Black Sun, Silver Moon 3
March 10, 2008
Yeah, I still don’t know about this one. I’ve fallen a little behind, so I’m got the next volume coming in the mail, but I’m going to give up all hope if reading two volumes at the same time this far into the series doesn’t improve things.
I definitely hated the parts that took place in the present, and this is largely because the female (?) character is still extremely, EXTREMELY annoying. Shikimi is having trouble controlling his cravings for blood, and an allusion is made to a bet with Gray. Shikimi’s faith in his humanity is somewhat generically reinforced, but then we are mercifully saved by a flashback to when Shikimi was fully human.
The flashback isn’t bad, and carries over into the next volume. Shikimi lives in a rural village and travels elsewhere to settle the undead. He’s got a sweetheart in the village and helps raise a gaggle of orphans at the church. The church is being switched over to a new building, and Gray appears in town. Some of Shikimi’s significant skills are shown, but this doesn’t stop whatever it is that Gray has in mind for the village, unfortunately. Nothing terrible has happened to Shikimi yet, but I can’t imagine the situation ending well.
Even the flashback, which at least wasn’t terrible, wasn’t terribly good either. Something will have to happen to make Shikimi an extremely, EXTREMELY sympathetic character in order to get me to like this series… which I kind of doubt will happen, but hey. Maybe.
March 10, 2008 at 12:19 pm
Hee hee. I’m glad I don’t own any of this series. :)
March 11, 2008 at 2:55 am
I should have not bought any, either. I read something else by her that I really didn’t like, but it was a one-shot and the plot to this one sounded okay. It does have an okay plot, but the characters are just terrible.
March 11, 2008 at 12:19 pm
If you’re talking about the one-shot from DMP, I have that too, but haven’t read it.
There was a time when nearly everything from Go!Comi looked interesting, but they’ve licensed some real duds lately. The Devil Within looks horrible, for instance.
March 12, 2008 at 2:36 am
Yeah, I’m not interested at all in most of the series that just started coming out. A lot of them are either sci-fi themed, which I’m not really into, or… just have really vague, generic-sounding plots that make me think twice before reading them. “A Wise Man Sleeps” is sort of in the latter category, where it may be interesting, but it may turn out to be disappointing in the same way as Black Sun, Silver Moon.
The only series I’m still seriously considering from Go!Comi right now is “Night of the Beasts,” which started the same time as After School Nightmare, I think. I read a couple bad reviews awhile ago, but the plot sounds good and it is only six volumes long.
March 12, 2008 at 2:43 am
Also, yes, the one-shot from DMP. I didn’t really like it at all. I’m surprised I spoke so well of it in my review. Perhaps my opinion has soured with age.
March 12, 2008 at 8:32 pm
Also, “Night of the Beasts” is josei, which is a fun rarity. Plus, volume 6 just came out. :)
“A Wise Man Sleeps” is complete at 2 volumes, which is a plus. It’s also by the author of “Her Majesty’s Dog,” which has gotten really good reviews.
I intend to read both of these series at some point. I have all of the former and 7 volumes (of 11) of the latter.
March 14, 2008 at 3:34 am
I had heard sort of mixed reactions to “Her Majesty’s Dog,” and it was the least interesting of the Go!Comi launch series for me, but it still sounded pretty cool. If “A Wise Man Sleeps” gets some positive reviews, I’ll probably wind up picking it up, and I’ll probably go to “Her Majesty’s Dog” from there.