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9 March 2011 Leave a Comment

The Guin Saga, Book One: The Leopard Mask

Author: Kaoru Kurimoto
Illustrator: Naoyuki Kato
Translator: Alexander O. Smith and Elye J. Alexander
U.S. publisher: Vertical
ISBN: 9781932234817
Released: December 2007
Original release: 1979
Awards: Seiun Award

The Leopard Mask is the first book in Kaoru Kurimoto’s epic light novel series The Guin Saga. Kurimoto began the series in 1979 and as of the author’s death in 2009, she had published one hundred forty-seven Guin Saga novels, making it one of the longest works written by a single author. So far, only the first five novels of The Guin Saga, consisting of the first major story arc, have been released in an English translation. The Guin Saga, Book One: The Leopard Mask, translated by Alexander O. Smith with the assistance of Elye J. Alexander, was first released by Vertical as a hardcover in 2003 and then in a paperback edition in 2007. The English releases include the wonderful illustrations by Naoyuki Kato. In Japan, The Guin Saga is a very popular and highly influential work. I have seen numerous authors, mangaka, and creators cite Kurimoto and the series as a source of inspiration for their own work, including Kentaro Miura and his manga series Berserk. Additionally, The Guin Saga received a Seiun Award in 2010 for Japanese Long Fiction.

Twin brother and sister Remus and Rinda are the last remaining members of the royal house of Parros. Wandering the extremely dangerous Roodwood on their own in an attempt to escape their pursuers from the Mongauli army, they come across a fierce and frightening warrior. The man is nearly naked, wearing only a loincloth and a strange mask shaped like head of a leopard that seems to have been magically affixed to his own and which he is unable to remove. He has no memories of who he is, where he comes from, or why he is injured and alone in the Roodwood. He remembers two words: Guin, which he believes to be his name, and Aurra, which remains a complete enigma to him. But no matter who Guin really is, he may be the only chance for the twins survival.

At least for me, the most interesting character by far is Guin, even though hardly anything at all is known about him. The mystery shrouding Guin and his past intrigues me, not to mention his form and martial capabilities. One thing that did bother me, and something that Remus comments on about halfway through the novel, was that for someone claiming to be an amnesiac, Guin tends to remember some fairly important information when it’s convenient for the story. I have a feeling and hope that this may be further explained in later volumes. I found the twins to be slightly annoying; Rinda especially comes across as somewhat of a spoiled brat. I liked most of the side characters, particularly Istavan and Orro, even if he did gain and lose his accent from one appearance to another. Towards the end of The Leopard Mask, Kurimoto does some really nice things with the character of the Black Count, who is more complex than he might first appear. Characterization in the novel is mostly based on the character’s actions and reactions rather than really getting to know their thoughts or feelings.

The Leopard Mask is a good hook for the rest of the series, introducing the world and characters, but it doesn’t stand as well on its own; it really seemed more like a prologue to me. The prose can be overly dramatic at times, but that is more an indication of the genre rather than the fault of the translators. (In fact, I think that Smith and Alexander did a fine job with the translation.) It’s almost as if the story would be best read aloud or performed. The action and fight sequences are particularly well done and exciting. Kurimoto does have a tendency to “rewind” the chronology from scene to scene and sometimes it can be difficult to get a good sense of the passage of time. The best descriptions in the text are reserved for Guin as well as for the other freakish and bizarre things in The Leopard Mask. Overall, the world has a very dark atmosphere to it. While I eventually enjoyed The Leopard Mask, I wasn’t really taken with the book until close to the end. However, I’m still looking forward to giving book two of The Guin Saga, Warrior in the Wilderness, a try.

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29 December 2010 2 Comments

Manga Giveaway: Strawberry Panic Starter Pack Winner

And the winner of the Strawberry Panic Starter Pack giveaway is…Slyphoria!

As the winner, Slyphoria will be receiving the first volume of the Strawberry Panic manga as well as the first volume of the Strawberry Panic light novels. I would also like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who participated in this contest.

For the most part, I only read English manga translations although I am working on learning Japanese. Because of this, my knowledge of yuri is fairly limited since not many titles have been licensed in English. From what I can tell, yuri is currently one of the most underrepresented genres in the English language manga market. Fortunately, there has been some increase in available works in the last couple of years or so. (This is my own personal impression, I could be completely mistaken.)

As part of the Strawberry Panic Starter Pack giveaway, I had people tell me a little about the yuri that they’ve read and enjoyed. Many of the titles mentioned in the contest comments (which are worth checking out) are not currently licensed in English. I, for one, would be really interested in seeing many of these officially translated. And I’m pretty sure I’m not alone in this. There was also quite a bit of love shown for Miyabi Fujieda’s yuri works, one of which (the first volume of Iono-sama Fanatics) has been published in English.

Thank you again to everyone who entered the contest—I very much enjoyed learning about some of the great yuri that’s out there and hope that more will become available in English.

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22 December 2010 9 Comments

Manga Giveaway: Strawberry Panic Starter Pack

Last month’s manga giveaway featured boys’ love, so I figured it would only be fair that this month girls would get their chance to shine. I have a Strawberry Panic starter pack—brand new copies of the first volume of the manga and the first volume of the light novel series—for one lucky winner. The contest is open world-wide, so if you’re interested in a chance to win some yuri, read on!

I admit it. I’m not actually all that familiar with yuri, although I am actively trying to change that. One of the best resources in English on the subject that I know of is the incomparable Erica Friedman and her blog Okazu (which I highly recommend checking out). Strawberry Panic (written by Sakurako Kimino and illustrated by Namuchi Takumi) is one of the few unquestionably yuri titles licensed and readily available in English. The manga was also included on the list of recommended titles from the Gay for You? Yaoi and Yuri for GBLTQ Readers panel at the 2010 New York Anime Festival/New York Comic Con. (My personal response to the panel can be found here.) Friedman calls Strawberry Panic a “parody of many typical yuri tropes” and even though my experience is limited I tend to agree. I’m not as fond of Strawberry Panic as I am of, say, Hayate X Blade, but I do still appreciate it and the artwork is lovely.

So, you may be wondering, how can you win a Strawberry Panic starter pack?

1) In the comments section below, tell me about a manga that you’ve read that has yuri/girls’ love elements to it, OR if you’ve never read yuri before just mention that.
2) If you’re on Twitter you can earn a bonus entry by tweeting about the contest. Make sure to include a link to this post and @PhoenixTerran (that’s me).

One person can earn up to two entries for this giveaway. The winner will be randomly chosen and announced on December 29, 2010. You’ve only got one week to get your entries in, so good luck!

VERY IMPORTANT: Include some way that I can contact you. This can be an e-mail address, link to your website, Twitter username, or whatever. If I can’t figure out how to get a hold of you and you win, I’ll just draw another name.

Contest winner announced—Manga Giveaway: Strawberry Panic Starter Pack Winner

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26 November 2010 2 Comments

Spice & Wolf, Volume 2

Author: Isuna Hasekura
Illustrator: Jyuu Ayakura
Translator: Paul Starr
U.S. publisher: Yen Press
ISBN: 9780759531062
Released: June 2010
Original release: 2006

The second volume of Isuna Hasekura’s Spice & Wolf light novel series was published in Japan in 2006, four months after the first volume. English readers had to wait a little longer—the second book was released in June 2010, six months after the series’ English premiere. Once again, the English translation was executed by Paul Starr and the original illustrations by Jyuu Ayakura are retained, including a few color pages. I read the first award-winning volume of Spice & Wolf a few months after its initial release in December 2009 and while I wouldn’t say I was blown away by the book, I did enjoy it as a lighter read and very much liked the characters of Kraft Lawrence and Holo the Wisewolf. In fact, I liked it well enough to want to read the second volume of the somewhat unusual series; I was interested in seeing what other hapless adventures Hasekura had in store for the traveling merchant and his cunning companion.

The second volume of Spice & Wolf picks up a few weeks after Lawrence first met Holo, almost immediately after where the first light novel ends. Lawrence is traveling with Holo to Poroson after a fiasco involving the purity of silver, having somehow come out ahead financially if a bit battered physically. His cargo is a single sack of pepper, a valuable commodity on which he expects to turn quite a profit and come closer to realizing his dream of owning his own trade shop in a town and permanently settling down. It seems that traveling with a harvest goddess has its benefits, even if she does spend a lot of his money on food. But when a business deal goes horribly wrong, Lawrence faces his worst nightmare—bankruptcy. Desperate and with nothing to lose, he devises a dangerous plan with Holo’s aid to save himself. Even if he succeeds and comes out of this situation alive, it’s still not going to be easy.

One of my favorite things about the Spice & Wolf series remains its characters. Lawrence isn’t some exaggerated hero, he’s just a regular guy. In fact, he’s often the one who needs rescuing by Holo. And while he is softhearted, much to the delight and dismay of Holo, he is also a merchant and money and profit are usually at the forefront of his mind. Lawrence is not perfect—he can get greedy, and he makes mistakes and poor decisions. Except for her wolf tail and ears, Holo looks and acts much like a mature fifteen-year-old girl. Frequently however, her knowledge and experience earned over centuries shines through. Her loneliness, too, is readily apparent, just as is Lawrence’s. Their growing attachment to one another is understandable and I love their constant teasing and banter. Poor Lawrence is usually the one on the losing end though; even a successful merchant is no match for a Wisewolf in most cases. He really does put up with a lot.

I think the second volume of Spice & Wolf is even stronger than the first novel. Dialogue is still heavily used to move the story along, which can actually be quite effective although occasionally there’s a jump or a turn in a conversation that I don’t quite follow. However, I also didn’t find myself glazing over at some of the heavier economically involved details like I did during the previous book. I will admit that I wasn’t entirely convinced by certain elements of the smuggling scheme, but I was completely convinced of Lawrence’s desperation and willingness to try anything that might work no matter how unlikely. He and others were thrust into a life or death situation and I felt that. I really am enjoying this series and look forward to reading the third volume when it is released. Who would have thought a story about economics could be so absorbing and entertaining?

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13 October 2010 Leave a Comment

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

Author: Nagaru Tanigawa
Illustrator: Noizi Ito
Translator: Chris Pai
U.S. Publisher: Little, Brown
ISBN: 9780316039017
Released: July 2009
Original release: 2003
Awards: Sneaker Award

I’m not exactly sure where I first learned about Nagaru Tanigawa’s light novel The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, but when I heard that the very existence of our world depends on the eponymous Haruhi Suzumiya not getting bored, I knew that I had to read the book. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya was published in Japan in 2003 where it won the Sneaker Award grand prize. (I don’t know much about this award except that it is give out by Kadokawa Shoten to light novels.) In 2009 Chris Pai’s English translation of the book was published by Little, Brown in association with Yen Press (which also publishes the manga adaptation). The English edition retains both the color and black and white illustrations by Noizi Ito. It also seems as though English edition is being marketed towards younger readers, but adults should really give the series a shot as well.

Kyon meets the infamous Haruhi Suzumiya for the first time on the first day of high school. It’s just his luck that his desk is right next to hers and he seems to be the only person she’s willing to talk to. Haruhi isn’t interested in ordinary things or people, instead she wants to seek out the extraordinary—aliens, time travelers, espers—anything to make life more interesting. To that extent she establishes the Save the World by Overloading it with Fun Haruhi Suzumiya Brigade (or the SOS Brigade for short), dragging Kyon along for the ride. She’s eventually able to coerce three other people to join the Brigade, all for the sake of her own entertainment. Much to his surprise, Kyon soon learns that he’s the only normal human in the entire group when the others confess their secrets to him. Haruhi meanwhile, for better or worse, is completely unaware of the fantastical qualities of her somewhat reluctant lackeys.

Haruhi is aggressive and manages to almost always get her way (although it turns out there’s a very good reason for this.) Kyon describes her perfectly when he calls her “an eccentric, bossy, self-centered girl who causes trouble for everyone around her.” It’s quite amusing to watch the chaos flourish in her presence. She’s able to convince just about anyone to do whatever she wants whether they want to or not and it’s extremely funny to watch happen. However, I will admit her near constant sexual harassment of Mikuru is off-putting and a bit hard to take. She knows she’s doing it, but Haruhi just doesn’t care or acknowledge the other girl’s embarrassment, finding it difficult to pass up the opportunity for some fan service. She simply doesn’t seem to realize there might be something wrong with that. Granted, it doesn’t bother her to be put in similar situations herself. Both Haruhi and the story are spastic and the situations utterly ridiculous, but that’s what makes the story so incredibly entertaining.

I’m glad I picked up The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. I found the light novel to be hilarious and it made me very happy while reading it. Much of this had to do with Kyon being the narrator and interpreter of what’s going on. While the story is technically about Haruhi, it’s even more about this poor kid who’s been caught in her wake. Kyon is an absolutely fantastic character—he’s funny, sarcastic, flippant, and most definitely a teenage boy. His voice is fabulous and Pai’s translation captures it and the book’s humor perfectly. I’m almost afraid to pick up the next light novel in the series, The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya, because I enjoyed the first book so much; I have a feeling it will be hard to top. I’ll definitely be reading the next volume though—I’m looking forward to seeing what other craziness Tanigawa can come up with for the SOS Brigade to get into.

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