I will say that Mondays are not my favorite day of the week. It's hard to get your mindset back on track after a relaxing weekend. I do, however, look forward to sharing my excitement reading manga with other bloggers and finding out new series to try. Thanks to Alison over at Alison Can Read for her meme of Manga Mondays.
Description (from Goodreads): JOAN OF ARC (1412-1431)
A patriotic young French maiden. After beginning to hear voices at the age of 13, Joan led the French army in the liberation of Orleans in the Hundred Years' War against Britain. But not long afterward, she was convicted of heresy by a religious tribunal and burned to death at the stake.
Review: Afterschool Charisma is one of those books that leave you with more questions than answers. If it was a print book, I would be extremely frustrated and abandoned it by now, but as a manga format I think this approach works well mainly because the visuals builds the suspense, a sense of foreboding, and even hints at the answers.
Unfortunately, the description I could find only gives you information about Joan of Arc, which is very important in this volume, but it doesn't tell you much about the plot of the book. There were a lot of interesting subplots in this book, some of which came out of nowhere and others that I had suspected.
Shiro has been given two major responsibilities. His first duty is to play host to the mysterious head of the school, Mr. Rockwells. We aren't given much information about Mr. Rockewells, who seems to be very important to the academy though it isn't clear on what exact position he holds. He appears to be reckless, has adopted a young girl, and has no respect for the clones. He’s in town for the festival where the clones show off their yearly projects. Shiro's second duty is to be on suicidal watch after a clone attempts to commit suicide.
While Shiro is doing his best to balance his time and attention between his two duties, there is a strong religious storyline that caught my attention. Since the assassination of clone President Kennedy, the clones have been concerned about their safety. A cult ran by clone Rasputin have raised a beanie-baby like sheep cleverly named the almighty dolly as a their protector since they have no family or god of their own. It's been said that the almighty dolly will protect the clone's life as well as separate their ties with their original's lives. Along with the religious overtone, there is a hint that the the dolls might be used for spying on the clones. Of course to really drive the significance of the almighty dolly home, there has to be a demonstration of its power. Joan of Arc has been chosen by Rasputin to be ‘symbolically burnt at the stake’. I don't think you have to read the next volume of this manga to see what happens next. There is lots to think about this manga once you are finished.
As a note, I will say that this manga isn't as fast paced as other books go. The plot subtly grows and gets more complex with each volume. I will make your head spin and keep you guessing until you can get the next volume in your hands.
Rating: 4 stars
Words of Caution: Rated T+ for nudity, language, and violence in this volume. Recommended for mature teens and up.
If you like this book try: Afterschool Charisma Vol. 3 by Kumiko Suekane, Unwind by Neal Shusterman, Hetalia: Axis Powers by Hidekaz Himaruya, Code Geass by Majiko
Description (from Goodreads): JOAN OF ARC (1412-1431)
A patriotic young French maiden. After beginning to hear voices at the age of 13, Joan led the French army in the liberation of Orleans in the Hundred Years' War against Britain. But not long afterward, she was convicted of heresy by a religious tribunal and burned to death at the stake.
Review: Afterschool Charisma is one of those books that leave you with more questions than answers. If it was a print book, I would be extremely frustrated and abandoned it by now, but as a manga format I think this approach works well mainly because the visuals builds the suspense, a sense of foreboding, and even hints at the answers.
Unfortunately, the description I could find only gives you information about Joan of Arc, which is very important in this volume, but it doesn't tell you much about the plot of the book. There were a lot of interesting subplots in this book, some of which came out of nowhere and others that I had suspected.
Shiro has been given two major responsibilities. His first duty is to play host to the mysterious head of the school, Mr. Rockwells. We aren't given much information about Mr. Rockewells, who seems to be very important to the academy though it isn't clear on what exact position he holds. He appears to be reckless, has adopted a young girl, and has no respect for the clones. He’s in town for the festival where the clones show off their yearly projects. Shiro's second duty is to be on suicidal watch after a clone attempts to commit suicide.
While Shiro is doing his best to balance his time and attention between his two duties, there is a strong religious storyline that caught my attention. Since the assassination of clone President Kennedy, the clones have been concerned about their safety. A cult ran by clone Rasputin have raised a beanie-baby like sheep cleverly named the almighty dolly as a their protector since they have no family or god of their own. It's been said that the almighty dolly will protect the clone's life as well as separate their ties with their original's lives. Along with the religious overtone, there is a hint that the the dolls might be used for spying on the clones. Of course to really drive the significance of the almighty dolly home, there has to be a demonstration of its power. Joan of Arc has been chosen by Rasputin to be ‘symbolically burnt at the stake’. I don't think you have to read the next volume of this manga to see what happens next. There is lots to think about this manga once you are finished.
As a note, I will say that this manga isn't as fast paced as other books go. The plot subtly grows and gets more complex with each volume. I will make your head spin and keep you guessing until you can get the next volume in your hands.
Rating: 4 stars
Words of Caution: Rated T+ for nudity, language, and violence in this volume. Recommended for mature teens and up.
If you like this book try: Afterschool Charisma Vol. 3 by Kumiko Suekane, Unwind by Neal Shusterman, Hetalia: Axis Powers by Hidekaz Himaruya, Code Geass by Majiko
Labels:
2012 100+ Reading Challenge,
4 stars,
Adult,
Afterschool Charisma,
Dystopian,
Manga,
Manga Monday,
Mystery,
Philosophy,
Religion,
Science Fiction,
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Is it weird that the word "nudity" popped out at me from your review and is the first thing I saw? Probably ;-) Interesting that the questions-without-answers situation didn't bother you as much in this manga as it would have in a standard novel - is it because the volumes are shorter?
Hmm... yes, I could see Manga working much better at leaving you with questions that a regular book because of the illustrations. I still haven't gotten on the manga train, but I enjoy these posts because I like knowing what I'm missing out on.
This sounds like one crazy plot. Joan of Arc. Kennedy. Rasputin. A lot of names you don't normally see together. Even if it is a bit slow, I'm curious.