Ono Fuyumi - The Twelve Kingdoms: Sea of Shadow
Fri, Aug. 7th, 2009 11:20 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
oyceterThis is the first of a series of books set in the twelve kingdoms universe, although from what I've heard, all the books are only loosely connected and don't need to be read in order.
Nakajima Yoko is an average girl, save for her naturally brown-red hair (I see anime and manga influences!). Until one day, a strange man appears, gives her a sword, and transports her to the land of the twelve kingdoms. Yoko doesn't want to be there, but there's not much she can do.
Unlike almost all the other person-from-our-world-transported-to-another books I've read, the introduction of the new world is miserable. Yoko hates it and hates it and hates it, and had I not been warned that it gets better, I might have given up reading. Also, I'd seen the first five episodes of the anime prior to reading the book and really disliked it. I didn't hate Yoko as much as I did in the anime, possibly because I knew more what to expect, possibly because the book gives more of a look at Yoko's thoughts, possibly because Yoko learning to fight in the book only takes a chapter or so instead of several episodes.
The book often feels slow and episodic, which isn't helped by the occasional giant infodump. However, things really start to fall into place in the final quarter, and although the final bit is extremely infodumpy, it is infodumpy in that kind of "Ohhhh, so that's what all that meant!" way, which I kind of miss from all the fantasy series I read as a teen. Plus, the big reveal was surprising and really cool, and I ended up loving Yoko by the end.
The prose frequently felt flat to me. I'm not sure if it's the style of the original or the fault of the translator. That said, I'm really glad the publishers kept the illustrations, which I love, and I am so happy they kept all the Chinese characters in the book! I don't know how confusing they were to other people, but it helped me a lot when it came to keeping track of stuff.
I also loved the worldbuilding, which, as previously mentioned, is explained in infodumpy ways, but is cool enough that I was looking forward to the infodumps. It's extremely Chinese, and I kind of love that a ton of it is about government and ruling correctly. Well, that and people growing from trees!
In conclusion: a little clunky at times and somewhat slow to start, but the ending really made all the build-up worth it.
Also, there is a cute rat!
Question: Is the anime just an adaptation of this book? Or does it include other volumes as well?
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rachelmanija's review
Nakajima Yoko is an average girl, save for her naturally brown-red hair (I see anime and manga influences!). Until one day, a strange man appears, gives her a sword, and transports her to the land of the twelve kingdoms. Yoko doesn't want to be there, but there's not much she can do.
Unlike almost all the other person-from-our-world-transported-to-another books I've read, the introduction of the new world is miserable. Yoko hates it and hates it and hates it, and had I not been warned that it gets better, I might have given up reading. Also, I'd seen the first five episodes of the anime prior to reading the book and really disliked it. I didn't hate Yoko as much as I did in the anime, possibly because I knew more what to expect, possibly because the book gives more of a look at Yoko's thoughts, possibly because Yoko learning to fight in the book only takes a chapter or so instead of several episodes.
The book often feels slow and episodic, which isn't helped by the occasional giant infodump. However, things really start to fall into place in the final quarter, and although the final bit is extremely infodumpy, it is infodumpy in that kind of "Ohhhh, so that's what all that meant!" way, which I kind of miss from all the fantasy series I read as a teen. Plus, the big reveal was surprising and really cool, and I ended up loving Yoko by the end.
The prose frequently felt flat to me. I'm not sure if it's the style of the original or the fault of the translator. That said, I'm really glad the publishers kept the illustrations, which I love, and I am so happy they kept all the Chinese characters in the book! I don't know how confusing they were to other people, but it helped me a lot when it came to keeping track of stuff.
I also loved the worldbuilding, which, as previously mentioned, is explained in infodumpy ways, but is cool enough that I was looking forward to the infodumps. It's extremely Chinese, and I kind of love that a ton of it is about government and ruling correctly. Well, that and people growing from trees!
In conclusion: a little clunky at times and somewhat slow to start, but the ending really made all the build-up worth it.
Also, there is a cute rat!
Question: Is the anime just an adaptation of this book? Or does it include other volumes as well?
Links:
-
rachelmanija's review
(no subject)
Sun, Aug. 9th, 2009 06:11 am (UTC)But I do know that what I saw among Juuni Kokki fans about the translation did turn me off. The place names and royal titles etc, all seemed to be changed to give a more western pov. As well as the names of creatures - changing one particular thing to 'boggart' sticks in my mind particularly.
So I wouldn't be at all surprised if there was no poetry or rhythm kept to the translation. And I had seen a review that infuriated me, because someone called it boring and couldn't understand how it -could- be so boring and the general theme of their review seemed to be that because it didn't fall in line with western tropes, it was boring AND made NO sense.
But I know I'm a serious fangirl on this, because I love it so much. So I walk around with my own packets of salt to hand out while I'm oohing and ahhing.
I am sorry to hear that the Anime didn't draw you in. But there is no greater sign of how different our reading habits are, than the fact that you willing read historical romance. And then find the energy to write reviews. And are -happy- :p
Actually, I've been digging into manga a lot in the last week or two and most of the summaries that intrigue me end up leading to manga or manhwa that is so not for me, it really should have had a sign saying PERSONAL DISLIKE FOR WILLOW INSIDE. And almost everything I picked up going 'well, I want to read -something-' has happily surprised me. The best examples are HunterxHunter, Kekkaishi and Senki Senki Momotama.