Manga (Book Club Read) Wolf Children, Mamoru Hosoda & Yu

Wolf Children: Ame and Yuki

Mamoru Hosoda, illustrated by Yu (Original character designs by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto)

Translation by Jocelyne Allen, lettering by Tania Biswas & Lys Blakeslee

ISBN: 9780316401654

Hardcover Manga compilation of the original manga series companion to the Wolf Children film.

Read April 3, 2016

Our April read was also our first manga for the book club.  Attendance was slight, and I wonder if people either didn't want to try a different format, or if there is just not much overlap between traditional comics/graphic novels and with manga.  (or more likely, it was still the tail end of Spring Break, so people could have been out enjoying the lovely weather.)  

Regardless, it was a cute story, and another nice light read after February's War Story, and the upcoming Civil War (the comic, not the movie - I'm honestly not looking forward to slogging through the comic series again, but it is what it is.)  March's Hawkeye Vol. 1 was likewise beautiful, and the full review is upcoming, although I did a short teaser review in September.

Back to Wolf Children. The story is simple and bittersweet (as are most shoujo anime/manga) and focuses on the very brief childhood of two siblings raised by a very young, but determined widowed mother.  The children's father is a brief and mythological figure in the very beginning of the story, who dies tragically trying to provide for his infant children.  

After his death the story has roughly two parts - the first section focuses on the mother, Hana, as she tries to keep her children's changeable natures hidden from society while living in the middle of a big city, and navigating health scares and poverty.  

Once she realizes she can no longer keep the children hidden and protected in the city, the story moves to a property in the countryside and the focus shifts to the two children and their developing personalities and natures.  Yuki, the eldest, begins by being fierce and adventuresome, but after an incident at school, she begins to despise and fear her wolf nature.  Her younger brother Ame starts life as a weak and sickly boy, but after an accident in the woods, he associates nature with strength and challenge, and becomes enamored of the wilderness and of his own innate wildness.

The story finishes as the children reach the wolf equivalent of adulthood - still very young by modern American standards.  As to be expected by shoujo manga, there are no real inversions of tropes, and the plot is predictable and minor - the real focus is the beautiful line-work of the art, and of the focus on individual moments in character interactions: the harried and frantic mother with a sick child that she can't take to the hospital, two wolf-toddlers tussling in an apartment, feelings of alienation at school and in the woods, interactions with neighbors and friends.  All these are sweetly and truly drawn, and make the slight story worthwhile and lovely.  

While I haven't seen the movie yet, if it covers the same ground as the manga, it would be a delightful way to introduce very young or very sensitive children to anime - before they're old enough to enjoy Ponyo or Kiki's Delivery Service for example.    

Urban Fantasy (sequel) Marked in Flesh, Anne Bishop

This is the fourth in the Others Series by Anne Bishop.  I've read and reviewed the first three:
Written in Red
Murder of Crows
Vision in Silver

Marked in Flesh
Anne Bishop
ISBN: 9780451474476
Read April 5, 2016

Book four won't make much sense if you haven't read the first ones, so don't think you can just jump in.  We've lost focus on the Courtyard a bit, and shuffle between there, the Intuit (not a spelling error) /Other village where one of the "sweet bloods" has settled (our young artist from the previous book), and a new pair of western prairie towns that are introduced in this book for the specific purpose of having people to kill off (the entire continent of Europe is likewise introduced).

The jumps around are still present, but they're executed much more competently, and the shifts in perspective are more pronounced, so it's easier to keep track of who is where, even with a whole new place thrown in.  Characters are still very much archetypes, and we're never in any confusion about who is on the good guy side and who is on the bad guy side, but eh - again, I'm not expecting Shakespeare here.

I will say that as the series goes on, there is a distinct "second-class citizen" vibe going on, especially at the end of this book.  I'm not going to get into spoilers, but I will say that the specifics referenced, and the actions committed (and then excused or explained away) are starting to make me want to step away from this series before it goes any further down that path.  That of course is the trouble with making one side of the conflict into utterly bad monstrous people - that makes it ok to do terrible things to them in retribution.  Except it doesn't really. So that's starting to be an unfortunate and growing sour note.  I felt that way slightly after the third book, and it was much stronger and more direct this time around.  I may not read the next at all - if there is another one.

Urban Fantasy: Vision in Silver, Anne Bishop

Vision in Silver

Anne Bishop

ISBN: 9780451465276

Continuing a series begun with Written in Red and Murder of Crows.  Next book upcoming is Marked in Flesh.

Read April 6, 2015

If you like, you can check out my reviews for the first two books of this series linked above.  

In this installation, our focus widens out into the larger world, and the implications of the previous books' action is coming to fruition.  The pacing and the characters are better, but there are still odd little gaps here and there that I can't tell if they are purposeful omissions or just jumps because of space/pacing constraints.  Odd, but not actively frustrating this time around.

We are starting to build our character list up, and that caused me a few moments of confusion here and there as I occasionally lost track who was where doing what with whom.  I will also say that the larger cast list made the losses of characters a lot less impactful for me, because we didn't ever get to spend that much time with them individually.  

The ponies were given their required few scenes to remind readers that they exist, but they weren't used to propel the story, which saddened me.  Likewise we learn more about a conspiracy and about humans fomenting a rebellion, but the main forward momentum was provided by the struggle to learn about the sweet bloods to try and help them recover and live happily, if not entirely sanely.

I'm honestly ok with that.  I like that the series focuses on the Courtyard and the residents, and scenes like the clearing out of the library and the gardening day and picnic are part of what makes this really enjoyable.  Sure the world is dark and gruesome, sure there are some awful events and people, but the author really makes sure to counteract that with repeated emphasis on the basic goodness of our heroes and the hope that they are trying to build something good.  Very Charles de Lint in seeing cautiously (perhaps rebelliously) optimistic characters persevering through and doing their best together.    

 

 

Murder of Crows, Anne Bishop

Murder of Crows: A Novel of the Others 
Anne Bishop
ISBN: 9780451465269
2nd in Series, after Written in Red
Read April 18, 2014

I read the first of this series and did a shorty review of it a while back, and I'm happy to say the sequel was pretty darn good.  I was sad to see less of the Elementals; I love the seasons and the weather/natural phenomenon ponies so much, but they weren't a big part of this.

I will say the plotting was more solid this time around, although the characters are still a little one-dimensional.  That's ok with me, because I like the dimensions they show off, and honestly I wasn't looking for the next great literary epic.

Good stuff: More about the background and the world, some really creepy moments (meat grinders and hands in jars) and a good bit of Tess (who is scary scary!).

Not so good stuff: A few elisions made me wonder about either plot-holes or the mental capacity of the Others.  After learning that it's not wise to use attacks that could involve ingesting the blood of their enemies, the main characters assist on an all-out-attack, where either the main characters forgot to tell the other assailants about this little detail, or the other assailants didn't give a crap - and none of the so-far pretty serious consequences were mentioned as a result.  That bugged me a little.

The totally unnecessary mis-communication regarding the "sweet bloods" kept at the facilities was really irksome.  I just hate that particular method of introducing in-group conflict or tensions, and it felt very false to the characters and story so far to end on that particular note.

However, I still enjoyed the crap out of it, read it straight through, and can't wait for the next one!

Short Reviews: March 2013: Ashton Place Series, Pretty-Girl 13, Orleans, Freaks

Freaks, Kieran Larwood.  ISBN: 978-0545474245March 2013
Sheba is a wolf-girl raised as a side-show freak, and bought to join a troupe in London, joining a Strongman, a women with a strange connection to her rats, a monkey boy, and a mysterious ninja girl with cat eyes.  When a mudlark sneaks into the show, Sheba realizes life could always be worse.  Then the mudlark vanishes, and the poor desparate parents turn to the Freaks for help, or vengeance.  Set around the Great Exhibition.  Creepy villainess. 

Orleans, Sherri L. Smith.  ISBN: 978-0399252945
March 2013
YA virus/illness dystopia.  Fen lives in the quarantined former American states of Louisiana, Texas, and Florida.  She, like most other residents, suffers from an unspecified Fever that impacts different blood types differently.  Mainly an extended chase-escape narrative as Fen tries desperately to rescue an infant (an amazingly durable infant) from the hell she calls home.

Pretty Girl-13, Liz Coley.  ISBN: 978-0062127372
March 2013
YA psychological thriller.  Angie is kidnapped at age 13, and blocks the whole multi-year experience.  Relies heavily on psychobabble about DID/multiple personality syndrome.  Overly simplistic and lighthearted for a very complicated and traumatic real-life subject matter.

The Incorrigible Childern of Ashton Place, Maryrose Wood (series in progress)
The Mysterious Howling (ISBN: 978-0061791055) read 2010
The Hidden Gallery (ISBN: 978-0061791123) read 2011
The Unseen Guest (ISBN: 978-0061791185) read Spring 2013
Juv "manners" fiction, leaning fantastical.  Brilliant.  For everyone who likes the wordplay of Snicket but needs something a little less depressing.  Werewolves and feral children and governesses with copper hair and mysterious pasts.  Did I mention it was brilliant?

Curtsies & Conspiracies, Gail Carriger

Curtsies & Conspiracies, Gail Carriger

ISBN: 9780316190114

Read November 6, 2013

YA Fantasy: Finishing School Book 2 (After Etiquette & Espionage) related to the Soulless series.

Excellent installment, and even better than the first (which I thought was a bit weak, compared to Soulless).  Sophronia is finishing up her second term of her debut year at the dirigible-housed mock-Finishing School for young ladies of espionage.  Her mid-term grades are excellent, but she's been shunned by the entire student body because of them.  No worries - she's got plenty to keep her occupied: the Sooties (especially Soap), the invasion of a deployment of Apprentice Evil Genusi from their opposing school (especially Felix, Lord Mersey, he of the unfortunate cut during the climactic dance in E&E), and the interesting question of the crystal relay that Veive is working on in secret, and several of the professors are involved in - even more secretly!

Wheels upon wheels turn rapidly, and there are many more parties involved in the action this time around, which makes for occasional confusions.  However all is forgiven by the appearance of a certain foppish rove vampire who shall remain nameless for the purposes of avoiding unnecessary spoilers.  

Needless to say, this series is delightful, and I'm glad that Carriger has upped her game so nicely for the YA set.

Fool Moon Graphic Novel (hardcover volume 2), Jim Butcher, Chase Conley

Dresden Files: Fool Moon vol 2, Jim Butcher, Chase Conley

ISBN: 9781606903773

July 23, 2013

 

Graphic Novel:

 

Poor Chase.  Umpty-bazillion nekkid people, and he gets to illustrate them all without showing any naughty bits.  Creative lighting, body position, clothing and drapery choices, and scenery are all deployed without hesitation.

 

The good -

 

I know Fool Moon isn't Butcher's best work.  I know it's a bit muddled and the plot isn't the utmost or highest it could have been, but everything is forgiven because of Tera.  LOVE.  Her. Soooo.  Much.  In addition, I just have a real soft-spot for werewolves, and I loved that this story had all different kinds represented as different types of magic and ability.  I also liked the Alphas as a concept (shades of the later Paranet), I liked that Harry FINALLY gets some, and that Marcone actually gets roughed up a little (that doesn't happen nearly enough, to be honest).    

 

As far as condensing and graphicizing, I was also impressed with how well everything flowed.  The noir is really enhanced by the tightening-up - because the beats are spaced so much closer together, you really do feel intensely how badly Harry can't ever get a break.   

 

The bad -

 

Oh God, what did Murph ever do to Chase?  Her mouth is HORRID!  Harry is a little on the angular and craggy side now, and his expressions are occasionally manic, but, well, it's Harry - he's not supposed to be pretty, and frankly, he IS often manic.  Tera came off nicely in most of her panels also.  But Murph... the color and size of her lips compared to her face proportions make her look like a clown slut.  It's just awful. 

 

In general, there was a very odd contrast between more realistic art (like the cover panels and Harry vs the Streetwolves in the rain) and the very odd hyper contrasted exaggerated style of some of the "hero" pages.  A really illustrative contrast is the very end of issue 5 - Murph under MacFinn, contrasted with the cover art for issue 6, Harry under MacFinn.  The first is just not attractive, and the second is.  Not only does this show off the terrible Murphy mouth, it also is just miles different between the faces and the body postures.   

 

Maybe it's just me, but I'm not as fond of this art-style, and I hope that it turns a little back in the direction of the covers, honestly.