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Written by Jordan Marks
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Thursday, 15 November 2007 |
Innocent Bird 3 (See YaoiWiki Entry)
Review through volume 3, spoilers for volumes 1-2.
Sex rating: NC-17
Art: B+
Story: C+
Action: B+
OVERALL: B
"I will be your God"
| This is the final installment of the Innocent Bird series. The seme of the series, Karasu, is an angel with a giant sword. The uke, Shisaragi, is a sweet little demon who wants to wants to become human so he can love God. The characters are very well done. Shisaragi need the protect of his bad-ass seme, but is still a strong character. Karasu is determined and passionate. |  |
There are two plots in this story. First, there is the romance between our uke and out seme and the trials they need to endure. The second plot is about a war starting. And there may have also been something about the nature of reality and/or the universe. The first plot is well done and wraps up nicely. This plot has more of an ending to it that most yaoi manga plots. If I made a pile of all the yaoi manga that I have were the plot either doesn't resolve or just trails off, well, I'd have a very large pile. In one way this is more of a satisfying manga than most.
Now, for that little thing about a war starting. This plot is integral to the plot of the book, but, umm... there is no attempt at a resolution at all. Personally, that bothers me and takes away from my ability to really enjoy this series. I know that my being overly concerned with the larger questions the book raises and the character's involvement in certain events is me missing the point a bit. This is not supposed to be a series about morality and celestial politics. All that is just a lovely setting for an romance story with a good dose of angst. I admit, I am very fond of this particular flavor of angst. Also, I love gay angels. I reeealy love gay angels.
There is very little sex is this volume and it is not explicit. Still, it very extremely well done. The emotional content of the scene was powerful.
The art is consistently great in this series. First off, all the characters look distinctly different, and not just in hairstyle. I never need to figure out who is who or rely on hairstyles to tell people apart. The artist never skimps on Karasu's lovely curls or all the difficult to draw wings. The character's expressions convey emotion very well. There are also some very complex backgrounds that don't look like pre-made ones.
For me, this series started off very strong, but then faltered alot in this final volume. If the romance plotline was the only really important one, then less time should have been spent dealing with the 'minor' plotline at all. As much as I do like this this, I just have this nagging feeling like it could have been better.
Mangaka: Kisaragi Hirotaka
Publisher: Blu (Upcoming Releases | YaoiWiki Entry)
MSRP: $9.99
Censorship: N/A
Warnings: Religious content
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 15 November 2007 )
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