Shaman Warrior, vols. 1-5 (Park Joong-Ki)

[chomiji]

Shaman warriors have the ability to transform their bodies in various ways, making them formidable war machines. As this series opens, a legendary shaman, Yarong, meets his death under circumstances that seem highly suspicious to his servant, the massive fighter Batu. Batu swears to defend his master's child, Yaki, but he soon finds this far more difficult than he expected: shaman warriors are being hunted down and killed, with the circumstances of Yarong's death being twisted to provide an excuse. Batu at last decides he must take desperate measures to ensure that little Yaki survives and becomes able to defend herself.

Thus far, this is playing out like an almost gender-blind shounen/seinen adventure. There are more male characters than female characters (especially in the first volume), but the female characters we've encountered thus far are fighting, doing magic, and adventuring along with the men. These female characters are also generally drawn with reasonable bustlines and amazingly modest clothing. The story includes betrayal, loyalty beyond the grave, a variety of non-romantic attachments (siblings, master-servant, parent-child, team mates, etc.), and complex politics. The artwork is gorgeous, illustration rather than cartoon, along the lines of Inoue's work on Vagabond and Samura's work on Blade of the Immortal (and when we do encounter grotesques, they're all the more unnerving because they're so well-drawn).

Oh, and telophase? Batu the Destroyer traveling with little Yaki is just your kind of thing!

Shaman Warrior, vols. 1-5 (review)

(FYI - that's teenaged Yaki in the icon.)

OK ... wild theories time. The Mr. and I don't think Yarong was Yaki's father. We think Yarong was Yaki's mother.

This may sound like total crack - after all, we have a number of pictures of bare-chested Yarong in vol. 1, and that's a totally masculine-looking torso, very much in the realistic mode: not tapered and bishie-ish, but compactly muscled and slightly stocky. But think about how Yarong has a tiny baby, and Batu keeps urging him to take it easy because "you can't fight anymore. Your body can't take it" and the General who sends Yarong off on his fatal mission apologizes that he had to "inform you of this while your body is still changing," and then later this same General thinks of Yarong with this statement:"I have plucked the most beautiful flower in all Kugai ... ."

I guess only time will tell.

Park gets a little weird with names: there is a character called Genji (female, and supposedly Batu's sister) and another called Aragorn (the tattooed warlord of a clan that's being forced out by the General). Genji is a lot of fun - frankly outspoken, a skilled fighter, and a master of disguise. Aragorn's a pretty good character too, but I keep twitching every time I read that name ... .

Yaki's experiences in the Butcher Camps are all too realistic, except in one area, and I think Park is actually to be commended for not going for the sexual angle in most of what happens to her. I also like how Yatilla gives her a reason to go on and be strong. He's a very promising character, and I hope we'll see more of him.

My only regret thus far is that Yarong was killed off so soon. He was just my sort of character.

Comments

[avierra.livejournal.com]

It's interesting what maekup represents to people, I mean, people have been putting colors and designs on their face and bodies since before recorded history. It's practically part of the human condition, I think. Although, having said that, I personally almost never wear it; in fact, I can't think of the last time I did. I suspect it has something to do with my mother, who (when she can afford it), wears full warpaint at the slightest pretext. So maybe in reaction that that, and maybe because my husband has a strongly negative reaction when I do (possibly because I don't apply it well, I don't know ;P ), but I do get that it makes some people feel better and more mentally prepared (as it does with my mother).

I think it's pretty interesting what people use to put themselves in a particular mindset, or as a coping mechanism. I am not sure I have a "face the world" mechanism, unless it's to think about things to the point of overthinking, sometimes, and just screw my courage up and do what I have to do. Then I vent to my husband when it's all done. ;)

[chomiji]

It's funny ... mulling this over (a lot today), I think it was more a case of confounded expecations. I found myself thinking of what kispexi2 was saying one time, about how every so often she really gets smacked in the face with the fact that just because people online are in synch with her on some issues, it doesn't mean they're in synch on all issues. And I think that's what happened here - I was expecting a very sympatico character, and right off, there was this big gap. And a little feeling of "Oh noes, these people I really like really like this character and identify with her and I want to shake her until her teeth rattle in her pretty li'l head! Woes! I am clearly not on the same wavelength as much as I thought I was!" and then my version of Gojyo's "Why am I so weak?" - "Why am I so weird?"

And then that made me angry, because I no longer put up with being made to feel weird. And so poor Sookie and her lipstick addiction took a much bigger hit than they deserved. Because I don't care if other people wear the stuff - I just don't like the feeling that someone thinks I should.

And very ironically, the Young Lady and I spent about an hour yesterday in Sephora, doing mother-daughter bonding over that very same stuff ... she wanted some concealer for blemishes and under-eye darkness, and she also bought some eye shadow, and we both tried on lip glosses (and complained about the stickiness in several cases), and I sniffed perfumes.

My husband doesn't think much of makeup one way or the other, unless there's too much of it. My Mom always wore at least lipstick, despite being an academic type, and she certainly owned and knew how to use the whole nine yards.

[avierra.livejournal.com]

And a little feeling of "Oh noes, these people I really like really like this character and identify with her and I want to shake her until her teeth rattle in her pretty li'l head! Woes! I am clearly not on the same wavelength as much as I thought I was!" and then my version of Gojyo's "Why am I so weak?" - "Why am I so weird?"

Hehe! No no... I hadn't thought about other ways Sookie could be perceived, so that was pretty instructive, actually. I don't think that's weird at all (or that Smilla and I are weird for thinking of her in a different way). I enjoy hearing about different interpretations of stories and characters (and isn't that why one has these sorts of discussions? ), and I think I take a lot more away when someone holds up their hand and says "Wait a sec, I don't think that at all..." (and I am usually the one saying that, so... ;D) People's feelings are what they are.

FWIW, I don't think Harris is presenting Sookie as an ideal. In fact, I think you may be on to something with pointing out the lipstick addiction, because in fact, Sookie does have a habit of focusing on the banal at times -- as her own personal coping mechanism, I suspect. I think Smilla was on to something when she said that Sookie focuses on her appearance as something that she has complete control over, and the mundania of daily living is something she also controls. She is mostly along for the ride for pretty much everything else. I don't think she's reactive, exactly, but she's situationally proactive (like with the Rattrays).

And very ironically, the Young Lady and I spent about an hour yesterday in Sephora, doing mother-daughter bonding over that very same stuff ... she wanted some concealer for blemishes and under-eye darkness, and she also bought some eye shadow, and we both tried on lip glosses (and complained about the stickiness in several cases), and I sniffed perfumes.

My 6 y.o. daughter is fricking OBSESSED with makeup and being "stylish." Which is sort of cute, but where the hell is a 6 year old coming up with that. I don't know who she's getting those kinds of ideas from, some popular kid, I guess. Which sort of breaks my heart, because I know... I KNOW she's never gonna be one of the cool kids. And her grandmother keeps buying her like Barbie makeup and so on, which really pisses me off. Ah well.

[chomiji]

Well, I liked her much better once she had more to worry her pretty li'l head about than lipstick ... although every time she got dressed for An Occasion, the Sookie that drove me nuts at the start put in at least a momentary reappearance.

It's funny, because clothes alone don't bother me in stories. I need to think some more about what Harris is doing that tweaks me so badly.

[chomiji]

Arrgh ... the pink princess thing is a stage that almost all little het girls go through. I was fond of princesses for a while there too, although I think I switched to mermaids fairly quickly (and this was pre-Ariel). All I can suggest is that you find some stories with princessy girls who do something else besides wear clothes. Or something that's just so fun and interesting that she can't resist it despite the fact that it's not princessy. Do you all have the Junie B. Jones books?

Another thing about Barbie is that she has stuff, and it appeals to kids who have the collector instinct. So if you can channel that into something else ... the Young Lady went in for Beanie Babies, for example.

You can also just put your foot down about the makeup - remind Grandma of all the problems with sexualization of young girls these days. Then decide when you're going to allow which pieces of feminine "advertising" and stick to what you decide. I told my daughter that she could have her ears pierced when she got her period, and learn to wear makeup and have shoes with more than 1-inch heels when she was getting ready for her Bat Mitzvah ("becomes a teenager" works just as well). It worked pretty well - she knew she'd be able to do it someday.

[chomiji]

Crap, I wrote a whole post here about things I used to play, with Barbies and otherwise, and then got a Post Too Large when I tried to post it. Never seen that error before ... and then my modem blew up for a moment. OK, I'll explain what I did with dolls - treat 'em as action figures, basically - some other time.

[avierra.livejournal.com]

Arrgh ... the pink princess thing is a stage that almost all little het girls go through. I was fond of princesses for a while there too, although I think I switched to mermaids fairly quickly (and this was pre-Ariel). All I can suggest is that you find some stories with princessy girls who do something else besides wear clothes. Or something that's just so fun and interesting that she can't resist it despite the fact that it's not princessy. Do you all have the Junie B. Jones books?

The little girl is TOTALLY pink. We got her some of the fairy Barbie dolls, but she actually doesn't play with them that much. It's more like she likes the idea of being princess-y, but doesn't actually like being one all that much. For one thing, she's a force of nature, and you know how that works on chiffon ;) So maybe it isn't as bad as I have been thinking. I know she likes clothes and fashion though. Her Dad actually had to put his foot down and tell she was required to wear a shirt that covered up her belly button. For crying out loud. I guess that is TV's pernicious influence, and I blame Bratz dolls too (even though we absolutely forbade her grandmother to get her any Bratz, and so far she hasn't, but they advertise frequently and prominently, so it is hard to miss.

Grandma is a PITA in a lot of ways, and she has absolutely no sense of boundaries. She's not a bad person, but she is just utterly unconcerned with what anyone else thinks or wants, just what SHE thinks or wants. It is quite exasperating.

The Junie B books, I hadn't heard of those, but I looked them up on Amazon and they sound like a hoot. So I ordered them. ;)

[chomiji]

I checked on Amazon to see what people were saying about Junie B. ... I'm glad you ignored the folks who were on about how bad she is for kids. Not every book needs to be a lesson ... . They're pretty funny. My favorite is probably the one where she wants a pet to bring in for the school pet parade, and ends up with a fishstick on the end of a string ... and God bless her teacher, who manages to deal with the situation quite handily!

Luckily mine was not too into any particular style of clothes at that age, and by the time she was 6 or 7, she'd decided that her favorite color was green! (When we're traveling with my friend Kat and her family, we still tend to color-code everything for the 3 girls: Liz is pink or purple, Care is green, and Becca is yellow. Oddly enough, Liz is probably the least girly of the three!) Later on, I'm afraid I invoked classism - essentially, only stupid people wear those kinds of clothes.

You can always try getting some of the less slutty clothing catalogs - Lands End, LL Bean, Hanna Andersson (pricey!) - and letting her pick out some things from them. They simply don't have those kinds of fashions, and the idea of being able to pick things in the favorite color - even if it's pink! - often makes up for any lack of trendiness.

(And if you start visiting this neck of the woods, we may be able to rustle up some hand-me-downs if that would help the budgetary aspect of all this ... most of the Young Lady's stuff has gone on to her cousin Ilana - 6 yrs old - or game-playing-offspring Katy - also 6, but much larger for her age - but we could probably get some of it back. Katy's little sister Laura won't be big enough for those things for a while.)

[chomiji]

Well, as noted, it was more a case of my demons coming out in reaction to over-expectations. I was clearly hoping for something like you apparently got with Lirael, partially because I've found so damned little good new fiction recently. If it weren't for manga, I'd be doing nothing but re-reading, I think.

I don't care for the pretty girl who thinks she's ugly either, but heroines don't have to be pretty at all. I'm fond of Maree Mallory in Diana Wynne Jones' Deep Secret, who's not pretty at all, really. But when the right guy falls for her, he suddenly finds that she looks "astonishingly good." It's always better to have characters' looks revealed by others' reactions, but in a first-person narrative, the author is kind of stuck unless she's awfully skilful - or resorts to the dreaded Mirror Scene (Cherryh claims that every author gets one and only one of those).

I've had on-again, off-again pressure implying that if I'd just stopped being me, I'd be happier, as recently as about 2 years ago. (That was the last incident where I tried to get closer to people at my synagogue.) The makeup/clothes was only part of it. It sounds like you had a pretty clear idea of your own style early on - I didn't glom onto mine until well into my 30s (some time I'll show you my party clothes ... soft, drapy black velvet or silk slacks, glittery sweater shells, fancy jackets ... ).

Yes, we were at Montgomery Mall! I tried on Une Jardin sur la Nile and liked it OK (just as well I didn't love it - very pricey!). Nordstrom's was having a "fragrance event" for Mother's Day, and someone had a Pink Grapefruit perfume, which was fun but very sweet, and faded within 5 minutes.

I actually have a lip gloss I like, that works more like a stain. But I can't remember who makes it - some department store counter thing, like Estee Lauder or something. It's a sheer wine tone. My lips are already pretty colorful (one of my few really good facial features, I think), so I like a sheer gloss to just change the tone. But if I'd found a lighter one I'd been able to stand, I would have bought it.

[chomiji]

The lip gloss was bought several years ago, so it's probably one they don't make anymore! I also have a couple of semi-sheer lipsticks, one wine-ish, one slightly coral-ish.

The other issue, of course, is my glasses - they're so strong that my eyes look smaller than they are (though I have the fancy lenses, so there isn't that strange tunnel effect). Which is a pity, because eye makeup is my favorite part of makeup.

As a child I often looked sallow, but that was because I was always ending up in yellow or light orange clothes, which my mother thought made a good contrast to my dark hair. It was totally wrong for my complexion, though.

[avierra.livejournal.com]

Hehe, I sometimes wonder if there is anyone whose mother didn't screw them up. My mother wouldn't let me grow my hair long, and cut it short. (I know have very very long hair ;P ) I don't know why she was such a control freak over that, she wasn't over my wardrobe so much though.

It is interesting you mention the Shiseido ads. I wanted to be Siouxsie Sioux. For a time I was somewhat into the whole punk and later goth thing, and I still like the look, it is just that I think I look ridiculous in it, for the most part ;( I wasnt a kid though, I just thought she was amazingly beautiful and exotic and loved (and still love) her music. She has amazing bone structure and would be extremely beautiful even without the makeup. I am gonna attach some links, I am pretty sure there is strong Japanese influence, perhaps from Noh and Kabuki styles (but that is just a guess). Or perhaps Egyptianish with the eyes (or a mix), but the whole thing with the white mask and the red lips is all Japanese, I think.

http://www.austinyoung.com/menu/images/siouxsie_sioux_dreamshow.jpg

http://www.dianamystery.com/Siouxsie3.jpg

[chomiji]

(Ack! I want to answer some more of these, but I got deep into this week's Saiyuki_time story ... it'll have to be tomorrow. I'm revisiting Gojyo's Special Adventuring Pants! Hakkai's trying to throw them out ... .)

[chomiji]

I had my hair down to my waist when I was in my teens ... it was like the Young Lady's, but with a little less volume (she really has the Mr's hair, and he has the only wavy, full hair in his family). I always had it tied up or controlled in some way. I was proud of it, but also got annoyed with it - I didn't care to blow dry it, and it took so long to dry on its own, and the waves meant that it tied itself into knots..

I first cut it short my senior year of high school, but I wished it was straight, and I'd wrap it in a bandanna when it was wet, to flatten it out. Going entirely the other way, I tried getting it permed during college. I liked the look, but hated getting it permed. Lo and behold, as I got older, it got somewhat curlier (maybe it just changed gradually from not having so much weight on it). But it wasn't until I saw a curvaceous African-American woman with basically the cut I have now that I had the revelation that no, all the hair styling experts were wrong: the secret wasn't to try to hide my large jaw with hair feathered around my face - it was to draw the attention away from the jaw entirely by not framing it with hair at all and instead adding some height/interest by allowing to crown of the head to be curly.

And except for having to go for trims frequently, it's utterly maintenance free: I have laid hands on a brush or comb maybe 3 times in the past year, I only need a smidge of shampoo, it takes only a few minutes to get the hair color on (and most of that is spent dealing with the bits around my face), and it dries in no time at all.

My mother used to make a lot of our clothes when we were in grade school, especially dresses. We weren't allowed to wear pants to school back then! She used to make us those little 1960s A-line shift dresses with matching shorts underneath as playclothes. I also remember a dress she made me when I was about 12 (so about 1970), bright yellow textured poly knit, with rather Renaissance-looking sleeves with a band of ethnic-looking trim separating the puffy parts. (And yellow wasn't any kinder to me, with my pale peach complexion, than it was to you ... .)

The garments I hated the most were blouses that buttoned down the front. I was always chunky, and then when I started getting a bust line, they were never cut generously enough for me, and the buttons gapped. I was horribly embarrassed. The Girl Scout summer uniform camp shirt (white, cut slim and skimpy, worn with green Bermuda shorts) was the worst. I still don't wear blouses/shirts like that for the most part!

[chomiji]

I think my mother would have been delighted for me to have voiced any opinion at all about what I wore and so on. Mostly, I was exactly as caring about the whole subject as your average boy: I didn't want to cut my hair because it was mine (but all I ever did with it was keep it in a ponytail or a braid, because it was wavy-curly and tangled easily), and clothes had to be comfortable and not reveal too much of what was beneath them. And that was it. She was from a New York City garment-district family, and she was totally bewildered by how little I cared about all this stuff. I hated shopping for clothes and used to take a book along and hide under the clothes racks until my mother finished picking things out for me and dragged me out to try them on.

That's another reason why I love Ouran High School Host Club: Haruhi's attitude toward clothes and the whole boy/girl social scene is very much like mine was at that age.

The kind of clothes that suit my figure (no waist, busty, wide-shouldered, relatively narrow hips compared with the rest, potbelly like a guy) aren't generally pitched for teens, and I had a serious face almost from grade school on. So all those "fun" clothes weren't all that much fun for me!

I used to dream of being slim and having straight black hair - I'm not certain why - so all that Orientalesque stuff appealed to me, but I didn't ever think of it as applying to me in real life. It was a revelation - but not the sort you might think - during my early 20s, when I had contact lenses (can't wear 'em anymore), when my sister-in-law-to-be convinced me to have a makeover. The woman did me up with bronze and violet shades - very ethnic - and I woke up to the idea that a more Bohemian look might be the ticket, even though I had no intention of putting stuff on my face everyday to accomplish that. It took several more years to realize that lots of interesting layers just made me look more square. So I've settled into relatively simple clothes with clean lines and some Bohemian/arty accessories, especially earrings.

(And I had my colors "done" - I'm a Vibrant Summer, according to one of the popular classifications.)

[chomiji]

:-)

I think my equivalent girl crush was Annie Lennox of Eurhythmics, and I knew I could never, never look like that ... I was in my early 20s by then, anyway. (My fascinations in my teen years were all guys - Queen and David Bowie among them.)

I never wanted to be the Princess - I wanted to be the Princess' resourcesful, trusted best friend and confidante. But my idealized Princess was always very un-WASP. Long dark hair and a tawny-ish skin were much the thing ... .

[avierra.livejournal.com]

Annie was pretty smashing. I could never look like either her or Siouxsie: for one, even before I became middle-aged and fat I had big boobs and you know, that just doesn't work with that androgynous-chic look. ;D I really liked that look. What seems kind of funny to me is that some of those guys still dress and present themselves that way (not David Bowie though, (OMG... /fans self) he looks like a million bucks, and he is in his 60's).

Girl-crush... ahaha! I guess it was. :D