Anime Tropes etc. website

[chomiji]

I have no idea how good or accurate this site is, but it's pretty entertaining, and of course most of it is valid (or invalid, as the case may be) for manga as well. You can find entries for things like the ever-popular paper fan of doom (wielded with such authority by Sanzo in Saiyuki, among others), individual shows (including Fruits Basket and Bleach) - with notes about which tropes each includes- , and character types, like the Wrench Wench and the Idiot from Osaka.

It's also a Wiki, so if you're into that, you can help build it better, deeper, and more complete.

Comments

[chomiji]

I have started loving SDK with the passion that I reserve for my favorite books. I was unable to resist temptation, and have found translations/scanlations for the last 9 volumes. But most of what happens in volumes 23-29 is a mystery, except that fans who can read Japanese have alluded to events therein. All I can say is that it gets even deeper, more intense, and more tragic. I have this irrational fear that Tokyopop will give up publishing English volumes before the series ends ... it was huge in Japan and still is in France, but it doesn't seem as popular over here.

It was my first manga series. My husband brought home the first few volumes one evening last fall when he got marooned in traffic near his office (he works in an office at in Tysons Corner, but we live in Takoma Park, MD), went to kill time in a bookstore, couldn't find any SF&F he liked, and asked the young clerk for manga recommendations. I didn't think much of the first few 2 or 3 volumes, but once I was well into the Shogun's tournament, I was hooked.

I love the huge ensemble cast, and how the characters seem to start out as simple ciphers but gain more and more depth as the story goes on. Look at how that process has gone with Hotaru already, for example, from Mibu assassin to traitor (twice over, if not more) to something rather more complicated than either.

And of course Yukimura is my favorite. I love his fight with Kyo early in the series, the flashback where he finds Sasuke II, his background story, his scene with Taihaku - the one where he says he's always dreaming, and lost more ... .

But really, I like most of them: Yuya (she's just indomitable, isn't she? Even though she really is in over her head ... ), Akira, Bon, Muramasa, Shinrei, Akari ... . They are just great characters, and their interactions are just enchanting and sometimes heartbreaking (Muramasa's last scenes come to mine, for example, and Saisei's death also).

>happy sigh<

[fmanalyst.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure about Akari. I'm waiting for more depth there. Right now, he's a bit too much of stereotypical queen. And I was hoping for more when Yuya was finally healed, that is, more directed at her rather than Shinrei. Dammit, I wanted Kyo to say something to her, not just silently think about her and get new resolve to fight Shinrei. But I suppose Kyo is too much of the strong, silent type. Sometimes I feel like going through the series and counting up how many "..." dialogue balloons he has. :-)

But I was dissatisfied with that scene. Somehow it ended up being more about Shinrei (which is natural, I suppose), but the girl just sits up, all better now.

[chomiji]

You'll get more about Akari, which will give her a lot more depth. And some of what is going on there is stupidity in the translation. You might want to compare Sanada's translations of issues 176 and 177 with what the published book has.

[fmanalyst.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the links. It especially cleared up the conversation between the Mibu guys, which I'd found hard to follow in the TP version.

[chomiji]

Kamijyo does tend to move the emphasis from character to character. Right now, the fact that Shinrei has gained this slight doubt is hugely significant for future events, as is the glimmering of a relationship between the half brothers. Yuya really does tend to live in the moment - she is only 16. The one time when she broke down about the fact that she was nothing but a burden to them was especially poignant because usually she does bounce right back. Remember, for example, that she didn't make much out of the incident where Akira left her in the cave with the ice-encrusted Shindara and Antera - in fact, far from being freaked out, she acted with bravery, decisiveness, and compassion. You'll recall that Akira was quite surprised that she saved her enemies that time.

[fmanalyst.livejournal.com]

I started thinking about what Muramasa said about Yuya being the glue that holds the rest of them together. She's in way over her head as a fighter, which is kind of disappointing. The same thing happened to Kaoru in Rurouni Kenshin. But she hold her own as a person and a character. It's almost like she's there in that miserable world to represent the indomitable spirit of the ordinary person.

[chomiji]

>>the indomitable spirit of the ordinary person<<

Hold that thought ... ! But at the rate Tokyopop is going, you'll be holding it for quite a while ...

[fmanalyst.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I wish they'd speed up the release schedule.

[chomiji]

They've supposedly speeded it up "for the summer," so we're getting vol. 23 next month instead of August, and vol. 24 in September. I hope they don't go back to quarterly after that ... .

There should be some good stuff in those volumes, anyway - more with Shindara (remember him?) in 23 and Kotaro (and remember him?) in 24 ... plus lots of background bits about the others and of course more dastardly Mibu plotting. (I'm picking bits out of the descriptions in French on http://www.sdkpowaaa.com, which also has lovely art galleries.)