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Dec. 17th, 2009 11:27 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
skygiantsI have now read through volume 13 of Monster. I have five volumes left. Five volumes is a lot of space . . . and yet there is so much going on that I keep finding myself wondering how on earth Urasawa is going to tie it all up in time!
(I am also wondering if I can fit all five of the final volumes in my suitcase when I go home next weekend. The answer to this question is 'probably not', but . . . . maybe this is a case for two suitcases?)
- Johan's stint as AnnaNina continues to be both creepy and HILARIOUS. The whole scene when he is flirting with poor Jan . . . man, Johan, you GIANT FREAK. I was cracking up. Not hilarious, however: poor Milosh. Man. (Also, I suspect it is significant in possibly not a good way that Tenma has learned to anticipate what Johan's "cruellest move" will be.) On the other hand: soccer fixes everything! Though I am still nervous for Milosh, and suspect he is nowhere near out of the woods yet.
- OH MAN GRIMMER. D: D: D: You can't falsely confess to the murders, Grimmer! You will destroy the tiny childrens' faith in people! DO YOU WANT TO DESTROY THE TINY CHILDRENS' FAITH IN PEOPLE?
- For the most part I really liked the montage of People Tenma Has Interacted With once he gets caught; I've said before how much I appreciate Urasawa's continuity. (My favorite: the other doctors, stoically carrying on with their work, because that's their job. Especially the Vietnamese girl! It was only like three panels but I LOVE HER SO.) However, I find Tenma's fan club of patients possibly more hilarious than I should. Dude, my parents are both doctors, and they have many patients who are grateful to them and send them yearly gift baskets and stuff, but as far as I am aware neither of them have an actual fan club. But I guess Tenma is just that awesome!
- Vacation Lunge is THE AWESOMEST Lunge. Though I am kind of disappointed that Urasawa did not take the opportunity to put Lunge in a Hawaiian shirt, while he's cutting loose and all. Fanart! I kind of love how everyone he meets, from other officials to secret terrorist conspirators, is like "dang, I wish I had time for a long vacation." Also, is it wrong that I kind of want Lunge and the head of the evil secret police to be buddy cops?
- I like the Determined Lawyer, but his obsessiveface freaks me out a little and I sort of suspect that is going nowhere good. If I am understanding the last few panels right, it seems his father maybe was a spy after all? That is . . . so not going to turn out well.
- Not enough Dieter and AnnaNina! I don't really expect that to be fixed in the next volume, since we have to take care of the Tenma and Eva plotline first, but hopefully the volume after that?
- Speaking of Eva: I like that she is important again, I was not a huge fan of the Montage of Ways In Which Past Eva was Heartless And Evil That Leads Her To Change Her Ways, but I am reserving judgment on this whole bit of storyline until we see what she is actually doing now. That said: escaping to save her was kind of a really dumb move, but Tenma gets kudos for it anyway.
(I am also wondering if I can fit all five of the final volumes in my suitcase when I go home next weekend. The answer to this question is 'probably not', but . . . . maybe this is a case for two suitcases?)
- Johan's stint as AnnaNina continues to be both creepy and HILARIOUS. The whole scene when he is flirting with poor Jan . . . man, Johan, you GIANT FREAK. I was cracking up. Not hilarious, however: poor Milosh. Man. (Also, I suspect it is significant in possibly not a good way that Tenma has learned to anticipate what Johan's "cruellest move" will be.) On the other hand: soccer fixes everything! Though I am still nervous for Milosh, and suspect he is nowhere near out of the woods yet.
- OH MAN GRIMMER. D: D: D: You can't falsely confess to the murders, Grimmer! You will destroy the tiny childrens' faith in people! DO YOU WANT TO DESTROY THE TINY CHILDRENS' FAITH IN PEOPLE?
- For the most part I really liked the montage of People Tenma Has Interacted With once he gets caught; I've said before how much I appreciate Urasawa's continuity. (My favorite: the other doctors, stoically carrying on with their work, because that's their job. Especially the Vietnamese girl! It was only like three panels but I LOVE HER SO.) However, I find Tenma's fan club of patients possibly more hilarious than I should. Dude, my parents are both doctors, and they have many patients who are grateful to them and send them yearly gift baskets and stuff, but as far as I am aware neither of them have an actual fan club. But I guess Tenma is just that awesome!
- Vacation Lunge is THE AWESOMEST Lunge. Though I am kind of disappointed that Urasawa did not take the opportunity to put Lunge in a Hawaiian shirt, while he's cutting loose and all. Fanart! I kind of love how everyone he meets, from other officials to secret terrorist conspirators, is like "dang, I wish I had time for a long vacation." Also, is it wrong that I kind of want Lunge and the head of the evil secret police to be buddy cops?
- I like the Determined Lawyer, but his obsessiveface freaks me out a little and I sort of suspect that is going nowhere good. If I am understanding the last few panels right, it seems his father maybe was a spy after all? That is . . . so not going to turn out well.
- Not enough Dieter and AnnaNina! I don't really expect that to be fixed in the next volume, since we have to take care of the Tenma and Eva plotline first, but hopefully the volume after that?
- Speaking of Eva: I like that she is important again, I was not a huge fan of the Montage of Ways In Which Past Eva was Heartless And Evil That Leads Her To Change Her Ways, but I am reserving judgment on this whole bit of storyline until we see what she is actually doing now. That said: escaping to save her was kind of a really dumb move, but Tenma gets kudos for it anyway.
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no subject
Date: 2009-12-17 05:38 pm (UTC)Grimmer! I love him so much but he makes me cry almost every time he appears. :( And Tenma gets a fanclub because he's a) the nicer reincarnation of Black Jack and b) ~*rugged*~. :D
VACATION LUNGE. It's like watching Vetinari trying to take time off, I swear. And yes we need some kind of buddy-cop fanfic starring Lunge, STAT.
Good news; there is much more Nina in the last few volumes! And we get to see this lovely little interlude when she goes and hangs out with this starving
artistpuppeteer dude in Prague.I maybe kind of sort of ship it.Eva ends up pretty cool, I promise. ;) She's not my favourite, but the last bit of her storyline made me really like her.
I can't wait till you read Pluto. I really can't.
no subject
Date: 2009-12-17 05:46 pm (UTC)Yeah. :( :( :( Way to shoot to the top of the list of the most tragic characters in the series, Grimmer! And considering this series is Monster, that is a SERIOUS ACHIEVEMENT. Also it is true that I suspect Tenma's dashing and occasionally stubbly good looks play a significant role in the development of his Patient Fan Club.
Haha it so is! Except I suspect Vetinari would be more suave about it. My favorite is when he orders himself a beer, with great determination, because he is ON VACATION, and then has to stop himself taking down notes on the beer's case file! (Next year's Yuletide?)
Eeeexcellent. Currently I am kind of suspecting that she is going to end up with Suk, because we know something dramatic is going to go down when they actually meet after the whole Suk/Johan storyline (alskdjf;lkdjs), but I could easily be wrong about this!
Once Monster is done! There is only so much Urasawa suspense I can take at once.
no subject
Date: 2009-12-17 06:37 pm (UTC)The problem with Pluto isn't so much the suspense as the continual tearjerkers. I cried at least once a chapter. Damn you, Urasawa! *shakefist*
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Date: 2009-12-17 07:03 pm (UTC)IT IS TOO COLD FOR ME TO TAKE UP TEARJERKERS AT THE MOMENT. Water frozen to my face is a bad!
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Date: 2009-12-18 01:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-18 03:42 am (UTC)I think Pluto is the only work of fiction that has made me cry in the past...4 or 5 years.
no subject
Date: 2009-12-18 03:40 am (UTC)Poor, poor Agent Suk. He is the Tim Bayliss of Monster. Absolutely no luck with cases or women.
I love how everyone at the BKA was all "I thought he was physically incapable of taking a vacation" about Lunge.
...I might have to draw Lunge in a Hawaiian shirt now.
Tenma gets a fanclub because he is adorable and does stupidly endearing things.
no subject
Date: 2009-12-18 03:52 am (UTC)I still say that Agent Suk and Baby Cho-san (Sho-chan?) of 20th Century Boys need to team up. Maybe, by their powers combined, they could actually solve a case! . . . either that, or fail twice as spectacularly.
DOOOOOO IT.
Okay, fair. *pats his head* In my head, they all own Team Tenma T-shirts that they made and sold on the 1990's version of CafePress.
no subject
Date: 2009-12-18 04:19 am (UTC)Cho-san! I actually think Suk is a somewhat capable detective, at least more competent than Cho. But Cho can make hilarious faces while they get halfway through something and then fail spectacularly because they've bitten off more than they can chew!
Dangit, I will have to. (Have vacation Batou, in the meantime)
...They totally do.
no subject
Date: 2009-12-18 04:45 am (UTC)SO TRUE. Also, he can teach Suk to make the awesome "THIS DUDE" thumbs-up, so when they fail they will at least fail with panache!
See, in my head I will now be superimposing Lunge's face over Batou's half the time in that icon. >.>
And they take dorky pictures of the whole group posing in their t-shirts and send them to Tenma, and Tenma is like ". . .?"
no subject
Date: 2009-12-18 04:58 am (UTC)That is a very important skill!
*snickers* And now I want a Monster/S.A.C. crossover. Because the only thing more terrifying for criminals than Lunge or the Major determined to put down a case would be Lunge and the Major determined to put down a case.
And now that Tenma's on the run, the doctors left at Eisler Memorial get them, go "..." and then stick them on a special bulletin board for them.
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Date: 2009-12-18 03:37 pm (UTC)It is a skill Suk needs! Especially if he is going to run around with Tenma, who much as I love him is not so great at adding cheer to the setting.
MORE BUDDY COPS FIC. *_* Now I just kind of want someone to set up the Lunge Buddy Cops Ficathon. Lunge and the Major! Lunge and Carrot! Lunge and Jackie Chan!
And all the other doctors are jealous. They don't get dedicated fan clubs.
no subject
Date: 2009-12-22 05:47 am (UTC)Tenma is lovely but he does need more cheerful dorks to liven things up. He gets lost in his ANGST a bit too easily.
I APPROVE OF THIS.
They may or may not draw little handlebar mustaches on the patients in the photos.
no subject
Date: 2009-12-22 06:03 am (UTC)He DOES. Dieter is helpful but he has a Tragic Past of his own to contend with, so it is not fair to make him do everything!
>:D
Hahahaha and also on every photo of Tenma ever. Lunge is a bit confused that all the evidence he has collected from hospital staff photos and the like features Tenma with inked-on facial hair!
no subject
Date: 2009-12-22 06:10 am (UTC)Same with Grimmer, really, who can brighten things with a picnic but who is, of course, deeply tragic.
Lunge frowns upon this inability of doctors to value all objective data.