[Manga] Amefurashi Vol. #02 Review

[ABCBTom]

Review
Age Rating: 13 and Up
Released By: Del Rey
MSRP: 10.99
Pages: 240
ISBN: 978-0345512499
Size: B6
Orientation: Right to Left

It's very difficult to say anything about Amefurashi. There's never anything genuinely bad to rip apart or attack, as the story is told competently. There are glimmers of inspiration, however, that make you think it could have been so much better. They come mostly as throwaway details, such as the fact that the Amefurashi Advent Festival is occurring, or that bandits want to kidnap Sora to control the supply of water for an impoverished kingdom, or the fact that the giant sand liner is described as using the power of nimbus bubbles in order to glide among the dunes. Sadly, the influences the amefurashi might have had on other forms of technology and culture are never explored. In the Afterword, Suzumi mentions there were parts of the plot and character development that didn't turn out as she had liked. It leaves me to wonder if the project was rushed, or if building a compelling fantasy world is just too difficult of an undertaking to accomplish in two volumes. We may have ideas about the Amefurashi that could have been, but we are left with the Amefurashi that is: A pleasant diversion, but nothing more.