Chmakova, Svetlana - Dramacon, vol. 03 (orig. Eng.)
Tue, Dec. 11th, 2007 10:40 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
oyceterIs this the last volume of the series? If so, woe!
I didn't like this as much as I liked the first two volumes; there are a lot of pacing issues in this volume.
My main problem was with the Chriss/Matt relationship -- a lot of what happens in this volume feels like a retread. I can see that Chmakova wanted to get us to the point where we believe they were viable as an actual couple, but that's not what I went away with. I think I wanted to see something beyond all the meet cutes and the shoujo doki-doki moments; it would be nice to see them after they had been dating for a year and seeing their interactions then. As it were, the constant avoidance and getting mad and misunderstandings felt too contrived and grew out of plot, not character.
I also wasn't quite sure why Emily was in there at all; yeah, it's nice to have her blessing, but again, it felt more like a plot-necessary misunderstanding rather than anything natural.
There should have been a lot more pages dedicated to Beth's storyline, which was much larger. Part of me rolled my eyes at the car accident and subsequent forgiving, but on the other hand, I've been in that position with my parents before, and so even though I knew some heartstrings were being tugged, I still cried. Like the car accident, the role of her aunt was a bit obvious, but I didn't mind it as much. And I love that this manga has a good deal of pages dedicated to women of color! And the potential for an interracial relationship with Beth and Raj that isn't POC-white. Ok, the main couple could have been POC as well, but I will take what I can get.
Still, this is a pretty good series, and it's really nice to find an OEL manga that captures the feeling of shoujo. I'm really looking forward to what Chmakova does next.
I didn't like this as much as I liked the first two volumes; there are a lot of pacing issues in this volume.
My main problem was with the Chriss/Matt relationship -- a lot of what happens in this volume feels like a retread. I can see that Chmakova wanted to get us to the point where we believe they were viable as an actual couple, but that's not what I went away with. I think I wanted to see something beyond all the meet cutes and the shoujo doki-doki moments; it would be nice to see them after they had been dating for a year and seeing their interactions then. As it were, the constant avoidance and getting mad and misunderstandings felt too contrived and grew out of plot, not character.
I also wasn't quite sure why Emily was in there at all; yeah, it's nice to have her blessing, but again, it felt more like a plot-necessary misunderstanding rather than anything natural.
There should have been a lot more pages dedicated to Beth's storyline, which was much larger. Part of me rolled my eyes at the car accident and subsequent forgiving, but on the other hand, I've been in that position with my parents before, and so even though I knew some heartstrings were being tugged, I still cried. Like the car accident, the role of her aunt was a bit obvious, but I didn't mind it as much. And I love that this manga has a good deal of pages dedicated to women of color! And the potential for an interracial relationship with Beth and Raj that isn't POC-white. Ok, the main couple could have been POC as well, but I will take what I can get.
Still, this is a pretty good series, and it's really nice to find an OEL manga that captures the feeling of shoujo. I'm really looking forward to what Chmakova does next.
(no subject)
Thu, Jan. 10th, 2008 03:42 am (UTC)I had trouble with this volume, too. I tied together the not seeing enough of the Chriss/Matt relationship with the tepid Emily blessing to get "okay, so what did she see that satisfied her so much?" I remain unhappy with that unanswered question, and therefore grumpy with volume 3.
Bethany was awesome, though, despite the giant Hand of Fate with her mom, and I liked the series as a whole. Just, yeah, pacing and imbalance stuff.
(no subject)
Thu, Jan. 10th, 2008 07:39 pm (UTC)I totally didn't get why Emily was in there at all! I mean... her sudden relinquishing of Matt and blessing of the relationship made absolutely no sense.
But yeah, Mely mentions above that Bethany seemed to have accidentally become the protagonist in v. 2, which ... yeah. I wish that had been planned so we could get more focus on her in this volume.