*squeals* The cover of Naomura Tooru's Shitsurakuen volume 1 looks great!! ^_^ It's coming out on September 18, and what I've read of the series so far has been surprisingly enjoyable. :) Call me a sucker for the Utena-like plot. I'll defintely be reviewing this title after it comes out. (The protagonist, Himoto Sora, btw, isn't as effortlessly cool as she appears on the cover, but that's part of the charm- she's a scrappy underdog who has to work at being a hero, without being annoying. Although I am intrigued by the uber-cool masked woman who saved her in chapter 1, as well.)
Oh... and I'm not really into posting fan art, but I think that this is too cute!! XD
As others have noted, it pretty much sums up the entire CANAAN series, at this point. Especially after episode 9. lol Plus, here are a couple more fan art pics (there are more in the thread that I've linked to).
What, exactly, is Maria trying to do? ^^;
I love this pic, since it's based on one of my favorite scenes in the series! (Although Alphard's dress is a little off- not that I'm paying too much attention. *cough*) Assassin love~ ♪
And only 1 more day until the finale of Aoi Hana!! Less than 24 hours, in fact. I can't wait to see how it will be!
Oh, and the classes today were great! We only got syllabi and light homework (and a serious workout in West African dance... @_@;), but the meat of the class material looks like it's going to be really fun! Tomorrow's going to be modern Japanese lit, more Japanese language, and international politics! ^^ Hopefully the "new" classes will be enjoyable also.
12 comments:
Wow. Shitsurakuen looks very good. I have not heard of this but definitely going to try to pick this up.
Also love the Canaan fan arts.
Dunno if I'm gonna keep following Shitsurakuen. I like some of the basics of the plot, but the fact that every male character is portrayed as a mindless, amoral monster seems a little heavy-handed to me. I'm not saying that it's gotta be a guy that swoops in to save the day, but it'd be nice to see some indication that having a Y chromosome doesn't necessarily mean having the mentality of a serial rapist. Probably give it another couple chapters and see how I feel then.
@ Yi- I'm glad! ^^ Hopefully you'll enjoy it- it is a fun yuri-action (not that kind of action, lol)/semi-fantasy series.
@ MattKrous- I hadn't thought of that before, although it is a valid cause for concern; but I'm holding out hope for the introverted, glasses-wearing guy (who I've inanely nicknamed "Mr. Megane") who seemed like he wanted to help out Sora in chapter 4 when she was looking for the "gentle boy with the eyepatch." It seems pretty difficult for him (and any other male student) to help Sora, because boys who don't participate in the game would face punishment and bullying from the All-Powerful Student Council (TM), other students, and the misogynistic headmaster who instigated the game- just as some girls refuse to cooperate with Sora for the same reason. But hopefully we'll see more on where he stands in upcoming chapters.
I agree with MattKrous.
I love the storyline and the art(very cute), but I personally don't like shoujo-ai and I'm disappointed to see (so far) that every guy is despicable and untrustworthy.
@ May- If you don't like girl x girl romance (please don't give the old "I'm not homophobic, I just don't like seeing lesbians" excuse), it's a little strange for you to be trawling through the archives of a yuri blog, no? That issue aside, I'm still holding out a sliver hope that Shitsurakuen's portrayal of men will become less...uniform. (Although that hope has been dwindling...more on that to follow in my review of volume 1 of Shitsurakuen.)
i have the same perspectivee as Mattkrous.
its very very disturbing to me that a manga like that is applauded and liked by a lot of people. i wanted to read it to see a real girlxgirl relationship develop, but that doesnt seem to be the case.
that manga shows the whole male chauvanism thing and its totally ancient and old fashioned. also the other idea about girls being objects and weapons?!?! if you like the manga, its like because you have a fantasy of "owning a girl and using her like a weapon". probably because you've never had a REAL (and loving) relationship with a girl before or you've never had a girlfriend, period. basically, thats a fantasy that only REAL LOSERS would have who are weird with twisted minds. the whole idea of "using a ...like a weapon" is a lot of like sexual imagery. its like the bigger and better your weapons are, the better and bigger your manhood (or penis) is?!? its really really sad, that the manga writers wrote this.
its disgraceful.
its even more sad that i had to come across that manga.
@ jackie- Your opinion of the manga itself seems to come from a well-intentioned place, but you debilitated your own ability to be taken seriously when you stooped to making petty personal attacks. ;)
Hi ^^;
Felt like I should comment on how much I love Shitsurakuen considering the many comments against it.
And that you should definitely review the first volume =) cuz it's awesome like that
@ KizuRai- Thanks for the encouragement. ^^ I still want to review Shitsurakuen volume 1, but- at the risk of sounding flaky- I've decided to review volumes 1 and 2 at the same time, since volume 2 is due out this January. (And it's hard to review volume 1 without being influenced by the chapters ahead that I've already read. -_-;;)
Hello there.
Nice to see there are others fans on Shitsurakuen.
Yeah, maybe the portrayal of men might incorrect or even unfair, but lets not forget that this is a made-up story; An author can write anything that s/he or like. We can just put it down if we don't like it, no one's forcing us.
Like I mention, I really like Shitsurakuen, and can't wait for the next chapter. Sora is a likeable hero, with her only fault is naivety, but that can be fix. Did I tell you that I'm rooting for her harem?
Have you read volume 2? Theres an extra chapter in there. Too bad I can't read moonrunes though.
Hope you will continue to do reviews fior this title. Later.
@ Juno- I've read the chapters that should be collected in volume 2, but I still need to get volume 2. (A review of the first two volumes will be posted within the next 2-3 weeks.)
I don't necessarily agree that a work of fiction can't be problematic simply by virtue of being fiction. While it's true that nobody is forcing us watch/read most of the fiction that we consume, it's still irritating (at best) to see a negative blanket portrayal of a certain group- especially in a series that makes pretenses about having a socially progressive depiction of another group.
For it's flaws and strengths alike, I thoroughly enjoy Shitsurakuen. It's a manga with balls, quite honestly.
Looking forward to more ^_^
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