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Reviewed by Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane Judging by the first volume, Time Stranger Kyoko, the most recent Arina Tanemura offering from VIZ, fits comfortably into the category of magical girl manga which requires a hefty suspension of disbelief as you begin. It's a fantasy set in the distant future (30th century Earth), an era when the entire planet has united as the Earth Nation, under the rule of a royal family. The titular character, Kyoko Suomi, is the princess of Earth, and she's about to turn 16--a prospect she's not looking forward to, since the celebrations will require presenting herself to the public and thereby blowing her cover as an ordinary high school student. Kyoko so desperately wants to continue her normal adolescence (as normal as it can be when her bodyguards, a pair of brothers who are the only survivors of their clan's massacre, have also infiltrated the school by acting as Kyoko's teacher and classmate), so she accepts her father's offer: her twin sister, Ui, has been asleep since the girls were born, and Kyoko can live however she wants if she can find a way to wake her sister and convince her to take on the duties of Earth's princess. With the aid of her bodyguards and a talking, sentient staff, Kyoko sets out to find the 12 "god stones" and the 12 telepaths who may be the key to waking her twin. The subplots in volume one range from tracking down the thief of a famous designer's beloved lace pattern to using Kyoko's new time-traveling ability to learn the truth about her friends' history, giving the series a decent mix of comedy and drama. With only two more volumes in the series, it doesn't seem like the story will have much time to turn into anything too serious. Visually, this is a very cute series, with frills and flowers everywhere; most of the clothing designs are very intricate, right down to the talking staff. But my favorite thing about this release is that it retains most of the name honorifics that I'm used to seeing from other publishers and have missed in VIZ titles. This isn't the first time I've noticed them recently, and I hope this is an indication of a general shift in VIZ's approach--a total lack of honorifics has been my biggest complaint with a number of their series in the past. Volume one of Time Stranger Kyoko includes a page of translation notes. Review copy provided by VIZ Media. Other Arina Tanemura titles from VIZ include The Gentlemen's Alliance †, Full Moon, I.O.N., and Short-Tempered Melancholic. Interested in writing for MangaLife? We're always looking for talented reviewers and columnists, so drop us a line! Charles Webb Editor-in-Chief, MangaLife.com |
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