Hiroshi Ohnogi

This book would have been a LOT better if it wasn't written in the first person, meaning we jump around to lots of characters, all of which aren't in the intro, and if we didn't get Ayato's sexual thoughts on women. Where in one scene he's going to sexually assault a sleeping woman, then tells her sister that "He'd never do that." Yeah OK Mr. Rapist wannabe. The story itself is... OK. It tries to be mystery sci-fi, but there isn't mystery as we see the bad guys side and them attacking is all to toughen Ayato up... I mean really. Just tell him what's up and let's solve this thing.THEN there's the editing. My copy says it's a first edition..... I'm wondering if it was an editor's edition because it had numerous misspellings, character switchings and that [Insert Picture from Page 275 Here] like.. super random. I really wonder if I got the whole novel. I mean fan translations were better than this.… (lisätietoja)

This book would have been a LOT better if it wasn't written in the first person, meaning we jump around to lots of characters, all of which aren't in the intro, and if we didn't get Ayato's sexual thoughts on women. Where in one scene he's going to sexually assault a sleeping woman, then tells her sister that "He'd never do that." Yeah OK Mr. Rapist wannabe.
The story itself is... OK. It tries to be mystery sci-fi, but there isn't mystery as we see the bad guys side and them attacking is all to toughen Ayato up... I mean really. Just tell him what's up and let's solve this thing.

THEN there's the editing. My copy says it's a first edition..... I'm wondering if it was an editor's edition because it had numerous misspellings, character switchings and that [Insert Picture from Page 275 Here] like.. super random. I really wonder if I got the whole novel. I mean fan translations were better than this.… (lisätietoja)

This review was originaly written for the website ListerX.com, which is now defunct. It can also be found on my blog, The Graphic Librarian.

Cover
One word - weird! When I first saw this one I thought to myself, "Surely the umbrellas will be explained." But they never were, not really, so I can only assume they're some strange metaphor that I'm just not grasping. There was also some mildly poor planning on the cover because Quon's blue umbrella blends almost perfectly into the title, making it somewhat difficult to read. Otherwise, the cover's not really that bad; the composition and colors are used to good effect, even if the image is a bit bizarre. The back cover is as minimalistic as ever with no visible changes. It's definitely not my favorite cover of the three released so far.

Artwork
For some reason the artwork in this volume wasn't up to par with the previous two volumes. Even the black and white heavy contrast sketches, which I normally love, seemed less coherant in volume three. There are a total of six full page illustrations, one two-page spread and three pages of character designs from the anime. The illustrations of the characters are still helpful, but with every volume it feels like there are too many new faces introduced, and it's getting harder for me to keep track of who's who. In my previous reviews of this series, I know I've discussed the two different kinds of illustrations before - the clean crisp lines of the high contrast pen and ink art vs. the vague, hazy pencil/pastel/watercolors of the mecha-related drawings. However, in this volume both styles have been altered just enough to make it noticeable. The pen and ink images have lost their crispness while the indistinct pictures have been cleaned up considerably. It's almost like the artist took a little away from one style and attempted to add it to the other style. What's leftover afterwards is a collection of images that, while not entirely displeasing, should probably have been left alone.

Plot
While reading this volume, one thought kept coming into my mind, "This would be SO much easier to understand if I could see the anime." There was so much going on from chapter to chapter that I felt utterly lost - it's beginning to feel like a huge, complicated soap opera - which doesn't lend itself well to a multi-volumed series that's only released every few months. When the book began I realized that to truly grasp what was going on I was probably going to have to re-read V.02 - something I really don't like to do when I'm in the middle of a series. So, instead of being the good little reviewer I should have been, I plodded forward, hoping things would begin to make sense along the way. Gradually, I did start to recall things, but I'm not sure it helped much.

In this volume, Quon gets a lot more "screen time" and I was finally able to understand her character a bit better, at least to a degree. I always suspected she was smarter than she acted, and now I know it. Megumi also has her own little drama to deal with which is only compounded by Ayato's recent strange behavior. Of course, what she doesn't realize is that Ayato has finally been told the truth about his existence - a truth which is causing him to question everything he knows or knew.

Everyone's emotions/feelings are so prevalent in this volume that the real story seems almost incoherant in comparison. However, instead of detracting from the plot, these situations actually enhance it. The overall environment is just bizarre enough that the main characters NEED those everyday interactions and emotions in order for the story to succeed. So, while I'm still totally confused, having characters that are easy to relate to definitely makes the reading more worthwhile. Now, if I could just start putting all the story's pieces together in my mind, I'd be perfectly content.… (lisätietoja)

This review was originally written for the website ListerX.com, which is now defunct. It can also be found on my blog, The Graphic Librarian.

Cover
I definitely like this cover more than the first volume, but I'm still not that highly impressed. And this may sound odd, but the image's content feels like it would be more appropriate for what goes on in V.01 rather than V.02. Nevertheless, I like the active poses that were used this time around; they tend to catch and keep my eye more readily. The title font hasn't been altered and is nicely suited to the bizarre dolem hovering in the background. Sadly, the one thing that desperately needed changing from the first volume remains entirely unaltered - the back cover is as difficult to read as it was before. The combination of the dark blue cover and the very small black text makes for very strained reading.

Artwork
Like the first volume, there are 7 full-page black and white drawings scattered throughout the story and two pages depicting four more characters from the anime. Unfortunately, the character images are of little help, since all four were originally introduced in V.01. However, I will admit that care was taken to select characters that played much more prominent roles in V.02. As for the illustrations, there was a definite improvement. Only three of the images in the same ambiguous style used when representing the dolems. The other four were terrific high-contrast illustrations which depicted various characters and scenes from the story. None of them looked entirely like finished works, but they each had a professional sketchiness to them that I found to be extremely appealing.

Plot
**Possible Spoilers Warning**
Before I begin on the actual plot description, I have to applaud Dr.Master for really getting their act together in regards to the grammar, punctuation, and spelling issues which plagued V.01. I only counted a total of three mistakes and the words read so much more smoothly than before.

So, with that said, let's move on the the plot. This volume opens with Ayato attempting to adjust to life beyond the Defense Barrier. He's moved in with Haruka and her family, which consists of a younger sister named Megumi who seems to enjoy nothing more than teasing Ayato and a grandfather, Rikudoh, who always seems to have wise words to share. However, despite the calm exterior he tries to present to everyone, Ayato is desperately struggling with himself over several difficult issues. He has no desire to fight, an emotion which clashes drastically with his desire to protect his new friends from the dolems - something it seems only Ayato can do, since his mother keeps sending dolems through the Barrier to test her son's abilities.

In addition to his internal issues, Ayato is also having difficulty in learning how to pilot RahXephon. In his previous mergings with the machine, it was an instinctive gut reaction because there were people in danger. However, when Dr. Kisaragi prepares to run tests on the dolem, Ayato has no clue how to repeat the experience. Finally, in an event no one could have predicted, a new kind of dolem is created, one which thrives on dark emotions and comes from a source that shocks Ayato to the core. What will he do when he learns that the creatures he's been fighting may carry human hearts?

Content Warnings
Language = If there was any, I didn't notice while reading. However, due to the military aspects, there may be some mild cursing.

Violence = It's a war - people die, but there's nothing graphic.

Nudity = None.

Sexual Situations = Just a few suggestive thoughts here and there.

Ratings
Cover - 7.5/10 - Overall, about the same as last time; the back cover really needs to be altered.

Artwork - 7.5/10 - An improvement over V.01, but could be so much better.

Plot - 8/10 - The plot really has me hooked! There's so much going on and so many interesting sub-plots; I can't wait to read more.

Overall - 7.5/10 - While the cover & art still need improving, I'm still very impressed. Hopefully things will get even better with V.03.… (lisätietoja)