S.Q. Eries's Blog, page 51

Manga Review: Sword Art Online: Fairy Dance Vol. 001

Sword Art Online was undoubtedly one of the most popular anime of 2012. Based upon a series of light novels by Reki Kawahara, SAO’s near-future characters, gorgeous fantasy setting, and life-or-death stakes drew an enthusiastic fan following. Yen Press has recently released Volume 1 of the Sword Art Online: Fairy Dance manga adaption, and you can read on for the review. (For my review of  Sword Art Online: Aincrad, click here.)

Back Cover Blurb

Kazuto Kirigaya (aka Kirito) has beaten Sword Art Online, a VRMMORPG that transformed into a literal game of death, and returned to the real world. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Asuna Yuuki (aka Asuna the Flash), the girl with whom Kirito fell in love in the virtual world of Aincrad but who has yet to awaken from her game-induced slumber. As his sister, Suguha, sadly looks on, Kazuto continues to visit Asuna in the hospital in the hope of finding answers. But when one day he meets a man claiming to be Asuna’s fiancé, Kazuto fears that Asuna may be lost to him forever… That is until a fellow survivor of SAO taken form the latest VRMMORPG sensation, ALfheim Online – a screenshot that features someone being held captive who looks entirely too much like Asuna! His hope renewed, Kirito dives headlong into an all-new virtual adventure, but can true love conquer the game?!

The Review

Unlike Sword Art Online: Aincrad, which was released in a single 375-page volume, Sword Art Online: Fairy Dance is being released in multiple volumes. For those familiar with the light novel or anime, the first volume of Fairy Dance covers the story up to when our heroes reach the underground lake before Lugru. As such, the 226-page Fairy Dance Volume 001 is only $13 versus Aincrad’s $20 cover price. In addition, Fairy Dance features a different mangaka for the artwork: Tsubasa Haduki. For those familiar with the TV series, Haduki-sensei’s illustrations are a close match to the anime, much closer than Nakamura-sensei’s in Aincrad.

Fairy Dance picks up where Aincrad left off. Kirito’s made it safely back to the real world, but of the surviving Aincrad players, three hundred have yet to awaken, and Asuna is one of them. Then Kirito receives a screenshot taken from within the latest VRMMORPG sensation, ALfheim Online – a screenshot of someone that looks strikingly like Asuna.

Sequels often have difficulty living up to the bar set by their predecessors, and Fairy Dance sadly falls several notches below Aincrad. Because Aincrad ended with Kirito beating Kayaba and his game, the continuation requires a new game and a new challenge. However, ALfheim Online, although it does have nefarious underpinnings, isn’t nearly as gripping as the you-die-in-the-game-you-die-for-real Aincrad world. As for the stakes, they’re much more personal for Kirito, but they render Asuna helpless. With Asuna literally immobile, Kawahara-sensei introduces Kirito’s cousin Suguha to be the new active female lead.

Suguha has a pleasant enough personality, but she’s difficult to relate to, mainly because of the massive squick factor. She’s got a huge crush on Kirito despite the fact that they’ve been raised as siblings, and up until the SAO incident, she believed Kirito was actually her brother. While I can see how a new romantic element would spice up the story, Kawahara-sensei could have done without the incest element. In addition, Haduki-sensei lays on the fanservice rather thick, and Suguha is the primary subject. Perhaps this is to appeal to a more shonen audience, but it’s ridiculous how her super-ample breasts look ready to pop out of her clothes in almost every scene.

Kawahara-sensei’s new villain Sugou is also lacking. In Aincrad, Kayaba was larger-than-life, an opponent as epic as the virtual world he created, and the Heathcliff/Kayaba connection was a wonderful twist. Sugou, on the other hand, is more of a garden-variety mad scientist bad guy. He is thoroughly disgusting and conniving but very much a stereotype. Despite his lack of character depth, Sugou does serve to act as Kirito’s adversary with the advantage in both the real and virtual worlds.

Extras include the title page printed in color, story summary, background guide blurbs, and closing remarks from the creators.

In Summary

While some Kirito/Asuna fans may enjoy seeing Kirito diving into the virtual world of ALfheim to rescue Asuna, I’m not particularly thrilled to see “The Flash” reduced to a damsel in distress. I’m even less thrilled with Kirito’s new female companion in ALfheim and the incestuous overtones of her obsession with him. Squick factor aside, the world of ALfheim, despite its fairy wings and magic spells, is very much a fluffy shadow of Aincrad. While SAO fans will see the return of some of their favorite characters in Fairy Dance, they shouldn’t expect the same level of intensity and drama in Sword Art Online: Aincrad.

First published at the Fandom Post.

Research Ramblings: The Spartan Citizenry, Part 10

As noted in my May 2, 2014 post, Spartan warriors were an interesting bunch, and I’m continuing my series on them with today’s fact:

Spartan men lived in the barracks until thirty.

From the ages of seven to thirty, Spartan males lived apart from their families. While that helped engender camaraderie among the soldiers, it also had a major impact on Spartan family life, especially since men married in their 20s. Once they turned thirty, however, they could move in with their wives and children, who’d probably seen little of their fathers till then.

Tune in next week for more about the Spartans!

Manga Review: My Little Monster Vol. 2

There’s the type of shojo manga where a girl really can envision herself as the heroine. And then there are those where the characters are constantly going off the deep end. My Little Monster falls into the latter category, and if your taste in high school romance leans toward the improbable and wacky, this title might be up your alley. Kodansha  has just released Volume 2 of the English translation, and you can read on for the review. (For my review of Volume 1, click here.)

Back Cover Blurb

Haru’s big brother suddenly appears with unclear motives. What is clear is Haru’s hatred for his big brother. Haru disappears at the sight of his big brother and Mizutani is left with even more questions about Haru. What are her feelings for him? How can she make him like her? And what is the deal with his big brother?

The Review

Summer break in high school manga often means vacation arcs that feature characters in a more relaxed, non-school setting, but Robico limits the holiday pages to one chapter. Although it’s disappointingly short, we do get to see Haru and company at the beach (in a brief four-page stint) and on a fishing trip in the mountains. Haru is his usual wild and reckless self, and Shizuku is serious as ever despite the different settings, but toward the end of the summer break chapter, we get an interesting development: the introduction of Haru’s older brother Yuzan.

We caught a glimpse of Yuzan in Volume 1, but in Volume 2, he really steps in to invade Haru’s life. One of the mysteries of this manga is the root cause of Haru’s unique personality. With Yuzan’s arrival, we don’t get all the answers, but the information he provides about the Yoshida family is certainly enough to keep readers interested and pique curiosity about Haru’s dad.

In addition to Yuzan, we get another new character: Class Representative Oshima. She leads an isolated existence, similar to the kind Natsume, Shizuku, and Haru used to have at school, but her lack of friends isn’t due to a wacky personality. Rather it stems from a gloomy attitude and a lack of initiative. She gets thrown into the story mainly to cause strain in the Haru/Shizuku relationship. While Oshima’s crush on Haru does create an emotional stir for Shizuku, who is still sorting out her feelings for Haru, the meek class representative is hardly aggressive enough to spark a love triangle. In fact, she looks likely to be overshadowed by the rest of the cast.

Extras include four-panel comics interspersed through the book and translation notes.

In Summary

Haru’s estranged brother makes a forcible entrance in Volume 2. While he’s not wild like Haru, he has his own flavor of quirkiness. His appearance causes all sorts of inconveniences for Shizuku, but more interesting than his hijinks is what he reveals about the Yoshida family. Shizuku also continues to struggle with her romantic feelings for Haru, but it’s really Haru and Yuzan’s sibling dynamic that dominates this volume.

First published at the Fandom Post.

Research Ramblings: The Spartan Citizenry, Part 9

As noted in my May 2, 2014 post, Spartan warriors were an interesting bunch, and I’m continuing my series on them with today’s fact:

Attendance was very important at the Spartan dining messes.

In fact, only two excuses were acceptable for absentees:

Hunting trip
Requirement to perform religious sacrifice

I wasn’t able to find out what happened to those who didn’t have a valid excuse, but knowing the Spartans, the punishment was probably severe.

Tune in next week for more about the Spartans!

Research Ramblings: The Spartan Citizenry, Part 8

As noted in my May 2, 2014 post, Spartan warriors were an interesting bunch, and I’m continuing my series on them with today’s fact:

After graduating from the Agoge, a boy had to get elected to a common mess.

Military ability wasn’t enough to ensure citizenship; a boy had to prove himself socially as well by securing a place in a common mess. These dining messes were more than just a place to eat. They were more like fraternities or clubs. Some were more exclusive and desirable than others, and the most exclusive were the ones where the Kings dined. If a youth failed to get elected to a common mess by the time he reached twenty, he would lose his citizenship.

Tune in next week for more about the Spartans!

Light Novel Review: Spice and Wolf Vol. #11

Spice and Wolf is a wildly popular light novel series that has spawned off an anime, an Internet radio show, and a manga series. While its European medieval setting is typical of high fantasy, this series has a unique bent. Rather than swordfights and magic, the plot focuses on economics, trade, and peddling in a way that skillfully blends adventure and romance.

Yen Press has recently released the eleventh volume of this series, and you can read on for the review. (You can also click here for my reviews of previous Spice and Wolf releases).

Back Cover Blurb

As with the first Side Colors volume, Side Colors II departs once more from Lawrence and Holo’s travels north, taking the reader off the beaten path to explore three exquisite side stories. Remember, it’s not so much about the destination, as it is the journey…

The Review

Like the first Side Colors volume, Spice and Wolf Volume 11: Side Colors II is a collection of short stories set in the Spice and Wolf world: The Wolf and the Golden Promise, The Wolf and the Verdant Detour, and The Black Wolf’s Cradle.

Those who prefer Holo and Lawrence’s interactions without to the presence of the youngster Col will likely enjoy the first two stories. Hasekura-sensei doesn’t specify when The Wolf and the Golden Promise takes place, but it is during the period when they are still using Lawrence’s horse and cart. While traveling through a remote area, Lawrence and Holo stumble upon Jisahz, a colony village with fat chickens, tasty ale, and no means of getting their goods to market. It’s a golden opportunity for a traveling merchant, thus the business bent in this story is Lawrence’s efforts to establish a new trade relationship. At first, he manages handily on his own, quickly gaining respect by settling a long-time dispute between two colonists. This rather irritates Holo, but I was glad to see it. Holo so often goes on and on about Lawrence’s inexperience and foolishness it’s nice to see him do well on his own once in a while. However, being a Spice and Wolf story, another problem arises, which only Holo’s wisdom can resolve. While I can’t say Holo’s solution made much sense to me, it works for the village settlers, turning this into yet another instance where Lawrence’s and Holo’s combined efforts result in profit.

The Wolf and the Verdant Detour is a much shorter work. The 17-page story is little more than banter between Lawrence and Holo as Lawrence takes a detour that makes him look like the stereotypical lost male who refuses to ask for directions. To me, it feels more like a fanfiction than a full-fledged story.

The third, longest, and most interesting story, The Black Wolf’s Cradle, doesn’t feature Holo at all. Instead, it tells of Eve’s initiation into trade. Eve, whom I consider more of a fox than a black wolf, isn’t a character I’m fond of, but the story does offer insight into how a sentimental girl of noble birth turns into a woman bold enough to sink a ship to frustrate her competition. The text does drag in places where it emphasizes Eve’s ignorance a bit overmuch, and when she signs her first contract, a seemingly no-risk deal with a perfect gentleman, you know it’s too good to be true. However, the story’s final conclusion was a complete surprise. I still don’t like Eve much, but I understand her more now.

This light novel includes the title page, four illustrations, and the table of contents printed in color as well as eight black-and-white illustrations. I should note that two of the black-and-white illustrations are placed within the wrong stories.

In Summary

Hasekura-sensei presents an interesting variety in Side Stories II. The Wolf and the Golden Promise offers a compressed version of Holo and Lawrence’s usual business ventures. The Wolf and the Verdant Detour lacks an economics bent and seems aimed towards those who enjoy Holo and Lawrence’s travel banter. As for The Black Wolf’s Cradle, that story delves into the ill-fated deal that turns Fleur Bolan into the resolute and ruthless Eve. In his closing notes, Hasekura-sensei mentions writing a side story on Norah, and considering how well he executed Eve’s story, I look forward to what he does with the shy shepherdess.

First published at the Fandom Post.

Research Ramblings: The Spartan Citizenry, Part 7

As noted in my May 2, 2014 post, Spartan warriors were an interesting bunch, and I’m continuing my series on them with today’s fact:

If a boy failed to graduate from the Agoge, he lost his citizenship.

The purpose of the Agoge was to prepare boys for the Spartan army. If he couldn’t handle the training, he couldn’t be a soldier, and that meant he couldn’t be a citizen either.

Tune in next week for more about the Spartans!

Manga Review: Are You Alice? Vol. 4

Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland has inspired all sorts of spinoff works, from visual art to movies to manga. However, Ai Ninomiya may have conjured up the most unusual Alice yet.  Are You Alice?, which originally began as a CD series, features a gun-toting male as its Alice! Yen Press has recently released the fourth volume, and you can read on for the review. (If you’re interested in my reviews for previous volumes, click here.)

Back Cover Blurb

When the Wimpy Book of Caterpillar Alley’s One Hundred Stories loses its plot (literally), Alice finds himself all alone, faced with questions he can’t answer. Is the sister in his dreams the real Alice? And did he really commit such an atrocity against her? As Alice tries to puzzle out his own story from the few memories he has, the Hatter and the Caterpillar try to figure out how the tale went to horribly wrong…

The Review

This volume is a difficult read. In addition to the nonsensical nature of the Wonderland setting and inhabitants, there are a number of flashbacks and dreams sequences which, while they do provide new insights, raise more questions than they answer. With so many twists and turns and breaks from the main flow of the story, it’s easy to forget what Alice’s current goal is (i.e. kill the White Rabbit).

One point the story is clear on is that this Alice is unlike any before him. The Caterpillar’s Wimpy Book is supposedly an easy path used by previous Alices to the Dormouse, but it soon becomes apparent something is tampering with Caterpillar’s library. That mysterious interference thrusts Alice onto a much darker route, although it does eventually get him to the Dormouse.

As for the Dormouse, he provides the information Alice seeks and more. Much, much more. Their barroom conversation is an information dump on additional rules of Wonderland and the motivation of those “contracted” with the White Rabbit. By the end of their talk, I shared Alice’s sentiment that the game to kill the White Rabbit is “super-ridiculously complicated.” But despite the lengthy lecture, I still couldn’t follow Hatter’s actions in the final pages even with Dormouse quotations liberally sprinkled throughout the panels.

Manga extras include a six-page short, a mini manga about the third limited-edition drama CD, translation notes, and the title page and table of contents printed in color.

In Summary

The mystery of the 89th Alice’s past is still intriguing, especially with a tantalizing hint to his true connection to Alice in Wonderland. However, these chapters also bring the introduction of a lot more rules concerning the game to kill the White Rabbit. Between this information and new light on the motives of the Wonderland inhabitants, the Are You Alice? plot is getting a bit unwieldy and difficult to follow.

First published at the Fandom Post.

Research Ramblings: The Spartan Citizenry, Part 6

As noted in my May 2, 2014 post, Spartan warriors were an interesting bunch, and I’m continuing my series on them with today’s fact:

Spartan boys were required to go barefoot.

They were also only given one cloak per year (but no tunic), and kept their hair short. In addition, students slept on river reeds which they cut with their bare hands. I imagine these boys spent their miserable winters huddled up together.

Tune in next week for more about the Spartans!

Manga Review: Sword Art Online: Aincrad

Sword Art Online was undoubtedly one of the most popular anime of 2012. Based upon a series of light novels by Reki Kawahara, SAO’s near-future characters, gorgeous fantasy setting, and life-or-death stakes drew an enthusiastic fan following. For those still wanting another dose of Aincrad, Asuna, and Kirito,  Yen Press has recently released the SAO manga adaption, and you can read on for the review.

Back Cover Blurb

In the year 2022, gamers rejoice as Sword Art Online – a VRMMORPG (Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) like no other – debuts, allowing players to take full advantage of the ultimate in gaming technology: NerveGear, a system that allows users to completely immerse themselves in a wholly realistic gaming experience. But when the game goes live, the elation of the players quickly turns to horror as they discover that, for all its amazing features, SAO is missing one of the most basic functions of any MMORPG – a log-out button. Now trapped in the virtual world of Aincrad, their bodies held captive by NerveGear in the real world, users are issued a chilling ultimatum: conquer all one hundred floors of Aincrad to regain your freedom. But in the warped world of SAO, “game over” means certain death – both virtual and real…

The Review

Sword Art Online: Aincrad is more expensive than your typical manga, but the price is justified. The 375 page book contains the entire series, all twelve chapters, and includes three Asuna/Kirito illustrations in color, making it worth the $20 cover price.

Those familiar with the SAO anime will recognize the character outfits and weapons right away. However, Nakamura-sensei adds her own style to the artwork. Kirito and Asuna have the same details as their anime counterparts, but their eyes and heads are bigger, which make them look a couple years younger. Nakamura-sensei’s use of screentones is sparse so drawings tend to have a flat look, and though plenty of speed lines are to be had, it’s difficult to discern what movements are taking place in the fight scenes. The manga narrative does provide more information about weapon attack patterns than the anime, but you can’t really tell what motions characterize a “Double Circular” or “Star Splash” attack.

Although the manga is inferior in the action department, it delivers a tighter, more cohesive story than the TV series. The first two chapters introduce the world of Aincrad and how its creator Kayaba traps ten thousand unsuspecting players on launch day. Parts of these initial chapters are text-heavy and a bit of a data dump. However, they do provide a glimpse of the initial chaos in Aincrad and how the first two thousand players died, which wasn’t included in the anime.

Then from Chapter 3 onward, the story focuses on Asuna and Kirito, starting with an S-ranked ragout rabbit dinner that leads to a romance between the lone dual sword wielder and the beautiful Knights of the Blood vice commander. Several minor storylines from the anime don’t take place in the manga. The anime characters Silica and Lisbeth aren’t included at all, and although Sachi of the Moonlit Black Cats plays a significant role, she only shows up in a flashback during a vulnerable moment between Asuna and Kirito. Personally, I prefer the manga version without the extra girls because those characters give the story a harem feel. With Kirito’s interactions with the opposite sex limited to Asuna, it makes the strength of their bond and “adoption” of Yui more believable.

While they don’t get nearly the attention lavished upon our lead couple, the other characters included in the manga have more personality than they do in the anime. For instance, burly Agil turns out to be one of those guys-using-female-characters-for-their-SAO-full-dive, and we get to see how he runs his business. The manga certainly provides a better understanding of Heathcliff and his duel with Kirito. When Kirito finally figures out the truth behind Heathcliff’s “Holy Protection,” you can easily follow the logic behind his reasoning.

In Summary

If you’ve seen the SAO anime, the SAO manga won’t deliver any major surprises, but the book’s not a storyboard of the TV series. The manga adds details and rearranges events such that the struggle to defeat the game remains a major component, but the relationship between Kirito and Asuna is what drives everything forward. If you’ve seen the anime and wanted more Kirito/Asuna or Kirito/Asuna/Yui fluffiness, you might want to consider the manga. For those unfamiliar with SAO, you can certainly enjoy the manga without having seen the anime, but action fans should be warned that in addition to swords and battles come a healthy dose of SAO’s two best fighters playing house.

First published at the Fandom Post.