S.Q. Eries's Blog, page 60

Light Novel Review: Spice and Wolf Vol. #07

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 seventh 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).

The Review

For those curious about Holo, Lawrence, and Col’s ongoing journey, you’ll have to wait a bit longer. Volume 7, as the back cover states, takes a break from their adventures to present a series of short vignettes. They consist of the novella, “The Boy and the Girl and the White Flowers,” and two short stories, “The Red of the Apple, the Blue of the Sky” and “Wolf and Amber Melancholy.”

According to the author’s notes, the novella features “Holo’s big-sisterly side” as it delves into Holo’s past. I’d hoped it would be about how she came to settle in her wheat field, but it has nothing to do with her old village or even Yoitsu. Instead, the story tells of an earlier journey. However, the journey is not Holo’s but that of two children. Former occupants of a rustic estate, they find themselves thrust into the wide world with only one another to rely upon.

The two young sojourners are opposites. The boy Klass is uneducated while the girl Ayres can read and write, but she has led such a sheltered life she’s never seen flowers growing in a field. So when the manor’s new master throws them out, Klass is constantly having to help Ayres. But Klass himself is only ten, and they soon find themselves in dire straits. Fortunately for them, they encounter Holo, who takes them under her wing. But her aid is not without a price. She teases poor Klass is badly as she does Lawrence, which surprised me given the gentler treatment she displays toward Col in Volume 6. Meanwhile, Ayres gets spared the brunt of Holo’s jabs and jibes. By the end of the novella, I felt thoroughly sorry for Klass, and Holo came off as a mean big sister figure indeed.

The short stories, on the other hand, feature Holo’s gluttony, according to Hasekura-sensei. Lawrence appears alongside her in these stories, which were both included in the Spice and Wolf anime. In “The Red of the Apple, the Blue of the Sky,” Lawrence gets to show off his business sense as he and Holo go shopping for clothes. Of the three stories, this is the only one that focuses on trade, though it isn’t quite an economics lesson. And though Lawrence does teach Holo something new, she, of course, manages to one-up him in the end.

Poor Lawrence seems ever at the mercy of Holo’s demands and sharp tongue so “Wolf and Amber Melancholy” is a refreshing change of pace. It is, as Hasekura-sensei mentions, the first time he writes from Holo’s perspective. Not much talk of business, but there is a bit of medieval medicine theory with our wisewolf sick in bed. Considering how much she frustrates and embarrasses Lawrence, it’s fun to see her frustrated and embarrassed as she deals with illness and jealousy. It’s also nice to know exactly how the wisewolf feels about her travel companion for once.

I should mention that the text is a bit choppy. I’m not sure if it’s because of the original Japanese text or the translation, but there are several short phrases and short sentences bunched together that makes for a less than smooth read. Plus, there are also a couple grammatical errors in the text.

This light novel includes the title page, three two-page spreads, and the table of contents printed in color as well as ten black-and-white illustrations.

In Summary

Hasekura-sensei takes a break from Holo and Lawrence’s wanderings in the north to share three Spice and Wolf vignettes. Fans of the anime and manga series will recognize the two short stories, which feature Lawrence and Holo. The novella, on the other hand, takes place far in Holo’s past as it tells of her journey with a pair of children who’ve been cast out of a manor. And though she earns points for protecting the poor little waifs, we discover that even children aren’t spared a wisewolf’s mischief.

First published at the Fandom Post.

Research Ramblings: Horse Workout Sweat Vs. Nervous Sweat

My current work in progress involves chariot racing, and given its substantial equine components, I’ve recruited the aid of horse owners Julie and The Boyz’ Mom to keep it real. (For more about them, read this post.) They love sharing about their horses, and I love learning from them, and hopefully you’ll get some entertainment out of our exchanges.

Not long ago I asked my horse ladies about the physics of horse sweat as described in this post. A couple days later I found myself with yet another sweat related question. This time, it wasn’t about the how but the when of horse sweat.

Sweating is not an across-the-board phenomenon in the animal kingdom. That’s why pigs lie in mud and dogs pant while horses and humans get drippy when temperatures go up. The thing about people though is heat isn’t the only thing that causes a sweat. Excitement or nerves can also put human sweat glands into overdrive.

So I wondered as I reviewed a scene where a charioteer’s palms grow damp right before race time whether his horses might be sweating nervously as well. A quick e-mail to my horse ladies ensued, and here’s the answer I got from the Boyz’ Mom:

Indeed they do, and like people, they can drip with sweat from excitement, frustration, nervousness. It isn’t foaming like when they are working. It is a clear dripping sweat that slowly foams. The working foam comes on quickly due to the exertion of muscles… Latherin, a soaplike protein in horse sweat and saliva, helps spread sweat over the coat, maximizing evaporation of water for heat loss, and causing the foam that we see when horses sweat profusely. Latherin is also found in saliva, which explains the foam often seen around a bitted horse’s lips.

Interesting! Not only can heightened emotions trigger a sweat response in horses, the sweat generated has different qualities than workout sweat!

So the take away (for me at least) is that a horse that has been working hard will look like he’s come out of a bubble bath while one who is jittery or excited will just be drippy. Wouldn’t it be interesting if the same were true for people, if nervous sweat was distinctly different than exercise sweat?

Manga Review: A Bride’s Story Vol. 4

Kaoru Mori is best known for her work, Emma, an exquisite romance/slice-of-life set in Victorian England. Her latest work to be released in the United States, A Bride’s Story, is also a historical/slice-of-life but is vastly different than Emma. Set in Central Asia in a rural town near the Caspian Sea during the early 19th century, A Bride’s Tale revolves around a young woman, Amir, who arrives from a distant village across the mountains to marry Karluk, a boy 8 years her junior. Volume 4 has recently been released, and you can read on for the review.

Back Cover Blurb

As he journeys to India, Mr. Smith is snapped out of his melancholic reverie by a tumble from his camel into a river and by the pair of identical twin girls who dive in to pull him out. Leili and Laila have reached marrying age, but their minds are more on mischief than romance.

Meanwhile, back in the Eihons’ village, Pariya has finally caught the interest of a suitor. But now that the moment has finally arrived, will Pariya’s outspoken personality draw him in or drive him away?

The RevieW

Volume 3 hinted that trouble might be stirring for Amir’s native clan, and in Volume 4, we discover just how bad things get when a clan can’t provide a necessary bride. The opener is tense with the Halgal facing potential starvation, and Amir’s brother and his companions get the dangerous task of negotiating an alliance with another clan. Even beyond the Halgal, emotions are running high in the region, with everyone from Russians to Persians to tribesmen on edge. Mori-sensei’s illustrations are excellent as usual, and she inserts stunning scenes of wolves that parallel the ongoing human drama.

The story then steps back from the broader geopolitical situation to focus on more personal matters–namely marriage. The tone quickly goes from suspenseful to comical with marriage talks for Pariya. This episode is relatively brief, but those who like the outspoken, slightly surly baker girl will enjoy the two new characters who take up the rest of the volume: the twins Laila and Leily.

Much about these fishing village girls will appeal to modern readers. They’re spunky. They’re loud. They talk back to their elders. They’re also like Amir in that they’re very athletic, but the place where they shine isn’t on horseback with bow and arrows, but in the water with nets and baskets. Their chapters are full of illustrations of them swimming, and they make their grand splash of an entrance by rescuing Mr. Smith from drowning.

Despite these traits, the young teens know very well that they must marry, and indeed are already concerned about becoming old maids. The way they go about their dilemma, however, is very modern. Having grown impatient waiting for their father to find them prospects, they decide to get their own grooms. Their selection criteria, though, is best described as shallow, and ditzy as they are, the story turns into a sitcom as the girls fail over and over to catch a “big fish.”

The comedy continues when dad finally finds their less than ideal matches. The story does take a sentimental tone as the girls warm up to their fiancés but drops right back into comedy with mom giving her slacker daughters a crash course in bridehood. As the reluctant students suffer through their mother’s teachings, readers get a glimpse of what marriage negotiation, wedding preparations, and the role of women in an Aral Sea fishing village are like. The story wraps up just before the double wedding, and like Mr. Smith, I’m looking forward to the celebration.

In Summary

Bride’s Story switches from melodrama to sitcom with two new brides, the twins Laila and Leily. These Aral Sea girls are very different from the women encountered so far, but marriage is just as important to them! With their father slow to bring them prospects, they take matters into their own hands with ridiculous results. Volume 4 definitely has a modern ditzy-girl-desperate-to-find-Mr.-Right flavor, but despite the silliness, Mori-sensei continues to beautifully showcase different aspects of life from this time period.

First published at the Fandom Post.

Research Ramblings: Horse Treats and Avoiding Culinary Anachronisms, Part 2

As mentioned in my previous post, ancient horsemen who wanted to give their horses a little something special didn’t have sugar lumps, but they did have access to fruit. Fruit, though, was both regional and seasonal in ancient times. For instance, oranges are an important crop in Greece now, but they weren’t introduced to Europe until the time of the crusades. And while it’s easy for North Americans to import fresh summer fruit from South America in the middle of our winter, the ancients didn’t have the benefit of modern transportation networks.

Fortunately for me, Dalby’s Siren Feasts lists fruit available to ancient Greeks. Among them are:

Strawberry
Apple
Blackberry
Sloe
Plum
Date
Pomegranate
Musk Melon
Cherry
Quince
Watermelon
Pear
Mulberry

The Greeks also had grapes and figs according to Dalby, but because they were deemed luxuries, not staples, I didn’t include them for consideration. After all, you might have access to filet mignon and love your dog, but I doubt you’d feed filet mignon to your dog.

Finally, I ran the list past my horsy ladies to see if any fruit candidates were potentially toxic to horses, the way chocolate is to dogs. Julie responded by saying that horses can eat pretty much anything, with a few exceptions. For horse owners, oak and maple leaves (which can get horses sick if ingested) are more cause for concern than fruit.

In the end, I chose apples for a fall scene, and plums and blackberries for  summer scenes. I wasn’t able to find exact dates on their seasons in Greece, but Greece has a Mediterranean climate as does California, so I used California fruit seasons as a best guess.

When I shared my choices with the ladies, Julie had me add one more detail to the scene with the blackberries: stains. According to her, even if a horse is being as gentle as can be, there will still be squished berries.

Research Ramblings: Horse Treats and Avoiding Culinary Anachronisms, Part 1

My current work in progress involves chariot racing, and given its substantial equine components, I’ve recruited the aid of horse owners Julie and The Boyz’ Mom to keep it real. (For more about them, read this post.) They love sharing about their horses, and I love learning from them, and hopefully you’ll get some entertainment out of our exchanges.

When Julie’s horses do well or if she just wants to spoil them, she gives them peppermints. I thought sugar cubes were the equestrian treat of choice, but in her barn, it’s peppermints. And it is an acquired taste. When she first got Elle and gave her a mint, Elle was very ho-hum about it. But after a few weeks, she’d start raising a fuss if she heard a whisper of cellophane. If Julie’s not quick enough unwrapping the mint, Elle will just eat the whole thing, wrapper and all.

Using special foods to show love is something I believe Julie’s ancient Greek counterparts would’ve done, but that raises the question of what they would’ve used. Many foods that are regional mainstays might not have existed in the area thousands of years ago. For example, potatoes became an Irish staple, but that was only after Columbus got to the New World.

Fortunately, I had A. Dalby’s Siren Feasts for help. In this book, he describes the food culture of the ancient Greeks. He even includes a simple fish recipe from an ancient cookbook. While diet did vary from Greek city-state to city-state, the text was handy in determining what basic ingredients would have been available in that part of the world.

One thing I quickly determined with that sugar lumps were out. Ubiquitous as it is in our culture, refined sugar is a relatively recent development. The sweeteners available to the ancient Greeks were honey and date syrup, and those were luxuries. Not to mention, they’re not exactly amenable to feeding to a horse.

However, something our ancient horse folk did have access to was fruit, something I’ll delve into next time.

Research Ramblings: Growing Horses and the Labels of Adulthood

My current work in progress involves chariot racing, and given its substantial equine components, I’ve recruited the aid of horse owners Julie and The Boyz’ Mom to keep it real. (For more about them, read this post.) They love sharing about their horses, and hopefully you’ll get some entertainment out of our exchanges.

Julie’s mare Elle is big as far as her breed goes. Morgans average between 14 and 15 hands (56 inches to 60 inches at the shoulder). Early last year, Julie was telling me and the Boyz’ Mom that Elle had gotten all awkward again because she had hit yet another growth spurt.

To which I responded, Elle’s STILL growing?

You see, I’d read that the cutoff between a filly and a mare is four years. At the time, Elle was already past her fourth birthday so she had to be a full-grown adult already, right?

Wrong.

While people do use the age of four to delineate between mature and immature horses, it’s no absolute. Rates of growth differ from horse to horse and there are definite variations between breeds. According to the Boyz’ Mom, Friesian horses don’t start training until they’re three and training continues on till they’re around six. That’s because they don’t fully mature until they’re six to eight years old. By that age, some thoroughbreds have already reached the end of their racing careers!

Once my horse ladies explained this to me, I felt a little silly. After all, I should’ve known better, considering what I’ve learned about ancient Olympic horse racing. The officials spent the month before the Olympics determining whether young animals would compete in the horse races or colt races. If physical maturity was simply a matter of age, they wouldn’t have had such a rigorous process.

So using age 4 to delineate between colts and horses is about as accurate as using age 18 to delineate between adults and children. I reached my full height (just over 5 feet) at age 15, but one of my guy pals kept growing well into his college years (I forget his exact height but he’s well over 6 feet tall).

By the way, Elle will be five this year, and her current height is over 16 hands and still going…

Manga Review: Sakura Hime: The Legend of Princess Sakura Vol. 9

Arina Tanemura is a popular shojo mangaka, and one of her works currently being translated into English is Sakura Hime, a magical shojo story that puts a twist on a famous Japanese legend. Volume 9 has recently been released, and you can read on for the review. (Also, for those who are interested, you can click here for my reviews of earlier volumes).

The story centers on Sakura, the granddaughter of the Moon princess Kaguya. As her descendent, Sakura wields the power to defeat Youko, monsters from the Moon, but Sakura’s Moon heritage also means she’s predisposed to becoming a Youko herself…

Back Cover Blurb

Princess Sakura has been staying at the estate of Fujimurasaki, the future emperor. Fujimurasaki tells Sakura he loves her and keeps her hidden from Aoba. Sakura yearns to be reunited with Aoba, but he’s to marry Princess Yuri…

The RevieW

With Volume 9, we get the conclusion of the Princess Yuri introduction arc, which is lighthearted in one respect but heavy on the other. Regarding Yuri’s anger toward Sakura, its basis turns out to be something completely stupid, and she quickly folds as a rival for Oura’s affections, thanks to conveniently well-timed intervention from Fujimurasaki.

On the other hand, we discover that Oura struggles with his own curse. I’d thought his wolf form was the result of magic skills training, but his situation is actually closer to Asagiri’s. I should note that in the pages where Sakura witnesses the effects of Oura’s nightmare, it is unclear which panels depict reality and which are Oura’s thoughts. At any rate, this revelation not only deepens Oura as a character, it heightens Sakura’s feelings for him and adds a layer of urgency and tragedy to their romance.

The story then shifts from politicking to espionage – of sorts. Of Kohaku and Hayate, I’d considered Hayate to be the more capable ninja, but I am reconsidering that assessment. Apparently, Hayate has his weaknesses, and though his interactions with Rurijo were probably intended to showcase his kindness, he winds up looking pathetic as a ninja (and a man). Shuri, on the other hand, makes for a much more impressive ninja. He only appears on three pages in this volume, but that’s enough to get you wondering what kind of game the double agent is playing. Between his and Rurijo’s activities, a rematch with Enju’s forces appears to be imminent.

By the way, Volume 9 includes several extras including bonus funnies and closing remarks from Tanemura-sensei and her assistants.

In Summary

Sakura Hime continues to take a break from Youko attacks and battles with moon people to focus on intrigue and romance. In fact, the only time Chizakura shows up in this volume is when Sakura has a jealous fit. The trouble stirred up by Princess Yuri gets resolved much too easily, and the Rurijo/Hayate chapters make me lose all respect for Hayate as a ninja, but the volume does provide new insight into Oura’s past that makes him a much more interesting character.

First published at the Fandom Post.

Research Ramblings: Horse Body Fluids and How They Fly

My current work in progress involves chariot racing, and given its substantial equine components, I’ve recruited the aid of horse owners Julie and The Boyz’ Mom to keep it real. (For more about them, read this post.) They love sharing about their horses, and I love learning from them, and hopefully you’ll get some entertainment out of our exchanges.

I recently revised a scene involving messengers on horseback. My critique group  didn’t feel connected to the main character, and I decided to elaborate on the sensory details as these riders come galloping up.

The thing is, I’ve gotten close to horses before, but not after they’ve galloped for miles. And while I understand horses generate a variety of body fluids, I’ve no idea what their aerodynamics are.

So of course I went to my horse experts to find out if any of the following could happen:

A. Sweat from the horses landing on my MC

B. Foam( spit) from the horses’ mouths landing on her

C. Her getting a big whiff of the smell of horse sweat

The last one scenario, by the way, was based off my experiences with my runner husband. After a marathon, I can smell him coming.

As for the answer… apparently all of them are possible.

Julie said:

A horse that is accepting of a bit will have foamy drool, and it can fly everywhere, including all over their chest and front legs.  If the horse shakes its head, it could certainly fly all over.  Same with lather, again, depending on how hot the horse is.  If the horse is right in front of her, it would be breathing hard from a long gallop, so she could feel the horse huffing on her.  I don’t think horses stink with they are working, but i am probably immune.  Most people who work around horses are.

The Boyz’ Mom added:

Yes indeed … Julie is on the money.

Horse sweat smells sweet and warm like musk or sandalwood. I love it.

Horse sweat and saliva can goooo flying to be sure.

The sweat is foamy and the saliva can be like a big foam stringer. I’ve been pelted many a time. Most horse people get their share so no biggy.

I love her description of the aroma of horse. Perhaps perfumers should take note and investigate horse perspiration as a potential new ingredient. (Or maybe they already use it and we just don’t realize it )

At any rate, I am indebted to my experts once more (thank you!!!) and reminded yet again that a horse-sized helping of gross is all part of being an equestrian.

Manga Review: Bakuman Vol. 17

Bakuman is the latest collaboration of Ohba and Obata, the creators of the wildly popular Death Note series. Unlike Death Note, Bakuman is more or less grounded in reality, but it is no less entertaining as it follows the ups and downs of a mangaka duo as they strive to make it big in the publishing world!

This series is a personal favorite of mine, and Viz Media has just released Volume 17. (My reviews of earlier Bakuman volumes can be found here.)

Back Cover Blurb

As the veteran manga artists start taking over Weekly Shonen Jump, the younger artists feel the pressure. But what is behind this sudden surge of older artists making a comeback in the magazine? And what is the connection between Azuma and Moritaka’s late uncle?

The Review

When Nanamine got trounced by Team Ashirogi a couple volumes back, I was pretty certain he’d return to the story at some point as a reformed mangaka. Well, he is back, but he’s a bigger sore loser than I thought. The Shinjitsu Corporation manga machine arc feels like a rehash of Nanamine’s previous showdown against PCP. The scope is grander with Nanamine’s father’s money backing him and the various Team Fukuda creators wanting to take him down, but the overall feel of this battle is the same. Even so, the plot keeps you interested with the sorry plight of the older mangaka, and the ultimate outcome has a surprising and rather satisfying twist.

Interestingly, Taro Kawaguchi features prominently in these chapters, and it’s interesting that Ohba-sensei seems to incorporate some of Kawaguchi’s “stand-alone that doesn’t stand alone” technique into Volume 17. While none of the chapters are stand-alone stories, they do revisit a number of things unanswered in the early volumes, such as why Moritaka’s grandfather kept Taro Kawaguchi’s studio untouched all those years.

Ohba-sensei also uses this technique with the editor-in-chief’s unexpected transfer from Jump. While his leaving doesn’t impact Team Ashirogi’s as directly as when they lost and then regained Hattori as editor, it does provide the framework to show how far they and rival Eiji have come. His upcoming departure also sets the stage for the young mangaka to focus on their original rivalry once more, which, after Nanamine’s extreme strategies, will be a refreshing change.

In Summary

Nanamine returns, and he’s more determined to destroy Ashirogi than ever before! Sadly, his methodology hasn’t changed much so the rematch is very similar to their first showdown. However, the final outcome does have an unexpected and interesting twist, and we gain some interesting backstory about Moritaka’s uncle thanks to old-timer mangaka Azuma and the editor-in-chief.

This title is highly recommended for young teens and up.

First published at the Fandom Post.

Komazawa Festival Postscript and New Year’s Card

Today I’ve got a fun postscript to my Japan Pop Tour. In the last post in that series, I described the fabulous time we had at the  Komazawa Girls’ School Festival. Indeed, it was so fabulous that when we returned to the United States, we sent them a thank you note. Sounds old-fashioned, I know, but we really wanted to express our gratitude and figured the school administration and maybe the PTA would get a kick out of a letter from foreigners. So we wrote up a thank you card in English (from the number of English speakers we encountered, we figured someone at the school could translate), put in a couple festival photos, addressed it to the principal, and sent it off.

We weren’t expecting a response so imagine our surprise three weeks later when we received a letter from Japan! And we were doubly surprised to see it was from Komazawa students! As mentioned in my Komazawa Festival post, one girl was especially helpful to us, and one of the pictures we sent the school was me posing with her and her class. Apparently, the letter went to her class, and they wrote back and included an e-mail address.

So in a strange and wonderful way I’ve gained Japanese penpals. The image attached to this post is the card they sent for New Year’s. Americans send greeting cards during Christmas season, but the Japanese tradition is to send New Year’s cards. According to my Okinawan friend, the card says:

Happy New Year!

Wish you health and happiness throughout the year

(It mentions nothing about the snake, but I’m guessing it refers to the lunar year of the snake.)

I wish the girls at Komazawa and all you readers the same. May 2013 be full of joy and blessing for you!