"who cares if we disagree / you are not me / who died and made you king of anything?"

[larryhammer]

And this week the last chapter of Kakkaishi was published. Yay fantasy adventure planned as a complete story that arcs to closure instead of extending in indefinite epicycles. Yoshimori does achieve his basic goal, in ways and with costs he never anticipated. And that final castle ... *snf*

Which is a good excuse for some manga reports that have been sitting in my file of draft posts:

Reimei no Arcana/Dawn of the Arcana by Rei Toma - I'm not sure why no one pointed me at this before -- apparently the Internets had a collective ADHD moment and forgot. Imagine the unholy love-child of Akagami no Shirayuki-hime and Zettai Heiwa Daisakusen, with all the cuteness of the former and comedy of the latter replaced with aaaaangst, and you'll come close to the overall effect, especially if you add light touches of random tarot-imagery-based magic. Nakaba is a minor princess sent marry a prince of her country's hereditary enemy in the latest attempt to patch together a peace. What love there is does not come easily, as everyone has generations of suspicion behind them, and the politics are twisty and vicious. Ignoring her tendency to faint after having a vision, which of course happens during dramatic situations and so in effect limits her agency, Nakaba herself is a strong woman doing everything she can to survive a situation she expects will kill her. There are also interesting echoes of, of all people, Cordwainer Smith -- I suspect not first-hand, but still worth a ! or two. Ongoing, unlicensed correction: recently licensed, scans partway into volume 5 (of current 6).

Sengoku Strays by Shingo Nanami - I've actually been reading this for a while, but I don't think I've mentioned it before. Ya gotta love a series description that starts "Kasane is your average kendo-obsessed girl ... " There being so many of those in my life. Due to an entirely random event, she is transported across Japan from contemporary Hokkaido to 1555 Nagoya where, thanks to her sword skillz, ends up in the retinue of Oda Nobunaga a couple years after his father died, leaving him a teenager controlling only part of a disputed feudal inheritance during the Warring States period -- and only just starting to demonstrate the abilities that would lead him to almost unifying Japan. Kasane is cute and a little dim (even after factoring in being a fish out of her chronological water) and far from the only strong female character,* and her new nakama is just as doofy eccentric as she is. Nobunaga, refreshingly, is not treated as a villain but as a demanding (because desperate) but responsible feudal lord. Not recommended for readers with a low tolerance for incoherence. Also, it helps if you read up on Nobunaga for the context the author could assume a Japanese audience would know. Ongoing, unlicensed, scans partway into volume 3 (of current 7).

Dark Seed by Kita Konna - My previous experience with Konna was two warm-and-fuzzy shoujo-ai series, The Secret Stairs and Cotton. This is a dark-ish fantasy, and it's rather astonishing how Konna retains her light and airy tone and style amid the tangled, angry relationships and politics. In brief, in this European-ambient country, sorcerers are born holding a stone containing his or her powers but must, until their powers stabilize, give up said stone to a guardian. In Celeste's case, this is her step-sister -- and they hate each other, in the really vicious way that teenage step-siblings can, for both personal and political reasons: their family is part of the sorcerous government. The emotions involved are especially well done, with subtlety and ambivalence. That I like Celeste a lot has, of course, nothing to do with her sorcery student uniform of a dark suit-and-tie with hair tied back in an unruly ponytail that *cough* looks really good on her. At all. Complete, unlicensed, scans partway into volume 2 of 4.

BTW, for the next door-stopper, I've started the Kalevala, even though it's probably the shortest of the lot. Thanks to all who kicked me that direction.


* Nôhime is particularly awesome. As well she should be.

Comments

[movingfinger.livejournal.com]

Now you need some Sibelius.

[larryhammer]

... yanno, I have some, somewhere around here. I don't seem to have ripped it, and can't recall when I last saw it.

---L.

[badtzphoto.livejournal.com]

Reimei no Arcana/Dawn of the Arcana by Rei Toma is licensed by Viz - announced last month: info at ann (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-03-03/viz-acquires-dawn-of-the-arcana-pokemon-b&w-manga)

[larryhammer]

Man, I'm behind on licensing news. I just found out that The Legend of Princess Sakura is licensed by coming across the first volume on the selves.

Corrected!

---L.

[behindpyramids.livejournal.com]

and yeah, your recs are pretty much are 50% of my reading list. (well, 100% of my mangalist which tells you how much manga I read. :))

[larryhammer]

You're making me feel responsible for ... something. No pressure, right?

---L.

[rhinemouse.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the recs! I just ran out and read Reimei no Arcana, and that is the *perfect* description, heh. And now I am super-excited that it is licensed. Sengoku Strays is awesome too.

Also, I finally plunged into Kekkaishi and I am now at ch. 132. It remains a story that doesn't quite grab me on a gut level (except for *sob* SPOILER), but is nonetheless compulsively pleasant to read, and I suspect I will mainline the rest of it ASAP.

Incidentally, I recently realized why I like shounen fight scenes so much, even though I am more shoujo at heart: because they pack in so *many* "I'm not left handed!" moments. Even when I'm groaning, I keep reading. (New writing goal: figure out how to translate shounen-style fights into novel form.)

[larryhammer]

Yay Kekkaishi reader! And keep that sob-spoiler in mind -- it has consequences for the rest of the story. Even unto the climatic work of architecture.

Translating shounen-style fights, or better wuxia-style, is an excellent skill to have.

---L.