Forum - View topicREVIEW: ES GN 2
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Kagemusha
 Posts: 2783 Location: Boston |
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Well, can't say I totally agree with your assement, though it has been one of the better series to come out in 2006. I think I'd be harsher if it weren't for the lack of adult-oriented titles being published right now. It's certianly well-written and compelling, and I found myself reading the entire volume in a single sitting (this volume also helped me regain faith in the series after the shaky end to vol 1), but it really didn't stick with me and make me want to read it again; I also wasn't really blown away by the psychological elements present (the main character is far better developed and more interesting than Issac), though to be fair I was comparing it to the very similar yet far superior Domu. Still, a very fine read for what it's worth and probobly about a B in my book.
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GATSU
Posts: 15575 |
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I disagree that it's like Cure, mostly because I'm not a Kiyoshi Kurosawa fan, and also because he likes using darkened backgrounds, which is not really what you see in ES. Plus his minimalism is more blatant, most likely because he has no experience writing scripts.
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HellKorn
Posts: 1669 Location: Columbus, OH |
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Good review, though I believe that you give too much praise to the themes that Soryo addresses. Though to her credit I will say that while not original, Eternal Sabbath is still quite an interesting and nicely conceived psychological thriller. Having read the entire series once before and looking back on it, there were easily a few rough spots here and there with some untapped potential not reached, but it was a very worthwhile read in the end. Volumes one and two are essentially setting up for the rest of the story, and if I recall correctly, it is in either volume three or four where the story really picks up, particularly when we get into more of Yuri's case, one of the more memorable bits of the manga.
Yet! (Oh, I'm such an evil bastard.)
Aside from the obvious spoiler[children with psychic abilities,] I'm at a bit of a loss as to how ES is "very similar" to Domu: A Child's Dream. Of course, I could be missing an even more obvious link, but I don't see the specific connection. |
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GATSU
Posts: 15575 |
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Hellkorn: ES is more like Monster.
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Kagemusha
Posts: 2783 Location: Boston |
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True, but I was addressing the part of the review which praised the psychological aspects of the title, most notably the "amoral children" aspect. Domu's plot is quite diffrent, yet it still explores this theme better than ES. |
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HellKorn
Posts: 1669 Location: Columbus, OH |
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Eh, I can see more of a connection here, though even to say Eternal Sabbath is like Monster in a non-European setting with romance and psychic abilities is still too much of a stretch. Of course that's just me being anal about comparing manga of similar styles and theme in general.
On one hand by the time the story of ES wraps up it will have a bit more scattered but still nicely executed focus on its themes, but on the other hand one wouldn't know this considering that this review only covers what the story has been given in the first two volumes, so I'm essentially just rambling. |
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shamelessfanboy
 Posts: 48 |
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I mentioned this is the thread about ES that popped up in the manga forum, but it seems my post there was shortly deleted along with some others' for some reason or another (technical difficulties?).
I'm going to take Kagemusha's side on this one and even go a step further to say that I didn't really care much for ES. I guess the best way to explain myself is to contrast ES to Zipang, another thriller from Morning. With Eternal Sabbath, I think the writing is solid but still overall generic and not particularly interesting for me, so I haven't even bothered to continue reading it for free as a scanlation (not that I would do that, we all know piracy is wrong  ). I find Zipang, on the other hand, is often home to pretty awfully executed writing on Kawaguchi's part, but it's managed to really hook me nevertheless and I continue to buy each flawed volume for 14 Canadian dollars a pop (bleh).
To be fair, I haven't really read that much of ES (like two or three volumes), but the story struck me as a rather bland thriller without enough redeeming attributes to get me to continue reading without being coaxed by somebody who has finished the series (HellKorn's comment that it picks up later on has me kinda interested). ...but that's just me, I guess, since most of the seinen crowd seem pretty happy with it. |
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HellKorn
Posts: 1669 Location: Columbus, OH |
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There was some downtime and all posts were deleted last Friday. You can check out specific details here.
Speaking of Zipang, have you seen the anime adaption? I'm interested in Geneon's domestic release, but have been undecided as to whether it would be worthwhile to actually buy instead of just being a rental. Your thoughts?
I'm far from being someone absolutely trustworthy to take recommendations from -- everyone isn't going to like the same thing in entertainment, and that's a given -- but I can safely say that Eternal Sabbath shifts from trying to show off any intellectual and, to a lesser but still notable degree, moral points to displaying its emotional and human values, which is the greatest reason why I enjoyed the series. I can't guarantee that your interest will be raised as you go on, but I would certainly hope so.
Well, as Kagemusha said somewhere that I can't recall due to my lacking memory, it's better than the majority of what's being put out in the North American market right now. Plus, it's an overall solid seinen title from an author who "upgraded" herself to the genre after the shoujo series Mars. Oh, and is it just me, or is this thread a congregation for Taiyo Matsumoto fans (save for GATSU unless he has tastes that I was not previously aware of)? |
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GATSU
Posts: 15575 |
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The only thing I've read from Taiyo Matsumoto is Blue Spring, which I do admit I liked. But I can't call myself a fan, yet. Anyway, I find ES to be darker than Mars, but I'm not yet sure if I find the work more adult in the sense that it tackles more adult issues than Mars. ES seems to do the opposite(tackle adolescent issues) and take them to the extreme. Whether that comes off exploitive or insightful will depend on future volumes.
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shamelessfanboy
Posts: 48 |
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Yeah, I skimmed through the anime series. I'd go with a rental. I'm a pretty big fan of the series, I think it has a lot going for it, so I do encourage watching it, but I'm not so sure it works that well with only six(ish) volumes worth of material being used as a standalone story. To me, it's sort of one of those things that is really made to be followed as this longass ongoing story that you follow for years until the author becomes too senile to continue, y'know? So I'm not so sure the anime will make you want to rewatch it enough to warrant a purchase rather than a rental, so I'd play it safe.
Being one of the Three Matsumoto Avatar Amigos™ gives you plenty of street cred. |
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Cloe
Moderator
 Posts: 2728 Location: Los Angeles, CA |
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Hahaha, I noticed that right away when I peeked in on this thread, actually. "Ooooh, a Taiyo Matsumoto avatar... and another... and ANOTHER!" But here comes the non-Matsumoto avvie to ruin the vibe. D'oh. I am somewhat more interested in this title after seeing a thread full of Matsumoto-enthusiasts participating in discussion of it, as I'm also a Matsumoto enthusiast at heart, even if not in avatar form. |
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Kagemusha
Posts: 2783 Location: Boston |
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Sweet.
Blue Spring is probobly the "worst" thing I've read from him, though I also liked it quite a bit. He really hadn't mastered his multi-layered style of storytelling, skilled use of surrealism or portrayals of personal relationships that can be seen in his later works (Hanaotoko was written around the same time though). Black and White isn't all that rare, as you can probobly find it pretty easily on amazon, and Hanaotoko is available in scanslation form. Both are pretty diffrent examples of his range, and both are exellent. [/quote] |
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HellKorn
Posts: 1669 Location: Columbus, OH |
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I was pretty much giving the "upgrade" in a touch-in-cheek manner, though it probably didn't carry over well. I admit that I find it amusing that it is more often to find shoujo manga-ka (in this case Soryo with Mars) to go into the seinen area (here Eternal Sabbath) than a shounen manga-ka. And as far the themes that ES takes on and what happens in future volumes... eh, I've already gone over my thoughts without spoiling, so I'll just let you be the judge for yourself.
Oh Oda, Miura, Fujishima, and [insert various other popular and not so popular manga-ka here], I hardly knew ye.
Noted, which is probably for the better as I'm having trouble managing time between my duties and hobbies as it is.
Ah, elitism... it smells rather strong, yet has such a sweet aroma to it... I like it.
To add onto that: Ping Pong is also available online via scans though that thing has been on haitus -- thus incomplete -- for over a year now, if I recall correctly. Hanaotoko is in the same boat, which is why I've yet to read it though I'm probably going to go through it soon since I'm so damn impatient. |
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Kagemusha
Posts: 2783 Location: Boston |
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Well, the team just got back on track with a new editor (he should be around here somewhere), and right now they're looking for people to help on Ping Pong, so I suspect that it'll be on track eventually. And I was assured by Stephen from MS that Hanaotoko will start back up (the translator is back on the forums after a long absence, so hopefully soon since they only have like 5 chapters left).
Heh...well to be fair Matsumoto's best stuff has tons of wide appeal to regular manga readers (people just can't get over the art), so it isn't like we're the Three Garo Snobs or something 
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HellKorn
Posts: 1669 Location: Columbus, OH |
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I think barbapapa is the man you're looking for (met him on another forum), if I'm not mistaken. Anyway, good news on Ping Pong. It is only five volumes after all, and it would be a bit sad to not see it out to the very limited but still devote fans.
Looks like I'll put off Hanaotoko for a while so as to wait for it to finish. By any luck we'll see a few other of their other "old" projects finish by some point in time.
People need to get over that Matsumoto just doesn't do BESM and "clean lines," damn it! Good art does not equate to eye-candy!
My copy of Secret Comics Japan tells me that's not necessarily a bad thing were that the case, or so my arrogance would like to believe.
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