Manga Bookshelf

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Archives for February 2007

Full Moon o Sagashite 3 by Arina Tanemura: A

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From the back cover:
Mitsuki’s alter ego, Fullmoon, gets a new producer—Dr. Wakaouji, who is treating Mitsuki’s cancer! Before he got his medical degree, the doctor played keyboard in the legendary band ROUTE..L with Mitsuki’s father. Will the doctor break Mitsuki’s cover? And will Takuto’s newly exposed memories destroy his present friendships?

Review:
A lot of important stuff happened in this volume, and almost none of it related to Mitsuki’s career. Since I’m always hard-pressed to care about that what with the other plot points, this suited me just fine.

The first major occurrence is that Takuto remembers some of his past. I thought the details were just a little bit cheesy, but there were some interesting ramifications there for a couple of characters, so it managed to steer clear of lame. The second major thing, to which I shan’t even allude, is a pivotal twist and makes one entirely re-examine their concept of the story so far. It’s a testament to the writing that the story still hangs together when one looks at it through new eyes.

A pair of bonus stories round out the volume, one about Meroko and Izumi when they were partners and the other the first meeting of Eichi and Mitsuki (covered from her perspective earlier in the volume) now from his point of view.

Full Moon o Sagashite 2 by Arina Tanemura: B+

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From the back cover:
Now that Mitsuki has debuted in the pop world, she is faced with the dark side of the glitz and glamour—petty jealousy and scheming that just might be her undoing. Will her love for Eichi be enough to keep her on the road to stardom? Or will the schemes of a mysterious new Shinigami stop her dreams short?

Review:
This volume was pretty good, but not as good as the first. Thankfully, the Madoka pop rival stuff seems to be done (although how Meroko figured in was interesting), and instead we’re getting more backstory on the shinigami, both as individuals as well as the job itself. Also sprinkled in were a few moments suggesting Mitsuki’s not as happy-go-lucky as she seems. Cute moments abound, but it’s really the darker moments that I like the best.

There’s also a bonus story at the end called “Gin-yu Meika.” It’s about a boy (who looks a bit like Yuki Eiri) that encounters a fairy while practicing for a music competition. Although certain things transpired predictably, enough of the unexpected occurred that it turned out to be decent.

A Separate Peace by John Knowles: B

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From the back cover:
Set in an exclusive boys’ school in the summer of ’42, A Separate Peace offers a quietly told story of the relationship between two boys. Under the surface though, violent thoughts and feelings lurk, mirroring events in the outside world. It is these deeper levels of meaning that have made the novel an enduring classic of American literature.

Through the adolescent eyes of Gene, an introverted intellectual, we are shown the world of the Devon School. The campus and its residents appear to be untouched by the realities of war. Phineas, a charismatic daredevil athlete, embodies a careless optimism as he leads the boys in seemingly innocent games. Schoolboy capers, though, turn dark, and perhaps inevitably, the war slowly permeates the boys’ lives.

Review:
I remembered really liking this whatever year that was I was required to read it for school, but now I have mixed feelings.

The crux of the problem is that I don’t particularly like either Gene or Phineas. Gene initially comes across as borderline nutso, obsessively in love with Phineas and always comparing himself against him and suspecting Phineas of plotting against him. He even dons his clothes at one point in a very The Talented Mr. Ripley moment. Phineas is genial enough, and I like him better as the story progresses, but he’s one of those playful manipulator types who goad non-troublemaking sorts into participating in their activities, and I find those people irritating.

Eventually, though, one begins to think maybe Gene isn’t crazy, but a typical mixed-up stupid teen driven by impulses he doesn’t understand. Maybe he’s just the product of the competitive atmosphere of an all-boys’ school, where no one wants to be caught out falling for a trick, where everyone is always on guard and suspicious of sincerity lest they lose face with the rest of the group.

Soon, some of their classmates begin to change as they confront the reality of the war in their lives, a fact they’d been able to deny in the summer when they were still sixteen. All this sounds pretty good, but this is also right around where things began to drag for me. It was also hard to believe all these kids were so gung-ho to be involved with the war, but maybe that’s realistic behavior for “the greatest generation.”

But hey, bonus points for slashiness! Take this lovely passage, for instance:

Finny was right. And there was only one way to show him this. I threw my hip against his, catching him by surprise, and he was instantly down, definitely pleased. This was why he liked me so much. When I jumped on top of him, my knees on his chest, he couldn’t ask for anything better.

Mr. Midshipman Hornblower by C. S. Forester: B+

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From the back cover:
This year is 1793, the eve of the Napoleonic Wars, and Horatio Hornblower, a seventeen-year-old boy unschooled in seafaring and the ways of seamen, is ordered to board a French merchant ship and take command of crew and cargo for the glory of England. Though not an unqualified success, this first naval adventure teaches the young midshipman enough to launch him on a series of increasingly glorious exploits. This novel—in which young Horatio gets his sea legs, proves his mettle, and shows the makings of the legend he will become—is the first of the eleven swashbuckling Hornblower tales that are today regarded as classic adventure stories of the sea.

Review:
Mm, back cover, you lie a little bit. This is the first chronologically, yes, but it is the sixth in order of publication.

Mr. Midshipman Hornblower is a collection of short stories spanning the first five years of Hornblower’s career. Only two follow in direct sequence, so there is very little by way of narrative flow. I missed a long over-arching story, but still found the stories very entertaining. One of them, “Hornblower: The Frogs and Lobsters”, was rather dull, though it ended well. My particular favorites are “Cargo of Rice,” “Spanish Galleys,” and “The Duchess and the Devil.”

One thing Forester did exceptionally well was make young and inexperienced Hornblower recognizably the same character that readers following publication date will have already encountered later in his career. I also really liked seeing him interact with others of equal rank, actually joking around and stuff. Still, my favorite stories were those in which he was in command, so I guess I still like him best in that capacity.