Moon Child 11
Posted: July 27, 2008 Filed under: Moon Child 4 Comments »This series is just so unusual and such a joy to read. Nothing particularly bizarre happens this volume, but all the romances and betrayals are working at full time, and the weirdness is still there.
Most of what goes on in this volume is just character reactions to things. Teruto is still pressing Art to mistrust Benjamin, which is not doing much for either Art or Benjamin’s emotional state. Teruto also reveals his hand to Holly, who gets the hell out of the Ukraine as fast as she possibly can.
Teruto’s only miscalculation is when Seth shows up. He just can’t stand the thought of Seth finding out what he’s done. Teruto is a scary guy, so Benjamin isn’t all that inclined to tell Seth what’s up either.
I felt bad for Teruto’s secretary. She makes a couple huge sacrifices in order to please Teruto, all because she loves him. He is not so devoted to her, and it’s just… very sad.
A new character shows up at the end of the volume, a dancer who is to replace Holly, and he shows a lot of promise. He immediately decides Art is a jerk, even without knowing even a part of what’s going on. I’m inclined to agree with him. As much as I would love to see Art and Benjamin together while Shonach and Seth go on to fulfill whatever their mermaid role is, Art is really… just a jerk. A jerk who is full of love, but a jerk all the same.
I can’t help it. I just get so drawn into this bizarre little love story. I really, REALLY hope CMX picks up another Reiko Shimizu story after this one, because her other stories sound equally insane.
The ones that I’ve heard about—Kaguya-hime and Himitsu—sound absolutely fabulous. I bet Himitsu could draw more of a male audience, too.
Kaguya-hime is the one I was thinking of when I wrote that. Not only does the plot sound really great, but I think it won a Shogakukan award, too. Himitsu sounds like something that would be right up my alley as well, but I think I imagine it more like Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service than I really should.
Kaguya-hime is worse than Moon Child, in my opinion. It’s too long and got confusing on the second half just because the author made too many plots unfolded on the first half. It’s hard to put them together and lead to a reasonable ending. (The plot is very similiar to Lost,the TV series, but it’s more interesting.) Moon Child, on the other hand, tells a complete and moving story. I really enjoy it.
BTW, i enjoyed reading your blog,too. It’s amazing to see how other people react to this beautiful story. :)
Thanks! I’m glad you enjoyed my articles. And thanks for letting me know about Kaguya-hime, too. I’ve only heard a couple different opinions on Kaguya-hime, mostly one from someone who liked it because the story was weirder and more ambitious than Moon Child, and someone else who preferred the plot and characters in Moon Child. I’d read anything else by Shimizu, really, I’ve just heard the most about Kaguya-hime, probably since it won the Shogakukan award. I’ve also heard that Milky Way is quite good, though I suspect I would enjoy her early short series far less than Moon Child.