This went from really dumb to a really huge change in the plot I didn’t remotely see coming. The artwork is also fantastic. It won’t ever be more than just fun, probably, but I think I’m alright with that, once in a blue moon, on the side. I’d like it a heck of a lot more if it wasn’t so juvenile.

Overall, the best volume yet, I think. Though, the first volume in this (8) was actually terrible, things get drastically better pretty much immediately after it, and they stay good.

Guts and Griffith and Casca all get developed much better as characters (though Casca particularly isn’t really great, always being a foil to the guys, or else failing in battle and needs to be saved despite being told she’s good and competent at battle), there’s a very surprising turn of events after Guts makes a decision with a lot of groundwork, which was great.

There is even more mystery introduced. There’s an eclipse to happen soon, which… maybe is when all this devil stuff happens? Griffith loses possession of the necklace Guts has in the future. Guts has to deal with some trauma. For a sensual but not all that sexual, aside from assault, kind of a lot of sex happens. And we aren’t sure why Griffith did what he did, which adds to the mystery. Was he in pain from Guts decision? Was he just being a villain and wanted to harm the king and/or princess? Is this, somehow, a part of his plan? If so, boy is committed.

Much more a downbeat, and felt more like filler than anything, for much of it. I’m not a fan of the comedic aspects to manga and this one plays into it far more than the past volumes. But it also introduces some interesting new characters, including two women. Of course, they’re Not Like Other Girls, but I’m still here for it.

If it had meandered less it would have been much better. The cliffhanger ending was by far and away more interesting than the entirety of the book, though. Which really drives home how slow the pacing becomes.

Yeah this is a dnf. It’s just way too silly and goofy, for me.

A pretty good conclusion to something probably too-long coming. It does not really depict indigenous peoples that well, nor is it outright caricature. One of the weird problems with the volume is it is, at the same time, trying to bring a resolution to a character that doesn’t want physical conflict, while also trying to maintain narrative tension across an entire omnibus. It… kind of doesn’t work, for about half of it.

It implies that there’s some tension where there actually isn’t at multiple times. Some guys brought swords. The indigenous people, of course, can see visions of the future… but nothing happens with that. They make friends with them… but nothing really happens with that.

What it does nail, I think, is the overall, macro resolution concerning a couple characters. It was genuinely moving—hence the three stars. Otherwise, it sort of feels like one really, really long epilogue anime filler episode. And that spear kid never came back from last volume, what’s up with that?

Now, looking back on the entire series, was it worth the read? I think so. Someone who is much more invested in battle sequences will have enjoyed it more. Also, people who don’t mind the tonal shifts that come with manga, again, will help immensely.

But the larger story is unusual and interesting, as well as subversive of the genre. You would never have expected the story to be about what it is in the entire 7 first omnibuses, which is wild, and quite bold. It initially reads as just another manga marketed toward male teens, just with a different historical context applied to it. It then something far more nuanced, though not at all to be conflated with a really well rounded or literary take, on forgiveness, war, peace, religion, enslavement, and found family. It’s definitely trying, and sometimes succeeding, at a lot more than is typical, and I appreciated that about it.

Almost a five star read. Finally, the story actually progresses. A time skip is employed to have the actual work of recruiting new people and seeing the beliefs of the crew continue, as they almost embark to Vinland. There is actual character growth and some heartwarming moments, some of which actually employ good comedic timing, for once. There is some small, albeit heavy handed inclusion for a character who is not gender typical. Nice to see, regardless.

The strange thing is the skip also including Gurid and Thorfinn having a relationship we never get to see. It implies his answer was ‘yes’ to her question—but I actually felt that work wasn’t ever done in the story? I never really got the feeling they were overly romantic, let alone anything more than that, so that aspect feels strange. Hild, though still cool, also feels slightly redundant, and so continues to be a one trick pony, narratively, acting the spectre of death should, somehow, Thorfinn suddenly change his mind, or whatever.

Overall, the reframe was much needed. The slog of that 23 issue battle thing was completely forgettable. If there wasn’t the development with Gurid and some development of chain boy, you could completely skip the entire arc and be better for it. As is, there is some -slight- payoff at the end with chain bow, and slightly more with Gurid, respectively.

This arcs finale was alright. The fight scenes were cool. The artwork great. It still felt far, far too long, and the actual conflict between the two sides felt pretty boring. The resolution with Gurid and the tension between that decision and chain boy is more interesting than the entire endless fight sequences interspersed with bad timing comedy segments.

Such is the way of the format, I know, but it still feels so juvenile, especially in a series with this kind of subject matter and the seriousness, overall, of what it is trying to accomplish. There isn’t really a reason to pander. If anything, actually, the comedy segments are worse than ever. Maybe it’s a by product of its popularity.

This went down pretty smoothly, but it also never really had prose or plot beats that really stood out, to me. It’s the kind of book where things simply happen and because of a lack of specificity, it’s up to the reader to project meaning and, sometimes, even interest.

Mostly this happened for me when, during one of the three narratives occurring, the ten years past one, in which he’s describing having an affair with a woman something like twenty years his junior (which, he an artist, knows is cliché). The fact that he has a secret to tell and this has influenced his art and his relationship to his wife and children is compelling.

But the rendering of it is not.

It is so pedestrian, in fact—especially when compared to the twenty years past storyline, in which he’s in South America and a coup is taking place—that you actively have to assign meaning to it, because he cannot do so, beyond his knowing noticing it’s effect on his home situation. It could be clever, since it mimics a reader looking at any number of art pieces on display. But there is no painting to look at because there isn’t enough detail to notice anything much at all. It doesn’t have good prose styling to make you feel like you’re getting something out of these past events either.

In the end, all I know is that an unlikable man doesn’t know himself very well, doesn’t know why he’s doing the things he’s doing, but vaguely knows he needs to do something, though not what it is, other than to go do something after he lets his family down, and then something changes. Again. He doesn’t know what. Good job little buddy, I guess. He has essentially one realization and it’s fairly cruel and cowardly, which makes him even less interesting than initially expected.

Still. It does go down easily, this novel. It’s quick and seems to have resonated with other people. I myself am not an artist, so it’s possible some connections were present I did not make, or meant little to nothing to me. I don’t think this is a bad book. It’s just one that did not resonate with me at all.

These kinds of reads are always a little bit different by virtue of what is factual in them. It must take a great deal of empathy to place yourself in someone like that, especially someone misremembered and characterized by history.

The engagement, for me, is different because I knew, generally, what the plot beats were going to be. Especially the ending, of course. It’s wonderfully well told though. It communicates a lot about the times. Gives voice to someone who clearly did not have it. When you discover exactly why she was sentenced too, it’s rage inducing.

Beautiful prose, great characterization, and a worthwhile read.

There’s a kind of armour around stories that are ostensibly memoirs, or close to it. It’s hard to critique them because it’s “what happened”, or close to it, making it uncomfortable to pick apart or look at objectively. But they’re also fairly flooding the market and their novels, so I consider them fair game regardless, at this point. Even with direct interjections from an author of the novel and her memories. I didn’t check as to whether or not that aspect was fictional, because it is all fiction. The liminality of what might be auto wasn’t of interest to me, for reasons I’ll go into.

In this case, other than the interjections, which felt a bit weird, but in line with a story that refuses to infuse any amount of specificity. I don’t get on with this style of writing, where the author assumes the person reading can infuse meaning by being told very plainly and blandly what’s happening, thinking it will provoke something. But without nuance and complexity, I usually can’t project that meaning. It’s the something like putting something unspiced or seasoned on my plate and telling me to eat it, then asking what I thought. It was food. I ate it. It was fine, I guess? Had this been the first “meal” of this kind of story, probably it would have elicited more in me.

Because it is simply and quickly told, and because I’ve read many stories like this one, and this one’s craft is not to my taste, I didn’t get anything out of it, and would argue it’s not well written. If the story was based on people’s tellings, perhaps a memoir type format would have served it better, to be honest. But I don’t know what elements are fictitious or not, so maybe that wasn’t in the cards.