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mastersal's review against another edition
5.0
This was the first volume which was not a reread for me so this took me a little longer and more focus than the previous volume.
This volume covers the death of Iemitsu and the transfer of power to the future generations of female Shoguns as they internalize the reversed gender power structure in Japan following the pox.
The first half of the manga which dealt with Iemitsu broke my heart. I loved her as a character - the mix of shrewd political acumen combined with her love for Arikoto - excellent use of the medium and excellent storytelling. The author managed to blend traditional femininity with the power of being an absolute ruler quite well with her character.
And frankly Arikoto is an excellent character in his own right - grace and compassion and genuine pathos. I would read the volume again just for him. His grief and love for Iemistu was so well done that even now remembering the section makes me tear up.
The artwork really captured some of the emotional beats here without dialogue - excellent excellent work. Some of my favourites in the volume were these silent panels or with minimal dialogue. For example, when Arikoto puts lipstick on Iemitsu when she was dying, it was beautiful.
But we don't wallow in the death of my favourite character for too long. The author keeps us rushing through history. We follow the 4th and 5th Shogun in quick succession in this volume showing us the political scope of the series. I can’t say I loved the 4th Shogun as a character but I wasn’t meant to I think. The author is showing us the history of Japan through the Ooku so some periods are short and others get more focused attention - depending on the significance of the Shogun in question.
We also get little epilogues for our characters - such as Arikoto - which gives the volume this poignancy which I appreciated. We know these characters live on and die and getting that glimpse touched me.
The difference between the Shoguns is also clearly shown which keeps the book interesting. The 3rd was crafty and dedicated, her daughter (4th) was sweet and ineffectual while the 5th came across as sybaritic and kind of carelessly cruel. I think the volume made it clear that she wasn’t evil - she loves her daughter and her father as an example - except that she has so much power that she is careless with it - she can’t comprehend the negative impact she had on people. The older baron’s husband that she had her eyes on - that was so careless that it sent chills down my spine.
The gender reversal is now complete - and power is power - it corrupts. And we end the volume with the set up for more politics coming up.
I’d rate this as 5 stars I think. I was going to ding it for the second half but honestly, I still remember some of the panels clearly a month later. And that first half - still makes me cry. So I need to give credit to the volume.
This volume covers the death of Iemitsu and the transfer of power to the future generations of female Shoguns as they internalize the reversed gender power structure in Japan following the pox.
The first half of the manga which dealt with Iemitsu broke my heart. I loved her as a character - the mix of shrewd political acumen combined with her love for Arikoto - excellent use of the medium and excellent storytelling. The author managed to blend traditional femininity with the power of being an absolute ruler quite well with her character.
And frankly Arikoto is an excellent character in his own right - grace and compassion and genuine pathos. I would read the volume again just for him. His grief and love for Iemistu was so well done that even now remembering the section makes me tear up.
The artwork really captured some of the emotional beats here without dialogue - excellent excellent work. Some of my favourites in the volume were these silent panels or with minimal dialogue. For example, when Arikoto puts lipstick on Iemitsu when she was dying, it was beautiful.
But we don't wallow in the death of my favourite character for too long. The author keeps us rushing through history. We follow the 4th and 5th Shogun in quick succession in this volume showing us the political scope of the series. I can’t say I loved the 4th Shogun as a character but I wasn’t meant to I think. The author is showing us the history of Japan through the Ooku so some periods are short and others get more focused attention - depending on the significance of the Shogun in question.
We also get little epilogues for our characters - such as Arikoto - which gives the volume this poignancy which I appreciated. We know these characters live on and die and getting that glimpse touched me.
The difference between the Shoguns is also clearly shown which keeps the book interesting. The 3rd was crafty and dedicated, her daughter (4th) was sweet and ineffectual while the 5th came across as sybaritic and kind of carelessly cruel. I think the volume made it clear that she wasn’t evil - she loves her daughter and her father as an example - except that she has so much power that she is careless with it - she can’t comprehend the negative impact she had on people. The older baron’s husband that she had her eyes on - that was so careless that it sent chills down my spine.
The gender reversal is now complete - and power is power - it corrupts. And we end the volume with the set up for more politics coming up.
I’d rate this as 5 stars I think. I was going to ding it for the second half but honestly, I still remember some of the panels clearly a month later. And that first half - still makes me cry. So I need to give credit to the volume.
therealkathryn's review against another edition
3.0
The illustrations are still gorgeous but the story is becoming a historical retelling with little drama.
brakebills42's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
_stephany_'s review against another edition
3.0
I really would like to go back to the present. To show the history of who created the inner chambers and why made sense to me but why are we going through every single reign of every Shogūn since then? Especially since the only one who lived through all these generations isn't even the main character and barely mentioned since Kasuga's death. It doesn't make sense to me yet. Hopefully that will either change in the next volumes or they just go back to the present of Yoshimune from the beginning.
jkenna1990'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.
peelspls's review against another edition
3.0
A lot of the characters resemble each other
In driving home the point of similarity, a lot of the characters resemble each other. Furthermore the name and address of the Shogun and the barons change often. The text remains a bit difficult to read as always and "I like it not" but it would be helpful to see how the subsidiary roles of power play out.
In driving home the point of similarity, a lot of the characters resemble each other. Furthermore the name and address of the Shogun and the barons change often. The text remains a bit difficult to read as always and "I like it not" but it would be helpful to see how the subsidiary roles of power play out.
annaptobias's review against another edition
Ietsuna takes over her mother, Iemitsu, and gets a reputation for being Lord "Aye-Do-So," reflecting her weakness in ruling in comparison to her strong willed predecessor. Saddened to see the end of Arikoto's storyline, though.
Tsunayoshi's reign is shaping up to be very interesting.
Tsunayoshi's reign is shaping up to be very interesting.
Spoiler
I was somewhat surprised about the affair between Keisho-in and Yoshiyasu. Isn't he supposed to be a monk? Did he become more worldly now that he no longer as Arikoto as a role model?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