populuxe
05-01-2004, 09:47 PM
The continuing rumors of Ironcat's death continue to be premature. Hanaukyo Maid Team #2 has finally made it market. This time, the original logo has been replaced by an English logo, though one that does a serviceable job of retaining the look of the original. Mariel is front and center, holding her hands out to the reader, with a glowing light issuing forth from her. Konoe, Cynthia and Taro are on the back cover.
It's New Years and Taro has given everyone permission to go home. The only ones left are Grace, who is staying up to watch the Y2K mayhem, and Mariel. The more Taro learns about Mariel, the more of an enigma she becomes. The entire household staff arrives back in time to ring in the new year with Taro and Mariel.
Ryuka, meanwhile, has learned she is about to become the head of the fabulously wealthy Jihioh family, provided she can accomplish one goal: <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>marry Taro.</span> So she joins the staff of the Hanaukyo family. She sees how he's attracted to Mariel and wants to learn as much as she can. Ryuka's prodding and Taro's desire to learn more about Mariel create a crisis. Mariel seems to have no desires of her own, beyond making Taro happy. "Whatever is Taro-sama's wish, is my wish as well." Taro continues to press Mariel, trying to find out what's truly in her heart. His questions box her into a corner until she has a breakdown and collapses. <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>Grace has been trying to find out what it is about Mariel that not even she and her computer can find out. It takes great work, but she finally cracks it. Mariel, while completely human, has been genetically engineered and psychologically maninpulated to be completely loyal to Taro. His grandfather, who didn't trust anyone, created her as a gift to Taro. When she collapses, she is whisked away by men in protective suits. When Taro tries to stop them, Konoe stops him. The truth about Mariel was kept from only Taro and Grace. The orders of his grandfather supercede his own.</span>
Taro can't stand to leave things as they are. Time is of the essence if he's to rescue Mariel. Konoe, Ikuyo, Grace/Cynthia and, surprisingly, Ryuka, all sign on to help him. They manage to break into the compound where she's being held, but once they reach her, they are confronted by the Red Standard, a team of powerful female warriors who are loyal to <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>Taro's grandfather, and no one else. Konoe herself was once a member of the Red Standard. The final battle is won by Taro when Ryuka's own air force comes to the rescue. In the end, we learn that Taro's grandfather has been attempting to make the bond between Taro and Mariel much deeper. The final trick is pulled on him, though, when Grace manages to transfer all authority out of his name and into Taro's.</span>
The final chapter allows us to learn quite a bit about Cynthia, and why she has a seperate personality named Grace living inside her. To thank her for her work, Taro takes her out on a date. She looks darned nice in a summer dress and strappy sandals. There is a sweet little twist at the end, too.
There are a couple of pages of character descriptions at the beginning that brings the reader up to speed. All sound effects are translated right on the page. There are no color pages, though you can easily see there were at one point. I can't say if they were in the tankoubans or not, though. There is a page in the back in which Konoe and Mariel explain why all the uniforms have aprons. At 206 pages, there's plenty of story, but since it's published in a smaller format than the now industry standard A5 (Tokyopop) size, it feels thin. Then there's the $12.95 price, three more than is now standard. Ironcat is a much smaller publisher. They simply don't have the economies of scale that allow others to publish physically larger books at a lower price. If you enjoy the title, or really want to support Ironcat, then it's an easy enough decision to pick this book up. For those to whom price is an issue, then the decision will be tougher. I bought it. Personally speaking, I hope others will too. More publishers is good for us. Studio Ironcat has put out many titles I've enjoyed in the past, and they continue to put out titles I want. I'll keep supporting them.
It's New Years and Taro has given everyone permission to go home. The only ones left are Grace, who is staying up to watch the Y2K mayhem, and Mariel. The more Taro learns about Mariel, the more of an enigma she becomes. The entire household staff arrives back in time to ring in the new year with Taro and Mariel.
Ryuka, meanwhile, has learned she is about to become the head of the fabulously wealthy Jihioh family, provided she can accomplish one goal: <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>marry Taro.</span> So she joins the staff of the Hanaukyo family. She sees how he's attracted to Mariel and wants to learn as much as she can. Ryuka's prodding and Taro's desire to learn more about Mariel create a crisis. Mariel seems to have no desires of her own, beyond making Taro happy. "Whatever is Taro-sama's wish, is my wish as well." Taro continues to press Mariel, trying to find out what's truly in her heart. His questions box her into a corner until she has a breakdown and collapses. <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>Grace has been trying to find out what it is about Mariel that not even she and her computer can find out. It takes great work, but she finally cracks it. Mariel, while completely human, has been genetically engineered and psychologically maninpulated to be completely loyal to Taro. His grandfather, who didn't trust anyone, created her as a gift to Taro. When she collapses, she is whisked away by men in protective suits. When Taro tries to stop them, Konoe stops him. The truth about Mariel was kept from only Taro and Grace. The orders of his grandfather supercede his own.</span>
Taro can't stand to leave things as they are. Time is of the essence if he's to rescue Mariel. Konoe, Ikuyo, Grace/Cynthia and, surprisingly, Ryuka, all sign on to help him. They manage to break into the compound where she's being held, but once they reach her, they are confronted by the Red Standard, a team of powerful female warriors who are loyal to <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>Taro's grandfather, and no one else. Konoe herself was once a member of the Red Standard. The final battle is won by Taro when Ryuka's own air force comes to the rescue. In the end, we learn that Taro's grandfather has been attempting to make the bond between Taro and Mariel much deeper. The final trick is pulled on him, though, when Grace manages to transfer all authority out of his name and into Taro's.</span>
The final chapter allows us to learn quite a bit about Cynthia, and why she has a seperate personality named Grace living inside her. To thank her for her work, Taro takes her out on a date. She looks darned nice in a summer dress and strappy sandals. There is a sweet little twist at the end, too.
There are a couple of pages of character descriptions at the beginning that brings the reader up to speed. All sound effects are translated right on the page. There are no color pages, though you can easily see there were at one point. I can't say if they were in the tankoubans or not, though. There is a page in the back in which Konoe and Mariel explain why all the uniforms have aprons. At 206 pages, there's plenty of story, but since it's published in a smaller format than the now industry standard A5 (Tokyopop) size, it feels thin. Then there's the $12.95 price, three more than is now standard. Ironcat is a much smaller publisher. They simply don't have the economies of scale that allow others to publish physically larger books at a lower price. If you enjoy the title, or really want to support Ironcat, then it's an easy enough decision to pick this book up. For those to whom price is an issue, then the decision will be tougher. I bought it. Personally speaking, I hope others will too. More publishers is good for us. Studio Ironcat has put out many titles I've enjoyed in the past, and they continue to put out titles I want. I'll keep supporting them.