An idea

[heavenly_pearl]

So, I'm thinking about creating a new journal devoted solely to anime and manga (and maybe anime/manga-based live action) reviews. It's something I've been thinking about for a while, actually, but I kept putting it off because I thought it would cut too much into my writing time. Then I realized that one short review every week or so won't kill me, and I could even do it on the weekends when I don't do any fic writing.

I'm not sure anybody would be interested, though... I'd hate to put all that effort into something that nobody's going to read, you know? It's not like writing fanfiction, where you usually have some sense of satisfaction even if nobody else reads it.

If I did create the review journal, would anybody reading this friend it and actually be interested in my opinions? Also, as I'll probably make it a community so I don't have to sign out of this journal to post, would anybody be interested in being a reviewer? It would be nice to have a variety of reviews and opinions.

For an example of the format I'm thinking of using for the reviews, here's a sample review I wrote today for the Sailor Moon manga. I think I spent too much time comparing it to the anime instead of focusing on the manga as it's own story, but, eh, it'll at least give you a basic idea of what I'm thinking. (All reviews would be based on either complete series or seasons and the score is currently based on the one used at MyAnimeList, but that could change.)

Title: Sailor Moon
Mangaka: Naoko Takeuchi
Length: 18 volumes

Summary: Usagi Tsukino is just your typical teenage schoolgirl until one day when she meets a mysterious talking cat named Luna, who tells her that is Sailor Moon, a champion of love and justice. Together with Tuxedo Kamen, her destined love, and the rest of the Sailor Senshi, Usagi fights to protect the world from evil and darkness.

Score (out of 10) - 9


Plot

The plot of the manga is fairly simple. It’s about a group of beautiful teenage super-heroines dressed in sailor fuku who fight various villains trying try to take over the world for their own nefarious purposes. The overall story is comprised of five distinct arcs, each corresponding with a season of the anime: Dark Kingdom Arc/Classic, Black Moon Arc/R, Infinity Arc/S, Dream Arc/Supers, and Stars Arc/Sailor Stars. In my opinion, the Black Moon Arc and Infinity Arc are superior to the R and S seasons, but Classic and Sailor Stars improve on the manga arcs on which they are based. It’s a toss-up for me when it comes to the Dream Arc and SuperS season, as they are almost completely different stories. A majority of fans seem to feel the Dream Arc is the better of the two, but as I’m a rare fan of the SuperS seasons, I like both versions for different reasons, and they are my favorites in each medium.

The anime was 200 episodes long, meaning there was a lot of filler episodes. The original manga, on the other hand, is almost completely devoid of filler in the main storyline. The filler is contained mostly to “extra” stories at the end of the manga volumes, like the various “Chibi-Usa’s Diaries”, the “Battle Exam” chapters, and Volume 11, which is completely devoted to two supplementary stories: “Snow Princess Kaguya” and “Casablanca Memory”. These stories are just for fun and are not necessary to understand the main storyline, but I recommend reading them anyway because they do provide some nice character development for the other senshi and Luna. In fact, I kind of wish these stories had been more integrated with the main story. Without filler, the pace of the manga is rather rushed, with arcs being wrapped up in three or four volumes. It would have been nice to have some chapters that focused on something other than fighting the enemy every once in a while. This is one of the few criticisms I have with the story, but it’s only a minor drawback and doesn‘t really affect the enjoyment of the story.

Also, as a word of warning, don’t think too much about the time traveling that goes on in later arcs. Just…don’t. Trust me, you’ll give yourself a headache trying to figure out how it works, so just go with the flow and enjoy the story for what it is.


Characters

The senshi and Tuxedo Kamen all have distinct and interesting personalities, and you are almost certain to find a favorite among them. My favorite is the mysterious Sailor Pluto/Setsuna, the guardian of time, who gets significantly more character development here than she did in the anime. For those who are familiar with anime, you’ll notice that Sailor Mars/Rei is almost a completely different person in the manga, in which she is far more elegant and calm (though with some bursts of temperamental behavior), with a tragic backstory detailed in “Casablanca Memory” that reveals a deep distrust of men due to her father’s abandonment and an unrequited love for an older man. She’s also closest to Sailor Venus/Minako, instead of Sailor Moon/Usagi like she is in the anime.

As for the villains, most of the underlings are little more than cannon fodder. When you only show up for a handful of chapters, if that, you are not going to get much character development. There are a few surprising manga-only twists, though, in that the Shitennou are actually Endymion’s reincarnated guard and the Amazoness Quartet are destined to become Chibi-Usa’s guardian senshi in the future. The main bad guys tend to get a little more development, but, overall, the villains are generally weak characters.


Artwork

Naoko Takeuchi is a talented artist, although I feel her style isn’t quite as pretty and refined as some other shoujo artists. It can be quite angular at times, and she’s terrible at drawing hands and feet. Still, all the major characters have a unique look to them, so it’s easy to identify them, always a plus when the drawings are in black-and-white and you can’t rely on hair and eye color to tell them apart. The action scenes are also drawn to be straight-forward and are fairly easy to follow.


Emotion

There’s a little of almost everything in this manga: drama, romance, humor, angst, action. I cried several times over the course of the story, but going back to what I said earlier, I think the story could have been improved with a slower pace and build-up to some of the more emotional moments. Some highlights are Pluto’s death and Chibi-Usa’s consequential awakening in the Black Moon Arc, which I thought was rather well-done, and pretty much the whole battle against Nehelenia and afterwards, which was just awesome all around, especially when Chibi-Usa revived Helios. (What, me? Biased? Come on, this is the first time I even mentioned Helios, even though he‘s my favorite character. Cut me some slack!) The ending will also make Usagi/Mamoru fans very happy, as it ends with their wedding.


Overall

Sailor Moon was my first exposure to manga, so it’s always going to hold a special place in my heart. I’ve since read better stories, but I won’t hesitate to recommend it to others. If you’re a fan of magical girls and/or you liked the anime, then give it a try.
 

Of course, for anime reviews, "Artwork" would obviously be replaced with "Animation" and I may add a category for "Sound" (dealing with the music and voice acting aspects). Not really sure about live-action reviews yet.

What do y'all think? Any comments or suggestions? I'd love to hear them. ^_^

Comments

[ayadec.livejournal.com]

I think this is a good idea. I would definitely follow it, because I'm always looking for ways to spend money I don't have. Seriously, however, it is nice to hear about new series. I have been watching a lot of anime lately, but I'm not quite sure I'd be up to reviewer standards. I do have a friend on my flist who writes reviews, so if this did become a community, I could let her know about it.

[heavenly-pearl.livejournal.com]

Hehe, don't I know the feeling! So little money, so much manga and anime I want to buy!

Based on your journal entries, I think you'd actually make a good reviewer. ^_^ I think I'd rather reviews be based on how much the reviewers enjoy the series, rather than looking at them from a purely critical standpoint (although those are fine, too), so as long as you enjoy giving your opinion on things and have a decent grasp of grammar, I'm sure you (and your friend) would make fine reviewers.

- Yumeko -

[fliederfee.livejournal.com]

I'd be interested in reading this!

I don't think I could be a reviewer, but I'd sure like to read other's opinions. Always looking for new manga reads. :)