- Last OnlineMay 16, 2021 9:29 AM
- GenderFemale
- BirthdayNov 1, 1996
- LocationLisbon, Portugal
- JoinedJun 15, 2012
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Sep 7, 2016
Hmm, how can I say this?
I am disappointed.
Tsubakikan almost has what it takes to be a decent, if not good, manga. The premise is interesting and the plot is, well, it’s a shoujo manga so there’s not much to innovate, but that’s part of the charm, though I think it went a bit too fast in the last few chapters. The characters, however, were a disappointment.
Take Yufuin, for example. From the very beginning we learn he can’t look into girls’ eyes or he’ll faint, and we learn it’s because of a girl-related trauma he had during college, but other than some flashbacks (which seemed
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like they were done in a hurry, just for the sake of being there), we get nothing about it. There it was, an opportunity to expand and develop a flat character, and the mangaka wasted it, just like that. So unsatisfying. Oh yeah, Yufuin himself was unexplainably weird, or shall I say bipolar? He was usually a caring, but incredibly shy guy, but occasionally it was like he snapped and started acting like any other princely and audacious shoujo heartthrob, but he somehow forgot all about it afterwards. I mean, how does that work? I wouldn’t know, since the mangaka ended up treating it as if it never happened.
And the girl, Otome. You know, actually I don’t have much to complain about Otome. She’s strong and strict, but also kind (and she also had her blushy moments too) so I liked her. BUT. There was this teeny tiny romantic side plot that was poorly handled, and that is her crush/not-a-crush on Miki-san. Maybe the mangaka was trying to pull a fast one on the readers because all we get is a line from Miki (it’s not even Otome who says it!) offhandedly explaining their relationship.
Side characters are just there to fill the panels, mostly. Ugh.
I was wondering is the manga was cancelled or something, because it was so rushed, but apparently nope. This manga has no excuse for its sloppiness.
The art is nice, though.
Tl;dr: mangaka was defo cutting corners when she wrote this
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Jul 21, 2016
(this review is provisory and likely to be changed when more chapters become available)
This is really good. Since it's josei, it's got that warm, pinkish, power of love kinda thing, but the disability part isn't watered down at all* and is presented rather realistically. Right from the get-go the male lead is very upfront about what daily life in a wheelchair is like, especially the parts healthy people don't really think about, or try not to (like defecating), and the reality of his situation hits us earlier than I expected. I thought a josei manga would only approach the medical complications derived from chronic immobility
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once the pairing's love was going strong and steady, as a way to bring drama to the narrative, so the display of bedsores before they started dating took me by surprise. Rather your average josei that deals with two people in love and the human drama that accompanies them, it turnas out that Perfect World is about the dificulties a couple has when one of them is in a wheelchair. The judgement from society, of course, but also the inner demons each of them has to struggle with personaly in order to be a better person and a better partner.
Yup, I like it.
*from what I can tell. I have absolutely zero experience with people on wheelchairs, both in reality and fiction
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jun 13, 2016
Review after the first 13 chapters:
Wow, where can I begin? A group of five children decides to raise an alien baby that fell from the sky and has a superpower. The story could be really sweet if it took the usual shoujo route. But what I didn't expect, especially considering the mangaka's other works, was such a thrilling story that makes my heart rate go up.
In the beginning we're presented to a group of five seemingly average children who take up baby Bara and raise her together, taking turns in keeping her in their house. This is where the good part starts: not only do
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we get to meet each child of the group individually and, through their interactions with baby Bara, discover that, despite their age, they're not so simple and their seemingly tight-knit group actually has a more complex structure than what you would expect from five-year olds, but each of them is a multidimentional, superbly-written character in their own right. We have Kojiro, a weak and easily bullied boy who goes through good character development while shouldering the responsibility of being a good role model for an innocent and gullible child, the cute and straightforward Arika who has a history with Saya, the tall and cool girl with a vulnerable side, Yukinari, a bright child who is sort of the center of the group, but hides a sad past, and Inori, who despite being cold cares a lot for Yukinari, who makes him feel he's not alone.
Then, of course, we have Barako, the child that fell from a meteor and who shows an incredible growth rate and an unusual power. Barako, who is like a blank sheet of paper in her innocence and naivete, and whose purity is morphing to amorality.
Honestly, I was expecting the manga to be like Gakuen Babysitters. I did not expect it to have such a dark undercurrent, and I certainly didn't expect it to keep me on the edge of my seat like it did.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jun 12, 2016
Review of the first volume:
Despite having two anime and manga adaptations, I feel like Arslan Senki is closer to classic high fantasy novels than your run-of-the-mill light novel.
Arslan Senki is set in a parallel world loosely based in pre-Islamic Persia so it falls into the realm of historical fantasy. Actually, the author himself states that he was heavily influenced both by classic novels and epics and historical events. It tells the story of Arslan, crown prince of Pars, a country that was taken over by the neighbouring Lusitania after his father was betrayed by one of his retainers, and his quest to recover his country
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and the throne. For that, he has the help of Dariun, a warrior among warriors, Narses, a most brilliant tactician, Farangis, a priestess with both beauty and martial skill, and Giv, a wandering musician with both wit and strength. I honestly think this is a very classic RPG-like group with cliche characters but I’m giving it the benefit of the doubt. Although Arslan’s subordinates suffer from a case of Mary Sue syndrome (though this doesn’t mean they’re not interesting in their own right), Arslan himself is a very interesting character. He is just an insecure fourteen-year-old mild-mannered boy who is forced to assume command of excellent subordinates, which forces him to ask himself Am I fit to rule? and come to the conclusion that he is still very inexperienced and undeserving of his very capable companions, thus deciding to become a good monarch. Even though there is not much growth in this volume, I look forward to seeing Arslan changing before my very eyes, both as a ruler and as a person.
I’m also particularly fond of Narses and Giv. Giv because he has a deep-rooted animosity and disrespect for royalty and power-abusing figures, and doesn’t hesitate in making it known (even though his words are often coated in honey) and is a self-serving man who is, in his own words “short on loyalty”, which makes his relationship with Arslan an interesting one, especially as the young liege proves again and again to be nothing like the royals he so despises. Narses because he’s brilliant to the point of considering things we now take for granted but that in the setting the story takes place in are completely innovative, which leads me to an underlying theme in Arslan Senki: social revolution. In a world with a strict caste system and enforced slavery, Narses has the foresight to criticize those practices and the corruption ingrained in the court of Pars, and in a way that makes you chuckle at his gall.
The plot is your classic quest to retrieve the throne so it is, at least to me, automatically interesting. There are also a few great plot twists that have enough foreshadowing behind them not to take the reader by complete surprise.
One last thing I wish to add, the translation by T.E. Waters is absolutely excellent, with stunning prose and fluid dialogue, and there are plenty of notes on the characters, setting, and translation, making it clear he or she did their research splendidly.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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