Maison Ikkoku and V For Vendetta Reviews
Oct. 29th, 2005 09:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alobearI have been adding to my knowledge of graphic novels and manga recently, with a little help from my friends.
All fourteen volumes of Maison Ikkoku were lent to me by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
markwelham at the insistence of corone, and I read them all over the course of last week.
The story centres around a love triangle involving an apartment building manager, one of her tenants, and her tennis coach. The fourteen volumes cover about five years of their lives, from when she first takes on the job to when she finally chooses between the two men. In the interim, there are misunderstandings galore, many ridiculous plot twists, and the continuing shenanigans of the other tenants.
The peripheral characters are very entertaining, the structure and "direction" of the action are very skillful, and the whole plot arc is fairly involving. Unfortunately, I didn't really like any of the three protagonists, and their constant fallings out over stupid misunderstandings were mostly just annoying. I've never been fond of stories where people suffer unnecessarily because they fail to communicate with one another, and Kyoko's habit of jumping to the wrong conclusions and refusing to listen to anybody's explanations generally irritated me.
Also, after fourteen volumes and five years of miscommunication, when two of the main characters finally got together in the end I didn't find it remotely believable. The sudden pairing off of various of the peripheral characters was rather too convenient, too, making the multiple-marriage Shakespeare-type ending both abrupt and dissatisfying.
I loved the other tenants of the apartment building, and I thought Kyoko's back story (and the way it was mirrored by Yusaku's teaching experience) was really interesting, but ultimately, the main characters didn't draw me in, so I found it difficult to care about their fates.
After Maison Ikkoku, I moved straight on to V For Vendetta, which was also lent to me bymarkwelham, this time at the insistence of cholten99.
This is a powerful story, masterfully told in graphic form. The characters are strong, the plot intriguing and complex, and the imagery hard-hitting. I was so engrossed that I nearly failed to get off the train at the right stop on the way to work!
The only problem I had with it was that there were so many peripheral characters, none of whom really had distinguishing characteristics, that I found it difficult to tell them apart unless their names were used in the dialogue. This meant that I have no idea if the guy Evey takes back to the Shadow Gallery at the end is a character we've seen before or just someone random. It doesn't really matter either way, but I found it annoying that I couldn't tell.
I love the fact that we never see V's face or find out who he really is, though. Ordinarily, that kind of unsolved mystery would irritate me, but it's made very clear within the story that it is what he represents and what he achieves that is important, not who he is. This is obviously reinforced by the passing of the mask to Evey, who takes over as the creator aspect, after V's destruction of society is complete.
I very much look forward to the film version that is currently being made. I think the combination of Hugo Weaving and Natalie Portman in the lead roles will be excellent, and I hope that the film can successfully capture the compelling and intriguing nature of V's quest for anarchy.
All fourteen volumes of Maison Ikkoku were lent to me by
markwelham at the insistence of corone, and I read them all over the course of last week.The story centres around a love triangle involving an apartment building manager, one of her tenants, and her tennis coach. The fourteen volumes cover about five years of their lives, from when she first takes on the job to when she finally chooses between the two men. In the interim, there are misunderstandings galore, many ridiculous plot twists, and the continuing shenanigans of the other tenants.
The peripheral characters are very entertaining, the structure and "direction" of the action are very skillful, and the whole plot arc is fairly involving. Unfortunately, I didn't really like any of the three protagonists, and their constant fallings out over stupid misunderstandings were mostly just annoying. I've never been fond of stories where people suffer unnecessarily because they fail to communicate with one another, and Kyoko's habit of jumping to the wrong conclusions and refusing to listen to anybody's explanations generally irritated me.
Also, after fourteen volumes and five years of miscommunication, when two of the main characters finally got together in the end I didn't find it remotely believable. The sudden pairing off of various of the peripheral characters was rather too convenient, too, making the multiple-marriage Shakespeare-type ending both abrupt and dissatisfying.
I loved the other tenants of the apartment building, and I thought Kyoko's back story (and the way it was mirrored by Yusaku's teaching experience) was really interesting, but ultimately, the main characters didn't draw me in, so I found it difficult to care about their fates.
After Maison Ikkoku, I moved straight on to V For Vendetta, which was also lent to me by
markwelham, this time at the insistence of cholten99.This is a powerful story, masterfully told in graphic form. The characters are strong, the plot intriguing and complex, and the imagery hard-hitting. I was so engrossed that I nearly failed to get off the train at the right stop on the way to work!
The only problem I had with it was that there were so many peripheral characters, none of whom really had distinguishing characteristics, that I found it difficult to tell them apart unless their names were used in the dialogue. This meant that I have no idea if the guy Evey takes back to the Shadow Gallery at the end is a character we've seen before or just someone random. It doesn't really matter either way, but I found it annoying that I couldn't tell.
I love the fact that we never see V's face or find out who he really is, though. Ordinarily, that kind of unsolved mystery would irritate me, but it's made very clear within the story that it is what he represents and what he achieves that is important, not who he is. This is obviously reinforced by the passing of the mask to Evey, who takes over as the creator aspect, after V's destruction of society is complete.
I very much look forward to the film version that is currently being made. I think the combination of Hugo Weaving and Natalie Portman in the lead roles will be excellent, and I hope that the film can successfully capture the compelling and intriguing nature of V's quest for anarchy.
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no subject
Date: 2005-11-04 04:16 pm (UTC)But I can't disagree with your review.
With anything so character based, if the characters don't get you, the story won't either.
I do agree the conclusion came quickly, but really I think they were pretty much together from day one.
I rather enjoyed the characters being so frustrating.
But I liked the ones (like the schoolgirl) who took advantage of it.
I still think she is a master storyteller though.
You might enjoy Inu Yasha (by the same author)
Characters are far less irritating and more plot.
I'm looking forward to V too.
Even though Alan Moore seems to have on luck with film adaptations!