my humble opinion on 'Dantalian no Shoka' manga

the more I think of 'Dantalian no Shoka', the more I love it. 'thas been a long time since something strucked me so hard...

I cannot spend a day without thinking of it. I like to listen to the OST. and of course, I decided to get closer to the work. first I need to read manga, and then I will eat the ranobe as well

graphics

let me start with this. I thought actually mangakas who do something like this↓

are already extinct

erm... I hope this is not a photo, is it?

as for faces, figures, etc - I am completely satisfied. mangaka-san is not an inexperienced girl who only makes shoujo one-shots. Abeno-san has style and grace in her lines, which are recognizable enough to respect
and there is even a bit of Art Nouveau reference... irrelevant, yes, but... I was pleased to see it. at least this is 100% not a photo

as for outside/exterior/streets/nature/panorama/etc. I cannot utter a lot of praises but on the other hand, the frames were never too empty and never looked unrealistic. I felt there were as many details as necessary

plot and characters
'tis true that the anime is far from manga, but isn't this for the better? the manga stories and the anime ones never contradict each other. while the anime had its own advantages and nice points, manga has its own

chapter 8 in vol 4 is simply my favourite. there are two reasons. firstly, I love situations when a character is portrayed to be able to bring peace/soothe/calm/... others. Dalian's 'at least tell me honestly when you have hard times. what for are you my key keeper?' was heartbreaking. yep, 'twas

secondly, the chapter was perfectly composed. the beginning did not give any strange feeling of what was to come, and the gradual change of the world around Huey was just so true, just like it happens when a person falls asleep especially when he/she doesn't feel good. I have experienced a state like this thousands of times, when I was ill, when I was worried about something so that I could not sleep well, or vice versa - when I was sleepy but the room was too cold or too stuffy. this is not insomnia, this is not as if you were fully awake trying to have just a little sleep. and 'tis not a complete state of sleeping either. 'tis the state when you are half realizing what is going on and you think you can judge about it, but something prevents you from sound understanding, something makes you see a nightmare. 'tis not the nightmare like in a horror story, 'tis a nightmare inseparable from the reality. Dalian's retreating figure and the giant hand over the door surrounded by darkness which gave a feeling of terror and I understand absolutely how Huey must have been feeling, his fear, his despair, his weakness in limbs, him thinking 'no, I can't let her go', but him being unable to reach Dalian and stop her, unable to utter a cry - 'Dalian!'. yes, this was a perfectly portrayed delirium
needless to say, I adore the main characters' story and especially Dalian&Huey. and especially dialogues like this
- this is not strange! if I eat this much, this is not strange at all! after I was suffering for so long you say this is strange?!
- I don't. I wasn't saying 'strange' about you, but about Paduck's company

 and also like this... I mean, there should be some humour in the story as well
-  it is dark. moreover, it is cold and I am hungry
- well, this is because... it's night now, and it's winter, and snow is falling. and we don't have anything to eat, either
Huey = captain Obvious >___<

to be serious, not only their story was that exciting. the chapters about Hayling, the assistant engine driver, positively touched me. or not positively? after so many strange people who gave in to sin were portrayed, seeing a man who sacrificed himself in order to prevent the accident was unexpected - and very relieving... I was moved to tears

Dalian Days
let me also put it here. and let me be short. I am mad for Mikumo Gakuto-san that he allowed his stories to be developed in this way. I hate this manga. I really, really dislike it very much
because of this

 and this

 

in other words, I hated characters being not themselves and behaving differently from the original story. to say nothing of the fact that the plot was also far from the original (and never aimed to be close to it) so that it simply looked like a 'if-story' dojinshi. well that would be ok - not with 'Dantalian' and not in SUCH genre. 'tis the same as writing hentai with 'Rurouni Kenshin' characters...

conclusion

read 'Dantalian no Shoka'. don't read 'Dalian Days'

yes, I've become 'Dantalian' fan myself. have been crying for 3 days after I swallowed the 5th volume that the next one wouldn't come out soon and nobody is scanning the monthly chapter (or is anybody?)

p. s. I am used to name Dalian 'Dalian' but she is actually Dariane. 'Dalian' seems more appropriate to me since 'tis believed to be short from 'Dantalian' (which is written with L and ends in N), but well... this is the author's will. I mean, this image is from the raws ↓