Comic, 192 pages
English language
Published May 2, 2005 by VIZ Media LLC.
The characters are interesting and quite likeable. The first setting of the story is very bleak. Also, the humour works quite well.
I had high hopes, and it was pressed into my hands by an acquaintance, in exchange for me forcing "Watchmen" on them, so expectations were high. But I just couldn't get along with it at all.
On a frame-by-frame level, I'm unused to the Manga style of dialog and presentation (eg overblown reaction shots when a character is outraged, etc), which presumably is all heavily dependant on conventions of Japanese language and culture. To me it just seems, at times, puzzlingly opaque and juvenile. No doubt the fault is mine.
At a higher level, I was failing to pick up on any interesting themes or symbolic content. It's just a ripping yarn about some boys in a world of magic. Which has its place! It wouldn't surprise me if a reader with relevant experience tells me I'm missing important things here. But, lacking that insight, this one wasn't …
I had high hopes, and it was pressed into my hands by an acquaintance, in exchange for me forcing "Watchmen" on them, so expectations were high. But I just couldn't get along with it at all.
On a frame-by-frame level, I'm unused to the Manga style of dialog and presentation (eg overblown reaction shots when a character is outraged, etc), which presumably is all heavily dependant on conventions of Japanese language and culture. To me it just seems, at times, puzzlingly opaque and juvenile. No doubt the fault is mine.
At a higher level, I was failing to pick up on any interesting themes or symbolic content. It's just a ripping yarn about some boys in a world of magic. Which has its place! It wouldn't surprise me if a reader with relevant experience tells me I'm missing important things here. But, lacking that insight, this one wasn't for me.
On of less than ten books I've failed to finish in my lifetime.
This will count as the review of the whole series, because I am too lazy to add each volume to my library. I loved this story.
Begins picking up the plot at the end of the book. The first three chapters are really just exposition and over-the-top characterization. While I appreciate the need for this, I really think it could've been done in just one chapter.
Ah well. On to book two!
Begins picking up the plot at the end of the book. The first three chapters are really just exposition and over-the-top characterization. While I appreciate the need for this, I really think it could've been done in just one chapter.
Ah well. On to book two!
