Fujieda Toru - Oyayubihime Infinity, vol. 01-02 (Eng. trans.)
Fri, Dec. 29th, 2006 12:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
oyceterI flipped through this on ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
coffeeandink's rec, and after the first few pages, I took a chance and bought the first two volumes. I tore through them late last night, and I am very happy that I got them!
Mely recced it to me because she thought it might hit my reincarnation kink button, which it does.
But what really caught me in the first few pages was the art -- strong clean lines and round curved faces. I particularly love the character design for the heroine Kanoko, who is short and grumpy and bespectacled.
Kanoko and her sister Mayu have butterfly-shaped birthmarks on their thumbs, as do Kanoko's classmates Tsubame and Mike. Tsubame believes that the birthmarks are an indication of an oath made in a past life; he is searching for the reincarnation Edo courtesan he thinks his past incarnation committed double suicide with. Mike so far has been hanging around and looking cool (I think his name is pronounced "mee-keh," not "mike," but am not certain).
In another plotline, Mayu is actually an actress/model called Yuuki Maya, created by Kanoko and played by Mayu, who is very shy and cute and not at all cool and reserved. Both Kanoko and Mayu try to keep people from finding out that Mayu is Maya while also attempting to get Maya's career off the ground.
My favorite part about the manga so far is the relationship between Kanoko and Mayu. They have different fathers, and Mayu is beautiful and obviously the favorite of their actress mother. But instead of a rivalry springing up, Kanoko (the younger) is incredibly protective of the shy and retiring Mayu, while Mayu depends on Kanoko for emotional support. They don't just love each other; they genuinely like and respect each other. The mangaka also gives their relationship a lot of weight, which tends to be rare in the world of shoujo and shounen manga. I'm hoping that it doesn't end up being the stereotypical female rivalry, because it's incredibly sweet -- I swear, I'm not just biased because I am a sucker for sister stories.
Other things I like about the series are Kanoko and the treatment of reincarnation/soulmates/predestination. Kanoko is wonderfully grumpy and pragmatic, particularly against the romanticism of Tsubame, who fervently believes in predestination and soulmates and One True Love. Also, I like that she wears glasses and is still cute, as opposed to the magical removing of glasses that automatically makes people beautiful.
While it seems like the series leans toward reincarnation and predestination, the existence of more than two people with the butterfly birthmark complicates things. I also like that the mangaka seems to be critiquing Tsubame for his romanticized POV, since it means that he's forever looking for something and not noticing what's under his nose.
I'm hoping to get vol. 3 from the bookstore today, hee.
coffeeandink's rec, and after the first few pages, I took a chance and bought the first two volumes. I tore through them late last night, and I am very happy that I got them!Mely recced it to me because she thought it might hit my reincarnation kink button, which it does.
But what really caught me in the first few pages was the art -- strong clean lines and round curved faces. I particularly love the character design for the heroine Kanoko, who is short and grumpy and bespectacled.
Kanoko and her sister Mayu have butterfly-shaped birthmarks on their thumbs, as do Kanoko's classmates Tsubame and Mike. Tsubame believes that the birthmarks are an indication of an oath made in a past life; he is searching for the reincarnation Edo courtesan he thinks his past incarnation committed double suicide with. Mike so far has been hanging around and looking cool (I think his name is pronounced "mee-keh," not "mike," but am not certain).
In another plotline, Mayu is actually an actress/model called Yuuki Maya, created by Kanoko and played by Mayu, who is very shy and cute and not at all cool and reserved. Both Kanoko and Mayu try to keep people from finding out that Mayu is Maya while also attempting to get Maya's career off the ground.
My favorite part about the manga so far is the relationship between Kanoko and Mayu. They have different fathers, and Mayu is beautiful and obviously the favorite of their actress mother. But instead of a rivalry springing up, Kanoko (the younger) is incredibly protective of the shy and retiring Mayu, while Mayu depends on Kanoko for emotional support. They don't just love each other; they genuinely like and respect each other. The mangaka also gives their relationship a lot of weight, which tends to be rare in the world of shoujo and shounen manga. I'm hoping that it doesn't end up being the stereotypical female rivalry, because it's incredibly sweet -- I swear, I'm not just biased because I am a sucker for sister stories.
Other things I like about the series are Kanoko and the treatment of reincarnation/soulmates/predestination. Kanoko is wonderfully grumpy and pragmatic, particularly against the romanticism of Tsubame, who fervently believes in predestination and soulmates and One True Love. Also, I like that she wears glasses and is still cute, as opposed to the magical removing of glasses that automatically makes people beautiful.
While it seems like the series leans toward reincarnation and predestination, the existence of more than two people with the butterfly birthmark complicates things. I also like that the mangaka seems to be critiquing Tsubame for his romanticized POV, since it means that he's forever looking for something and not noticing what's under his nose.
I'm hoping to get vol. 3 from the bookstore today, hee.