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13 November 2013 2 Comments

Blade of the Immortal: Legend of the Sword Demon

Blade of the Immortal: Legend of the Sword DemonAuthor: Junichi Ohsako
Illustrator: Hiroaki Samura
U.S. publisher: Dark Horse
ISBN: 9781595823380
Released: January 2010
Original release: 2008

Hiroaki Samura’s Blade of the Immortal was one of the first manga series that I began reading and it remains one of my personal favorites. When I learned that a novel based on the manga had been written I immediately picked it up. However, it did take me quite some time to actually get around to reading it. Blade of the Immortal: Legend of the Sword Demon, written by Junichi Ohsako with illustrations by Samura, was originally published in Japan in July 2008—the same month the anime adaptation of Blade of the Immortal began airing. I don’t know much about the author (Legend of the Sword Demon is the only novel by Ohsako to have been released in English), but I do know that Ohsako is a fellow fan of Blade of the Immortal. The English-language edition of Legend of the Sword Demon was translated by Camellia Nieh and released in 2010 by Dark Horse. Unsurprisingly, Dark Horse is also the publisher responsible for releasing the Blade of the Immortal manga and artbook in English.

Rin was the only daughter of Asano Takayoshi, the head of the respected Mutenichi-ryū sword school. A few years past he was brutally murdered before her very eyes, her mother was raped and abducted, and Rin was abandoned and left alone to fend for herself. Her family was destroyed at the hands of a group of renegade swordsmen known as the Ittō-ryū and their leader Anotsu Kagehisa. Now Rin is seeking her revenge, hiring an outlaw known only as Manji as her bodyguard. Rumored to be immortal, Manji has vowed to kill one thousand evil men to atone for hist past misdeeds. But is the Ittō-ryū truly evil? Whether it is or isn’t, Manji and Rin aren’t the only ones seeking the group’s demise. This complicates matters a great deal and it becomes difficult for Rin and Manji to determine who are friends and who are foes. Any alliances made in the fight against the Ittō-ryū can only be assumed to be temporary.

Legend of the Sword Demon is a very quick read. The story is a re-imagining of the early part of the Blade of the Immortal manga series. While the novel has some unique content of its own, including a dangerous enemy not found anywhere else, many of the scenes will be familiar to those who have read the original. All of the most popular characters make an appearance in the novel as well. (This was actually one of the conditions set by the publisher when the novel was initially commissioned.) Legend of the Sword Demon mostly focuses on the action of the story. Very little descriptive detail is given and the characters aren’t particularly fleshed out, either. It is interesting to see a slightly different take on Blade of the Immortal, but Legend of the Sword Demon almost requires that readers have a fairly firm grounding in the original series to really appreciate what Ohsako is doing with the story and characters. There might be enough in the novel to entice new readers to pick up the manga, but I am not at all confident of that.

In the end, I was actually rather disappointed with Legend of the Sword Demon. I can’t really recommend the novel to anyone but those who are Blade of the Immortal completists (a group of people to which I admittedly belong). Ultimately, Legend of the Sword Demon is a very insubstantial work and somewhat shallow, lacking the depth present in the manga series. It feels as though the novel is nothing more than tie-in promotional material. Ohsako may be a devoted fan of Blade of the Immortal but Legend of the Sword Demon isn’t long enough nor complex enough to really establish itself as noteworthy. It’s fun in places, but Legend of the Sword Demon is largely forgettable. The real highlight of the volume is Samura’s cover art and the handful of full-page illustrations that he created specifically for the novel. Otherwise, Legend of the Sword Demon is something that most people probably won’t regret passing over.

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11 August 2013 Leave a Comment

Spice & Wolf, Volume 8: Town of Strife I

Author: Isuna Hasekura
Illustrator: Jyuu Ayakura
Translator: Paul Starr
U.S. publisher: Yen Press
ISBN: 9780316245463
Released: April 2013
Original release: 2008

Town of Strife I is the eighth volume in Isuna Hasekura’s light novel series Spice & Wolf, illustrated by Jyuu Ayakura. The previous volume, Side Colors, was actually a collection of three side stories; Town of Strife I picks up the story immediately following Spice & Wolf, Volume 6. As indicated by its title, Town of Strife I is the first part of a two-volume story, a first for Spice & Wolf. Town of Strife I was originally published in Japan in 2008. Paul Starr’s English translation of the novel was released by Yen Press in 2013. Spice & Wolf is a series that I have been enjoying much more than I thought I would. Although I wasn’t particularly taken with most of Side Colors, I was interested in getting back to the main story again with Town of Strife I.

Having had quite the adventure on the Roam River, Kraft Lawrence, a traveling merchant, and Holo the Wisewolf, a centuries-old spirit in the form of a young woman, have finally made their way to the port town of Kerube with a new companion in in tow—Col, a young student they encountered along the river. Together the three of them are following a curious rumor: a search is on for the bones of a northern town’s guardian deity. Many people think the story is some far fetched fairytale, but Lawrence, Holo, and Col know very well that there could be some truth behind the rumors. Upon their arrival at Kerube Lawrence seeks the aid of Eve, a former noblewoman and a skilled merchant in her own right. He’s been burned once before in his dealings with her, but Eve’s impressive network of connections may be their best chance of finding the bones.

One of the things that I have always enjoyed about Spice & Wolf is the relationship and developing romance between Lawrence and Holo. By this point in the series, Lawrence has lost some of his awkwardness when it comes to Holo. While I suppose this means he’s grown as a character, I do miss the more easily embarrassed Lawrence. With the addition of Col to the mix, the dynamics of Holo and Lawrence’s relationship has also changed. Their battles of wits and their good-natured bickering and teasing which once seemed so natural now feel forced as if the two of them are putting on some sort of performance for the boy. More often than not, Holo and Lawrence are verbally sparring for show in Town of Strife I and it’s not nearly as entertaining. Ultimately I do like Col (everyone in Spice & Wolf likes Col), but his presence in the story is somewhat distracting.

Not much happens in Town of Strife I; it mostly seems to be setting up for the second volume in the story arc. Hasekura promises that Lawrence will get to be “really cool” in the next volume and Town of Strife I does end on a great cliffhanger, but I’m not sure that I’m actually interested in finding out what happens. Unfortunately, the series has finally lost its charm for me. The characters know one another so well and their conversations are so cryptic that the story is difficult to follow. The narrative lacks sufficient detail and explanations leaving readers to puzzle out the characters’ motivations and actions. This has always been the case with Spice & Wolf but what makes it particularly frustrating in Town of Strife I is that the volume doesn’t even have a satisfying ending and doesn’t stand well on its own. Hasekura claims that he needed two volumes to tell this particular story, but considering how tedious much of Town of Strife I is, I’m not convinced.

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10 July 2013 1 Comment

The Twelve Kingdoms, Volume 3: The Vast Spread of the Seas

Author: Fuyumi Ono
Illustrator: Akihiro Yamada
Translator: Alexander O. Smith and Elye J. Alexander
U.S. Publisher: Tokyopop
ISBN: 9781427802590
Released: November 2009
Original release: 1994

The Vast Spread of the Seas is the third book in Fuyumi Ono’s series of fantasy light novels The Twelve Kingdoms. In Japan the first two novels of the series were each released in two parts, technically making The Vast Spread of the Seas, published in 1994, the fifth volume of The Twelve Kingdoms. However, in the English-language edition of the series The Vast Spread of the Seas is the third volume. Tokyopop first released Alexander O. Smith and Elye J. Alexander’s English translation of the novel early on in 2009 as a hardcover. Later that year it was released again in a paperback edition. Tokyopop’s release of The Vast Spread of the Seas retains the illustrations by Akihiro Yamada. I quite enjoyed the first two books in The Twelve Kingdoms, so I was looking forward to reading The Vast Spread of the Seas.

The kingdom of En has fallen upon difficult times. The previous king drove the country to ruin and many of its people either died or fled during his vicious reign. Much of En became a wasteland and demons prowled the wilds. At first Shoryu, En’s new king divinely appointed by the kingdom’s kirin Rokuta, gives En’s people hope for a better life. But much to the dismay of his ministers, it soon becomes clear that Shoryu would rather galavant about the country than focus on the kingdom’s administration. Many of those in the provincial governments are also frustrated by Shoryu’s seeming lack of motivation and the slow restoration of En. Atsuyu, the acting regent of the province of Gen, plans to take matters into his own hands if the king continues to refuse to address En’s problems. With civil war brewing, Shoryu will be forced to abandon his inscrutable style of rule if he is to put an end to the rebellion and maintain the peace. But even then his decisions continue to confound those that serve him.

Although The Vast Spread of the Seas is the third novel in The Twelve Kingdoms, chronologically it takes place before the first two and isn’t directly related plot-wise. However, the volume does focus on Shoryu and Rokuta who have played small but incredibly important roles in both Sea of Shadow and Sea of Wind. Reading the first two books does provide a little more insight into Shoryu and Rokuta’s characters and what people think of them, but for the most part The Vast Spread of the Seas stands on its own. It explores their pasts, both before and after their association with En, as well as a critical period early in Shoryu’s reign as the king. Because I have read the previous volumes in The Twelve Kingdoms I knew how some of the events in The Vast Spread of the Seas would ultimately end, but it was still very interesting to see how they played out and how Shoryu dealt with them.

A large part of The Vast Spread of the Seas delves into court politics and intrigue. Atsuyu’s viewpoints are considered to be heretical and even dangerous, but his challenging of a system of authority that has failed its people is understandable and he raises some very legitimate concerns. Unfortunately, his criticisms are never fully addressed in The Vast Spread of the Seas. What is established is that Shoryu is a much keener ruler than he lets on and that he cares about his people immensely. Actions that seem to make no sense actually have significant purpose. He doesn’t allow himself to be limited or constrained by what is expected of him as a king; Shoryu is incredibly creative and shrewed in his administration of the kingdom and very few people actually realize it. It’s no wonder that he later becomes so admired and respected as a ruler despite his quirks and unorthodoxy.

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17 April 2013 1 Comment

Tokyo Demons, Book 1: You’re Never Alone

Author: Lianne Sentar
Illustrator: Rem
Publisher: Lianne Sentar
ISBN: 9780988037304
Released: May 2012

I can no longer recall exactly how I first became aware of Tokyo Demons, but I now consider it to be an extremely fortunate accident. Recently I came across some very enthusiastic support for the series and was convinced to give it a try sooner rather than later. Tokyo Demons, Book 1: You’re Never Alone, written by Lianne Sentar with illustrations by Rem, began serialization online in 2011 before being revised, finalized, and collected as a novel in 2012. Written in the tradition of Japanese light novels, You’re Never Alone is part of much larger project which has expanded to include dramatized audio books (produced and directed by Rebecca Scoble, who also works closely with Sentar editing the novels), comics, short stories, games, and more. Tokyo Demons has since become one of the flagship titles for the newly established Chromatic Press. Plans have already been made for two sequel series, Tokyo Ghosts and Tokyo Angels.

For many students, and even some teachers, Fukuhashi is their high school of last chance. Roaming its hallways and dormitories are underachievers, juvenile delinquents, stoners, other outsiders, and teens from broken homes or with no families at all. Ayase, a first-year at Fukuhashi, has been trying to hide a part of herself for most of her life. If she’s not careful, her body will break apart into a swarm of insects. Understandably, it’s something she would like to keep a secret. But then Sachi, an over-eager and over-friendly classmate, drags her and two other students—the athletic Kiyoshi and his chain-smoking roommate Jo—to a club after the first day of school. Like Ayase, Jo isn’t particularly interested in getting close to most other people either, unless it’s to steal their wallet. But when Kiyoshi and Ayase accidentally interrupt a drug deal and Sachi and Jo are caught up in the fiasco, too, suddenly the four students are attracting much more attention and trouble than any of them wanted.

Despite all of the strangeness and unfortunate incidents surrounding the characters at the beginning of You’re Never Alone, it took a few chapters for the story to really hook me. But once it did, I was a goner. After reading only the first book of Tokyo Demons, I already get the sense that the scope of the story is huge. It’s a complex entanglement of powerful international organizations, people with phenomenal supernatural abilities, yakuza, street gangs, and police investigations. And that’s just what’s going on on the surface and doesn’t even touch on the story’s underlying themes. Now that I’ve finished the novel and know the characters better, I have a much better appreciation for those slower early chapters than I did while I was first reading them. They are needed and necessary to set the stage and introduce the characters and conflicts. It’s a slow build with a natural progression that suddenly explodes into a flurry of action.

The entirety of You’re Never Alone takes place over the course of a few weeks, but a lot happens within that short period of time. The story alternates between Ayase and Jo’s perspectives. Since the two are involved with different groups of people this allows readers a wider understanding of the unfolding events while at the same time maintaining a sense of grounding and focus. This is particularly helpful since there are so many characters important to Tokyo Demons, each with their own troubled past and role to play. I love the characters in Tokyo Demons. It is clear that a tremendous amount of thought and care has been put into them and their stories. I was particularly impressed by how their talents and abilities, whether they are supernatural or not, are an integral part of what makes them who they are as people, affecting their behaviors, personalities, and relationships. I am looking forward to the completion of the next volume of Tokyo Demons a great deal. I haven’t been this excited about a series in a very long time.

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10 February 2013 Leave a Comment

Spice & Wolf, Volume 7: Side Colors

Author: Isuna Hasekura
Illustrator: Jyuu Ayakura
Translator: Paul Starr
U.S. publisher: Yen Press
ISBN: 9780316229128
Released: December 2012
Original release: 2008

Side Colors is the seventh volume in Isuna Hasekura’s light novel series Spice & Wolf, illustrated by Jyuu Ayakura. The volume is actually a break from the main series and collects three side stories together. The novella “The Boy and the Girl and the White Flowers” and the short story “The Red of the Apple, The Blue of the Sky” were first released online. The second short story, “Wolf and Amber Melancholy,” was written specifically for the collection. Side Colors was originally published in Japan in 2008. Yen Press’ English edition, translated by Paul Starr, was released in 2012. I am actually rather surprised by how much I have been enjoying the Spice & Wolf novels; I find that I am quite fond of the two leads—Lawrence and Holo. Since I have been following the series, it made sense that I would pick up the seventh volume.

Side Colors, begins with “The Boy and the Girl and the White Flowers,” which takes up the first half or so of the volume. Klass and Aryes, a young boy and girl, have recently been evicted from their home when a new lord takes over after the previous lord dies, apparently without publicly naming an heir. Their journey isn’t an easy one and they are about to run out of food when they are approached by Holo, a wolf spirit, in the form of a young woman. The story takes place centuries before Holo meets Lawrence. It is probably because of that that “The Boy and the Girl and the White Flowers” was my least favorite story in Side Colors. Simply put, I missed Lawrence. But the story does show a younger Holo, one who hasn’t yet been overwhelmed by a melancholy loneliness and who acts much more as a trickster character. Granted, she has always been and still is mischievous.

Happily, Lawrence is in both of the short stories included in Side Colors. “The Red of the Apple, The Blue of the Sky” takes place during the first volume of Spice & Wolf, not long after Holo and Lawrence started traveling together. Of the three stories collected in the volume, this story most closely fits the mold established by the Spice & Wolf series proper and includes economic elements as a part of its plot. However, my favorite story in Side Colors is the final one, “Wolf and Amber Melancholy,” which takes place during Spice & Wolf, Volume 2. Unlike the rest of Spice & Wolf, which is primarily told from Lawrence’s point of view, this story is seen from Holo’s perspective. It’s a refreshing change and it’s clear that Hasekura had a tremendous amount of fun writing it.

Technically, Side Colors is written in such a way that doesn’t require much previous knowledge of Spice & Wolf. But at the same time, I’m not sure that the collection would actually appeal to someone who isn’t already a fan of or at least familiar with the series. The stories really aren’t that strong outside of the context of the novels. Because of this, “The Boy and the Girl and the White Flower” is probably the weakest of the three vignettes since it is the furthest removed form the series proper. Both “The Red of the Apple, The Blue of the Sky” and “Wolf and Amber Melancholy” read like they could be deleted scenes from their respective volumes. Although I wouldn’t say any of the stories are essential reading, they do make a nice addition to the Spice & Wolf series.

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