Forum - View topicJason Thompson's House of 1000 Manga - Hoshin Engi
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ss-hikaru
 Posts: 269 Location: Western Australia |
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I'm not familiar with Hoshin Engi (except what I've read here) but this made me laugh  And then wonder if it's because they were 'lovers in a past life' or something cliche like that 
I love loooong shonen series, but I'm glad to have read this, so as not to waste my money on it. Doesn't sound like my kinda thing unfortunately... Really wanna try Saint Seiya and Jojo's Bizarre Adventure though! (thanks to House of 1000 Manga). |
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Alkeia
Posts: 25 |
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Sob, please don't evaluate the series based on this. It really is worth the money. Also it doesn't refer to lovers--can't say anything without spoiling. But please please give it a chance before wiping it out after reading this quick evaluation that wasn't even looked at face-value! |
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Gwydion
 Posts: 158 |
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Admittedly, this line made me laugh, mostly because of the paragraph just before it on top of the fact that I've read HE. This was a fun read. I personally found HE to be pretty enjoyable, but I can see why it didn't garner a positive reaction. It is a bit all over the place, and marathoning it must have been quite the task. But I commend you for getting through it, and I enjoyed reading your thoughts along the way, even if they didn't always match my own. But yeah, that scene with Nataku is pretty sweet. Admittedly I quite enjoyed him throughout. |
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Snomaster1
 SubscriberPosts: 2906 |
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I'll be honest with you. I'd never heard of "Hoshin Engi" before now. I've never read it. It sound interesting but I don't know where to go to read it.
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bj_waters
 Posts: 234 |
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Do what Jason suggests: get your local library to pick it up. I actually did that with Hoshin Engi (and Flame of Recca), which was totally sweet. I have to admit that I have a long history with Hoshin Engi. I remember first encountering scanlations of it around the year 2000 (no, seriously!) and thinking it was the coolest thing ever. Of course, I only got around to the first few volumes, but it was awesome stuff. Time passes and I happen to pick up Soul Hunter from my local library, only to realize that it's an adaptation of Hoshin Engi, and I loved it instantly. It had a brilliant dub (even if it used the Chinese names for things), but the quality was a bit all over the place (you could easily tell when computers were being used) and they don't tell you when they jump around the timeline, but it's still a favorite of mine. I think the first big thing I like about Hoshin Engi is that Taikobo is not your stereotypical Shonen Jump hero; he's a trickster hero, which has a pretty rich history itself (think Bugs Bunny, which was probably a take on Br'er Rabbit). Early on, Taikobo gets tested by Youzen, but his "answers" are far more fascinating than some generic "hit it hard enough" solution, showing just how different of a hero he is. I never had a problem with the weird fusion of historical fantasy and science fiction powers (but then I think the 90s were awesome in general, so . . . . . . . ). I just don't think there's really ever been a story quite like it. /fanboyrant |
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sainta
 Posts: 989 |
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That was a fun reading Jason. Will you do something like this again? I only watched the anime of Hoshin Engi (26 episodes) and the first 20 were pretty good. The last ones used a made up ending and Taikobo ended as a pretty weak character in comparison to the others.
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FaytLein
 Posts: 1260 Location: Williamsburg, VA |
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I think a pretty big indication of whether or not you dig HE is if you like Taikoubo or not. Like you said, he is a trickster hero, and that kind of thing isn't a standard shonen stereotype. He doesn't have bulging muscles or endless ki blasts; just his wits, and a telescoping radio antenna that makes wind. Even when he gets powered up later in the manga, he is probably still the weakest physically out of all of his allies, but its his crazyily prepped mind that lets him come out on top, especially since most of the villains have far stronger special powers in comparison. It even parallels with the story of the straight fishhook from mythology pretty well, Taikoubo lacks the power to change things or even fight by himself, but he manipulates the future with other people's help. And I think that is pretty badass. |
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ptolemy18
Manga Reviewer/Creator/Taster
Posts: 357 Location: San Francisco |
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Yeah, that's definitely one of the cool things about him as a character. He's very easygoing & clever, and he never just turns into a musclehead or an angry rage-monster. (Even when... SPOILERS SPOILERS... nevermind.) I wish he'd gotten more of an opportunity to show off his cleverness throughout the manga (my favorite bit was the ocean of sake scene).
Historical fantasy + science fiction is fine, but I think I just would've appreciated it more if I was familiar with Fengshen Bangi/Fengshen Yanyi. I guess anyone serious about manga and East Asian pop culture is eventually going to have to buckle down and read all of the great historical Chinese novels... and that means me, so I better do it! -_-; |
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ptolemy18
Manga Reviewer/Creator/Taster
Posts: 357 Location: San Francisco |
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BTW, apologies for the typos! (Like when I said Chokomei flies into orbit -- I meant Supushan -- this is what happens when you write an article after reading manga for 12 straight hours)
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ss-hikaru
Posts: 269 Location: Western Australia |
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Awww sorry, I didn't mean to sound harsh or anything! I'm assuming that it's mostly out of print by now, hence the 'not worth the money' statement! And unfortunately my library has very little manga (being from Australia and all), so that's not an option to check it out 
I think Jason does a good job at highlighting the good bits and the potential demographic in his column... Well at least, he pulls out enough to make me know if I want to hunt it down or not without spoiling too much but it's also enough so that I feel satisfied I kinda know the plot even if I haven't (and don't want to) read it
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bj_waters
Posts: 234 |
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I've never read the original Chinese novel (or the other Chinese classics, for that matter; someone needs to make a Reader's Digest translation of this stuff for the masses!), but I never felt particularly left behind in all of the names and locations. I don't necessarily think it's really meant to be some kind of proper retelling or criticism of the book, just simply a framework for Fujisaki to play around with, taking liberties when it drags and sticking close when it's cool or necessary. So I guess it's like that Pride and Prejudice and Zombies stuff (that I never read; I've been burnt out of zombies for a while now). I guess I was so enamored with Taikobo that I went along for the ride, regardless of where it went, and I think it paid off pretty well. |
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chao8971
 Posts: 167 |
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Also I have really been meaning to check Hoshin Engi out ever since I played Jump Ultimate Stars a while ago. Since playing that game and looking into the characters from it I have gotten to check out Hokuto No Ken, Space Adventure Cobra, and Jojo's Bizarre Adventure which are all pretty good.
Also mentioning Jojo's Bizarre Adventure I really hate how the American version only covers the third part. I also do not like how same of the art was changed for the American release, I rather have it the way it was made. |
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