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Look! I read a Japanese book that is not manga!
This is the first book in a ten-book Japanese children's fantasy series; since then, it's been adapted to manga and anime.
Balsa is a 30-year-old spearwoman who has been tasked with protecting the younger prince. He's currently the receptacle of a mystical force that may or may not be deadly to him and those around him. To safeguard him, Balsa also has to uncover the actual history of the nation, which has been obscured to glorify the nation's founder.
I feel I should have liked this much more than I did—it has an older heroine who kicks ass, people of different ethnicities, and actually looks at colonization. I like how Uehashi acknowledges the forces between colonizers and the colonized, particularly how it affects their stories and legends. She's not quite as pointed in some cases as I would be, but for a children's book, it does well.
My problem is that the prose is just enormously boring. There's a lot of exposition, the dialogue falls flat, and everything feels prosaic, which is the exact opposite effect a fantasy novel should have. I don't know if it's because of the translation or the original, but I struggled to finish the book. Also, I never felt much tension, despite the fact that all the elements call for it. I should have been enamored of Balsa and her vow to save the lives of eight people, and while I like her and the other characters academically, I didn't have an emotional connection.
Still, I hope the series will continue in the US and that it's successful; it's just what I would have wanted to read as a kid. Also, as a side note, the production of the book itself is gorgeous: indigo edging on the pages, illustrations, and a woodcut feel to the entire volume.
I think I will try the anime, since the pretty production values will probably be a good substitute for the prose.
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rilina's review
This is the first book in a ten-book Japanese children's fantasy series; since then, it's been adapted to manga and anime.
Balsa is a 30-year-old spearwoman who has been tasked with protecting the younger prince. He's currently the receptacle of a mystical force that may or may not be deadly to him and those around him. To safeguard him, Balsa also has to uncover the actual history of the nation, which has been obscured to glorify the nation's founder.
I feel I should have liked this much more than I did—it has an older heroine who kicks ass, people of different ethnicities, and actually looks at colonization. I like how Uehashi acknowledges the forces between colonizers and the colonized, particularly how it affects their stories and legends. She's not quite as pointed in some cases as I would be, but for a children's book, it does well.
My problem is that the prose is just enormously boring. There's a lot of exposition, the dialogue falls flat, and everything feels prosaic, which is the exact opposite effect a fantasy novel should have. I don't know if it's because of the translation or the original, but I struggled to finish the book. Also, I never felt much tension, despite the fact that all the elements call for it. I should have been enamored of Balsa and her vow to save the lives of eight people, and while I like her and the other characters academically, I didn't have an emotional connection.
Still, I hope the series will continue in the US and that it's successful; it's just what I would have wanted to read as a kid. Also, as a side note, the production of the book itself is gorgeous: indigo edging on the pages, illustrations, and a woodcut feel to the entire volume.
I think I will try the anime, since the pretty production values will probably be a good substitute for the prose.
Links:
-
rilina's review