About the Mangaka

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About the Manga

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I’ve put off reading this series for a looong time, because just about every review I’d seen had slammed it as seriously bad. As a huge fan of the anime, I didn’t want to have my enjoyment destroyed. However I picked up volumes one through four in a recent sale ( I love those!!). So, what did I think of this series…

Truthfully I really don’t understand why this series has been given such bad reviews, because I really loved it.

Granted, this is one of those rare occasions where the anime is in a lot of ways better than the manga, however the manga doesn’t necessarily become bad because of it.

Ryotaro’s story is however given the time it needs to grow and really spread it’s wing, a lot more so than it was in the anime. The first volume alone covers several episodes of the anime, due to the way it’s structured and compressed.

Yet despite it being compressed, he doesn’t leave out anything that’s really needed for the series. Rather than focusing on the light hearted elements of the series, such as the anime does, the manga focuses on the meat of the story. Which means we get more story, more development, and more fun.

The first volume of the series basically introduces the characters, and truthfully I was surprised at how close the manga and anime characters are to each other. Naturally, Alice and Randel are still my favourite. The interaction between these two characters is just so damned funny, especially in the initial chapter.

Ryotaro’s art is pretty good for a first attempt, and frankly I was surprised at the quality of it. Usually there’s a distinct lack in the way art flows in a manga-ka’s first foray, however this volume was done exceptionally well. Sure there are some rough spots, but these were very few and far between.

Where he excelled however was in the faces of the main characters. I’ve found in a lot of manga that facial expressions are given short thrift, and don’t really vary. However I’d never really considered it, until I saw the varied changes in this volume. When things are happening take a step back and look at the faces, you’ll get a laugh or two. This is especially true for Randel and Alice. Randel frequently has some goofy look on his face, which really makes me laugh. but the change when the lantern comes on is even more remarkable. Alice is equally funny, especially with the way she reacts to Randel, from the outset it’s clear that there’s more than a usual relationship between them. Though for me I hope he doesn’t make the mistake of having them actually get into a relationship, it would destroy the atmosphere.

For the first time however I do have a complaint about the way Del Rey have translated a series. There’s nothing wrong with the names involved, they do a good job of explaining how they arrived at them. What I didn’t like was how elements of the actual story were translated. Maybe it’s because of the anime, but certain scenarios in the manga, while in essence the same as the anime, were worded differently. These changes just don’t fit the setting very well IMO. Though as I say, that could just be the anime influencing the manga.

Also, I’ve noticed they now seem to be pulling a Viz, in having those annoying arrows telling you which way to read. True, theirs are on the bottom of the page, and only one per chapter, but why have them at all? Almost half the book is over before the first one crops up, so there’s no real need for them. Especially after the huge full page spread saying which way to read the volume. Thankfully though, as I said, it’s not as bad as Viz, so I can let it slide in this volume, so long as it doesn’t become a habit.

Beyond that though, I was as usual impressed with the release, we get a nice full colour and glossy cover, and loads of translation notes as usual. This is good, since the use of german is used in the volumes, so the translation and explanation of those is great. As is the fact they left the original german version in, rather than translate them.

I’ve got volumes two through four on my shelf, and I’ll give them a read, should they be as good as I hope them to be then this series will easily fit on my essential read list.

Where to Buy

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