under: Fantasy, Manga, Shoujo Tagged With: ,
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