AoD Review: Saiyuki Reload Vol. #1

[Jarred]

Review (http://www.animeondvd.com/reviews2/manga/manga.php?manga_view=1234)

[The Pirate Queen]

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The sequel to the popular first series, Saiyuki Reload so far seems to have lost a lot of its charm and magic, relying much more on posing bishies and their oozing cool guy attitudes rather than crafting interesting stories to tell.


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Heh - the same thing could be said with equal accuracy about the anime. The first volume of Saiyuki Reload seemed just so...soulless.

[Greenlily]

I really think that the more you read of Saiyuki, the more you enjoy it. I tried to get into the series about five years back, when I attempted to read volumes 1 & 2, and it just didn't grab me the way I expected it to. My opinion totally changed when I started working on the book, though. I don't think the story really hits its stride until volume 5 or so, but the Kami-sama arc at the end of the first series is pretty incredible. For all of the pretty boys posing, and the apparent redundancy of the plot (new town, angst, kick ass, moral, move on), it's not really a series that stands up well to scattered reading. The melodrama is drawn in broad strokes, but the actual relationships between the characters are much more subtle, and skipping around means that you lose some of that.

I thought that the latter half of Reload 1 did a good job in that regard (the first story is pretty lame), but things don't *really* start to get interesting in Reload in volume 3 or so. Trust me, it's worth the wait.

[The Pirate Queen]

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Greenlily said:
I thought that the latter half of Reload 1 did a good job in that regard (the first story is pretty lame), but things don't *really* start to get interesting in Reload in volume 3 or so. Trust me, it's worth the wait.

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I'll trust you on this - Reload 1 was such a disappointment after the kickass last few volumes of the last series, but if it can make it back up to that level (or close, anyway), I'll be content.

Plus, I adore the art, which makes things a little easier.

[Greenlily]

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Dani said:
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Greenlily said:
I thought that the latter half of Reload 1 did a good job in that regard (the first story is pretty lame), but things don't *really* start to get interesting in Reload in volume 3 or so. Trust me, it's worth the wait.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'll trust you on this - Reload 1 was such a disappointment after the kickass last few volumes of the last series, but if it can make it back up to that level (or close, anyway), I'll be content.

Plus, I adore the art, which makes things a little easier.

[/ QUOTE ]

I just sent vol. 2 to the printer, and I, at least, think it's more fun than vol. 1. It's got a sickeningly cute Jeep-centered story, and then a bit of the "new and improved" Kougaiji showing up to lay the smack down. Vol. 3 gets into hardcore backstory though, and that's pretty friggin' awesome. Especially if you liked the end of the first series. /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif