This second "volume" of the Pretty Boy Detectives is quite short. I'd almost say it was a novella, or even a novelette, when it comes to pure word couThis second "volume" of the Pretty Boy Detectives is quite short. I'd almost say it was a novella, or even a novelette, when it comes to pure word count. Saying much about it would spoil it, but I can say that the "the Twenties" continue to lurk in the background, and we're introduced to a character from Kamikazari, the mysterious rival junior high across the way.
This series' status as "all ages" continues to be rather questionable. First of all, you have a (view spoiler)[gambling den run by junior high students, which includes junior high-aged girls in the role of bunny girl hostesses. (hide spoiler)] I understand the imagery; it's shorthand for (view spoiler)["a typical casino" (hide spoiler)], and especially when you have popular franchises like Dragon Quest--also for teens--using this exact same imagery, then it makes a certain kind of sense. Still gross, though.
And then there's the running "joke" about Sakiguchi of the Beautiful Voice. It's trotted out every few pages, and it's gotten old, and I suspect that it will continue to show up every few pages for another nine volumes. This gag is bad news whether you consider it a real joke or not. If it isn't a joke, and something that Mayumi is seriously concerned about regarding him, then he's a loathsome human being. If it is a joke, then the joke itself is loathsome.
A couple of quotes from Yukichi Fukuzawa and Antoine de Saint-Exupery add a little bit of solidity to the fluff, but fluff it absolutely is. It's creeping down into the 2.5-star zone as of this second volume. Now that its mystery structure (for a very loose definition of "mystery") has become apparent, there isn't a lot to make it compelling for me. Imaginative plotting only goes so far when you have one-note characters and off-putting elements as described above.
There are books that are genuinely girl-friendly, not the warped sham that's trying to pass for it here, with its protagonist who is basically a milder version of "a Nisioisin protagonist" and doesn't feel much like a girl at all, and "pretty boys" who aren't seen through anything even vaguely resembling a female gaze. Again, one should praise or criticize a book for what it is, and not for what it isn't. In this case, what it is, is an attempt at a female point of view that falls terribly flat, and makes me believe that Nisioisin is lacking in versatility when it comes to narrators and narrative stance.
I have the third book, and am debating whether I should spend an hour or two reading it, or just pass them along to my sibling and call it here. If I decide to read that third one, I'm going to need some other reading as a buffer between it and the various repetitive aspects of these books that are easily perceptible this early on....more
The revolution that's been fomenting throughout the Court of Fives series comes to a head, and comes to its conclusion, largely due to a strategy deviThe revolution that's been fomenting throughout the Court of Fives series comes to a head, and comes to its conclusion, largely due to a strategy devised by Jessamy.
Here's another series that I'd like to love, more than I actually love. Here we have an author who's written adult SFF for years, making her first foray into YA, and my final response to it is: eh, it was all right. Whenever that happens, I feel a pang of regret.
There's seriously a lot to like here. The world-building is excellent. The two cultures in conflict--one aboriginal, the other colonizers--are distinct: their religion, their social strata, clothing, gender roles, all different from each other, delineated economically and vividly. Jessamy's a fun character, perhaps even more so because she's nearly my complete opposite. She's athletic, outgoing, and bold, never hesitant to draw attention or use others toward her own ends. The whole trilogy is quick-paced, thrilling, and fun to read, just what I'd hope for from a YA, and there's enough left open at the end to give the reader's imagination free rein after the final page. Sexuality is dealt with discreetly, and also without judgment or leering. Injury, pain and death are treated seriously, like the life-changing events they are, but aren't grimdark-ly dwelt upon.
(One obvious contrast that struck me is Jes' time imprisoned as a mine laborer, vs. Celaena's in the very early part of Throne of Glass. Jes witnesses starvation and sexual assault, and has a terrible infection as the result of taking a whip crack to the face. Celaena is more: "my hair got so scraggly and even worse, my boobs got smaller!")
Back to Buried Heart: on the downside, the bonds between Jes and the other characters, aside from her immediate family, didn't feel real to me. There were so many occasions where she came across someone she'd dealt with earlier in the series, treating them like a best friend, and my gut response was: "Who is this?" Her relationship with Kalliarkos never really gelled for me, either. Their athletic rivalry felt solid, especially in that very striking scene at the end of volume 1, but their love relationship, not really.
The thing that made this fall flat for me the most, is the one that's most difficult for me to express. This series never gave me a sense of wonder, or made me emotional. It didn't drift into being purely workmanlike, but it came close enough that I didn't feel like we could open our hearts to each other. Was it workshopped too much? Was it too beholden to its outline, not given permission to be messy or surprising? I have no idea! But that's the impression it left with me.
I'd recommend Elliott's Spiritwalker trilogy over this series, for YA readers as well as adults. It, uh, had permission to be messy. :D But it's also more fun than this one, and the characters are more memorable and appealing.
The Court of Fives trilogy won't be a keeper for me, but I'm definitely still up for reading more of Elliott's books. Spirit Gate will be the next one!...more
Mayumi has wanted to be an astronaut ever since she was five years old, when she saw an exceptionally bright star on a family trip. She's been lookingMayumi has wanted to be an astronaut ever since she was five years old, when she saw an exceptionally bright star on a family trip. She's been looking for that star ever since, but never saw it again. She's decided--at least partially at the insistence of her parents--to give up her dream on the day she turns 14. On the very last day before her fourteenth birthday, she turns to the Pretty Boy Detective Club at her school for help in finding the elusive star.
Mayumi's fourteenth birthday ends up being pretty exciting, and includes--among other things--a triple kidnapping, a car and bicycle chase, and her cross-dressing as a boy to elude some pursuers. Will she live to give up her dream?
I've read three of Nisioisin's books all the way through now, and one a little less than halfway, and let's just say his books and I have a... prickly relationship. Conceptually they're fairly cool, and (nothing to do with their texts) his publishers always choose excellent artists for their covers and illustrations. On the downside, the writing style is distant and affectless, which makes them feel like intellectual exercises rather than stories about genuine human beings (or monsters). And there's so much cringe, at times. I think it's supposed to be titillating, but those parts come across as pandering and creepy.
This book's blurb claims that it's for all audiences, and that claim is pretty dubious. It isn't as excessive in its cringeworthiness as some of Nisiosin's other books, but I wouldn't recommend it to anybody who hadn't made it to junior high at least. There are multiple uses of the word "shit," many joking references to pedophilia (one of the pretty boys is in an arranged marriage engagement with a girl who is currently in first grade, you see) and to looking up women's skirts.
On the whole, though, I enjoyed this one. The things mentioned in the previous paragraph crop up only occasionally, and other than that it's a fun, hectic story with some rather odd characters, each with a partiular mien, and one hobby or personality quirk: the tough guy/epicure, the stoic scion/artiste, and so on.
Here's an example of Nisiosin's writing style:
There could hardly be a less suitable place to park a limo than next to a school, but its conspicuous size alone made it an awful choice for criminal activity.
I couldn't understand why Rei would choose such a noticeable vehicle for her crimes, but who knows? Maybe she just hadn't thought about it.
One upside was that they probably weren't pulled over by the police very often....
The whole book is told in this stream-of-consciousness style, rambling along in our narrator's head rather than focusing on the action much of the time. Sometimes it gives me a headache, but Mayumi's baffled responses to her oddball compatriots did make me chuckle at times.
Nisioisin writes something like five novels a year, which is a testament to his dedication to his craft. With that kind of output it isn't too surprising that the ones I've read all kind of feel the same. (There are prolific authors in English who I could say the same thing of.) I'm not sure what keeps bringing me back to his books, because I've ditched other authors forever when their books annoyed me to a lesser degree than his stuff does. It's a weird relationship, for sure. I'll keep on with this series, and with Katanagatari, so look forward to more reviews like this in the future, I suppose!...more
As many light novels do, Shakugan no Shana started out promisingly. While walking along on his habitual route to or from school, Yuji Sakai witnesses As many light novels do, Shakugan no Shana started out promisingly. While walking along on his habitual route to or from school, Yuji Sakai witnesses a magical battle between some monsters and a girl with flame-red hair. Unfortunately, he is killed as a side effect of the conflict, and becomes a revenant with a glow that marks him as a "Torch."* He's also the receptacle for a magical object called a "treasure tool."*
The flame-haired girl--later called Shana--ends up taking up the identity of a girl in Yuji's school whose torchlight burned out, in order to protect Yuji and the artifact within him. Friagne, a powerful sorcerer, is seeking artifacts like the one Yuji possesses, so he can attain the Power of Existence.* (I think. I never was able to figure out exactly what purpose these people were aiming toward by fighting each other.) Let the magical battles commence!
In the first half of the book, questions of mortality gave Yuji's situation a tinge of pathos. As a Torch, the light within him will burn out eventually, and the world will forget he ever existed. Shana's situation has some pathos as well. She was a living girl until she became a "Flame Haze,"* and until Yuji gives her a name (more on this in a bit), she doesn't even have one. Who was she before she became "Shana"? How did her existence become one of unrelenting battle?
* there's a lot of this kind of terminology in the book, much of it Capitalized. this scaffolding can safely be ignored, imo.
Unfortunately, none of these questions are addressed in this book. As happens with many light novels, an intriguing premise gives way to the most tiresome tropes imaginable, especially when it comes to the relationship between Yuji and Shana. Prepare yourself for:
The male lead busting in on the heroine, totally by accident, really, while she's changing!™ "It isn't like you're my type!"™ (Dear heavens I hate this one so much.) "How'd she get in my bed? Oh, she's so warm ♥"™
And then there's this whole thing towards the end of the book where Yuji ponders how he's changed Shana and how that might affect her ability to fight. At first he seemed like a sympathetic character, and I was excited about reading a light novel for boys that wasn't full of sexist garbage like tallying girls' breast sizes.
But in the end, it added up to sexism anyway. Yuji is the sole driver of the story, and Shana objectified, and gradually stripped of autonomy or change--or anything, really--that comes from within herself and not solely from her story role or her interactions with Yuji. She doesn't even get to choose her own name.
Less than twenty pages from the end, we get this from Alastor, the Lord who Shana is contracted to (part of the lore, don't worry about it): (view spoiler)["She could have been anything in this world. An artist renowned for generations to come, a politician to move the nation, a courageous warrior in the battlefield, an infamous criminal of wicked deeds... or even their mother. This child is the Great One..." (hide spoiler)] This is fascinating. But also too little, too late, in my opinion. And then Yuji turns out to be a Torch (view spoiler)[with an infinitely rechargeable battery (hide spoiler)], and... good grief... way to nullify one of the more interesting aspects of the book!
This is probably just my current mentality speaking, since I've had a rocky relationship with other media recently, but this book was discouraging to read. There were great opportunities here that, in my opinion, were squandered in favor of the same old, same old. Shakugan no Shana was so disappointing that I was tempted to give up on reading light novels entirely, for a moment there.
Nah. Giving up is for chumps. I'll find the elusive four- or five-star light novel eventually. Maybe. Or maybe not, but it won't be for lack of trying. My Next Life as a Villainess came really close, actually. It's too bad its translation wasn't up to scratch.
I bought the second one of these in the enthusiasm I felt during its first half, but suspect that this series will be "one and done" like the other two-star light novels I've read. Since nothing beyond the second volume was officially translated into English, my time with it will be short either way....more
**spoiler alert** So Meg ends up being both the womanliest of women, and the manliest of women. I'm pretty satisfied with that. The way it panned out **spoiler alert** So Meg ends up being both the womanliest of women, and the manliest of women. I'm pretty satisfied with that. The way it panned out reminded me a lot of Revolutionary Girl Utena.
This manga's most interesting facet for me was its look into street fighting culture (as the author perceives it?). There's a kind of ethos or morality to it that I hadn't expected. Being good at it is both a matter of skill and outlook, or even character. I'm sure that there are plenty of other manga that go into this, but it's the first time I've come across it. And possibly the last, since it isn't exactly a topic that naturally fascinates me.
The central crew is fun, and as mentioned in my other reviews of this series, the author's take on gender is more thoughtful than I had expected going in. It's honestly quite cool that Meg can hold her own in the man's world of street fighting*, all the way to the end. The major setback for the whole series is the thug characters, who are so identical they may as well be the same guy: nasty without nuance, and often potential rapists into the bargain.
*if this is called something else, please forgive me. not my area of expertise.
Cheeky Angel was definitely something unique in my library, and on the whole, was worth reading all the way through. I still doubt I'm going to keep it, even though the author tells us, on the last page, to read it again from the beginning. (I can understand doing it to see if Meg's ending was what Nishimori intended from the first volume, or if there might have been some retconning. I didn't love this series enough to take the time to find out.) I've gotten about as much out of it as I'm likely to, and it never really elevated itself beyond being mildly compelling, interesting and/or funny....more
I gave vol. 17 two stars, mostly because of how tired the plotting was. I didn't feel like Miki's ex-fiancé Gakusan needed to come back, and he and hiI gave vol. 17 two stars, mostly because of how tired the plotting was. I didn't feel like Miki's ex-fiancé Gakusan needed to come back, and he and his thugs are such obvious black hats that they're boring to read about. For the most part, Cheeky Angel's author Nishimori has done fairly well at creating imaginative situations for the characters to respond to, that are also fun and funny to read. This arc's somewhat more serious, and maybe that's why my response was lukewarm to start with. This volume is probably not better than the previous one, if looked at "objectively," but I enjoyed it more, so it goes back to getting three stars.
At first, I was annoyed with this volume's (view spoiler)[brainwashing (hide spoiler)] plot: something that, for me, shows that an author is running out of ideas and is relying on overused tropes. However, Megumi is (view spoiler)[easily able to break the hypnotism. That does open up the question whether (1) the story acknowledges that hypnotism doesn't work that way (and Gakusan was taken in by a con artist), or (2) Meg is just that strong-willed. I'm going to go with (2) because there is no evidence whatsoever for (1). She's (hide spoiler)] moving on to solving her predicament in her own distinct way--playing off others' perception of her being a girl (view spoiler)[(crying and cowering) for the cameras trained on her (hide spoiler)], while also acting proactively (view spoiler)[to free herself (hide spoiler)], as would be expected of the main character of a fighting manga.
Just a couple volumes to go. There is absolutely no way this series' ending will elevate it above the "worth reading exactly once" level, but it's been decent enough to keep me reading it, and that ain't a bad thing....more
It's still fun to follow this silly friendship group around, but half of this volume didn't make any sense to me, and the series has the feeling that It's still fun to follow this silly friendship group around, but half of this volume didn't make any sense to me, and the series has the feeling that it's stalling for time until its editors pull the plug on it. Comedy manga tends not to last this long before I get tired of it*, so Cheeky Angel has done better than most. My rating for this volume might not reflect its actual quality.
* The most noteworthy exception is Ranma 1/2, which took about 30 volumes to start feeling tedious....more
The "womanliest woman" competition story concludes in this volume. The would-be rapists (sigh) are clobbered, and... there's no real conclusion to theThe "womanliest woman" competition story concludes in this volume. The would-be rapists (sigh) are clobbered, and... there's no real conclusion to the contest.
Next, Genjo and Meg turn 16 within a couple of days of each other. Apparently, at the time this comic came out in Japan, eligible marriage age for girls was 16, and for boys 18. Meg's family wastes no time arranging a debut party for her so she can meet a bunch of adult marriage candidates. (ew.) An obvious player of a foreign prince takes Meg out on a date, and Ichiro and Genzo rush to chase them down.
Despite how creepy parts of the second arc were, I did laugh once or twice, especially when it comes to the vehicles Genzo and Ichiro use in pursuit of the prince. (view spoiler)[a public bus, and a children's wagon! :D (hide spoiler)] It's pretty obvious that neither of these two are ready to be adults yet.
This manga continues to both question gender essentialism and double down on it. The author occasionally adds a new twist, like Miki perhaps losing her memory of Meg having been a boy. (A twist that is brought up and then abruptly forgotten.) I feel that the major plot well of this manga has run dry. Seeing there are just a few volumes left, I'm fine with it running through a few more comedy arcs before the whimsical imp makes his final decision about Meg's fate....more
Dawnhounds has great LGBT representation, a cool setting, appealing characters.
Unfortunately, from very early on, a sense of confusion set in, like IDawnhounds has great LGBT representation, a cool setting, appealing characters.
Unfortunately, from very early on, a sense of confusion set in, like I'd skipped reading sections of the book, or forgotten something important. This feeling was overwhelming in the last third of the book, so I'm pretty confident it isn't just impending memory problems. The climax seemed to come out of nowhere: huge explosions with not enough build-up. Straightforward prose works against its weirdness.
I risk writing a critique rather than a review if I go into too much more detail, and I've also kind of thought myself out about it putting a post together for my reading group. Actually, here, I'll cheat and just copy what I posted to the group here behind a spoiler tag. :D It was intended for people who'd already read the book, so there's some missing context (irony!) and possible minor spoilers.
What we see of it is interesting! The city, the sea, the place where Sibbi's ex-husband rules.
2. What worked or didn't for you?
What worked: I liked the cast of characters. Yat, Sen, Sibbi and Ajat, Fea, Wajet. Even some of the ones who were just sketched in to give a better impression of a crew, like Iacci, the violinist who has a preoccupation with mice.
What didn't work: The last third or so of this book was a huge bummer. I could see what was happening, but not why anything was happening. There was a lot of "connective tissue" missing that would make that part of the story resonant and exciting.
3. How do you feel about the use of magic and tech?
The plant magic was quite cool. I like the idea of a house that cleans up the little bits of detritus from humans and uses it to sustain itself. The drawbridge at the end was an interesting idea, too. I wouldn't mind living in a city made of plants, that largely replaces one made of steel and brick.
The tech, not so much. A lot of it was unclear. Like, those last two pages. We're SF all of a sudden?
4. Do you think this deserved an award/was it Hugo-worthy for you?
In a pool that only contained self-pub books, I might consider it. Otherwise, no. This does not feel like a polished book. I read it in paper, but it felt like it ought to be in e-book. Especially since the formatting was pretty bad in paper. Missing page numbers, no justification on the right-hand side. (hide spoiler)]
Lots of promise with a disappointing execution. Two and a half stars, rounded down....more
Super-spy "Twilight" is on a mission that entails infiltrating an elite children's school. Unfortunately, he doesn't have a spouse or child. So he'll Super-spy "Twilight" is on a mission that entails infiltrating an elite children's school. Unfortunately, he doesn't have a spouse or child. So he'll have to find some! He goes to a random orphanage and adopts a little girl, and happens upon a single woman in town, and for their own reasons, each agrees to join Twilight's household and form a faux-family.
It turns out that the child, Anya, is a telepath, and Yor is an assassin! Anya knows the adults' identities, but neither of the other two know the others' secrets. Their goal of getting Anya into Eden Academy won't be an easy one.
This manga started out a little slow for me: too much politics, and not enough humor for something I'd expected to be a comedy. But once Yor joins the cast, it's great. These three characters bouncing off each other, all trying desperately to keep their secrets--and Twilight and Yor failing miserably, from the reader's perspective, as they beat the snot out of various nasty people they come across--are fun to watch, and there are a lot of silly moments. In true Shonen Jump fashion, there are some sweet and touching parts as well, as we see this fake family start on its way to becoming a real one. I'm looking forward to reading more of this....more
I loved the sense of neighborhood in this YA novel, set in Brooklyn and its New York surroundings. Old brownstones nudge uncomfortably against the encI loved the sense of neighborhood in this YA novel, set in Brooklyn and its New York surroundings. Old brownstones nudge uncomfortably against the encroaching coffee houses and condos of gentrification, and BIPoC and whites nudge uncomfortably against each other, too. Street murals hold ancestral magic. That part of it is all great!
Unfortunately, the characters weren't anywhere near as vibrant as their surroundings, and at times I couldn't tell anyone apart aside from what generation they were in. Shadowshaping's capabilities here seemed too dependent on what the plot needed. Main character Sierra jumped from novice to master in no time flat.
Sierra's romance was unconvincing and unnecessary. She and Robbie could have easily worked together as new-fledged shadowshapers without it. Family conflicts are also dealt with too simply. I don't see deep-seated issues being resolved forever by shouting at mom or auntie for a few sentences and flouncing off.
On the whole, I wish that the people in this story, and the relationships between them, came across as strongly as their backdrop did....more
Neither this arc--the eighth of the Higurashi series--nor the previous one justify their excessive length. This arc, the longest of them all, is eightNeither this arc--the eighth of the Higurashi series--nor the previous one justify their excessive length. This arc, the longest of them all, is eight regular-sized manga volumes (four big chonkers in its NA edition). The last two arcs state their themes and intended lessons straightforwardly, tie up every single loose thread, and explain all the mysteries in explicit detail, and in the process--in my opinion--somewhat spoil what, up to that point, was a mysterious and scary set of alternate-earth scenarios.
This volume ends on a good note, so I'll be generous and give it one more star. In the long term, I won't be keeping my physical copies of either the Massacre Arc or this arc. One read-through of the endgame as conceived by its original authors was good enough for me.
Of course, my indifference to the larger story's conclusion comes down to personal preference. I enjoyed Higurashi much more as a series of horror tales than as a (view spoiler)[battle manga with a feel-good happy ending for every single character (hide spoiler)].
The end of arc 6 ends things in a satisfactory way, with budding hope for the futures of Keiichi, Mion, and co., and leaves plenty of room for the reader to create their own explanation of the mysteries that lie at the heart of Hinamizawa. So in my head canon, that's where it really ends. Sorry, (view spoiler)[Hanyu! (hide spoiler)]...more
This is the volume where all the adult men in the story--entirely side characters up to this arc--have an opportunity to clench their teeth and clenchThis is the volume where all the adult men in the story--entirely side characters up to this arc--have an opportunity to clench their teeth and clench their fists. Yawn. Just one more volume to go.......more
This series went on for one more volume in "official" English translation, but this is the last volume I have. Once again, I'm struck by the parallelsThis series went on for one more volume in "official" English translation, but this is the last volume I have. Once again, I'm struck by the parallels in basic plot arc with Hidaka's later series V.B. Rose. Eight volumes in, we have a long series of revelations about the hero's past, and (view spoiler)[the main couple finally declares their love after a lot of stalling (hide spoiler)]. :D Right on schedule!
Compared to the pace of the first volumes of this manga, these last couple have been pretty hectic. But this is a cozy story at heart, and there's never a sense that anyone will come to lasting harm. Frayed relationships will mend, emotional wounds will heal, and all will be well in the end.
The situation with hero Maki's half-brother Saki--and yes, I got their names confused at times--wasn't resolved by the end of this volume, but I'm not too worried about it. (See the previous paragraph.) I never managed to get as attached to these characters as I did with Tears of a Lamb or VBR, and the repetitive plot and character elements meant my interest slid off this story pretty easily. This isn't a keeper for me, and I won't be pursuing volume 9, but it was worth a look to see Hidaka's early work, and how her storytelling developed (and didn't develop) over time....more
Every few chapters a new character is introduced: this time around it's a previously unseen half-brother of Maki's, and a junior college student who iEvery few chapters a new character is introduced: this time around it's a previously unseen half-brother of Maki's, and a junior college student who is running a fashion show as part of her course work. Of course, Kazuya is called on to model, and Sugimoto will be doing her hair. Hidaka recycled a lot of character types and situations between this earlier series and V.B. Rose, and the more characters who are introduced, the more obvious that gets.
This story chugs along in a kind of soothing monotone, and seems more about creating a mood than anything actually happening. I've enjoyed seeing Hidaka's earlier work here, and I really like Kazuha's large and boisterous family. This story's sweet, extremely low-key storytelling is easy to flow along with, though I tend not to remember much about it after any given volume is done....more
Loading...
