3 posts tagged “genshiken”
6 Books - 2383 pages (2 new)
Dreamstone Moon by Paul Leonard
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
The Sorcerer's Apprentice by Christopher Bulis
Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers
To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
The Crown of Dalemark by Diana Wynne Jones5 Graphic Novels - 1360 pages (4 new)
Dramacon 3 by Svetlana Chmakova
Genshiken 9 by Kio Shimoku
Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle Omnibus (vols 1-3) by CLAMP
Love Attack by Shizuru Seino
Fruits Basket Fanbook - Cat by Natsuki TakayaFanfiction - 275003 words/ 550 pages
Scanlations - 80 pages (all new)
Bleach Chapter 301. Shut Up & Die
Bleach Chapter 302. Pride on the Blade
Bleach Chapter 303. Dumdum-Dummy-Dumbstruck
Bleach Chapter -15. Death in the Field of Ice
Preliminary Yearly Total:
Books: 56 - 19358 pages
Graphic Novels: 139 - 27378 pages
Fanfiction: 213 - 412329 words/ 825 pages
Scanlations: 9 volumes, 100 chapters - 3759 pages
Here we go! The penultimate posting for my Grand Reading Project in 2007. After this, you'll just have to suffer through a year end wrapup including the books I didn't finish and some musings on 2008. It will all be relatively painless, I promise.
Books this month were mostly re-reads with Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Gaudy Night having been prompted by their film counterparts. I re-read To Say Nothing of the Dog because I was just in that sort of mood and The Crown of Dalemark because I was inspired by Yuletide stories (which are, by the way, solely responsible for the vast increase in fic reading).
The new books were both Doctor Who novels, one a Missing Adventure and one an Eighth Doctor story. Of the two, I vastly preferred the MA, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, which featured the first Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Susan. In it, the TARDIS lands on a world where 'science' (in this case, pretty much anything electronic) is crippled and magic seems to rule the day. To take the every so faintly bizarre situation a step further, the society seems to come straight out of an idealized mythological view of medieval Europe.
The action is brisk and, over the course of the story, manages to straddle the seeming divide between science and fantasy quite well. I thought the characterization was decent over all with fun moments for each of the characters, though I must admit I particularly enjoyed the bits with Susan as a 'damsel in distress' and the Doctor trying to overcome his skepticism and place events in context. This was a fun read and I don't hesitate to recommend it to anybody looking for a decent First Doctor story.
I had a lot more going on with manga in December, with the final volumes of both Dramacon and Genshiken along with the first volumes of two other series and a Fruits Basket special. I have to say that Fanbook - Cat was a decent companion to the series, filled with fun detail and a priceless moment or two of its own (Ritchan/Mitchan FTW!). It's not something I'd sit down and read cover to cover, but taken in chunks I enjoyed it quite a bit. In fact, if I were still doing Furuba roleplay, I'm pretty sure I'd find some of it completely invaluable.
Dramacon was, overall, a satisfying end to the story. I thought the direction she took with Bethany's family was a bit over the top, but she clearly has a point she's been making over the course of of the story and that was her mechanism for presenting that aspect in this volume. Also, the fact that 'Drama' is in the title should probably be a tip-off for what to expect. At any rate, this title is frequently recommended as the main example of what OEL can be and it clearly earns that distinction, holding up well against most, though hardly all, import shoujo.
After focusing so closely on Oguie and reaching a sort of 'closing point' to her story in the previous volume, this final volume of Genshiken returns to a broader approach. There is no great revelation or resolution, nothing you can point to as a climax to the ongoing story, but more a sense that this particular chapter has been brought to a close for these characters as the three who entered as freshmen in the first chapter graduate. You see more of all the characters through the volume and come away with a clear sense of what's next for nearly all of them. As an end to this 'slice of life' it's decent and in keeping with the tone of the series over all, even if it's without a specific 'impact'. I was satisfied with it and continue to love the series as a whole.
I don't need to comment on Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle as I'm not reading it and I haven't quite decided if I'm going to continue to not read it. I do, however, have something to say about Love Attack. I've mentioned it here before, if briefly, under the name Jun'ai Tokko Taicho. It's by the same mangaka as Heaven!! (which I hated) and Girl Got Game (which I quite enjoyed) and is a relatively straightforward comedic shoujo story about a pair who are more than a little bit rough around the edges. Despite having previously read scanlations, I found that I came to the material fresh and enjoyed it all over again. Further, I found myself comparing this story to Heaven!!--almost entirely in a positive light. The action is far less confusing this time around and the characters more engaging and three dimensional right off the bat. This is a series that I can, and will, recommend unreservedly.
That about wraps things up on the year, though I've a few more comments that I will make in another post. Thank you all for putting up with me on this project, I hope I've at least managed to entertain a bit in the process.
~MsC
2 Books - 750 pages (1 new)
Neverwhere (Author's Preferred Text) by Neil Gaiman
Conrad's Fate by Diana Wynne Jones1 Graphic Novel - 190 pages (1 new)
Genshiken 8 by Kio ShimokuScanlations - 118 pages (all new)
Bleach Chapter 267. 'Legions of the Reglets'
Bleach Chapter 268. 'You--Don't Give In to Death'
Bleach Chapter 269. 'The End is Near'
Emma Bangaihen Chapter 7. 'Erich and Theo'
Emma Bangaihen Chapter 8. 'On the Wings of Song'Total, Year to Date:
Books: 11 - 4034 pages
Graphic Novels: 71 - 13264 pages
Fanfiction: 5 - 21950 words/44 pages (no change)
Scanlations: 3 volumes, 22 chapters - 946 pages
Not that anybody cares apart from me, but if you were to compare the Year to Date totals with previous editions, they are going to be off. What happened was that my computer asploded back on January 24 meaning that I didn't have access to my tracking spreadsheet. I didn't quite realize at the time that I would be sans computer for 2 months so I just kept track of things on paper and added it up on a calculator. It comes as no surprise (to me, at least) that I managed to booch this terribly and have incorrect numbers both for number of graphic novels read and for total pages read in more than one category. Now that ASUS has finally sent me a working motherboard to replace the one that died an ignominious death (as opposed to the two non-working ones they sent), I'm back on the spreadsheet and because I trust its ability to add much more than my own, we're gonna go with those numbers from now on.
Now that the housekeeping is out of the way, lets move on to the books!
This first book should be a familiar sight to many of you, though perhaps not this version. While I have been known to reread Neverwhere (and often!) this time around was more of a...revisiting. The version I read this time was not my old 'tried and true' first US edition hardcover, but a trade paperback that s1ncer1ty picked up for me in the UK that contains the 'Author's Preferred Text'. Basically, my understanding is that Gaiman has gone through the various printed editions, as well as the original drafts and scripts and 'cherry picked' the bits he liked best for a single 'definitive' edition. I believe that this was originally done for the Hill House line of absolutely gorgeous but bank account breaking editions, but apparently the UK doesn't have to wait for it.
In a practical sense, not much has changed. In fact, I doubt that most readers, even the most anal and obsessive of Gaiman fans, are going to notice anything different at all. I found that because I am so familiar with both the original US text and the dialogue as heard in the minseries, I came away with a very strong sense of 'this is right'. All the stuff that was supposed to be there was and there was absolutely nothing that I missed. One addition that the 'completists' will enjoy is an alternate prologue that is presented at the end. It is set approximately 400 years before the events of the miniseries and provides a lengthier introduction to Croup and Vandemar. It was interesting to read, but I can see why it was removed and it stands more as a curiousity than an addition to the text. There are also a series of questions and answers, but I tend to think of those as having a relatively limited amusement value.
Next up is Conrad's Fate which is part of Diana Wynne Jones' 'Chronicles of Chrestomanci'. I read most (though not all) of the previous Chrestomanci stories last year and enjoyed them thorougly. I found myself looking at the latest release (The Pinhoe Egg) in hardcover at I-Con when it suddenly dawned on me that maybe I should buy the one before it first--a radical idea whose time has come!
As this series is written for a younger audience, Conrad's Fate was a quick and easy read. There were really no surprises here, this was pure Diana Wynne Jones. The book was accessible and fun, the story relatively straightforward and the resolution a bit absurd and confusing but in a 'drawing room farce' kind of way so that you don't really hold it against her. All in all, I can highly recommend this (or any of the Chrestomanci books, really) if you're feeling a little sick, a little brain-slow and you just need something light and fun to sustain you.
Finally we come to the real star of the week for me. You may have gotten a sense in my previous post of how much I like Genshiken. Well, the long awaited Volume 8 was released this week and I can tell you right now, I'm going to have a hard time waiting until they release 9.
This volume focused much less on 'otaku culture' in general and turned the spotlight squarely on Oguie, both individually and in her relationship with Sasahara. Her backstory is finally revealed and she is forced to come to terms with both her past and the possibilities of the future. Her story and how she is able to come to terms with herself and with Sasahara's acceptance of Who She Is provide more than the usual depth you expect from this series. I enjoyed this book immensely and expect that it will be reread more than a few times before the next volume is due out.
1 Book - 800 Pages (1 new)
InDesign CS2 Bible by Galen Gruman11 Graphic Novels - 2080 pages (4 new, 1 magazine)
Shirahime-Syo by CLAMP
Hoshi no Koe - Voices of a Distant Star by Miyu Sahara
Genshiken 1 by Kio Shimoku
Genshiken 2 by Kio Shimoku
Genshiken 3 by Kio Shimoku
Genshiken 4 by Kio Shimoku
Genshiken 5 by Kio Shimoku
Genshiken 6 by Kio Shimoku
Genshiken 7 by Kio Shimoku
Monster 7 by Naoki Urasawa
Trinity Blood 2 by Sumao Yoshida
Shojo Beat v3 i4 by VariousScanlations - 75 pages (all new)
Gokusen Volume 9 Chapter 'R.I.P, Tenkai's Boss' scanlated by Completely Oblivious
REC Chapter 28 'Sixth Sense' scanlated by XLG
Bleach Chapter 265 'Bang the Bore' scanlated by M7
Bleach Chapter 266 'Hide Away From the Sun' scanlated by M7Total, Year to Date:
Books: 9 - 3284 pages
Graphic Novels: 69 - 13074 pages
Fanfiction: 5 - 21950 words/44 pages (no change)
Scanlations: 3 volumes, 17 chapters - 724 pages
To continue catching up, here's my reading from the first half of March. Once again, you'll see a heavy bias towards manga, this is still due to a severe lack of time on my part. When I'm that busy and that tired, I'd far rather spend my time on manga which tend to be short and easy to digest. The fact that I've got several books started, but haven't completed them, shouldn't be a mark against the quality of the books I'm reading, nor should it be an indication that I need recommendations of more books to read. It really just means I haven't got the time or energy just now and that I'll get back to them when I do. Really.
As for the one 'real' book showing up this time around, this could be takn as an indication of where a good chunk of my time went. I spent a while considering how I should record this book, since it's more properly a reference than something you read cover to cover, and I didn't read through the entire thing. I did, however, read through great heaping chunks of it at a time and probably read damn near the entire main body of text in fits and spurts through the course of my project. What I elected to do was include it but only at the page count of the actual text, without any appendices, etc. I suspect that comes fairly close to my actual usage, give or take 50 or 100 pages or so. :-p
As for an opinion on the book itself, I have to say that I absolutely loved it. This was a fabulous resource that clearly explained both concepts in desktop publishing and concrete procedures for realizing them in InDesign. Absolutely money and time well spent on my part.
Now, on to the manga.
I did not set out to re-read the entirety of my Genshiken collection this month, but it sort of happened anyway. You see, I picked up the full run of the anime at a bargain price and, after watching it, I felt the need to go back to the original. It's not that the anime is bad, it's that the manga is that good.
Reading this series is incredibly nostalgic for me. Much of what goes on at 'The Society for Modern Visual Culture' feels like my own college experiences--regardless of the difference in culture and time. Nerds are nerds wherever you go, I guess and the personal journeys you see for individual characters 'accepting their inner otaku' or learning how to deal with the people around them socially or even just the single-minded devotion to discussions that are the anime/manga equivalent of 'which tech is superior, Star Wars or Star Trek?' ring absolutely true. Shimoku holds a big mirror up to nerd-culture and does it with a light touch that makes it accessible even to the armchair otaku. Now if Del Rey would only publish volumes 8 and 9...*sigh*
I'm going to skim over Monster 7 simply because nothing I could say would do the book justice. Urasawa is not only that good, he's better. This series is completely fabulous and I don't know why everybody isn't reading it.
In contrast, I'm skimming over Trinity Blood 2 because I'm not sure what I can say about it that's worthwhile. The story is disjointed and confusing, and the art even more so. It seems like there'd be something fun underneath all the cliches and awkward rendering, but I'll be damned if I can find it in that mess. Maybe it will show up in the novel translations.
Somewhat better was CLAMP's Shirahime-Syo, a collection of 3 stories and a framing sequence about the snow spirit (in their version, a princess) of Japanese mythology. I have to admit to somewhat mixed feelings about CLAMP's work in general, with much of what they produce just plain not appealing to me. (Though I hereby fess up to secretly coveting a set of xxxHolic books.) And I wouldn't have picked up this book on my own, but it was a 'freebie' tossed in with my latest box of manga so, really, how could I say no?
I believe that the art style is meant to be more 'traditional' than commercial. It's not bad, and it suits the stories being told, but I'm not completely won over by it for some reason. I think it's weakest in the first story which takes place largely in a cave and in which the use of dark/light doesn't entirely feel successful. But then, I didn't enjoy the first story in general so I may just be overly nit-picky. The remaining stories and framing sequence were better, but not spectacular. Overall, I'd say the book is worth reading, but not worth going out of your way to read--if that makes any sense.
The DVD of Voices of a Distant Star was something I felt very much the same way about. I'd picked it up randomly on the cheap and I'm glad that I watched it, but I also don't think that I'm ever going to watch it again. The manga, on the other hand, I think will find a long-term home on my shelf and will be something I come back to when I need a short dose of sweet-but-angsty romance.
I realize that the manga is the derivative work, but I very much preferred it to the anime. There is something about the wistful nature of the relationships that is captured better in the static, drawn images than by the beautifully animated original. I felt their uncertainty, I felt the weight of the distance between them and it all seemed so much more palpable than when it had been played out before me on the screen. I definitely recommend this adaptation to anybody who is looking for something short and sweet but not necessarily upbeat or happy.
That's going to be it for now. Hopefully I'll have more in the way of regular books soon, though I wouldn't necessarily expect to see any until April or so. That's just how things are going right now.
