Don’t make Thorfinn angry, mmkay?

Yes, those of you who know me are groaning, saying “Aren’t you just biased because you love Vikings?”

The answer is a resounding no.  Yes, I am incredibly interested in Vikings, and have a mild… borderline… raving obsession with them.  This makes me extremely critical of anything having to do with vikings, especially if it’s historically inaccurate.  I like Vinland Saga, though.  That should say enough about how good this manga is.  However, I have to write a review, so here we go…

Vinland Saga
By Makoto Yukimura (Yes, the guy who did Planetes)

Art: The art in Vinland Saga tends to be more realistic than in some other manga.  We get characters with well-proportioned bodies, which makes them seem stockier than many other manga characters. Yukimura uses lineweight and various drawing techniques in a way closer to western comics.   Backgrounds, when they’re drawn, tend to be reminiscent of engraving prints.

The facial expressions in this series are just lovely, and convey the emotions the characters feel very well.   The plentiful fight scenes are dynamic, gory, and well-drawn; they are fairly truthful depictions of medieval combat.

Oh, Canute, you sexy, pouting bastard.

Story: Wow.  I never thought I would see a Japanese manga depict medieval Europe, nonetheless Vikings, accurately.  However, Vinland Saga does this fairly well.  Yes, there are some minor errors, and instances of historical inaccuracy but none of them are so blaring and large that the average reader will find them distracting or frustrating. Usually, if an inaccuracy is noticed,  the event is along the lines of  “Wait, how can that guy understand them? Oh well, let’s see what happens next.”

Vinland Saga is composite of several historical events and focuses on Cnut the Great’s ascent to the Danish throne.  The story does not focus on Cnut (spelled Canute in the manga).  Instead, Vinland Saga follows the life of the protagonist Thorfinn, a young Jomsviking.  Thorfinn is on a quest for revenge, and follows the man he would kill through the artic seas and even  into war, only for the chance to challenge him to battle.

While one of the focuses of this manga is violence, the real center of the series is the driving emotion behind Thorfinn’s quest, and watching the characters of the manga grow as human beings throughout the story.  Humanity is very much the real centerpiece of the story.  Insidious plots, troubled pasts, noble deeds, acts of love, compassion and betrayal all abound in Vinland Saga.

Most recently, the story has taken a major turn from the previous chapters.  This new arc is so disparately different from the last in both mood and plot that the reader is initially jarred and uncomfortable with the change.  Yet, the story is just as enthralling as it previously was, perhaps even more so, because the reader longs for the return of… (read to find out!)

Characters: There are so many interesting characters in this series, but I’m only going to discuss a few.

Thorfinn: The story’s protagonist.  Thorfinn is a young viking in Askeladd’s band of men.  Thorfinn is a rash, quick-tempered lad, skilled in battle.  Surly and unfriendly, Thorfinn cares only for completing his quest for revenge.  Wiki reports that Thorfinn may be based on Thorfinn Karlsefni.  Even though Thorfinn is somewhat unbalanced, he is an engaging protagonist the reader will find him or herself rooting for.

Askeladd:  A gifted warrior who leads the small group of which Thorfinn is now a part.  The men are violent and unruly, and Akseladd is the only man strong and intelligent enough to keep them under his thumb.  Askeladd is funny and witty, and a character I genuinely like.

Askeladd’s all: “Yeah, I stole this crown, what you gonna do about it?”

Canute:  A Danish prince.  Initially, Canute is weak and timid.  Akeladd’s men mock him for being womanly.  Throughout the series, Canute’s character evolves.  Canute also has a slightly dark side.  While his intentions may seem noble (Canute is a Christian, if you remember your history), something about his motivation seems off… yet, Canute is a sympathetic character.

Thorkell :  One tough bastard.  Seriously, don’t mess with Thorkell.  Although Thorkell is a major badass, he is likable, too.  He has a personality as large as he is (maybe he’s based on Thorkell the Tall?).  Thorkell is a down-to-earth man who loves to fight.

Miscellaneous: Not sure what the licensing status is on Vinland Saga.  A few sources mention the series may have been picked up in a recent list for licensing requests, but I haven’t seen anything official just yet. I honestly would love to see this series licensed and distributed in English.  It’s an amazing work, and I’d like to own it in my native language.   I believe the manga is currently serialized in the Japanese publication Afternoon.  There’s at least one tankobon floating around out there, too.  So, there’s plenty to work with if it does get licensed.

The Bottom Line: Why haven’t you read Vinland Saga yet?  It’s awesome.

Like my picture jack from Dq’s site howagirlfigures.com? I attended as my alterego, and 1/3 of cosplaycute.com, Kawaiiclare.  We had decided to go in Ouran cosplay (we just had to wear those terrible yellow dresses).  Since Fancy India’s online buddy was hosting at the event, we had all three requested him as our host and decided to show up together and just act in general with Ouran’s special brand of ridiculousness.  This would later lead to the biggest disappointment of Animaid Café, but I’ll explain that in a moment.

We had some trouble locating the venue at first, and our driver, DQ’s brother, couldn’t find parking.  When we arrived it was still rather early, and the café was still being set up.  Of course, it was understandable that they be slightly behind schedule due to this being their first event.  Everything was nicely decorated, and a greeting had been written on a whiteboard to inform attendees of the reason for the wait, rather than leaving us in the dark, which I felt was very professional.

We saw one line, but were hesitant to join it for two reasons.  For the most part, we were just waiting for our “chauffer” to park the car and wait in line with us.  We had also purchased advance tickets, and supposedly we weren’t required to wait in any lines, we were just to go to the door.  However, since the event was not ready, we thought perhaps the line had been formed as a result of the preparations going on.  We weren’t able to get a hold of anyone to ask, though.

As we awaited our chauffer, a very nice Nekomimi Maid told us that we could join the line and wait in the shade if we liked.  We got in line at that point.  Instead of coming out and declaring the event officially open and asking if anyone present had advance tickets, the people at the door simply began seating the attendees.  The line wasn’t horribly long, so this didn’t bother me much.  But, what if the line had been long?  This was just something I was thinking about as we approached the door.

When we were almost to the front of the line, I noticed the tables were set up to accommodate only two people.  This was when I began to worry.  We hadn’t been informed at the time we purchased our tickets that tables would seat just  two people.  Originally, we had planned for it to be the three of us girls.  Had we only been a party of 3, I doubt we would have had a problem with seating.  Kyosuke was at the door and very politely asked us to wait until they had two tables together for us.  I was impressed that they went out of the way to do this for us.

Here we are waiting.

This was where things started to get a little bad, though.  At first, we had fun waiting.  There was a computer set up with a projector  to play some anime and a little live show to entertain us.  But once all the tables were full, instead of starting a wait list, they just began to seat people as tables opened up.  Now, in a professional restaurant, the Maître d’ usually would not have  seated anyone until the two tables opened and the group who arrived first would have been seated first.  That being said, I really appreciated that they did make the effort to seat us together.  I just really did not like the hour and a half wait, but I feel this is something that can be avoided in the future with a little practice.

We were seated eventually and given our personal maid to serve us.  While she was very nice, she was not who we had requested (remember we requested Fancy India’s friend).  At this point, I believe it is important to mention that I later went back to check the event’s site and saw there were actually no guarantees made as to which host or maid attendees were served by.    How silly that we overlooked this!  Be that as it may, our maid seemed a little nervous, but I could sympathize with her, especially since I think it may have been my fault… I was talking to Fancy India about how we might as well just sit down and enjoy ourselves since we had waited so long.  I think our maid may have thought I was speaking to her, but I really didn’t mean anything.  I felt really bad after that, so I tried to be super nice to her!  I hope you read this.  I’m sorry!

Next, there was the issue of the food.  While I can understand that Animaid Café desired more of a Japanese/ anime feel, some of the choices didn’t seem appropriate.  Now, I don’t mean to say they shouldn’t serve Asian or Asian inspired food, what I mean is that there were foods better suited to the atmosphere.  For example, serving sandwichs on croissants instead of loaf bread would have added flair, fried rice and spam (which probably wouldn’t have been on my menu at all ^^) could have been fried rice and sausage octopi, the parfaits could have been actual parfaits (with yogurt, not ice cream). These are just little things that could have helped a little, but the biggest no-no was that frozen foods were used instead of freshly prepared foods.  One whiff of the fishy smell wafting off my okonomiyaki  almost made me not want to eat it, but I decided I should try it before judging it.  It was passable, but not the best I’ve tried.  However, these people are not professional chefs, so I think it would be unfair to expect perfection, but I don’t think I’m asking for too much when I suggest a small improvement.  On the bright side, the menu was very creative and I can tell some thought went into it!

After the lunch, we sadly had to go, because we were late to another engagement.  We didn’t get to play a game with our maid, but I was really looking forward to some Sock ‘Em Rock ‘em Robots!

But here comes the coolest part!  As we were leaving we were approached by a host called Night who asked our opinion of Animaid Café.  I hope he got the gist that while we felt there was room for improvement that we really had fun and appreciated their honest effort.  I informed him that the thing I liked best was that everyone involved had a positive attitude and did their best.  I honestly love that Night approached us.  Do you know why?  It means he really cared and he wanted to make Animaid Café the best it can be!  That is awesome and I commend you for your A+ attitude.  That sounds lame, I know, but I’m totally serious.  Kudos!

So, what’s  my opinion of Animaid Café in a nutshell?  It’s a good event that with a little practice and more time can be an amazing event.  Keep up the hard work!  I didn’t get exactly what I was looking for this time, but next time I’m sure it will be just right.

Things I thought were great:

Everyone working there obviously cared a lot

Everyone had a great attitude and worked hard

Those cute little dances

Everyone matched!

Improvements I would make for next time:

The menu needs a bit more zazz

Two clearly defined lines.  One for ticket purchases at the door, another for advanced tickets.

I would have hosts/hostesses, and then some “servers” to help them.  This would mean attendees got more face to   face time with the host or hostess while the server’s only job would be to take care of the food.  This would help the employees out too, I’m sure.

Obviously, this was just a first try, and I can understand that some details still need to be worked out.  Overall, it was a good experience.  I know that it takes a lot of time, energy, effort, and money to put on an event like this.  I hope it worked out for Animaid Café and that they will continue to do events like this.  I’ll be looking forward to it.

Edit: I have recently heard that the event really picked up after some of the craziness had subsided. Unfortunately, this occurred after we had left and we missed out on a good time. Oh well, I guess that’s just another reason for me to head back next time!

Anime LA has everything it takes to be a good convention.  They have a nice con suite, where they offer you free drinks and snacks; they have their own room block, guests of honor from the industry, a masquerade,  friendly attendees, a dealer’s hall and an artists’ alley.  So, what was it about ALA that made it seem so half-assed?

Perhaps it was the small scale of things.  Everything about Anime La is small.  That may sound desirable, but unfortunately, it’s small in both a literal and figurative sense.  Guests of honor were has -beens and virtually-unknowns, and worse, they didn’t really care about the convention. For example, a president of a publishing company arrived late to her panel without her visual presentation, and a certain voice actor’s band showed up without a lead guitarist.  While this isn’t the con’s fault, it does reflect poorly upon Anime LA.

Another problem was an overall lack of variety.  The artists’ alley had perhaps three unique tables, the others were all incredibly similar to one another.  The dealer’s hall mirrored this trend as well.  The “schedule of events” would have been more aptly named the “schedule of panels.”  Seriously, your options were A) sit and listen to someone talk, B) sit and listen to someone talk, or C) sit and listen to someone talk.  There were very few actual activities to be done (make a recycled basket, do origami on day 2, watch a pitiful fashion show or martial arts demonstration on day 3).  Worse still, the basket making activity (I would have liked to do this) required that you either bring materials from home or buy them on site, which would have been nice to know about ahead of time.  At the end of each day, there were live bands performing, but the hotel’s pa system was awful, and unless you enjoy anime music or emo, the bands weren’t very impressive.  We spent the majority of the day sitting around and waiting for things that ended up not being worth the wait.

Ok, so that’s not totally true.  There were a few things I really enjoyed.  The Rum Party was great, minus the stinky guy that sat next to me at Blackjack and kept raising the pot and annoying everyone.  We had some great cosplay gatherings.  There was a panel on cosplay accessories, weapons, etc that was very informative (thank you to the two who presented that).  Of course, there was DQ’s panel, too.  Plus, the attendees were great.  Everybody was friendly and you could tell they just wanted to enjoy the con with everyone.

While Anime La wasn’t a total loss, there is definitely room for improvement.  I’ll wait to pass judgement until I hear news on next year’s con, but I think I’ll probably be saving my money for AX.

At least that’s what I’m hearing and that’s what Anime News Network is reporting.  Here’s a link for any of you lazy s.o.b.s out there. Click me.

I knew it would come to this. Shirow Miwa’s Dogs is just too good a manga for them (whoever they are) to pass up on doing an anime. If it’s done properly, this could be a must see. Or, I guess it could turn out like Death Note. At least that would be funny.  Kind of.

Here’s something for everyone to look at.

Ok, so maybe Death Note wasn’t that terrible an anime, but it wasn’t very good, either.   Anyway, I guess what I’m trying to say about the Dogs anime is something along the lines of “It better be good.”

How did they even come close to believing this was a good idea?

People are bitching and moaning about it, but I don’t see why.  Yes, it’s true they could screw up royally and make the movie awful, but it’s also at least somewhat possible that it could be good.   If you don’t want to see the movie you don’t have to see it.  It’s not like it would detract from what the series is.

Another issue I’ve seen people complain about is the fact that an American studio is behind this.  Really, that’s a good thing.  Fox’s involvement with the film shows that the US mainstream is becoming more interested in anime in general.  Greater demand + competition = better selection of anime in the US.  Damn capitalism.

English dubs and translations are of such poor quality because anime and manga is handled by a select few companies at the moment.  They cater to a niche market.  Unfortunately since these companies really have a monopoly on the market, there’s no need for them to improve their performance.  They’re free to release slowly, edit arbitrarily, translate inaccurately and charge ridiculous amounts of money for their products.  Having a larger number of big companies involved will help with at least some of these problems, because no one wants to lose out to their competitor. (Please don’t think I support their money grubbing…)

So, what’s the big deal?  Why do I think making a Cowboy Bebop live action film is a bad idea?  Well, that’s because Cowboy Bebop is a cartoon.  Live action films based on anime are never good.  I don’t care if it’s American or if it’s Japanese.  A live action film of a cartoon show will suck; that’s just the way it is.  Half of the show’s charm is that it’s animated, and the other half comes from its great story and wonderful characters, and in Cowboy Bebop’s case its cutting edge use of technology and an awesome soundtrack.  By making the film live action, we lose three-quarters of what we loved about it in the first place.   I’d be happier if they made another animated film.  Maybe a prequel… hint, hint.

So, while I don’t like the fact the film will be live action, I don’t hate it either.  It is what it is. Let’s not lie, I will probably go to see it, just like most of you will.  Even if it’s bad, everyone knows how fun it is to sit in the theatre and commentate on horrible films loudly enough that others can hear you (and occasionally chime in).

That’s just my two cents.  But, if you think the Cowboy Bebop film’s going to be bad, wait until you read about the live action Smurfs film.

Did I totally ruin your day or what?

]]> http://malcontentcontent.wordpress.com/2008/09/08/cowboy-bebop-whoa/feed/ 1 malcontentcontent http://malcontentcontent.wordpress.com/2008/08/09/the-embalmer-quite-the-undertaking/ http://malcontentcontent.wordpress.com/2008/08/09/the-embalmer-quite-the-undertaking/#comments Sun, 10 Aug 2008 03:36:54 +0000 malcontentcontent http://malcontentcontent.wordpress.com/?p=41 ]]> The Embalmer
by Mistukazu Mihara

Art: My, my how Mihara has changed. I didn’t even realize that The Embalmer was done by the same mangaka as Doll until the two series were sitting side by side on my shelves. Now, Mihara’s overall style hasn’t changed much; if I compare a page from Doll to a page from The Embalmer, I can tell it is done by the same artist. However, this series has a certain something about it that just makes the art so much more appealing. The art is softer, there’s a more diverse use of tone, the inking is better, there are detailed backgrounds, and the people are drawn better. Unlike with Doll, the quality of illustration on the cover is what you get in the book and there are some pages that the reader will enjoy studying for a few moments more than it takes just to read the page.

Story: Mihara has presented another wonderful story to her readers with The Embalmer. The plot focuses on Shinjyurou Mamiya, an embalmer. Because it is more traditional to cremate the dead in Japan, society frowns upon Mamiya’s profession and sees him as a bit of a freak and an outcast. Mamiya ignores the obvious scorn the people feel for him because he knows that his work is important, not just for the dead, but also for those they have left behind…

Again, Mihara has written a story ripe with emotion. The characters are sympathetic and sincere. The story is so believable, it just might have happened. IGN.com was quoted on the back of the book as having said that this book would “really tug at your heartstrings,” a statement which holds true.

Characters: Most of the characters in The Embalmer only appear in one chapter. The two central protagonists are Azuki Natsui and, of course, Shinjyurou Mamiya. They are youthful characters and their behavior reflects this on occasion, but they usually conduct themselves in a mature manner, especially Mamiya who sometimes seems wise beyond his years. Azuki is a cheerful, kindhearted girl, but she’s also not afraid to put her foot down. She gets aggravated by Shinjyurou frequently, but she cares for him. Shinjyurou is a bit strange, and sometimes sleazy, but he is well-meaning and a good guy deep down. He’s a womanizer, ok, I won’t lie, he’s pretty much a nympho but the reason behind it is… read volume three to find out!

The secondary characters are interesting: one is a narcissist, another is a compulsive liar, there is a gothic lolita ball joint doll maker, Azuki’s brother works for a candy company (but his name is neither Willy nor Wonka), there’s even a transvestite! Every person is unique, and their troubles and motivations can be inspiring, terrifying, or heartbreaking and sometimes all three.

Apparently, there’s a live action film. That guy looks nothing like what I imagined a real Shinjyurou would look like.

Miscellaneous: The end is really beautiful and The Embalmer has a positive message, but some of the themes in certain chapters are disturbing. This series is definitely not for the squeamish and those easily upset by the thought of touching a corpse. With all those cadavers, I was totally expecting a zombie or two on more than one occasion; but then again, I do have a secret zombie film obsession. Also, I commend the folks down at Tokyopop who did the cover designs. Kudos.

By the way, I apologize for the pictures. It’s hard to find good images for this series. I found a few nice ones, but it was hard to determine whether or not they were fan works, so I decided not to post them.

The Bottom Line: I enjoyed reading The Embalmer, even though I was apprehensive about it at first. It seemed like the kind of story that could either be really good or really bad. The art in the Embalmer is good, the story is mature, psychological and deeply emotional; and I think most serious manga readers would enjoy it. If you’re mostly a fan of hack and slash shounen or shoujo love stories perhaps the Embalmer is not for you. Even if it doesn’t seem like something you’d generally read, pick up the first volume and give it a whirl. Remember, you can always flip through the first few pages the next time you’re at the bookstore… unless the book’s wrapped in plastic.

That picture is so cute.

So, it would seem that Viz has picked Dogs up. I’ve dug around a little but I can’t get very specific information, except that it’s slated for release in spring of 2009. I don’t know if Viz is taking all of the series or just the first volume, but I would assume it’s the whole thing since it is so short.

I’m not sure what my opinion is on this, yet. For one, it’s exciting, because I’d love a US release; it would make things a lot easier. And, we’re that much closer to an anime. Hopefully they’ll wait until the manga finishes though, so we’re not stuck with another Nana or Deathnote. On the other hand, a US release entails horrid translations. Plus, they’ll probably edit the manga so that it’s suitable for younger audiences to increase their demographic and drive sales. Damn capitalism.

Dogs is a great manga and I hope they keep it as is with a quality translation that is as true to the original script as possible. We’ll see what we end up with, though. Keep those fingers crossed.

Alright, I stumbled upon this manga a while back. I had never heard of it, and it wasn’t very well known. I’ve seen some more love for this series online lately so I’m going to do my best to spread that love.

What can be said about this title? Dogs is stylish, intriguing, fun to read, and just plain cool. It has pretty much everything that makes a good manga. There’s good art, lots of action without too much gore, humor, a serious solid plot, and there’s even a tiny bit of romance.

Art: The art in Dogs is great. It’s clean, neat, and consistent, color use is dramatic. I’m very impressed with Miwa’s style, I have only positive things to say about it. Many manga-ka will ditch realistic human anatomy in favor of more idealized forms. Miwa doesn’t do this. Ok, maybe his facial expressions are a little out there, but they are so fitting, so perfectly eccentric and so expressive that they really make the manga at certain points. Dramatic lines and dynamic poses make just looking at Dogs exciting. My only criticism as far as the art is concerned is that Miwa got a little lazy/pressed for time in chapter 27 and it wasn’t inked very well, but by the time the tankobon came out, it was all fixed. As such, I really have nothing bad to say about the art, do I?

Story: The story is complex and slow to unfold, so I don’t get what’s going on entirely yet, but that’s part of the appeal of Dogs. All we know for sure is that the world our young protagonists live in is chaotic, violent, morally corrupt and unforgiving; the underground is even worse. It’s clearly set in the future, but it is hinted that some catastrophic event has thrown society into its current state. The story focuses mostly on Haine, a standoffish young man who has been genetically modified to be the ultimate human weapon; Badou, a bumbling, chain smoking, one-eyed PI; and Naoto, a sword-toting chick seeking vengeance. These three are all scouring the underground for clues into painful past events in their lives… which somehow seem to be connected to kidnappings and experiments on genetically modified people. There’s so much I’m wondering about right now, but because the manga is ongoing, I’ll have to wait.

Sorry, these are scaled down from high-res images.

Characters: I haven’t met a Dogs character that I didn’t like. The protagonists are interesting with fully fleshed out personalities, the antagonists are scrumptiously evil and demented. The characters can be ridiculous at times, Badou especially, but for the most part, they seem very real. The psychological and emotional scars the characters bear are ones we’ve all seen in people we know, and maybe even bore ourselves.

I might call that hairstyle a flaw… seriously, pigtails don’t work on guys, Badou.

Other than the three characters previously mentioned, there are a few, as of now, secondary characters who play important roles in the story. There’s Mihai, an ex-assassin, guilt ridden over certain events in his past; Nil, an aphonic, genetically modified girl with wings; Bishop, a blind priest with a gothic lolita fetish ( he can’t even see what goth loli looks like so, I don’t get it…); and finally, Liza, an old woman who seems to have a finger in every pie. Add to the mix the antagonists, all of whom seem to be related to Haine somehow: maniac, gunkata expert Giovanni; the playful Hardcore Twins Luki and Noki, whose arms turn into massive guns; and Einstellsehn and Freuling who are the insane bitches in charge of the experiments run on them. That’s a whole lot of crazy.

Miscellaneous: For those of you who were wondering, Dogs: Bullets and Carnage by Shirow Miwa is currently serialized in Jump. Dogs was the first volume, and there was a one shot called Hardcore Twins. There’s also a side story that falls somewhere around chapter 21 of Dogs: Bullets and Carnage which focuses a bit on the past of one of the characters (who happens to be my favorite). Crazy Dog Show is an artbook in which Miwa and some of his friends did artwork for the series. There are two drama CDs available as well, which sets off alarm bells in my head. Anime… maybe?

Here’s Naoto looking badass.

The Bottom Line: Dogs is just awesome. If you can get your hands on it, read it. It’s just three volumes, so it’s a short read that will not disappoint. The art is wonderful, the characters are great, the story is gripping, and there is nonstop action to boot .

And yes, that is Badou’s crotch on my header. If you want more information on Dogs, I guess Google is your best bet. I hear there is a pretty active LJ community but it’s mostly just fan works and stuff like that. I haven’t really looked into it yet. Anyway, that’s Dogs. Check it out.

Edit 07/20/2008: I fixed the images. I don’t know what’s wrong, as only two stopped working, but they’re all hosted in the same place (outside of WordPress). Bandwidth issue? Hopefully there are no more issues.

So, this review is a little different. After reading the synopsis of the manga by the same title, my interest was piqued, and I decided to take a look at the Missing series. Unfortunately, when I got to the book store, only the novel was available. I’m an avid reader, so I purchased this book against my better judgment.

The most striking thing about this book is it’s cover, which is brilliant. I love the photography. The color scheme is good, it goes well with the image. Also, the same guy who did the cover designed the interior, and it definitely sets the ambiance of the book. I just wish they put as much effort into the actual text as they did the designs.

Unfortunately, the moment the cover is opened and the first page is turned, Missing begins to disappoint. Even the chapter names are uninspired and dull. Often when text is translated from its native language, there is some je ne sais quoi which is lost. Subtleties, metaphors, idioms and the like cannot be translated word for word, and are never as beautiful as they originally were.

Reading just the first page of the prologue confirmed my fears. The translation and editing are lacking. There are technical mistakes which really should have been caught. For instance, there are some tense issues on page six. Also, there were more than a few typos, the worst and most memorable being on a page where Kijou is called Kouji. These are two entirely different names, and it just shows how inattentive the staff was. Maybe I should apply at Tokyopop; they’ll hire just about anyone.

Utsume and Ayame in the manga, perhaps?

Worse, however, is the fact that the text feels hollow and sterile. The writing feels as if it’s been simplified for a younger audience. Where is the issue in that, you wonder? Well, the issue lies in the fact that the reader feels that the writing has been simplified. It seems almost as if Tokyopop is mocking us, questioning our intelligence. Missing reads on an about fifth grade level, but the subject matter is dark and psychological, much too deep for the complexity of the novel. This causes the entire book to feel out of sync; I just couldn’t get into it. Instead, I found myself laughing at the descriptions of problems and the characters’ (over)reactions. Moments that could have been truly frightening were merely somewhat or hardly creepy due to the “lite” style of the prose. Nothing seemed to the reader as it did to the characters, which is problematic in a novel. Normally, a novel should provoke some sort of emotion from the reader, but I felt detached and removed while reading Missing. I just didn’t care; I felt as if I was simply watching the events of the story unfold without any sense of wonder or suspense.

Another fact that didn’t jive with me was the lack of originality in the characters. They were all obvious archetypal anime characters. In Missing, we have the cold, bossy, glasses-wearing nerd girl; the sweet, unintelligent beauty; the slow-witted but well-meaning friend; the natural born leader martial-artist; and the enigmatic, distant, shrewd-minded central protagonist. The characters were so one dimensional, I could never get any of them but Aki and Utsume straight, as they came closest to actually portraying some semblance of a personality. The others seemed as if they were simply going through the motions . I felt as if I was reading the English novelization of a bad Japanese soap-opera.

Missing is slow-paced, and anti-climatic. The drama flat-lines early on, I felt more could have been done to create a sense of tension so that at the resolution of the climax there would be a greater sense of catharsis. Essentially, I want a deeper plot and a better ending. There is not much of a dénouement at the close of this volume, but that could well be due to the fact that there are several volumes following this one.

I don’t have much else to say about Missing. Coda has some interesting concepts, and I would have liked to have seen more done with them. I’m willing to bet the book would be much better in Japanese, but there really is no telling. Overall, this is a mediocre book that could probably be enjoyed for light reading over the summer, assuming one does that type of thing. It’s only $7.99 in the US, so it’s not too pricey, but if choosing between this novel and another, I’d call a Missing lower priority read.