Gentlemen’s Alliance † 3
Posted: April 19, 2010 Filed under: Gentlemen's Alliance † 1 Comment »Arina Tanemura – Viz – 2007 – 11 volumes
I switched to the dagger for the title instead of the lazy plus sign. I feel a little better now. Plus, it looks swift in an old style font. See? †
I take back some of what I said about the character designs. I still love them, especially the girls. And a lot of thought goes into the clothing and backgrounds. But the male character designs are sometimes hard to tell apart. Heine’s brother and Shizumasa are in the same place at the same time, and I had a really hard time telling who was who. Even in the context of the story.
I preferred the first part of the volume, which finishes up Haine’s backstory and wraps up the examination of exactly why it is she likes Shizumasa. This is followed with a little bit more insight into Shizumasa’s disturbing situation, which still hasn’t been unveiled completely. I was getting uncomfortable with how Haine was being played (it reminded me a bit of the current problem in Cipher, actually), but it’s clear that she’ll be able to figure out what’s what in the end. She seems like a smart girl when it counts.
The second half of the volume reconciles Haine with her original family. She has a younger brother who is a squalling brat and her younger sister seems eager to go against her… but this is a nice and super-sweet shoujo manga. Not everything is as it seems. The steps for two more romances move into place, too.
Honestly, I’ve given up on the fantasy elements, which is probably good since Tanemura has said there won’t be any. The plot and character relationships aren’t the most straightforward, and are pretty hard to follow at times. But I love the art, and the characters are very likable, so that makes up for any weaknesses at this point. It’s not at Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne or opening volumes of Full Moon level yet, but it goes on longer than either of those series, so I’m hoping it gets a chance to develop the characters into something far surpassing either of those series.
I’ve spent ages trying to rediscover this article again. OK, I’ve bookmarked the page now. Teach me for not bookmarking it the first time around, lol.