Iwanaga Ryotaro - Pumpkin Scissors, vol. 02-03 (Eng. trans.)
Wed, Apr. 15th, 2009 10:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
oyceterThis is not a very flashy series, and although it isn't extremely memorable, I like it.
Volumes 2 and 3 get a little more into Randel's secret past, but not as much as I was afraid of. Don't get me wrong; I very much want to know what happened to him to make him a scary killing machine (metaphorically), but I also want to get to know the unit more. I get so tired of how single heroes' angst always ends up overtaking things. While the class issues are still not great, we at least get to see some more of it. It's still from the POV of the Pumpkin Scissors team, but I like that the situation is getting more complicated.
Spoilers
I continue to love Alice. That said, I wish the unit had more women in combat, as opposed to the girl with the dog (I forgot her name). I'm especially looking forward to vol. 4 and what Alice does to fight her way out of the ball, because I think she can get out of there without help.
Some of the other underlings remind me very much of Fullmetal Alchemist, especially the blond guy. I was very annoyed by the fake rape threat to get the underground girl's father to admit he cared, or something stupid like that. It was unnecessary and felt cheap.
I am really creeped out by the hints we're getting of Randel's old unit; the guy in the flame suit? Gah! Freaky! And although it'd be nice to have another powerful non-evil woman, it's interesting seeing the role of the mad scientist being played by a woman. I forgot who said it, but someone pointed out while discussing Sarah Connor Chronicles that the scientists tend to be portrayed as male, with the more practical and less theoretical women there to ground them. That's obviously not the case here.
And we get an explanation as to the unit's name! See, one thing I would like to know is if the name is in katakana or translated from Japanese (I'm guessing katakana), but sadly, that was not included in the back notes.
As a side note, although Del Rey's notes in the back tend to be good, the ones for this series are trite and boring. I can't remember, since I read these a while ago, but they either state the obvious or, at one point, make ambiguities clear in case the reader misses it. I was particularly annoyed with the latter.
Volumes 2 and 3 get a little more into Randel's secret past, but not as much as I was afraid of. Don't get me wrong; I very much want to know what happened to him to make him a scary killing machine (metaphorically), but I also want to get to know the unit more. I get so tired of how single heroes' angst always ends up overtaking things. While the class issues are still not great, we at least get to see some more of it. It's still from the POV of the Pumpkin Scissors team, but I like that the situation is getting more complicated.
Spoilers
I continue to love Alice. That said, I wish the unit had more women in combat, as opposed to the girl with the dog (I forgot her name). I'm especially looking forward to vol. 4 and what Alice does to fight her way out of the ball, because I think she can get out of there without help.
Some of the other underlings remind me very much of Fullmetal Alchemist, especially the blond guy. I was very annoyed by the fake rape threat to get the underground girl's father to admit he cared, or something stupid like that. It was unnecessary and felt cheap.
I am really creeped out by the hints we're getting of Randel's old unit; the guy in the flame suit? Gah! Freaky! And although it'd be nice to have another powerful non-evil woman, it's interesting seeing the role of the mad scientist being played by a woman. I forgot who said it, but someone pointed out while discussing Sarah Connor Chronicles that the scientists tend to be portrayed as male, with the more practical and less theoretical women there to ground them. That's obviously not the case here.
And we get an explanation as to the unit's name! See, one thing I would like to know is if the name is in katakana or translated from Japanese (I'm guessing katakana), but sadly, that was not included in the back notes.
As a side note, although Del Rey's notes in the back tend to be good, the ones for this series are trite and boring. I can't remember, since I read these a while ago, but they either state the obvious or, at one point, make ambiguities clear in case the reader misses it. I was particularly annoyed with the latter.
(no subject)
Thu, Apr. 16th, 2009 05:56 am (UTC)This is one of those series that I love and then have almost nothing to say about when I sit down to write it up. Or to comment on when others do!
(no subject)
Thu, Apr. 16th, 2009 06:26 am (UTC)(no subject)
Thu, Apr. 16th, 2009 06:09 am (UTC)I do love Alice, but probably not enough to take my feeling toward the series from liking to love.
(no subject)
Thu, Apr. 16th, 2009 06:26 am (UTC)Yeah, I think this is in my category of "very solid, I like it, but don't love it."
(no subject)
Thu, Apr. 16th, 2009 09:08 pm (UTC)Shit! I didn't know that!
(no subject)
Fri, Apr. 17th, 2009 01:39 am (UTC)http://www.amazon.com/Pumpkin-Scissors-Season-Part-2/dp/B001F2U73M/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1239932268&sr=8-1
(no subject)
Fri, Apr. 17th, 2009 06:21 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Thu, Apr. 16th, 2009 10:55 am (UTC)I pretty much agree with what you've said - like it but don't love it. This is a series that my husband is following also - he even asked when the next volume was coming out! (Usually he just expects that more manga will show up eventually and leaves it at that.)
(no subject)
Thu, Apr. 16th, 2009 10:26 pm (UTC)Heh, I wish manga would magically appear in my house...
(no subject)
Thu, Apr. 16th, 2009 05:00 pm (UTC)The Japanese title is indeed in katakana, パンプキン・シザーズ = Panpukin Shizāzu.
---L.
(no subject)
Thu, Apr. 16th, 2009 10:29 pm (UTC)an aside
Thu, Apr. 16th, 2009 05:42 pm (UTC)Re: an aside
Thu, Apr. 16th, 2009 10:29 pm (UTC)