![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
Yami no Matsuei, Volume 3
Finally got cracking on YnM again! Volumes 3 through 7 have been sitting on my coffee table for a month, silently reproaching me.
The third volume is the Cruise Ship Of Doom plotline!
Lots of memorable scenes and beautiful visuals in this volume: Hisoka with a gun (oddly hot),
Tsuzuki in formalwear (expected amounts of hot), Hisoka winning Tsuzuki's body in poker (unreal amounts of hot). :D Practically everybody is extra-pretty in this volume!
We also get the first glimpse of Muraki's 'mark' on Hisoka's body, Hisoka calling Tsuzuki's name while trapped in a nightmare and Tsuzuki being astute enough to deny that Hisoka said anything, and then, as if that's not enough, we get to see both of them tightly embracing at the end while Tsuzuki promises Hisoka he won't end up becoming like his murderer. <3 *whispers* They're bonding!
There were a few funny moments as well, particularly Hisoka blurting out, "like the prostitute?" when Camille introduces herself, and Tsuzuki's musing "and I wouldn't put it past Muraki to drink blood for effect." :D
There were also some things I didn't enjoy.
First: I don't know if it's me or the art style, but I found this volume tricky to read overall. Lots of whooshing motion lines that obscure the actual subject, lots of dialogue or internal monologue where I couldn't determine the speaker.
Second: Hisoka's empathy now encompasses dream-reading, too? I'm suspicious that his talents are going to be plot-dependent instead of having any solid worldbuilding to them. But this is only Volume 3, so I'm trying to apply benefit of the doubt.
Third: The plot here is... sketchy, to say the least. Camille was murdering people because she thought Muraki wanted her to, basically. So somehow a teenaged recent heart-transplant patient was able to run around dismembering adult corpses all night, despite how much strenuous physical effort would be involved?
Fourth: Have you ever read something where it became gradually obvious that the author has A Favourite in the cast, and it's someone you dislike? Yeah, that's happening in spades here. Matsushita looooovvvvessss Muraki and thinks he's awesome and amazing and of course we're all naturally just fascinated by this awesome and amazing character of hers! This slant is very grating as it becomes stronger and more insistent.
As a villain or plot device, I might like Muraki in a love-to-hate-him sense, but the bizarre pressure to fawn over him is making me dislike him in a get-this-guy-off-the-page sense. D:
Overall my reaction to Volume 3 is positive, though! Lots of beautiful scenery, our heroes having Touching Moments (sometimes literally) all over the place, a solid start on weaving in backstories for the leads, and at the end I can bid good riddance to Camille!
I'm sorry for, and proud of, Hisoka for killing her, but I'm happy she's gone and won't be a recurring character. She's the embodiment of a trope I can't stand: Girl With Crush Excuses His Every Character Flaw. (News flash, kid: you can't 'love the man and not the monster,' because they are the same entity! And where did you get that 'he once dedicated himself to saving lives' garbage? He's been an amoral sadistic murderer since before you were born, and doing an illegal transplant for big bucks does not constitute a change of heart.)
The third volume is the Cruise Ship Of Doom plotline!
Lots of memorable scenes and beautiful visuals in this volume: Hisoka with a gun (oddly hot),
Tsuzuki in formalwear (expected amounts of hot), Hisoka winning Tsuzuki's body in poker (unreal amounts of hot). :D Practically everybody is extra-pretty in this volume!
We also get the first glimpse of Muraki's 'mark' on Hisoka's body, Hisoka calling Tsuzuki's name while trapped in a nightmare and Tsuzuki being astute enough to deny that Hisoka said anything, and then, as if that's not enough, we get to see both of them tightly embracing at the end while Tsuzuki promises Hisoka he won't end up becoming like his murderer. <3 *whispers* They're bonding!
There were a few funny moments as well, particularly Hisoka blurting out, "like the prostitute?" when Camille introduces herself, and Tsuzuki's musing "and I wouldn't put it past Muraki to drink blood for effect." :D
There were also some things I didn't enjoy.
First: I don't know if it's me or the art style, but I found this volume tricky to read overall. Lots of whooshing motion lines that obscure the actual subject, lots of dialogue or internal monologue where I couldn't determine the speaker.
Second: Hisoka's empathy now encompasses dream-reading, too? I'm suspicious that his talents are going to be plot-dependent instead of having any solid worldbuilding to them. But this is only Volume 3, so I'm trying to apply benefit of the doubt.
Third: The plot here is... sketchy, to say the least. Camille was murdering people because she thought Muraki wanted her to, basically. So somehow a teenaged recent heart-transplant patient was able to run around dismembering adult corpses all night, despite how much strenuous physical effort would be involved?
Fourth: Have you ever read something where it became gradually obvious that the author has A Favourite in the cast, and it's someone you dislike? Yeah, that's happening in spades here. Matsushita looooovvvvessss Muraki and thinks he's awesome and amazing and of course we're all naturally just fascinated by this awesome and amazing character of hers! This slant is very grating as it becomes stronger and more insistent.
As a villain or plot device, I might like Muraki in a love-to-hate-him sense, but the bizarre pressure to fawn over him is making me dislike him in a get-this-guy-off-the-page sense. D:
Overall my reaction to Volume 3 is positive, though! Lots of beautiful scenery, our heroes having Touching Moments (sometimes literally) all over the place, a solid start on weaving in backstories for the leads, and at the end I can bid good riddance to Camille!
I'm sorry for, and proud of, Hisoka for killing her, but I'm happy she's gone and won't be a recurring character. She's the embodiment of a trope I can't stand: Girl With Crush Excuses His Every Character Flaw. (News flash, kid: you can't 'love the man and not the monster,' because they are the same entity! And where did you get that 'he once dedicated himself to saving lives' garbage? He's been an amoral sadistic murderer since before you were born, and doing an illegal transplant for big bucks does not constitute a change of heart.)