Gestalt 2

Yun Kouga – Viz – 2009 – 8 volumes

I still like this series, if only because I get a big kick out of the RPG structure.  It really is a lot like reading an RPG in manga form (and not just an adaptation, that takes only the story, but with subtle winks at progress in the game), and I get a big kick out of the characters constantly comparing levels and classes.  There’s a lot less spell assignments and whatnot in this volume, but there is a nice section where the characters sell a valuable item, buy a whole bunch of equipment with the money (complete with discussion about how they would like the more expensive equipment, but can’t afford it), and then realize that the item was a rare coin they needed in order to board the ship to get where they were going.  A tournament was involved with obtaining a replacement.  That may or may not be directly from an old school RPG, but again, it was close enough that I dug out Dragon Quest and played it.

There are a few problems, though.  Obviously, if you aren’t approaching it from the RPG angle, a lot of the content is going to be a bit tedious (which I think is brilliant, because that’s exactly what playing an RPG is like).  Those games aren’t known for their excellent plots.  Two other major problems with this volume lied in some similar character designs, particularly between Shazan and Olivier, two members in the main party who are both tall, blonde men with glasses.  A lot of the other character designs are pretty generic, though I do like the designs on Ouri and Suzu, the other main characters, and I liked the attention to detail paid to the costumes and whatnot.  One of the other problems that sprang up in this volume are the indistinct action scenes.  The characters cast a lot of magic, but it’s not at all clear what the magic is doing, how it is affecting its victim, or in some cases, what is even going on in the fight.  Suzu fights two other dark elves at the end of the volume that intentionally look like her, and those pages are a huge mess as far as the action scene goes.

Part of this may have something to do with the artist’s continuous apologies between chapters for skipping months of serialization and generally causing problems at the magazine Gestalt ran in.  This suggests she missed her deadlines frequently, which… well, could be for any number of reasons, but also suggests that parts of the story are rushed and perhaps not as carefully considered as they should be.  I could be reading too much into that too, though.

In general, I still really like what’s going on.  Ouri gets to be a better and better character with each chapter, and this volume introduces short in-between chapter segments, one of which spells out what happened to Ouri as far as her handicapping in the contest with her siblings goes.  Most of the other in-between stuff was pretty silly, but I did like those few pages.  And I like the fantasy elements they keep introducing, like a disgraced order of knights, charms and amulets used to lure people… I am completely taken in with how much of the content feels like it really is straight from a video game.  Take that as you will, but I like it.

This was a review copy provided by Viz.