Saturday, May 5, 2012

Yamato Gensouki Volume 2


VOL. 2 – Into the World of Dreams
 The Will that Cannot be Stopped

Ahh, a really good chapter so far, the mysteriousness of the forests is increased, as well as a promising backstory of Iyo.  Again, I could foresee what was going to happen purely because the plot twist had been done a lot before, in this case, the chief’s attack is a test for them, and they passed.  One of the better chapters in terms of content, and the heroes finally head into the infamous forest.

The Forest of Tokoyo

The chapters are getting better, and we get to see why the forest is also called the “Forest of No Return”, the guardian looks familiar, as does all the spell casting.  The chapter does have some good scenes in it, and has a lot of interesting tidbits here and there.

‘The Guardian’ and ‘Haru-sama’

Wow, the fight was disappointing, quick and fairly uneventful.  Apparently, Empress Iyo can fight pretty well too…  Mysterious figure shows up, protagonists follow, yeah, no surprises there, and all done before.  I was even a little bit hyped from the previous chapter as to what would happen in this one.

The Creeping Insanity

A great chapter in terms of story, so mysterious, so much promise in what could be revealed in the later chapters…  I quite liked this one, and was really absorbed in it, not just in terms of Shion, but also in Iyo’s backstory.  There were quite a lot of humour in this chapter, which is a major reason why it was so much more enjoyable.

Aiming for Qualification

The suspense is killing, well not really, but the most suspense we’ve had in the series.  The backstory of Iyo is not revealed here, but teased a bit.  Also, there seems to be a fight that’s going to emerge between Shion and one of his ‘comrades’ back when he was part of the nation destroying organisation, and it seems this new guy, Kouma, might be more powerful than Shion.

The Two like an Onmyou

More of a spacing chapter where nothing much really happens, the next chapter seems to be the one that’ll have the fight.  As the series fall to an end, I do wonder how the author is going to wrap it up, as there’s a ton of unanswered questions…

The Crimson Weapon

While the battle is nothing special, the ending is really good.  You can care for Shion when his sword cracks and then snaps right at the last panel, and you think, all he’s been through and gained, is this really the end (probably not but still, you care for the character).

The Calling Voice

So, with the Shingu sword destroyed, so should Shion’s spirit.  His father’s spirit talks to him in his unconsciousness though (so Shion doesn't die, and is fully aware of what’s happening…), which I thought was a cheap way to overcome this problem.  Anyway, Shion learns what we knew was going to happen, and that is that Iyo is so important to him, that she will help him revive, and I think his sword reacts right at the last panel.

Into the World of Dreams

Shion wins!!  Well, what else do you expect, we don’t get to see the fight, but Shion has gotten a lot more powerful.


The ending is very open, and it doesn't resolve anything, so all the build up throughout the series was all for nothing (I suspect the author was going to do reveal it but the manga was cut short due to low popularity). 


There are so many ideas and concepts the author has put forward but never realised, such as the City of Takama (a major part but we never know if they got there), Iyo’s backstory, the five keys of which Shion’s shingu is one of them and their significance, and of course, how the nations were united into the one Japan.

Overall

I found that the latter chapters were good, much better than all the ones from the first volume.  The story resolution is disappointing, as it didn't resolve anything, there are still too many questions unanswered, and just when it was starting to be good.  Wished the author did continue this on like he said he might, as it would interesting to see the process in which Iyo united the nations, and if the Onmyou is destroyed or not.  There seems to be a few hidden agendas but we’ll never know.  I think it’s an okay manga to read if you’ve got nothing to do, but it’s nothing something I will search high and low for. The overall quality is really evident that this is the author’s first work.
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