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Nov. 30th, 2009 12:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
skygiantsI have now read through Volume 10 of Monster! And damn you, Naoko Urasawa, because I am getting more and more invested with each installment of the manga. (I am now more than halfway through! I cannot decide whether this fills me with joy - I want to know what happens! - or sorrow - because then it will be all gone and I will have to go back to wrestling with my willpower over the online translations of 20th Century Boys.)
- Okay, Dieter basically just gets more awesome all the time. I loved him talking the crazy boy down from the ledge. I also love the continuing theme of people telling him to go away, not to follow them, they are on a DANGEROUS MISSION, and hvaing absolutely no effect whatsoever. There is no way to get rid of Dieter and his soccer ball! They are an unstoppable force.
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futuresoon, you should totally not be reading this because of the mad spoilery, but if you do end up reading it at some point, I AM CURRENTLY BITING MY NAILS OVER DIETER AND IT IS YOUR FAULT.)
- I loved Lotte and Anna/Nina bonding! BECHDEL TEST PASSING, WOOT. (I am not sure if it counts, actually, because they spent most of the time talking about Johan and Karl. But they did at least talk about ~research~ and general social lives too! And Lotte's obvious girlcrush on Anna/Nina is hilarious.) I really hope they get to hang out more, but I kind of doubt it will happen. :(
- Also I still like Karl but I would very much like him to stop being a jerkface to Lotte now, please.
- I wanted to hit Inspector Lunge on the head very hard when he stood up his daughter. Also, every time I walked by the karaoke bar in the hotel in Mexico, I could not help but imagine him sitting there in a corner. Lurking. @_@
- oh so heyelspeth_vimes, I have reached your favorite character and you are right: he is AWESOME. I am way looking forward to seeing more of him and finding outwhat his deal is! That whole thing with the orphanage experiment was really fascinating, though I am not sure how I feel about the redemption of Creepy Orphanage Experiment Dude.
- I think I accidentally spoiled myself for crossdressing!Johan, so I was able to identify fake!Nina pretty easily. That being said, fake!Nina!Johan is still FREAKY AS ANYTHING. I have no idea where Urasawa is going with this but I am fascinated and terrified both.
- also freaky: THAT CHILDREN'S BOOK. It seems that the other monster, the one who was cool with having no name, is supposed to be Anna/Nina, and the implications of that worry me, although I am faaairly sure that AnnaNina will end up okay at the end. (SHE HAD BETTER.)
- On a sidenote, Urasawa is about as good as the Avatar team at having minor characters return and be consistently integrated into the narrative. I really appreciate that. PLOTTING: IT'S AWESOME. (I am hoping from this that Teenaged Doctor Lady will also return to the narrative, because for a one-off character she was pretty fabulous.)
- Okay, Dieter basically just gets more awesome all the time. I loved him talking the crazy boy down from the ledge. I also love the continuing theme of people telling him to go away, not to follow them, they are on a DANGEROUS MISSION, and hvaing absolutely no effect whatsoever. There is no way to get rid of Dieter and his soccer ball! They are an unstoppable force.
(
futuresoon, you should totally not be reading this because of the mad spoilery, but if you do end up reading it at some point, I AM CURRENTLY BITING MY NAILS OVER DIETER AND IT IS YOUR FAULT.)- I loved Lotte and Anna/Nina bonding! BECHDEL TEST PASSING, WOOT. (I am not sure if it counts, actually, because they spent most of the time talking about Johan and Karl. But they did at least talk about ~research~ and general social lives too! And Lotte's obvious girlcrush on Anna/Nina is hilarious.) I really hope they get to hang out more, but I kind of doubt it will happen. :(
- Also I still like Karl but I would very much like him to stop being a jerkface to Lotte now, please.
- I wanted to hit Inspector Lunge on the head very hard when he stood up his daughter. Also, every time I walked by the karaoke bar in the hotel in Mexico, I could not help but imagine him sitting there in a corner. Lurking. @_@
- oh so hey
elspeth_vimes, I have reached your favorite character and you are right: he is AWESOME. I am way looking forward to seeing more of him and finding outwhat his deal is! That whole thing with the orphanage experiment was really fascinating, though I am not sure how I feel about the redemption of Creepy Orphanage Experiment Dude. - I think I accidentally spoiled myself for crossdressing!Johan, so I was able to identify fake!Nina pretty easily. That being said, fake!Nina!Johan is still FREAKY AS ANYTHING. I have no idea where Urasawa is going with this but I am fascinated and terrified both.
- also freaky: THAT CHILDREN'S BOOK. It seems that the other monster, the one who was cool with having no name, is supposed to be Anna/Nina, and the implications of that worry me, although I am faaairly sure that AnnaNina will end up okay at the end. (SHE HAD BETTER.)
- On a sidenote, Urasawa is about as good as the Avatar team at having minor characters return and be consistently integrated into the narrative. I really appreciate that. PLOTTING: IT'S AWESOME. (I am hoping from this that Teenaged Doctor Lady will also return to the narrative, because for a one-off character she was pretty fabulous.)
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Date: 2009-11-30 05:48 pm (UTC)Ooh, Lotte! I wish she'd gotten more screentime. Actually, I wish everyone had gotten more screen/pagetime, because THEY'RE ALL AWESOME. ♥
If you think that children's book was creepy, wait till you get to 'The God of Peace'. :DDDDD And crossdressing!Johan was so incredibly creepy . . . yet at the same time kind of hot. (Johan must have the most amazing legs to pull that off.) AND JUST WAIT TILL YOU SEE WHERE URASAWA GOES WITH THIS.
I knew you would love awesome doctor lady! :D
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Date: 2009-11-30 06:04 pm (UTC)SO TRUE. Every time I end a section, I am like "darnit, we will not see that character again for a while at least, and they are awesome . . ." and then Urusawa introduces another awesome character and I almost forget that I am missing them!
hahahaha I can only anticipate the creepy children's books to come. (Johann, I know the creepy factor of the whole crossdressing thing is great for you . . . but it is not worth the trouble of shaving your legs. Trust me.)
THAT IS BECAUSE SHE WAS AWESOME. :D
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Date: 2009-11-30 06:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-30 06:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-30 06:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-30 06:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-30 06:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-30 06:58 pm (UTC)Ah, Grimmer! I have to admit, part of the reason why I love him so is just the wonderful way in which his arc is handled. I love how Urasawa reveals the character. He is fascinating. I can go on about him for ages, but will not spoil you yet.
And yes, orphanage guy provides yet another interesting point for ethical discussion, Lunge can be a workaholic creeper, creepy children's books by that author are very creepy, and Johan enjoys messing with people too much. And Dieter is a wonderful influence.
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Date: 2009-11-30 07:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-30 07:14 pm (UTC)Oh dude, yes, the way that arc is being handled is fascinating. I love his introduction! And how he interacts with the kids! And kind of everything about him so far, really.
Dieter is THE BEST influence and also, the most implacable. Tenma, AnnaNina, hardcore psychologists: no one can defeat him!
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Date: 2009-11-30 07:26 pm (UTC)The only one who doesn't always listen to Nina is Tenma. But that's so that he can save her from tragically becoming a killer!
Oh yes, he has such a great introduction and then Urasawa introduces all the complications and then once you get to the explanations and start thinking the implications through...it is just so brilliant. (Like, well, everything in this series.)
Dieter is like soccer- the world cannot resist.
(...also, I looked up the conversation you and
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Date: 2009-11-30 08:32 pm (UTC)I am so excited for this! Man, whyyyy have the next three volumes not come in for me at the library yet! (Okay probably because I only requested them this weekend. BUT STILL.)
It's so true. He is basically a force of nature. Insurance companies refuse to pay for Acts of God, and Dieter.
(OKAY THAT IS VERY REASSURING TO HEAR THANK YOU)
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Date: 2009-11-30 11:34 pm (UTC)If you hunt down the original Astro Boy story, "The Greatest Robot on Earth" before you read Pluto (it's in volume 3 of the Dark Horse reprints), it has the charming effect of feeling like a fairy tale that someone used as the basis for an awesome novel. God, I love adaptations. The process and product of adaptation is endlessly fascinating to me.
Or you can read it without knowing anything at all about the story. It'd be interesting to see the reactions of someone who has no idea what the original story was like.
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Date: 2009-11-30 11:38 pm (UTC)WE NEED MORE AWESOME DOCTOR LADY RUNNING AROUND BEING AWESOME, Y/Y?
Please please please tell me you will write Monster fic at some point in the future. :D
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Date: 2009-12-01 12:54 am (UTC)I am sorry to make the suspense even more suspenseful.
A fact which annoys Heckel to no end. He wants some insurance. Though if you've brought an act of Dieter down upon yourself, you kinda deserve it.
(YOU ARE WELCOME, I FIGURED YOU NEEDED TO HEAR THAT.)
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Date: 2009-12-01 03:17 am (UTC)Well, at least now I am not suspensefully waiting for Dieter to fall into Johan's murderous clutches! WHICH IS A GOOD THING.
Hah, so true! Poor Heckel. Somehow he always ends up hanging out with these people with scruples. This is not what he signed up for. >:(
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Date: 2009-12-01 03:19 am (UTC)Oh man, now I am torn! I think I will probably end up reading the Astro Boy story just to be on the same page as everyone else, though - I'm pretty curious about it as an adaptation.
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Date: 2009-12-01 03:21 am (UTC)I've actually gotten into Astro Boy and Tezuka in general thanks to Pluto.
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Date: 2009-12-01 03:21 am (UTC)ALWAYS Y. Dude, anyone who can self-teach herself medicine enough to keep an entire immigrant community alive deserves as much page space as she can get!
*cracks up* Well, I will not promise anything, but, you know. I'm not ruling it out!
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Date: 2009-12-01 03:25 am (UTC)THIS IS TRUE, AND I AM GLAD TO HELP ON THAT SCORE. Though obviously, other children are not immune.
Seriously. Where are all those people just interested in making a quick buck when you need them?
...Now I am thinking of Heckel meeting Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler.
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Date: 2009-12-01 03:27 am (UTC)I love Tezuka! I feel like there's a little mandatory getting over the hump of how cartoony he is, in every sense, but once you're over it, god, he's such a trip.
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Date: 2009-12-01 03:32 am (UTC)Yeah, that I had already gathered, what with Johan's Fun And Games With the Children. *rueful*
. . . *_* THAT IS AN IMAGE THAT FILLS ME WITH SO MUCH BEAUTY I AM NOT SURE I HAVE WORDS.
Actually I bet Heckel totally is a secret Dibbler nephew.
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Date: 2009-12-01 03:35 am (UTC)You really have to love a man who put a female Cosmonaut on the moon before anyone else.
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Date: 2009-12-01 03:35 am (UTC)Whatever you decide, I am curious to see the reaction!
(I've had several long conversations about Pluto with a clerk at my local comics store, mostly revolving around the question of why it is that when modern superhero comics do gory adult retellings of classic silver-age superhero stories, they suck like a Hoover vacuum, but when Urasawa does a murder mystery vamp on Tezuka, the result is so brilliant. Beyond the fact that Urasawa has massive talent, vision, and creative control, I mean.)
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Date: 2009-12-01 03:38 am (UTC)Johan is all about fun and games, blissful walks in the park and lemonade. ...As long as people end up dead from it somehow.
Some day, he'll introduce Tenma to his uncle.
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Date: 2009-12-01 03:40 am (UTC)Oooh, what is that? That sounds like something from Phoenix! Or Astro Boy! Or for all I know, Black Jack. One of Tezuka's many charms: no fear whatsoever of anachronism.
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Date: 2009-12-01 03:42 am (UTC)I deliberately kept myself from reading that Astro Boy story until after I had read all of Pluto, in order to help preserve the suspense of the latter. But then again, looking at how it's adapted step-by-step is fascinating!
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Date: 2009-12-01 03:45 am (UTC). . . on the other hand, with something that is only eight volumes I can make room for the complete collection on my bookshelves much easier. STILL, that hardly makes up for it. *dignified*
(There is one obvious solution here: give Urasawa creative control over Batman.)
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Date: 2009-12-01 03:45 am (UTC)On the other hand, I guess I could always read unspoiled, read the Astro Boy story, and then reread . . .
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Date: 2009-12-01 03:47 am (UTC)It was in Astro Boy! In a few stories that were written before anyone had landed on the moon.
...The moon also had enormous plants, which he put there purely for the entertainment value.
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Date: 2009-12-01 03:47 am (UTC)Johan loves lemonade! Especially lemonade with cyanide in.
. . . CMOT Dibbler vs. Tenma's Care Bear Stare of Morality. It's like irresistible force meets the immovable object!
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Date: 2009-12-01 03:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-01 03:50 am (UTC)Mmm, that almond accent is just the right touch.
Clearly, the answer is to have Vimes come in and yell at them both. ...He can also yell at Lunge while he's at it.
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Date: 2009-12-01 04:18 am (UTC)Someday, someone will license Princess Knight. David Welsh commands it.
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Date: 2009-12-01 04:24 am (UTC)Cillian Murphy is another reason.no subject
Date: 2009-12-01 04:24 am (UTC)We live in hope.
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Date: 2010-09-14 04:45 am (UTC)you must be psychic
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Date: 2010-09-14 02:41 pm (UTC)