Hero Tales, Vol. 4

獣神演武 [Juushin Enbu] #4

by Hiromu Arakawa, Huang Jin Zhou

Ryuukou's warning still ringing in his ears, Taitou hurries back to Taizan, only to discover that the Genrou-tou has left his hometown in ruins. Though Taitou is devastated by the loss of his father, the attack has given him a renewed sense of purpose. Unless General Keirou is stopped, countless families and towns will face similar destruction. Meanwhile, back in the capital, Keirou's plan for seizing power from the emperor is well underway. With Keirou as the new commander in chief and Taigatei in prison, can anything stop the general's reign of terror?

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Shonen, Comics, Fiction, Young Adult

194 pages, Paperback

First published June 22, 2009

About the author

Hiromu Arakawa (author: 荒川弘) is a Japanese manga artist, best known for Fullmetal Alchemist (鋼の錬金術師 Hagane no renkinjutsushi).
Her real name is Hiromi Arakawa (荒川弘美).

Arakawa was born and raised on a dairy farm in Hokkaidō.
She thought of being a manga artist since she was little. After graduating high school, she took oil painting classes while working on her family's farm. During that time, she also created dōjinshi manga with her friends and drew yonkoma for a magazine. After eight years she moved to Tōkyō and started out as assistant writer for Hiroyuki Etō.
Her debut as manga artist is in 1999 with STRAY DOG. In 2001 she started working on her famous and award winning series Fullmetal Alchemist, that soon gets a successful anime adaptation.
Other works include Silver Spoon (銀の匙 Silver Spoon, Gin no saji Silver Spoon).

Reviews

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

A major character dies, and it just doesn't faze me because the story is so shallow and uninspired. At least I enjoy looking at Arakawa's art, but mostly because that makes me think of her other and better books.

[Sunread26 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chronique complète :
https://sunread26.wordpress.com/2024/...

Extrait :
Avant dernier tome de la série, qui va rester dans ma collection, en grande partie car il s’agit d’une œuvre d’Hiromu Arakawa, car j’avoue qu’elle ne m’a pas emballée tant que ça. L’aventure et les personnages sont sympathiques, mais sans plus, tout est assez prévisible. Même s’il y a des tragédies, l’émotion n’est pas vraiment présente, car les personnages sont assez peu présentés pour devenir très attachant (même s’ils en avaient le potentiel).

La politique continue d’avoir une part importante désormais, même si les combats continuent également. Keiro atteint son but et discrédite le jeune empereur, en montrant que l’épée qu’il dégaine est une fausse. Ce qui est ironique, c’est qu’il ne lui passe même pas la vraie pour confirmer qu’il n’est pas digne, preuve qu’il a un peu peur de ne pas être le seul à pouvoir la sortir de son fourreau. Après, il faut dire qu’il a aussi éliminé tous les opposant, donc il n’y aurait pas eu grand monde malgré tout pour aller contre lui (c’est tellement digne d’un futur grand empereur, non, plutôt d’un futur tortionnaire oui). Certains membres qui l’ont soutenu reviennent aussi sur leur engagement, pour des raisons assez personnelles. Ils se rendent bien compte qu’il n’est qu’un bourreau et que ça n’ira pas en s’arrangeant. Taitô finira-t-il par gagner de nouveaux alliés ? L’une des étoiles qui soutient Keiro ne me semble pas être vraiment de son côté. Il l’indique bien d’ailleurs, son but, c’est de protéger et faire prospérer le royaume, bien contraire aux ambitions de Keiro donc…

Pour Taitô, comme je le pensais sa force va venir comme magie en quelques pages, sans réels entraînements supplémentaires. Tout vient en fait de son lien avec Laila, il faut qu’elle soit en danger pour qu’il devienne un peu plus fort. J’espère qu’il apprendra à le devenir autrement, car franchement ce n’est pas ouf d’attendre qu’elle soit en danger pour se bouger les miches. Sans oublier que leur relation semble changer maintenant qu’ils savent qu’ils ne sont pas frère et sœur de sang. Surtout pour Laila qui semble avoir d’autres sentiments pour lui, et même si cette impression à commencer il y a quelques tomes déjà, je trouve ça assez dégoutant, désolé. Ils se sont toujours vus comme une famille, mais là pouf, comme ça, ça vient à changer ? Très franchement j’espère que ça n’ira pas plus loin (mais je doute que mes espoirs soient entendus). Laila en plus, ne sait pas toujours ce qu’elle veut, j’imagine que c’est une tentative pour la développer, mais à part la rendre un peu chiante et inutile, le résultat n’est pas vraiment là. Une femme qui sert de grow up à un mec, c’est un peu vu et revu malheureusement…

[...]

[King Haddock · Rating 5 out of 5]

And I thought that the last volume of Hero Tales was emotional!

But... now that I'm finally reviewing the FOURTH volume... I can get to talk about Ryuukou Mouten.

Or should I say [eyebrow wiggles] Keikou Mouten.

When Ryuukou Mouten was introduced in the first chapter of Hero Tales, I recognized he'd be one of the most important characters in the story. Probably the deuteragonist, I thought. Probably the characters whose personality would be contrast Taitou's, I thought. Probably the character whose contrasting perspective helps the two men balance each other. Probably the character who befriends Taitou and sticks to his side in an increasing story of friendship.

And I was right in those areas. Cool. Spiffy. Great. Pat myself on the back. Woot.

But what I didn't expect was for Ryuukou's story to be so... dynamic.

I how much Ryuukou Mouten struggles in this series. I admittedly didn't expect that this would happen, given how he's introduced.

After all, at the start of the manga, Mouten's introduced as the disciplined, thoughtful, respectful, reserved, Lawful Good, stick-by-the-rules sort of guy. All things considered, compared to Taitou, he's got it together. This at first is a good means by which to show our protagonist Taitou has lots of maturing to do - that Taitou needs to act like an adult, learn how to control his powers, learn what he needs to do with his destiny because he Hagun. It's also a great means by which to show two unlikely people coming to work together to form a powerful team. That's fun. Taitou and Ryuukou DO become a great team, one that understands each other, cares for each other, values each other, protects each other. But BECAUSE Ryuukou is shown as the by-the-books, reserved, have-it-all-together-guy... it sets him up for a powerful growth arc in which all that gets destructed and destroyed. The very set-up of making him look "more put together" is what makes his growth arc so devastating.

Oftentimes I see characters like Ryuukou treated as strong characters start-to-end who support the protagonist. They're the loyal companion, the second, that we always see in a good light. The protagonist overtakes their level in skills, but the two work together through the end. The character remains reserved, remains put-together, remains a positive presence at the protagonist's side. The adviser or loyal companion/friend character isn't usually pulled apart into emotional ruin.

Yet here we are.

Hello, Ryuukou Mouten.

Great authors often understand that our strengths and our weaknesses are two sides of the same coin. What makes us weak makes us strong. What makes us strong makes us weak. What happens with Ryuukou Mouten is ENTIRELY an extension of his starting character. Because Ryuukou is the thoughtful one, the Lawful one, the one who doesn't WANT to get into all the fights Taitou heedlessly does... he's more likely to listen to the arguments of the other side than automatically, emotionally punch it out. And if he learns that the other side might achieve peace in the empire less destructively than Taitou (who again, has always been the opposite personality to Ryuukou)... then he's going to consider it as a real cause he could join. The trait that made Ryuukou Mouten successfully counterbalance Taitou's impulsiveness... is also the trait that makes it more likely for him to take a stance against Taitou and join the Genrou-Tou.

His strength... becomes his weakness.

And as his weakness becomes exacerbated... it leads to his own undoing.

Volume 4 gives us a complete unraveling and destruction of Ryuukou's graces. We see him join with Keirou and call him "Father." We see him pushed to execute his own adoptive father... and do it... before he collapses to the ground, sobbing. We see him stagger away from the palace into the most dangerous sections of town, where he's mugged. All the while, his face becomes more and more conflicted, more pained, more insecure. His adoptive father talked to him about how everyone makes mistakes, but what's important is how you overcome them. His romantic interest Rinmei talks to him of how what he needs to do, since he's realized he was wrong, is start over. And yet how can someone, in the agony of killing the man who raised him, believe that "start over" can ever happen?

This confused, heartbroken man has made uncomfortable choice after uncomfortable choice. He wants to get things right now, but he's pulled himself into a ruinous pit of his own making. He's no longer the disciplined, put-together man we thought we saw in Volume 1. He's a wreck, inside and out. He's no longer the reserved individual making thoughtful, rational decisions. He's staggering through the unknown, making first one betrayal, then getting pulled deep into crap that destroys him, then trying to escape it while knowing there's no way things can go back to as they were before. His choices are emotional, erratic, confused, conflicting, as he struggles through his current contexts. The character who in Volume 1 was seen as Taitou's adviser... is now described by Shoukaku as, "a thoroughly foolish man," as he staggers through the city, with no one but himself and his guilty conscience.

And this all comes about EXACTLY because of who he was at the start of Volume 1.

What should have been "good traits" led him to this destruction of his entire life.

I look back and I realize exactly how flawed he was from the start. He was the person who got "lost" on his journey to Taizan (just as he becomes lost emotionally later). He didn't know as much about controlling the power of the stars as he thought. He was always a young, unformed man... we just didn't see the cracks come out in full until... now.

It's extremely painful. And it's extremely potent. Ryuukou was my favorite character from the get-go, but I couldn't be more impressed with how nuanced and in-depth his characterization arc has been handled. It's only made me dig the character more.

Volume 4 was an absolutely pleasure to read. And by "pleasure" I mean "pain." Painful, start to end, and not just because of Ryuukou. There's far more to talk about, and far more to carry away from this volume, than I have the space to talk about here. Mouten killing his adoptive father. Taitou learning of his own adoptive father's death. Laila and Taitou fighting. Taigatei and Taki getting imprisoned. The shock of Housei's death. As "standard" as the story is in many aspects, it's really been a wild ride for how it's gone down. What a dramatic RIDE these pages have been!!!

[Shin Donghae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Salah satu karakter sentral "ditamatkan" pada jilid ini namun sepertinya Arakawa sensei memberikan sedikit twist di akhir??
Menuju pertarungan terakhir rematch Hgun vs Tonro.
Eh btw ini meski bertampang remaja, sebenarnya si Ryukou sdh bisa jadi ayah y? sejak kapan bergumul dg Rinmei? LOL

[Lara Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one got pretty grim... I'm not sure I like very many of the characters. I still enjoy the Japanese sound effects for language practice, but I noticed a few mistakes in the English translations.

[Cornerofmadness · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is easily the best volume so far. As a series, I've been a little iffy on this one. I haven't truly warmed up to the characters and it very much is a boy's coming of age but this volume started pulling all the threads together (and I have to wonder if this will be a relatively short series).

Taitou is finally coming into his powers and his responsibilities, even though it's making for tension between him and Laila (which I'm sort of hoping doesn't get shippy now that they know they're not actually brother and sister). They have to deal with Ryuukou's betrayal and his return as well.

As for his part, Ryuukou has done some things that cannot be undone and are close to unhinging him. In the meantime, Keirou has seized power and may, in fact, murder the emperor since he no longer needs him. This volume is taut and full of twists, including one I didn't see coming (and makes me think if you're a joker in anything Arakawa does, you may be in trouble). Big changes for everyone but especially Housei, Ryuukou and Taitou.

[Lynx · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overall, a great RPG story. Share it to those love Games, and a bit of China taste in the environment setting.