Huge thanks to Yen Press for providing a review copy
About the Mangaka
Darren Shan is an Irish author who has written both adult and young adult novels, as well as scripts for both TV and radio.
No info on Arai Takahiro drop me a line if you have any.
About the Manga
Another interesting volume that I really got into, with another interesting cover on it.
Surprisingly a lot of the reviews I’ve seen have criticised the cover designs for the series. Most seemed to feel it was uninteresting and dull.
However I like the cover designs, they give a circus styled feel to them, which fits with the series. I’m still not keen on Arai’s art style, but the cover art has both a light feel, as well as a dark feel to it, a good mix.
I’m still not overly keen on his art style, but I really can’t figure out why. Though I admit that R.V in this volume really did rub me the wrong way. The way he was drawn just felt so wrong to me. I also felt that the last panels he was in were also wrong.
Something about both Darren and Mr Crepsley also just doesn’t sit with me. In Crepsley’s case it’s his face I don’t like, something in the way Arai draws it really doesn’t do the character justice. It lacks the power that should be in his face. Darren, it’s his entire design I don’t like, though I couldn’t say why. The design just doesn’t fit with the personality. This volume also deals with Darren settling into his new life in the circus.
Once again the story is what really carries this volume for me. This volume deals with two issues at once, firstly Darren coming to terms with leaving his life behind to be a half vampire; and also his reluctance to drink blood.
These novels rewrite the lore of vampires in a lot of ways, from some small changes to a couple of large ones.
I like how this volume plays out, and the pacing is pretty decent, neither to quick or slow. I did like how Crepsley handles Darren’s refusal to drink blood, and the way events about that unfold. Though I have to admit the culmination of that was pretty much a let down, and fairly obvious by the half way mark. Though I have to admit that Darren’s reluctance to drink blood could be attributed to who they’re getting it from. I mean big fat old men wouldn’t be my first choice of a snack either hehe
I don’t like how we got there, but the fact he has to get there limits the story can go.
I have to admit that reading the manga has gotten me interested in the story again, and I’m now looking forward to seeing how the series plays out and if they’ll deviate from the novels at all.
Once again Yen Press did a great job with this volume, no guttering which is awesome. Considering it’s an OEL I cant really say good translation can I hehe, though the editing was smooth and fluid. Not sure why they add japanese sound in an OEL though.
I’m all the more tempted to add this to my Essential read list, but want to give it one more volume before I make my final decision. If volume three is like the first two, I’ll have no issues with adding it.
Where to Buy
This volume ships August 4th 2009 in the US/CA and August 18th in the UK.
July 20, 2009 @ 18:23.
Hrm. Cirque du Freak strikes me as a bit of an iffy manga to call OEL, as it isn’t quite in the same position as series like Princess Ai or Dramacon which are English, or Maximum Ride or Warcraft where they’re written/plotted by someone english and then drawn by the japanese/korean/etc artist for the purpose of being marketed to … well… the English market.
You mention not being sure why Japanese effects were “added”, but in Cirque’s case they weren’t really. It was made for the Japanese market, with japanese language and effects already in place, and published in Shōnen Sunday – its just that it was based on English source material and was then later picked up to be (re?)translated (back) to English for publication via Yen ^^;
As a side note, I know his names on it and all, but I’m not actually sure how much imput Shan-the-author had in Shan-the-manga. Would be quite interesting to know how it all came about and got worked out and worked on really.