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Forum - View topicREVIEW: Pluto GN 3
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vashfanatic
 Posts: 3495 Location: Back stateside |
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I guess I personally didn't see this volume as "stalling" so much as "building up." Showing your hand too early on a villain can be anticlimactic; take a look at the original Tezuka version - you see Pluto in the second panel, and there's no terror about him as a result.
And it's just part of Urasawa's style to have multiple story arcs running at the same time. It can be frustrating waiting between volumes as a result (these were meant to be read in biweekly chapters as they are in Japan, but so it goes), but compared to the months of mindless battles that pass between plot points in your average shounen series, I take Urasawa hands down. |
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Mr Adventure
 Posts: 1598 |
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Yeah, Pluto Vol. 3 is a build up issue, and is a vital piece of the Uran/Pluto relationship (something very important from the original World's Strongest Robot story)
As to the timing of Pluto's big reveal at the end, that's right in step with the last three volumes, Atom's reveal on the last page of Vol.1, Uran being reveal at the end of volume 2. That's clearly planned. Pluto (along with Urasawa other seminal series, 20th Century Boys) continues to blow my mind with its nuanced and intense storytelling. This is real science fiction, its not all robots smashing each other up every other panel. |
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Jure
Posts: 50 Location: Croatia |
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The only thing I don't like about Pluto is waiting for next volume to be released. Everything else is just great. Urasawa is just amazing.
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bahamut623
 Posts: 1463 |
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I just finished reading the chapter with the painting. One of the best uses of color I've ever seen in a manga. Very nicely done. I haven't finished the volume yet, but I'm familiar with the original story, so I know exactly where this is going.
I was also pleased to see Abracadabra (aka Kino from "The Third Magician"). I actually recognized him at first by his sideburns 
I don't think I'd give it a C on story, though. It is mostly build up, but it's really interesting build up. I didn't mind the tangent with Adolf, either. We didn't see him all the time, but it was about Gesicht, since it added another clue about the mystery of his missing memories. |
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TV Dinner
Posts: 3 |
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How does this masterpiece get a lower score than "Black Bird"?
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF |
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Mike On Top
 Posts: 298 |
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The C rating of the story reminds me the old joke about the scientist who, after consistently plucking out the legs of a centipede giving it a sound signal for walking, concludes she has become deaf when losing her last leg and not responding to the signal. That is, namely because of the review, I fail to see how Pluto can get anything below A.
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Generic #757858
 Posts: 1354 |
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Aye, this is yet another example of why the ANN grading system is in serious need of standardization.
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st_owly
 Posts: 5234 Location: Edinburgh, Scotland |
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Remember reviews are written by people, whose opinions are subjective, so a C to 1 person may be much better than a C to another and vice versa.... although there should be a standard I agree.
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vashfanatic
Posts: 3495 Location: Back stateside |
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Especially since in the review he seems to heap equal praise and criticism on it: the story introduces new, interesting threads and brings up interesting concepts, but also that he wishes Urasawa would speed up the plot. The review sounded like a "B" review, so I was surprised to see a "C." But really, how on earth are you going to "standardize" the grading system? This isn't a multiple choice test or a math exam, it's more like an essay writing contest. You can't standardize that, a lot of it's subjective. I still say, ignore the grades that are often so random, just read the review and look at the pluses/minuses breakdown at the bottom. |
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Generic #757858
Posts: 1354 |
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You're right of course, but I still think the should be more consensus among the reviewers as to what level of quality merits a particular grade. Like you said, from the review it sounds like the story should have gotten at least a B, yet Carlo only gave it a C+. On the other hand, in the Clover review Casey bashed the story, but it still got a B- from her. |
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Mr Adventure
Posts: 1598 |
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Considering in the recent Clover Omnibus Review the reviewer gripes about the flowery non-narrative and says "Cute through the oft-repeated, pretentious poetic claptrap, and Clover's story is actually yawn inducing and thin. No one comes for the story; it's all about the style." AND STILL GIVES IT a B- FOR THE STORY!!!
I'm sure we can all agree that Pluto is at least a tightly written narrative without flowery pap dragging it down. Some standard is needed in these gradings, I agree. EDIT: Generic beat me to my point. |
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arachneia
 Posts: 415 Location: On the wings of Bob Lennon |
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The grading system is a standardization. It's a simplified, methodical way of determining the worth of something with respect to other things of the same kind. If we were going for subjectivity, there'd be no need for a review. Giving this a C is a goddamn blasphemy. |
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vashfanatic
Posts: 3495 Location: Back stateside |
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Yes, but the system by which the grading system is applied cannot be standardized. There isn't a checklist of points that the story has to have, for example, with the numbers at the end totaling a grade. It really is based on a general impression from the reviewer whether something merits an A, a B, or what have you, according to whatever criterion they hold. And I don't know about blasphemous, but it does seem inconsistent with the main body of the review. So just ignore the stupid grade and read the review. |
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Mr Adventure
Posts: 1598 |
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Review grading systems are inherently useless anyway, they should just chuck them out, and stick with the text reviews and the (+) (-) bullet points at the bottom.
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bahamut623
Posts: 1463 |
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I agree. Most of the time, regardless of the score, I try to see if it's something I'd like by what they say in the review. A reviewer might not like a series for a certain reason, but it might be the kind of thing I like.
And more than once I've read reviews where the content and the score don't really match up. |
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