|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||
|
|
Reviewed by Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane It looks like I'm tuning back in with The Gentlemen's Alliance † just in time for it to be almost over, which took me a bit by surprise--although I suppose it shouldn't, since Tanemura's series tend to be either short or mid-length. Anyway, I missed volume 9 and went into volume 10 only after spending a while trying to make sense of the "Story Thus Far" section. It's not the recap's fault that I was even more confused when I finished reading it than when I began, since they're meant to jog readers' memories, not simply take the place of having read the previous volume (and the first six volumes of a series). So here we are in the second-last volume, and it seems like most of Haine's issues with her family (families?) have been resolved, which mainly leaves her relationship with Shizumasa and Takanari up in the air. She's one of the few (or only) people who's even aware that there are two of them, and she has feelings for them both, but it turns out that their family situation is so complicated that whatever choice she makes between them may be entirely irrelevant. When I read The Gentlemen's Alliance † before, I was both interested in and frustrated by the fact that the male leads were twins who, as well as being in competition for one girl's love, were living such a completely bizarre life that most of the world didn't even realize that one of them existed. I don't know how much their story was delved into in earlier volumes, of course, but the revelations about their family in volume 10 turned out to be pretty interesting and far, far less contrived than I'd expected. I wouldn't go so far as to say that the whole situation is plausible, but "pleasantly surprised" is a good feeling to have when closing a book. Other than that, the love triangle is handled fairly well; I think it's pretty clear where Haine's affections actually lie, but the complications aren't too far-fetched, so my main issue with it is the frankly creepy way Shizumasa treats her. My love-triangle concerns are also offset a bit by the way the supporting characters react when Haine reaches out to them for help, which was really pretty awesome. Volume 10 of The Gentlemen's Alliance † includes several pages of sketches and bonus strips, as well as two pages of translation notes. Review copy provided by VIZ Media. Think you could have written a better review of The Gentlemen's Alliance † v10? Write us and we'll probably let you give it a shot! --EiC PC |
3 November 2009
|
||||
 |
| home | reviews | news | features | about us | advertise | privacy policy | contact us |
