Yuki Kaori - Godchild, vol. 06 (Eng. trans.)

Breaking with my usual rule of not reading Yuki Kaori in public, I read this in a cafe with coffeeandink sitting nearby so we could immediately squee. I think the various snorfles and snorts and other strange noises I made while attempting to suppress hysterical giggles, hand flailing and "OMG! OMG!" scared off everyone in the vicinity (which is why I usually don't read Yuki Kaori in public).

( Spoilers )

Viz, why haven't you licensed everything else Yuki Kaori has written? I would so throw money at you for it.

Meyer, Stephenie - Twilight

It was really odd reading this, because I had heard rilina rant about it a lot, but my sister was reccing it to me (and nearby while I was reading it).

I think I would have really loved it, had I read it a few years earlier, before I got sick of the entire vampire sub-genre, particularly the entire YA vampire sub-sub-genre.

Bella has moved from sunny Arizona to rainy Forks to stay with her dad instead of her mom, who's off being married. She starts noticing the strange Cullen family at school, particularly Edward Cullen, who is gorgeous and sends conflicting signals. They fall in love! It's too bad, since I think the book would have been about ten times more interesting if they fought crime instead.

Several elements of the book made me think that it would work much better as shoujo manga: a) Bella is clumsy and klutzy beyond belief, yet spunky, b) every other guy in the school miraculously has a crush on her and she doesn't realize, c) Edward is supernaturally gorgeous, and d) Bella's smell is irresistible to Edward.

As a benchmark to see if you will like this or not, if you haven't already fled at the shoujo manga description: Bella describes Forks as literally being hell on earth for her, despite the absence of pitchforks, flame, or anything else; Edward is introduced as having bronze hair.

The thing is, I can totally see why the book is a best-seller and loved by girls everywhere. It's got the same formula that's in Sailor Moon, every series by Watase Yuu, and most romance novels: clumsy, normal girl is pursued by a preternaturally handsome, dangerous guy who dramatically rescues her from situations despite her brief attempts to show her independence. Granted, Watase Yuu's guys are generally less dangerous than most, and most shoujo manga doesn't even have the brief attempts at independence. And the romances tend to lovingly describe every gorgeous detail of the guys, whereas manga lingers over them in two-page spreads. But in the end, it's largely the same wish-fulfillment fantasy.

And, in general, I am a fan of female wish-fulfillment fantasies. I just think I have read too many of this sort, and so, my buttons have shifted enough that this didn't grab them. I would also snark mercilessly at it, except my sister likes the book and recced it, and because this is so the thing I would have loved way back when I was reading LJ Smith.

Also, ( Minor spoiler )

ETA: And why is it that hundred-year-old vampires are always attracted to teenagers? I don't understand! And why is it that hundred-year-old vampires still act like mooning teenagers as well?

Links:
- buymeaclue's review
- habiliments' review
- sophia_helix's review

Pratchett, Terry - Mort (reread)

(Apologies for spamming! Um, yes, I am trying to catch up with my backlog, so there may be a few more...)

I actually haven't read very much Terry Pratchett at all. The first time I read this, I was mildly amused but not too impressed. I suspect for most things intended to be funny, I have to read them a few times. Otherwise, the prose strikes me as too twee or too contrived.

Mort is all elbows and thinks entirely too much for his small village, which is how he ends up at a fair for people trying to find apprentices. Fortunately (?) for Mort, Death of Discworld is looking for an apprentice.

Mort gets himself into a giant scrape involving the very fabric of reality, and antics ensue.

I enjoyed this the second time around, now that I had a better feel for Pratchett's sense of humor. I love the long footnotes, though I got sick of a few of them closer to the end of the book. I also like the characters a lot more; the first time I read it, I couldn't quite figure out how sympathetic I was supposed to feel and how much Pratchett was making fun of them. I think I rather like the gentle fun he pokes; I had originally read them with the vague idea that he wrote satire and not good story (this was pre-LJ).

My favorite character was Ysabell, even though she didn't get many pages; I am a sucker for overlooked girls who prove to be useful and down-to-earth.

I could tell from vague knowledge collected from LJ that Pratchett was bringing Mort to meet several established Discworld characters, but since I don't know any of them outside of Granny Weatherwax, it had very little impression on me.

So: I think I am going to try and read up on Pratchett, just to keep up with LJ, if nothing else. Also, he won me over in another book with SQUEAK! from the Death of rats.

I definitely like the Death books, so I think that is Soul Music and Hogsfather. Mely and Rachel both say to avoid Rincewind and to read the Guards books. Rec me! Also, let me know if I should read in any particular order!

Of the Discworld books, I have read: this book, The Amazing Maurice and The Color of Magic (was not terribly impressed by the last, but Mely says it is because it sucks).

Yoshida Akimi - Banana Fish, vol. 01-02 (Eng. trans.)

I swear Minekura was trying to redo Banana Fish in her own style with Wild Adapter.

In Vietnam, a soldier suddenly goes crazy and shoots down his friends, saying only "banana fish." Eighteen years later, teenage gang leader Ash Lynx* finds himself in possession of a mysterious drug and the words "banana fish." Soon, he's tangled in a complicated plot that involves rival gangs, mysterious drugs, and one teenage Japanese reporter, with whom I am guessing is the signature yaoi love interest.

This is a classic shounen ai manga that supposedly addresses issues like AIDS and homosexuality in a very real manner, and Matt Thorn has pimped it constantly. I held off reading it for so long because the art is very 1980s.

I am going to stop reading it because I am nowhere near as enamoured with Ash as all his enemies, friends, acquaintances, and, clearly, the mangaka are. Also, the fact that it's set in New York and is attempting to be a serious thriller are very off-putting, given the assorted cracktastic elements (why is everyone so obsessed with Ash? Also, Ash Lynx?!). The real-world setting also meant that the politics squicked me out even more.

I do give Yoshida props for actually having POC, but I am rather annoyed by all of them being drawn with afros and thick lips. It verges on caricature. I also nearly threw the book across the room when I came across one plot point that has to do with Ash's black friend (make a wild guess...). The treatment of the Chinese characters is a little better; they get more to do. But they're still overshadowed by Ash (white) and Eiji (Japanese).

I think this series falls right in between the boundaries of realistic and cracktastic, and as such, it's not good enough for either.


* His real name is "Aslan." I could not make this up if I tried!