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myra_rue's review
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
brambresseleers's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
thisotherbookaccount's review
3.0
I spoke too soon about the translation issues — they seem to be back in volume 3, though in lower quantities. There are certain expressions that the translator should have adapted for the Western audience. For example, Manji speaks a line that goes something like "take me across the river". The issue with that, as an Asian, I am guessing that means to kill him, but we don't quite know. The reader is supposed to just know that the 'other side of the river' means the afterlife. This is the kind of thing that the translator should have picked up on, yet didn't.
Volume 3, titled Dreamsong, continues the narrative setup established in the first two books, with Manji and Rin trying to find and kill Anotsu. Every volume, they run into a handful of Anotsu's swordsmen, and the two — though mostly Manji — fight and defeat them. In that respect, all three volumes have been fairly similar: here's a bad guy and let's watch them fight. However, the good news is that the bad guys are given enough back story, for the most part, for the plot to be different enough.
In this book, we are introduced to Makie, a master swordsman who is also Anotsu's lover (I think). In fact, Makie is in many ways a better swordsman but, for some reason, she loses her skills when she doesn't concentrate. Yes, it's a weird Achilles' Foot, and it doesn't really have an explanation. For example, she'd backstab Manji from around the corner, break her concentration and be startled for her "cowardly act". It is a characterisation that is a little perplexing, though it doesn't bother me as a whole. I think Makie continues to be the most intriguing of all the villains introduced thus far.
As for our protagonists, Manji is uncharacteristically talkative and forgiving towards Makie. They two fight twice in this volume and, instead of doing away with his assassins in previous volumes, he just gives Makie a talking to for the most part. At the end of the second fight, Manji even becomes a sort of psychiatrist or motivational speaker for Makie — again, another somewhat perplexing characterisation.
As with the previous volumes, the action continues to be baffling. I find it difficult to follow the fight scenes. To make matters a little more confusing is the fact that Manji has several different weapons, and you never quite know which weapon he is using, or when he switches from one to the next. One moment he is using a spear, then the next he has a two-pronged dagger. Again, I sincerely hope the action improves in subsequent volumes, because these set pieces take up a hefty chunk of the page count. You want to know what is happening, instead of summing all 15 sword strokes in a two-page spread, which Samura does from time to time.
Here's hoping.
Volume 3, titled Dreamsong, continues the narrative setup established in the first two books, with Manji and Rin trying to find and kill Anotsu. Every volume, they run into a handful of Anotsu's swordsmen, and the two — though mostly Manji — fight and defeat them. In that respect, all three volumes have been fairly similar: here's a bad guy and let's watch them fight. However, the good news is that the bad guys are given enough back story, for the most part, for the plot to be different enough.
In this book, we are introduced to Makie, a master swordsman who is also Anotsu's lover (I think). In fact, Makie is in many ways a better swordsman but, for some reason, she loses her skills when she doesn't concentrate. Yes, it's a weird Achilles' Foot, and it doesn't really have an explanation. For example, she'd backstab Manji from around the corner, break her concentration and be startled for her "cowardly act". It is a characterisation that is a little perplexing, though it doesn't bother me as a whole. I think Makie continues to be the most intriguing of all the villains introduced thus far.
As for our protagonists, Manji is uncharacteristically talkative and forgiving towards Makie. They two fight twice in this volume and, instead of doing away with his assassins in previous volumes, he just gives Makie a talking to for the most part. At the end of the second fight, Manji even becomes a sort of psychiatrist or motivational speaker for Makie — again, another somewhat perplexing characterisation.
As with the previous volumes, the action continues to be baffling. I find it difficult to follow the fight scenes. To make matters a little more confusing is the fact that Manji has several different weapons, and you never quite know which weapon he is using, or when he switches from one to the next. One moment he is using a spear, then the next he has a two-pronged dagger. Again, I sincerely hope the action improves in subsequent volumes, because these set pieces take up a hefty chunk of the page count. You want to know what is happening, instead of summing all 15 sword strokes in a two-page spread, which Samura does from time to time.
Here's hoping.
floyd_jpg's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
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