afreema3's review against another edition
3.0
I think I would rate these volumes higher if I knew more about the Edo Period and the various Shoguns, as each of the female Shoguns in this series are based on their real life male counterparts. This would allow me to keep some parts of the story straight in my mind.
There are so many names being thrown at you and so many new characters being introduced then in a few pages dying or being removed from the story in some other way that I am constantly confused on who is who. I'm thinking of making a chart because I just can't keep track of the story at times. There is also the problem of the similar character designs. Many of the men in the story tend to all look the same except for a small detail, like the thickness or shape of eyebrows, a beauty mark, or hair style. This character design does not help with trying to figure out who is who, especially when you are given only a name and are not entirely sure which character that name belongs to.
Overall, this story is still interesting and I want to keep reading, but I think I'd like this story more after a reread or a class on the Edo period and the Shogunate.
There are so many names being thrown at you and so many new characters being introduced then in a few pages dying or being removed from the story in some other way that I am constantly confused on who is who. I'm thinking of making a chart because I just can't keep track of the story at times. There is also the problem of the similar character designs. Many of the men in the story tend to all look the same except for a small detail, like the thickness or shape of eyebrows, a beauty mark, or hair style. This character design does not help with trying to figure out who is who, especially when you are given only a name and are not entirely sure which character that name belongs to.
Overall, this story is still interesting and I want to keep reading, but I think I'd like this story more after a reread or a class on the Edo period and the Shogunate.
cloudweaver's review against another edition
3.0
I really like the setting and themes, but as other people have also said it gets hard keeping track of characters and timelines, a family tree or brief summary of the story so far would be a great help I think
kamreadsandrecs's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
emeraldreverie's review against another edition
4.0
Political machinations and intrigue of the highest caliber - with cruelty and blood frequently flowing. I adore this series. Art is amazing, story is engaging on so many levels.
jkenna90's review against another edition
5.0
A lot happened in this volume. We go through a lot of time and different rules. I’m excited to see if the next volume is the same or something different.
misssusan's review against another edition
3.0
a bit less engaging then the previous volumes. i suppose it can't be helped, volume 1 and 2 were a perfect storm of things to appeal to me with its combination of examining gender roles, sociology, and the strong characters of yoshimune and iemetsu.
this is more of a transitional volume, following the court under iemetsu's successors: ietsuna and tsunayoshi. the focus seems to now be on rulership and the exercise of power. i'm not sure how interpret the poor showing both ietsuna and tsunayoshi make in comparison to iemetsu -- i think yoshinaga might be saying something about the kind of leaders that can survive during peace. neither iemetsu and kira were very good people but they were formidable and i suspect their development was meant to showcase what kind of people could survive such calamities as the overhaul in japanese society brought about by the red pox
3 stars
this is more of a transitional volume, following the court under iemetsu's successors: ietsuna and tsunayoshi. the focus seems to now be on rulership and the exercise of power. i'm not sure how interpret the poor showing both ietsuna and tsunayoshi make in comparison to iemetsu -- i think yoshinaga might be saying something about the kind of leaders that can survive during peace. neither iemetsu and kira were very good people but they were formidable and i suspect their development was meant to showcase what kind of people could survive such calamities as the overhaul in japanese society brought about by the red pox
3 stars
witchofthesword's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
notthatlibrarian's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
directorpurry's review against another edition
4.0
Everything I was missing in the previous volume, I got out of this one! Now that we're in the second generation post disaster the women of the noble families and the shogunate are finally starting to take charge.
I think this is an important series to make some real commentary on the way we view gendered roles of leadership. And traits that a man might have that are lauded in a leader could be disliked in a woman or vice versa.
I think this is an important series to make some real commentary on the way we view gendered roles of leadership. And traits that a man might have that are lauded in a leader could be disliked in a woman or vice versa.
nwhyte's review against another edition
3.0
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1745393.html
This is the first manga series I have really got into (I bounced off the first volume of Osamu Tezuka's Buddha a few years back) and I will start with some general reflections. First, it is easy to read these too quickly. The sparse black and white illustrations, the subtleties of the difference in appearance between characters, the condensation of the equivalent of many prose paragraphs of plot and emotion into a single frame, all male it important to take these slowly and sensibly. Second, I was a bit unnerved at first by the stylistic device where people's faces go all cartooney when they are in the grip of strong emotion (usually anger); but in fact this is a fair metaphor for what it feels like, and to an extent what it looks like, when one is consumed by rage, joy, sadness or whatever, and I have not only got used to it but practically welcome it as an extra signal to the reader.
Volume 4 of Ōoku: The Inner Chambers is a transitional work, covering the end of the reign of Iemitsu, zooming rather rapidly through the thirty year reign of her successor Ietsuna, and then getting stuck in to the career of Tsunayoshi and the arrival at her court of the young nobleman Emonnosuke. It is also about the historical legacy of Arikoto, a central figure of the previous two volumes, whose valet ends up as Tsunayoshi's father.
The background to the story is of course a Japan which has lost 75%-80% of its men; but I feel the plot is more and more about the exercise of power, Iemitsu's wise and enlightened decisions - including "coming out" as a woman ruler and permitting other lords to do the same - contrasted with Ietsuna's indolence. We then see Tsunayoshi as largely concerned with using power for her own sexual pleasure, to the annoyance of her courtiers, and the end of the book suggests that Emmonosuke's arrival will take her and her rule in a new direction, though we cannot be quite sure what. It's enough to make me want to get the next volume anyway. (
This is the first manga series I have really got into (I bounced off the first volume of Osamu Tezuka's Buddha a few years back) and I will start with some general reflections. First, it is easy to read these too quickly. The sparse black and white illustrations, the subtleties of the difference in appearance between characters, the condensation of the equivalent of many prose paragraphs of plot and emotion into a single frame, all male it important to take these slowly and sensibly. Second, I was a bit unnerved at first by the stylistic device where people's faces go all cartooney when they are in the grip of strong emotion (usually anger); but in fact this is a fair metaphor for what it feels like, and to an extent what it looks like, when one is consumed by rage, joy, sadness or whatever, and I have not only got used to it but practically welcome it as an extra signal to the reader.
Volume 4 of Ōoku: The Inner Chambers is a transitional work, covering the end of the reign of Iemitsu, zooming rather rapidly through the thirty year reign of her successor Ietsuna, and then getting stuck in to the career of Tsunayoshi and the arrival at her court of the young nobleman Emonnosuke. It is also about the historical legacy of Arikoto, a central figure of the previous two volumes, whose valet ends up as Tsunayoshi's father.
The background to the story is of course a Japan which has lost 75%-80% of its men; but I feel the plot is more and more about the exercise of power, Iemitsu's wise and enlightened decisions - including "coming out" as a woman ruler and permitting other lords to do the same - contrasted with Ietsuna's indolence. We then see Tsunayoshi as largely concerned with using power for her own sexual pleasure, to the annoyance of her courtiers, and the end of the book suggests that Emmonosuke's arrival will take her and her rule in a new direction, though we cannot be quite sure what. It's enough to make me want to get the next volume anyway. (