Showing posts with label fairy tale. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fairy tale. Show all posts

Monday, 27 January 2014

Manga Review: Viehmannin wa Utau


Name: Viehmannin wa Utau
Author & Artist: YAMAGUCHI Miyuki
Chapters: 26 - Complete
Genres: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, Shoujo
Plot:
From Wingtip Cafe:
Rina is always busy studying and working to support herself. After the depressing news that she again lost first place in the school rankings to Julius, an expressionless guy who is her arch rival, Rina finds Milch, a little fairy girl. Later, she meets Sylvie, a Fairyland knight who has come to rescue Milch.
Review:
I'm a fan of a good mahou shoujo and stories with fairytale elements so it's probably why I enjoyed the story so much. It's more toned down and slower paced compared to a modern day manga since it was made in 1990 but it's a merit more than anything.

Older 90s manga is a hit and miss for a lot of people but if you enjoy fantasy I think this is pretty good. It has enough mystery and intrigue so that it doesn't feel like I'm trudging my way a long while reading it.

Tuesday, 18 January 2011

Manga Review: Ludwig Revolution

Name: Ludwig Revolution
Author & Artist: Yuki Kaori
Status: Completed
Chapters: 16
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Romance, Shoujo

Plot:
Prince Ludwig isn't your conventional prince charming. He appears to be an unbelievably attractive though in truth, necrophilic(erotic attraction to or sexual contact with corpses) narcissist prince who has a fetish for big breasted women. However his father the King became very displeased with his unusual hobbies and sets him off on a journey to find a bride. So together with his constantly abused manservant Wilhelm, who is in truth his closest person, he sets off on a journey which leads to encounters with infamous fairytale princesses. An even more twisted interpretation of the already twisted original fairy tales from the Grimm Brothers!

Review:
So this story is basically a series of twisted fairy tales from the stories we all know and love (such as Snow White and Cinderella). It's definitely not your cute, average shoujo (if you are familiar with Yuki Kaori's works). The horror element is just the depiction of death and mild gore.

What makes this manga unique is that the story follows a main, male character. The mangaka ingeniously puts a twist to the classic princesses into vain, dark versions. Of course there are some really good characters that aren't totally evil (like Sleeping Beauty).

I find that the characters have a lot of depth and many seem to be three dimensional, which makes the story interesting. Lui (Ludwig), despite being perverted and arrogant, sees easily through the other characters' personality and intentions. Each chapter delivers an unexpected twist that will keep you intrigued. The story, however, does get a bit depressing because nearly every princess dies at the end of the chapter.

Aside from that, it's highly recommended for people who love Yuki sensei's work, solving mysteries, fairy tales and atypical female characters.