King of Thorn, vol. 2
By Yuji Iwahara
Rated OT, Older Teen, 16+
Tokyopop, $9.99
Sometimes it’s hard to judge a series from the first volume alone, so when I spotted the second volume of Yuji Iwahara’s King of Thorn in my local library, I picked it up in hopes that I would like it better than I liked volume 1.
I’m really glad I didn’t pay ten bucks for it.
At first I was optimistic, because the story does advance a bit beyond the first volume. We get a little bit of a clue of who the people are, plus the obligatory reveal that Everyone Is Not What They Seem To Be.
Unfortunately, at least for me, a large portion of the book is taken up with battles with the dinosaur-like monsters that inhabit… wherever they are. Battles bore me; if you like them, this may be the book for you, but I would rather have more exposition and fewer battles.
Also, while I like Iwahara’s art, I found the fight scenes and some of the other action hard to follow. I think I may have some sort of fight-scene dyslexia, because this isn’t the first book that made me feel this way, but I also think Iwahara’s style doesn’t lend itself well to fights: He uses very little toning and lots of hatching, which is very nice when used to draw a figure or a cozy domestic scene (as in Chikyu Misaki) but clashes with the speed lines when he’s trying to draw action scenes.
Anyway, that’s my take. I don’t much go for survivors-fighting-the-monsters stories anyway, but even aside from that, this book doesn’t grab me. I’ll wait for his next series and try again.
Who the hell is reviewing this? It’s just about the most idiotic review I’ve ever read, and if this type of story isn’t your thing why the hell would you give it a review???
Shame you didnt like it Brigid, i have volume 1 and i kind of liked it. True it’s lacking in a lot of areas, but the potential for it to grow is there. I’m waiting on the subsequent vols i’ve ordered to arrive from the states, so i’m hoping they live up to the potential i saw in vol 1.
@Jake, you can’t really say for sure if a particular manga is going to be yopur cup of tea, untill you actually read it. I’ve read a few that we’rent really my style of manga, but i’ve ended up loving them.
Only way you know for sure is by taking the plunge and reading.
I really liked vol. 1 of this series and was disappointed in #2 for much the same reasons you say. Somewhat unrelated, isn’t the cover design for this title remarkable? Someone at TP has really stepped up in the graphic design dept. in recent days.
Also, gee, Brigid, how dare you express your opinion in your own blog. *rolls eyes* :D
Dee, I agree about the cover—it really caught my eye!
That is a cool cover design!
I know what you mean about action dyslexia – I often have a hard time following battle scenes unless it’s really well done, as in Battle Angel Alita (the original, and in Last Order the battle scenes keep afloat the much weaker series).
O_o
Uhhh
That IS a very cool cover design, a very sharp image, but it’s ONLY the Japanese cover with English written all over it instead of Japanese.
http://tinyurl.com/37tnrq
So… not THAT remarkable.
Whoa, thanks for that heads-up, Skye. Credit where it’s due.