Swan 6
Posted: April 13, 2007 Filed under: Swan 1 Comment »This was the only series thus far where I have made an exception and skipped a volume in the series in favor of reading later ones. I just could not wait for volume 5. I surprisingly didn’t miss out on much, I guessed the plot twist that came with that volume, and it picks up right as Masumi and L. Maximova are dancing in the final leg of the competition. Maximova dances first, so you get the idea of just how much of a genius she really is, then Masumi has an unfortunate mishap.
This book has a lot to do with Kyogoku’s comeback. I would have admired the series a lot more had she stayed in the wings and done something like compose a ballet like she said she wanted to instead of coming back in less than a year in top form as Masumi’s rival. She dances competitively at the end of the volume, and the resulting chaos costs Masumi a broken heart, which is conveyed better in this story than in any other one I read.
One thing I always fail to mention in these reviews is the georgeous art. The reason you know Masumi’s heart is broken is because of the chaos of the panels surrounding her thoughts at the end of this volume and the beginning of the next. Her emotions are always portrayed in this manner, and the composition of panels, pages, and figures is amazing. The dance sequences are a treat too, and while the constant upping of the ante in this series is a bit annoying, I secretly look forward to the dance sequences, which show movement, emotion, and just have a general energy to them that is better than any other manga I’ve read. There will never be any sort of action sequence to beat the dances in Swan.
[...] Okazu, checks out vol. 3 of Strawberry Marshmallow. At Slightly Biased Manga, Connie reviews vols. 6, 7, and 8 of Swan, vol. 2 of Queens, vol. 14 of One Piece vol. 7 of Sgt. Frog, Walking Man, vol. 2 [...]