Alichino

Rating:
Summary: Only three volumes...
Review: I adored this manga when I first got hold of it and quickly worked my way through all three volumes pausing only to admire the extraodinarily detailed gothic artwork. I disagree with the previous commentary stating the characters lacked emotion. personally, I felt the facial emotions were subtle and yet managed to convey deeper emotions than your typical manga (perhaps due to the high level of angst in this manga). I would have to say that the portrayal of emotions between this manga and those with more obvious facial expressions is equivalent to the difference between emotional portrayal in anime and disney. The subtle often feels more powerful.

The detailed introductions to "kusabi" and "alichino" in the first volume were not only necessary but essential to future volumes in that a few sentences would hardly make the same impact as the occurrences which the mangaka illustrates. I found the introduction of "kusabi" to be particularly poignant as its importance is revealed through a flashback sequence of tsugiri's tragic childhood.

I would agree however, that hardly anything REALLY happens in the first three volumes (which is where the mangaka has seemingly discontinued the work a few years back). The majority consists of character development/introduction and the occasional flashback. For that reason, I would rate this manga a 4 rather than a 5. There simply isn't enough of a substantial plot, although there appears to be a fairly interesting lead-up into the main story as well as a significant plot-twist at the end of the third volume (which will remain a frustrating loose end due to the lack of further publications).

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful and Boring
Review: This is one of those titles that had so much going for it. As soon I saw the posterboy for Alichino, Tsurigi, on the Tokyopop website a year ago, I was entralled, although the only other information available was the title. I thought I'd never seen such beautiful manga art-and the prospect of an entire series having the same consistent style of gothic beauty was enough for me to commit myself to the entire thing, even though it wasn't going to be released for a while. As more information became available, I further and further intrigued; the author had won a prestigious award for her work; the preview was stunning, and throughly interesting; the chracter profiles on the site were fascinating. When i researched on the net, readers of the Japanese version had nothing but good to say.

I was so anxious to get Alichino that I acutally made a store employee search for it in the backroom when I couldn't find it on the shelf-and then I bought it on the spot. While I flipped through it on the ride home, a few things worried me- Alichino is only 130 pages long, a little more than half the size of a typical manga. and I already knew before that it was a discontinued series in japan, meaning only 3 were available for the planned english translation. I wondered how far they could possibly get with the story. Also, the poster included had somewhat faded colors.

I looked foward to this book so much it almost pains me to say it, but Alichino is actually pretty boring... The story, which doesn't really have any "plot" to it just yet, is more of an introduction. It seemed that all there was was explanation to what WOULD be in the future books, but with not much substance in the beginning. All dialogue is spent describing important terms like "Kusabi" and "Alichino" in long, drawn-out conversations. This was probably meant to add mysticism to what the two are, but in actuality it could have been summed up with the same impact with just a few lines. The fact that the characters, although breathtakingly lovely in thier costumes, are expressionless, only adds to a feeling of malaise. They literally never change expression, not even in intense moments.

Alichino is not a bad piece of work- every image has its own individuality, a discordant attractiveness that is reminiscent of Clover- each page able to stand on its own as an artpiece. Somehow, though, it just doesn't work. It reminded me of an artstyle where words accompany the image, which makes it SUGGGESTIVE of story- but still REMAINS an artpeice. While I could enjoy each beautifully dark picture, i couldn't string them together to make a story.

This is the first manga that's ever bored me- but it is a visual masterpiece, which is why it's at a 3. Also, judging from all the good press I got from other sources- it's going to get better, probably. Not only that, I think Tokyopop messed up the translation a little,which, even though it lowers the quality of the book, should leave the overall storyline intact. I very seriously considered returning this- but now I am keeping it for aesthetics, and on the gamble that the next book will be better. I am definitely flipping through it first in the store, though. I think anyone who was as swept away as I was by art should get the artbook instead of grappling with the manga. (It's expensive, though.)