Back in March I reviewed the first volumes of these two CMX series jointly, so I figured I’d do the same for their respective second installments. Overall, in reading the second volumes of The Name of the Flower and Fire Investigator Nanase, I found that my initial impressions of both series intensified; my love for the first deepened while my (then minimal) reservations about the second solidified into some pretty serious doubts.
First up, a glowing report of The Name of the Flower, created by Ken Saito. I just don’t think I can say enough good things about this title. It’s one of my two favorite series currently being published at the moment (the other one being Sand Chronicles). Yet The Name of the Flower has a very grounded, down-to-earth sensibility that the more melodramatic Sand Chronicles sometimes lacks. The Name of the Flower is detailed, subtle, melancholy, bittersweet, pensive, surprisingly humorous, and deeply romantic. One of the things I enjoy most about this series is that all of its characters are wonderfully deep. In fact, one of the highlights of the second volume for me was the introduction of several new and equally charming characters. The Name of the Flower might not appeal to anyone looking for, say, a real action packed title, but I personally love it to bits for all the reasons listed above.In volume two, Chouko is already avsophomore in college, and begins to overcome some of her reclusive tendencies when she joins a student organization. She actually joins a club out of pitying consideration for a recruiter who rivals even herself in terms of shyness and timidity. Thus she’s introduced to the “Taisho Authors Association”, a small literary appreciation club consisting of a somewhat ragtag group of students who specialize in two things: literature and drinking parties. Chouko finds to her mild surprise that she actually gets along with these people, in particular with the guy who recruited her. Yousuke Karasawa is a painfully shy guy with some pretty serious li
terary aspirations. It’s great to see Chouko interacting and forming relationships with people her own age, instead of spending all her time with Kei and Akiyama only. In addition to it being healthy for her to socialize a bit, it also demonstrates her stability and the fact that her love for Kei isn’t merely the result of her being sequestered in his house all the time.
Meanwhile, Kei spends a good chunk of this volume holed up in his room in a fit of literary productivity. When he finally emerges, it is only to discover that he will have to deal with the whole Chouko situation sooner rather than later. Thus his dilemma: does he hold on to her while he has the chance, as per his more selfish, possessive desires, or does he push her away, into the arms of her new friends as he believes he ought? I get the feeling the Kei’s a guy of extremes, and that important matters have to be all or nothing with him. Whether that’s a strength or weakness I’m not entirely certain. Anyways, a lot happens in the final part of the volume, and a many things that have been building slowly over the course of the first two volumes sort of come to a head. I’m very excited for November to see what happens next.
terary aspirations. It’s great to see Chouko interacting and forming relationships with people her own age, instead of spending all her time with Kei and Akiyama only. In addition to it being healthy for her to socialize a bit, it also demonstrates her stability and the fact that her love for Kei isn’t merely the result of her being sequestered in his house all the time.Meanwhile, Kei spends a good chunk of this volume holed up in his room in a fit of literary productivity. When he finally emerges, it is only to discover that he will have to deal with the whole Chouko situation sooner rather than later. Thus his dilemma: does he hold on to her while he has the chance, as per his more selfish, possessive desires, or does he push her away, into the arms of her new friends as he believes he ought? I get the feeling the Kei’s a guy of extremes, and that important matters have to be all or nothing with him. Whether that’s a strength or weakness I’m not entirely certain. Anyways, a lot happens in the final part of the volume, and a many things that have been building slowly over the course of the first two volumes sort of come to a head. I’m very excited for November to see what happens next.
Alas, if only I could say the same for my other CMX title, Fire Investigator Nanase. I certainly enjoyed the first volume well enough, and I had really high expectations for the series, but after finishing volume two I’m not sure I like the direction things are headed in. My chief complaint with the series is the proliferation of unabashed fanservice that doesn’t really appeal to me at all. There are times when I don’t mind moments of fanservice when it’s limited to just that:
brief moments that don’t seriously detract from the story. One example of this would be in the manga adaptation of the Haruhi Suzumiya light novels, in which the fanservice-y moments don’t seem to take away or distract from the hilariously clever plotlines. In comparison, Fire Investigator Nanase features whole sequences and chapters of purely gratuitous material (chapter 16, entitled “Stalker”, is just one example). I don’t read a lot of seinen, so maybe I’m just expressing a reaction to the genre rather than this particular series, but whatever the case I didn’t like what I saw.
brief moments that don’t seriously detract from the story. One example of this would be in the manga adaptation of the Haruhi Suzumiya light novels, in which the fanservice-y moments don’t seem to take away or distract from the hilariously clever plotlines. In comparison, Fire Investigator Nanase features whole sequences and chapters of purely gratuitous material (chapter 16, entitled “Stalker”, is just one example). I don’t read a lot of seinen, so maybe I’m just expressing a reaction to the genre rather than this particular series, but whatever the case I didn’t like what I saw. Another disappointment with Fire Investigator Nanase was the fact that I still haven’t really warmed up to the main characters. I know Nanase’s gutsy and selfless, and that’s all very admirable, but I’d sure as heck like to see her figure something out without Firebug’s help for a change. Speaking of whom, I also kind of wish the creators would humanize the villain a tiny bit to make him, if not downright sympathetic, at least more interesting. So far, Firebug’s just this completely crazy maniac whom we know nothing about, except that he’s an expert on fires. That being said, I do enjoy a lot of the side characters, such as Nanase’s little ward Shingo and her supervisor Chief Tachibana (who grew on me a lot in this volume). I also like whole mode of investigating fires and solving arson cases, but only when it’s not hindered by ridiculously nonsensical plot detours. Maybe I’m just being hard on this series because I had unrealistic (or at least irrationally high) expectations for it. I haven’t definitively decided to drop it, but I’m going to have to reevaluate it pretty seriously when volume three comes out in November.
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