Arata: The Legend: Volume 10

by Yuu Watase, 192 pages

Accidental body-swapping leads Hinohara and company to the home of Yataka, the shinsho responsible for the Princess's attempted murder.  How are they going to convince him to voluntarily submit to Hinohara so the latter can save her?

Ah, the schmaltziness of misunderstandings and a broken heart leading to unnecessary conflict.  I'm sure Hinohara and the gang will clear things up soon and move on to the next cheezy escapade on the way to their goal.  Sadly, we don't get any Arata-in-the-real-world or Kadowaki time at all this volume.

Arata, The Legend: Volume 9

by Yuu Watase, 192 pages

Hinohara's infiltration of sho Kugura's territory gets complicated due to a too-successful disguise, and then things get much worse with the arrival of Kadowaki, who's set on making Kuguru submit to him.

I like the Hinohara storyline just fine (minus the hokey bits, which are admittedly many), but I seriously want to know what's going on in the normal world with Arata and Oribe and scary Harunawa.  All we get here is a little portal-side chat between Arata and mopey Kotoha, who's trying to let go her crush on him.  Is there just nothing happening over there?  *sigh*  And now we're going to have Mikusa, a warrior woman who lives as a man for clan security reasons, starting to look at Hinohara as her destined partner.  The romantic melodrama just makes both her and Kotoha look a little foolish (in Kotoha's case, make that a lot).

The Tiger Saga: Book 1: Tiger's Curse

by Colleen Houck, 405 pages

Kels just wants a summer job when she accepts a temp position as an extra pair of hands for a small circus while it's in town. Ticket collection? Check. Cleaning up the bleachers after the show? Sure. Bonding with the troupe's oddly domesticated tiger, flying off to India on a private jet, traipsing Indiana-Jones-style through jungles and temples in search of mystical clues, and falling in love with a 300-plus-year-old prince? Not so much mentioned in the original job description. But Kels is an adaptable 17-year-old and throws herself into her "other duties as assigned" with conviction. What she does worry about, however, is what will happen when her mission is accomplished.

Oh, angsty youth. I wanted to smack Kels for being such a self-defeater in emotional matters when she's so willing to take on angry monkeys, murderous trees, and personal snake-spirits. This series has a nifty premise and offers a wealth of fascinating details regarding Indian culture, history, and religion. It feels a little too hokey-convenient and Indiana-Jones-like now and then, and the language has an odd, staid rhythm to it (mostly Kels's voice, as everyone else has an excuse to sound formal and mature--she's a teen from Oregon, but her dialogue could lose the quotation marks and first person indicators and easily blend in with the narration), but it's still a fun adventure-romance with a mystical heart. Also, I am a sucker for cats, large and small, and Houck knows her kitties. (I once cried from a Siberian tiger's facial expression on a PBS program. Like I said, sucker.) The attractive cover design and physical feel of the book are professional quality, so I didn't realize until partway through the novel that it was originally self-published. Knowing that, I cut the imaginative author some slack about the language, which is very "subject-verb, subject-verb" without as much switching-up of the order (for example, with lead-in prepositional phrases and other clauses) as one would normally expect. I think that's just her style, though, and I got used to it by the end, though I do wish Kels would talk a little more like the native speaker she is and let the natural verbal shortcuts fly. It may not be perfect (I have additional quibbles regarding the "translation" of rhyming texts related to the titular curse), but nevertheless I like these characters (teen angst aside) and the big story well enough to wonder what's next and look forward to the entrance of the big bad in book 2.

Arata: The Legend: Volume 8

by Yuu Watase, 190 pages

Kanate has an unwelcome reunion and makes a fateful decision while the rest of the gang infiltrate the palace of the local shinsho, Kugura, who's been absconding with local young ladies.

This volume is all about being happy with who you are (or confident enough in who you are not to freak out about a little cross-dressing). :P

Insert my usual grumbles about Arata and Kadowaki not getting nearly enough panel-time (all of five or six pages, this go-round). *sigh*

Arata, The Legend: Volume 7

by Yuu Watase, 192 pages

Hinohara has a showdown with another shinsho in order to get his submission and cooperation in the companions' efforts to save the princess. But Hinohara has little time to enjoy his success before receiving tragic news from home.

Sadly, I didn't much care for this shinsho-submission showdown. It was just a little too easy and quick and cheezy. And once again Arata gets short shrift (he doesn't even get a whole chapter to himself this time, and what he does have is mostly flashback) and poor disturbed Kadowaki also just gets a partial chapter at the end. The art's still polished and attractive, and I still like the overall story and characters, it's just grown a bit formulaic in the "fight" event sequences and rather unintentionally silly in its efforts to present new shinsho with weird, unique powers and undying devotion from their subordinates.

The Last Unicorn

original story by Peter S. Beagle, adaptation by Peter B. Gillis, art by Renae De Liz, 167 pages

An immortal unicorn goes in search of her missing brethren.

This graphic adaptation of Beagle's classic fantasy novel sports lush, attractive artwork (though it's more contemporary American comic book style and less classically illustrative, which I would have preferred, but that's just my personal taste talking) and does a decent job of transferring the original's wondermous text into a more visual medium. However, I think the compression required to squeeze the tale into 167 pages makes the narrative read awkwardly, even for someone familiar with the original story. This is particularly problematic once the unicorn and her companions arrive at Haggard's castle, where gaps of time--in which relationships are forged and clues are searched for--are so glossed over that the uninitiated reader has no idea how things arrived at point B from point A or what exactly the characters are talking about so eloquently in any given panel (for instance, the sleepwalking scene on the stairs). Also, there's a noticeable lack of beat panels. Reaction shots help give rhythm and flow to a narrative, textlessly smoothing transitions in mood and scene. But here, they are missing. For example, there is a scene in which someone shoots an arrow that narrowly misses another's chattering head before planting itself in a tree trunk behind him. The almost-shot man's dialogue bubble in which he comments on the offending arrow is above the just-landed shaft, rather than below it (or, better yet, in a separate panel below it, which would have left his surprised, wordless face to say volumes before he responded out loud) and so it appears he's talking about it before it happens and that he never stops yammering and has no physical or emotional reaction to being irately cut-off and nearly killed. If the adaptors, who clearly love and respect the source material, had had more pages to work with, and the artist had worked in a few more visual beats, I think this could have been wonderful, but as it is I am a little disappointed. It's like skipping a stone across the water and only getting random glimpses of the depths where the stone skims the surface.

If you haven't read the original novel, I can't recommend you pick this up unless you just want to look at the pretty pictures, as it will make very little sense. For fans of the book, however, this adds another facet to the richness of the story, but only because you'll be able to bridge the gaps and fill in the blanks for yourself.

The Walk, Richard Paul Evans

Page 289

I had never read one of Richard Paul Evans books before, but had been asked repeatedly for this book at the desk. I finally gave in to my curiosity and checked it out--it was amazing! I was sucked into the story from the very first page and just kept reading. The story immerses you in the characters life and I couldn't put it down. What was really great is this is just the first book in the series so there is much more to come. It is very emotional and inspirational novel and I highly recommend The Walk.

Magic Knight Rayearth: Volume 6

by CLAMP, 220 pages

Mokona's revealed to be a lot more than just a ball of cuteness and comic relief as everyone realizes that none of them want a repeat of the past; it is only their chosen means of achieving an alternative that pits them against one another.

Loose ends are tidied up (except for one that is left amusingly wide open). Sappy and sweet and very nearly tragic, but this last volume ends on an unequivocal tone of hope and happiness.

Magic Knight Rayearth: Volume 5

by CLAMP, 215 pages

Cephiro and its defenders fight off incursions from other countries looking to take advantage of its current weakness. But what are their motives? And what of Lantis, Zagato's quiet, brooding brother? And how is he connected to one of the invading countries?

More backstory on Emeraude and Zagato as well as Lantis and the fellows from Autozam. More muddying of the good / bad distinction. And more bonding as the future is contemplated.

Magic Knight Rayearth: Volume 4

by CLAMP, 206 pages

The girls have returned home to Tokyo, their quest fulfilled, but their hearts are heavy with regret. To find comfort in shared memories, they meet up again at the tower only to once again be pulled back to Cephiro, where a new danger threatens the still unstable world. The trio learn some of the details they weren't privy to the first time they came to Cephiro, and that knowledge strengthens their resolve to serve the country however they can--even if that means trying to undermine its very foundations.

As the story gets more complex and the cast bigger, we meet a few characters CLAMP readers will recognize when they show up in one of the alternate worlds in Tsubasa. And did I mention that Mokona, Tsubasa's and XxxHolic's "white pork bun" tubby bunny-bat creature makes its first appearance in this series, as well? It doesn't talk so much in this one, though--probably because there aren't any perpetual grumps (I'm lookin' at you, Kurogane and Watanuki) to happily annoy. :P

Magic Knight Rayearth: Volume 3

by CLAMP, 207 pages

Umi and Fuu awake slumbering spirits who promise to help them when the time is right, but Zagato wants to ensure Hikaru doesn't get a chance to awaken the third and final spirit. And if he has to use mind control over one of Emeraude's most faithful servants to do it, he will.

Ah, enemies who aren't really enemies. CLAMP very rarely has baddies who are actually evil. There are almost always extenuating circumstances, contrasting yet legitimate motives, and, often, changes of heart. That's the tragedy of reality and one of the things I love best about these creators.

Magic Knight Rayearth: Volume 2

by CLAMP, 197 pages

On their quest to get the special mineral Escudo for their new, self-adapting armor, the girls run into a strange but helpful boy in the forest. With Princess Emeraude's former priest Zagato sending one powerful enemy after another to get in their way, they could use the extra hands.

As they fight their way through obstacles, the three girls quickly learn to trust and look out for one another, bonding as best friends who've only just met. Typical CLAMP sappiness that feels right at home in the context of the story.

Magic Knight Rayearth: Volume 1

by CLAMP, 203 pages

Three strangers are plucked from the viewing platform of Tokyo Tower and whisked away to another world where they're told they've been summoned by the imprisoned princess to save her kingdom. But can three ordinary fourteen-year-old girls who've never met before really save the world of Cephiro, where belief is power? Hikaru, Fuu, and Umi have a lot to learn, but they'll have to pick it up along the way as time is running out.

This is an early short series that still bears many of the hallmarks of future CLAMP titles: identifiable art, lots of wild magic, and a flair for the melodramatic that balances out nicely with sharp humor.

Arata: The Legend: Volume 6

by Yuu Watase, 190 pages

Hinohara must deal with the repercussions of Kadowaki's presence in Amawakuni, but he's still on a mission to make the other shinsho submit to him so they can present a united front against the greater enemy. Meanwhile, Arata faces the flipside of Kadowaki's swap in the form of one of the Twelve Shinsho, the deadly Harunawa.

After the drama of his earlier encounter, Hinohara's current mission in a town that lives and dies by cold, hard currency seems a little silly. Also, I'm annoyed that Arata only gets one (one!) chapter. Kadowaki clearly needs some time focused on him, wherever he is (and with the introduction of another new character, it looks like he might get some more dedicated page time in the future), but even split three ways that would give Arata more than one little high-octane chapter. *harumph* I'm still enjoying the story just fine, but the continued lack of equilibrium in the telling's perspectives disturbs my sense of artistic rightness.

The Last Unicorn

by Peter S. Beagle, 212 pages

A majestic, immortal unicorn has not seen or heard of another of her kind for a generation of men. After an unsettling encounter with a deferential, manic, quote-spouting butterfly, she begins to fear that she is alone. Without a plan, she leaves the security of her familiar woods to venture out into the world and learn the fate of her people. Accompanied by a twopenny magician and a rough-edged camp cook she unintentionally draws into her wake, she will also learn a little of what it means to be mortal, to know fear, pain, death, regret...and love.

I love this book. I sat down to write this review and instead wasted a few hours re-reading passages and smiling to myself and coveting my own copy and not writing anything. The language is beautiful and fluid, somber and silly, and I could live in it all day. Beagle's unique, organic way with words reminds me of a less dark and distant Neil Gaiman (whose own, lovely Stardust trails wispy echoes of this older story for me) or Diana Wynne Jones (imagination-blessed author of Howl's Moving Castle). Beagle creates these wonderful, deep characters but doesn't always tell you what's under the surface, instead letting you catch glimpses of who they really are in a glance, a cut-off sentence, a silent action lost in the tumult a few seconds later. The details and characterization he successfully encourages your imagination to supply would double the slender book's length if written out on the page, but he teaches you to create that substance out of thin air and you happily comply before you even realize what you're doing.

Melancholic, yet cheerfully optimistic; bittersweet, yet snicker-inducing. Quite a few snickers, actually. And awe. I want to read more Beagle. I want to know what tangles Schmendrick and Molly get into in the future. (Isn't Schmendrick just a wonderful name for a bungling magician with his heart in the right place? And Molly Grue sounds like she's just stepped out of the taproom to clobber someone over the head with a tray. And then there's Haggard...and Amalthea...and Lír.... All the names are perfect, really.) There are talking cats and bluejays, castles and curses, witches and harpies, spells and princes, and beautiful, beautiful words. If you like fantasy at all, read this book. If you've seen the 1982 animated film adaptation and thought it was a little incongruously dark and cartoony (which I did in 4th grade--I should watch it again now as a "grown up"), read this book and let your brain replace the images with your own interpretation (as I wish I'd done years ago). I was reminded that this existed when I saw that a new graphic novel version had been published, which I'd also like to read, but thought it'd be best to read the original first. I'm so glad I did, as it has given me a new author crush and set me off on another bibliography-consuming mission.

*sigh*

Arata: The Legend: Volume 5

by Yuu Watase, 191 pages

Hinohara finally acknowledges to his friend Kotoha that he's not the Arata she has known and served all her life. Luckily for him, she's got a forgiving nature, although now that they are no longer master and servant he'll get to see a whole new side of her surprisingly tough personality. On the flip side, Arata makes friends with a strange classmate of Hinohara's named Oribe, a girl who's always felt like someone else...and who's the first person to immediately see Arata as himself and not Hinohara. Damaged bully Kadowaki overhears the two talking and struggles with the confusing thought of Hinohara not being Hinohara. If the target of all his rage isn't who he thought he was, then where's the real Hinohara?

The heroes aren't the only ones who can play at switcheroo.... Yay, Arata and the mundane world get much more balanced coverage in this volume as the two worlds collide and crossover even more. I hope the trend continues!

Arata: The Legend: Volume 4

by Yuu Watase, 190 pages

In the magical world, Hinohara faces off with Kannagi, agonizes over whether or not to tell his new friends who he really is, and finds himself and his party trapped on an island populated only by children. Meanwhile, in the mundane world, Arata has run-ins with Kadowaki--Hinohara's bully--and learns a little about what it's like to have a mom.

I love stories of baddies who aren't exactly baddies at heart, so this pleases me. And the story with the island children makes me sniffle. Arata, unfortunately, still only gets two chapters in this volume, which is frustrating. He's unintentionally funny and always so straightforward. We need more of him to balance out shy Hinohara's timidity.

Arata: The Legend: Volume 3

by Yuu Watase, 190 pages

After witnessing--and being framed for--the attempted assassination of his world's princess, Arata runs to the forest where he hides in a hollow tree...and emerges in the modern world, having somehow switched places (and faces) with a boy named Arata Hinohara. A longtime victim of bullies, Hinohara now finds himself a fugitive from the law in a hierarchical magic-based world he doesn't understand while Arata tries to fit in as an ordinary high school student and faces off with his counterpart's victimizing adversaries. Undetected by their own families, friends, and enemies, the two boys do their best to take up each other's missions and take care of each other's loved ones.

In this volume, Hinohara and his companions are working their way back toward the capital in order to foil the unfolding coup and save the princess's life. To do so, they'll have to travel through the territory of Kannagi, the dangerous young ruler who actually wielded the blade against the princess and then pointed the finger at Arata.

Don't let the pretty art and Watase's history with shojo like Absolute Boyfriend fool you--this is a dramatic action series with lots of deadly magic and swords that don't stay sheathed for long. If the first volume didn't get the hint across, this one certainly will. Owy. I've read five other series by Watase, who's usually known for her strong female leads and for not shying away from depicting realistically edgy physical and emotional drama, and so far this one is ranking up there with Ceres, my favorite of hers. She likes her alternate world-jumping and the notion of shared destiny, but as long as she keeps telling her stories with this much care and skill, I don't mind if I see some familiar themes and devices. My main worry at this point is the imbalance between the two Aratas' stories. Hinohara's carrying most of the burden, and getting most of the page-count, so far, leaving poor Arata to do little more than fret over what's going on at home and take notes in class for Hinohara so he doesn't miss anything. I'm hoping Watase gradually gives Arata's role more substance and attention, but I'm happy to keep reading until she does.

InuYasha: Volume 56

by Rumiko Takahashi, 206 pages

The battle appears to be over, but the final card is still in play. The Shikon jewel is determined to cling to life and wreak chaos once again, but the future (and, technically, the past) rests on Kagome's shoulders. The well that connects her time to InuYasha's has vanished and, for a little while, she is in neither. What choice will she ultimately make? And will she be strong enough to see it through?

All done! My one grumble here in this final volume is that, after Kagome makes her climactic wish, the author pulls one of those "three years later..." deals and doesn't let you see the big emotional events in the interim. Other than that, though, I'm mostly satisfied with the way things turn out, which is good, considering how much time I've invested in getting there. After 56 volumes, I can finally say I've read the whole thing--woohoo! It was fun and I'm glad I stuck with it. Now I just have to get around to watching the rest of the animé series and movies. But no rush. :P

InuYasha: Volume 55

by Rumiko Takahashi, 186 pages

Naraku uses his powers of illusion and his awareness of the companions' motivations to isolate his enemies and cause them as much misery as possible, as their unhappiness only adds to his strength.

Naraku weakens, but he still seems pretty content with himself. What's he up to? And what did his puppet Byakuya just do to Kagome? There's just one volume left....