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Chmakova, Svetlana - Nightschool: The Weirn Books, vol. 03-04
Tue, Feb. 1st, 2011 09:21 pmThis series makes much more sense if you read all four volumes straight through, instead of waiting six months for each one.
So this concludes the Weirn Books arc, although Chmakova states that she's planning on continuing in the universe. This would be nice, since the four volumes of the Weirn Books give only a tiny glimpse into a world I would love to spend more time in and characters I'd really love to see developed further. I especially love the play of Hunters vs. night things vs. humans, and how here, the night things we see tend to be fairly normal and cheerful while it's the Hunters who have angsty, fight-filled lives. I, unsurprisingly, heart the Hunters the best, particularly Teresa.
(Also, OMG, do you know what this title and subseries thing is doing to my categorization scheme? ARGH.)
The problem with volume four is that it really should be volumes four through ten; there's enough plot and action crammed in there to last for probably twenty Shounen Jump volumes. Unfortunately, because Chmakova is trying to tie things up so quickly, the ending reads a bit deus ex machina, and it resets things a bit too easily for my taste. Come to think of it, despite the visual style of this series being very shoujo manga, the plot reminds me most of X-Men and superhero comics: the way the giant cast of characters only get small bits of development, and the way nothing really changes by the ending. Unfortunately, these are the bits of superhero comics that I like the least.
( Spoilers )
I like Chmakova's art a lot, and I especially like how she has a very multiracial and multicultural world without any of the characters feeling like tokens, but the pacing of the final volume is terrible. That said, want more!
So this concludes the Weirn Books arc, although Chmakova states that she's planning on continuing in the universe. This would be nice, since the four volumes of the Weirn Books give only a tiny glimpse into a world I would love to spend more time in and characters I'd really love to see developed further. I especially love the play of Hunters vs. night things vs. humans, and how here, the night things we see tend to be fairly normal and cheerful while it's the Hunters who have angsty, fight-filled lives. I, unsurprisingly, heart the Hunters the best, particularly Teresa.
(Also, OMG, do you know what this title and subseries thing is doing to my categorization scheme? ARGH.)
The problem with volume four is that it really should be volumes four through ten; there's enough plot and action crammed in there to last for probably twenty Shounen Jump volumes. Unfortunately, because Chmakova is trying to tie things up so quickly, the ending reads a bit deus ex machina, and it resets things a bit too easily for my taste. Come to think of it, despite the visual style of this series being very shoujo manga, the plot reminds me most of X-Men and superhero comics: the way the giant cast of characters only get small bits of development, and the way nothing really changes by the ending. Unfortunately, these are the bits of superhero comics that I like the least.
( Spoilers )
I like Chmakova's art a lot, and I especially like how she has a very multiracial and multicultural world without any of the characters feeling like tokens, but the pacing of the final volume is terrible. That said, want more!