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

Kids & other animals

[chomiji]

My ideal ages for kid interactions are about 4 to 11, I think, with 10 or so being the optimal - before all the angst of adolescence, but capable of rational and imaginative thought. So my sister's twins and Miss Katy are in the zone right now, and the Bens and Miss Becky have recently become a bit too old (although - props to their folks - I can still talk to them somewhat ... let's see what happens as they get into their teens ...).

Yes ... many people don't want to give the time necessary for a dog, in particular - which is why I don't have one. It's like having another child, and I just don't have the energy right now (like I said earlier somewhere, I used to think I wanted three children ... man, do I know better now). If you want a pet you only have to interact with once or twice a day, get fish or a gerbil.

And with kids, although relatively few don't want to spend the necessary time, many parents have no sense about what's reasonable to expect: you get the parents who whack tiny kids for just being tiny kids - whining when they get tired, for example, because the parent insists on dragging them along on 4 errands end-to-end - and other parents who don't bother to expect decent, considerate public behavior from kids who are more than old enough. I find it darkly funny, for example, that Care, who has relatively little use for most other people beyond her family and closest friends, is careful not to block aisles in stores or hallways at school, because I've carried on for years about how inconsiderate and stupid that is, while other people's children - much more social and friendly - will do so constantly.