Momoe Yamaguchi has a great song called 'omoide no mirage' - 'a mirage of memories'
it has the following line - 'everything has to change, everything is gone'
how timely 'tis that I recalled some of her songs, including this one, when I read the 81st chapter of KWMS
the greatest disappointment in any long manga would be when the last chapters turn into a completely different story from what it was in the beginning. 'tis what happened with RuroKen. though the additional 'Hanami' chapter was an example of a perfect happy ending - with all the main characters gathering together, and the only one unable to come sending a letter, so that the reader understands that they live in peace and happiness. and I would be extremely happy to see this, if not for the third arc, where Misao was left behind, Kaoru was expelled from the main team and turned into the usual 'princess awaiting for her knight to come and save her', and the male characters were suddenly granted something verging on a superpower
moreover, I was absolutely unhappy with what happened with the mangaka's art, and I still prefer his immature style in the first several volumes
from then on, I developed an easy way to determine whether the manga is 'drained' or not. you just need to compare the beginning with the latest chapters. in terms of art, Fujiwara-sensei has surely progressed, though I would agree that the best art was somewhere in the middle of the manga. in terms of the story, everything goes smoothly and naturally. then, why did I have that awful feeling of despair after reading the chapter?
even though Misaki is still the usual determined, active, demanding leader, shouting when she has and feeling awkward when something happens, there is a great change in her. unlike, probably, many people, I prefer characters like Misaki stay unchanged. others may call such changes an 'improvement'. I call them - giving in to the environment. and Misaki choosing jurisprudence as her future field of study and work only because it gives her a prestigious, respectable position in the society, Misaki thinking whether she would become an official so that she would have a stable job - this was almost a fail
what saved the chapter from a complete disaster was Usui's position - as usual, he reminded Misaki that she need not burden herself with what she does not want to do, and that she can choose anything she wants because she can do anything she addresses. if not for this part of the chapter, I would be very sad, and I would feel betrayed by Fujiwara-sensei. however, by the last several pages she returned things to what they have always used to be - overdoing, concerned, hard-working Misaki and Usui, making her slow down a little
after I reread the chapter once more, I calmed down a little. as for now, the main line is still preserved and the characters' axes are not ruined. I hope it will never happen during the following several chapters
p. s.
fans often say there are many things that could be depicted in the manga. at first I was not paying attention to such comments, but these days I cannot help thinking about all the possible events, arcs, happenings that will never be drawn. there are lots of questions already existing, and there are a lot of things that might appear here or there. none of them will be explained. I have to give up. and this is a difficult thing for a LII/INTj with Intuition of possibilities as the second strong function
No comments:
Post a Comment