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Faeries Landing Vol. 1

Faeries Landing Vol. 1

Written by SmellyOne on 05 Nov 2005

Distributor Tokyopop • Author/Artist You Hyun • Price £6.99


Okay, this is not the kind of manga I go into a store, take a look out and buy immediately. Heck, this isn't really the kind of manga I buy at all. But, I can't say the same about my friend.

She really likes this kinda stuff and tends to make decisions based on a quick read of the back page. This is very much the kind of stuff she's into. So, upon finding it on the internet, she ordered volume 1. Needless to say she was just a tad surprised when the website accidentally sent her 10 of the same book! So, recently, she's been handing them out to her other manga loving friends. Naturally, being infamous at school for liking manga, I received a copy. Now, as I say, this isn't the kind of thing I'd go out and buy, but when its handed out for free its difficult to say no... At best it would be an excellent adventure and open my eyes to the genre, at worst I could just give it to someone else who may want it more than me.

After reading the graphic novel, my opinion is somewhere in between. I am surprised at how good it was, but equally it is not exactly amazing. Its a pretty typical story - teenage boy helps guy escape unfair cops, guy shows teenage boy secret faerie bathing pool, teenage boy somehow (in this case by ripping one of the faeries' clothes accidentally) stops faerie being able to go back to faerie land (in this case called Avalon), so faerie decides to live with teenage boy.

It's a classic tale.

However, what follows is a less funny, less interesting and more childish version of Oh My Goddess. This isn't to say the book is awful, but it borrows very heavily from other sources, and it shows.

Artistically Faeries Landing is of a very high standard. It's not mind blowing, but panels are clear and the artwork is attractive. There are also plenty of notes on the characters, including how they were designed, what inspired them and so forth. The characters themselves are deep, interesting and all have stories and back grounds. Each one has a motive for their actions and each one is a separate personality.

In the end, however, it is difficult to justify paying for this book over Oh My Goddess, unless of course you just can't get enough magical comedy, in which case you could do a lot worse than give Faeries Landing a try.

7
Good, but lacking in originality.

Guest
Written by SmellyOne on 05 Nov 2005

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