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Reviewed by Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane Princess Kyoko of Earth (circa the 30th century) continues her search for the 12 telepaths (called "Strangers") whose powers may be able to awaken her twin sister, Ui, who's been asleep since birth. The search leads her to the leaders of several tribes (in the future, human DNA has been liberally mixed with several other types, with some bizarre results), all of whom are in possession of the "god stones" needed to trigger their individual powers. Finding the right people doesn't seem to be too much of a problem, but convincing them to help her isn't always so easy. Fortunately for Kyoko, though, she has determination in spades, and not many people are able to stand up to her. This is the second installment in a three-volume series, and it's so fast-paced that it risks collapsing under its own momentum. Characters and events come and go so quickly that it's impossible to get curious about or attached to them, and neither characters nor subplots are particularly developed. Kyoko's own fundamental plotline has the potential to be interesting, but it's completely buried under everything else that's going on. With so much happening, I'm skeptical about the odds of Tanemura being able to wrap even the main plot up well in the one remaining volume, never mind the subplots. Kyoko will need to learn and accomplish an awful lot in that volume in order to deliver a satisfying ending, and while it's not impossible to pack that much material into one book, the tone and pacing of the series would probably have to be changed substantially. Time will tell, I suppose--for readers and characters alike. So far Kyoko hasn't had a chance to do much with her time-manipulation abilities, and it'd be nice to see her have a chance to do something spectacular on her way out. Volume two of Time Stranger Kyoko includes a page of translation notes. Review copy provided by VIZ Media. Other Arina Tanemura titles from VIZ include The Gentlemen's Alliance †, Full Moon, I.O.N., and Short-Tempered Melancholic. Comment on this review of Time Stranger Kyoko v2 on the Manga Life Forums. |
6 October 2009
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