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A review by brogan7
Shuna's Journey by Hayao Miyazaki
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
4.0
A visually stunning book. A world fully developed just from the art of it.
The story I found troubling. Deeply dystopian and Shuna's hero's journey is definitely a superhero's journey... which to this reader was a disappointment, there were so many scenes he wouldn't have made it out alive, so how can we have hope for anti-slavery movements?
Also noted, the deeply Westernized characters, which is totally a manga thing but it feels less bearable in the current moment and with a story with such clear Asian roots (clear before you read the translator's note).
I wasn't expecting the level of violence, and I felt for the human-eating ghouls, especially the one whose hand he shot off!
In summary, it's hard to give this text a clear score. It's so gorgeous and so enchanting and at the same time it could have been a more clear parable, it felt muddied by oddness I couldn't understand or place within a framework (the "land of the gods" where no one wants for anything and no predation even occurs--except that human fodder is going into this all-consuming ... what??) It's just so fantasy and so all over the place.
The story I found troubling. Deeply dystopian and Shuna's hero's journey is definitely a superhero's journey... which to this reader was a disappointment, there were so many scenes he wouldn't have made it out alive, so how can we have hope for anti-slavery movements?
Also noted, the deeply Westernized characters, which is totally a manga thing but it feels less bearable in the current moment and with a story with such clear Asian roots (clear before you read the translator's note).
I wasn't expecting the level of violence, and I felt for the human-eating ghouls, especially the one whose hand he shot off!
In summary, it's hard to give this text a clear score. It's so gorgeous and so enchanting and at the same time it could have been a more clear parable, it felt muddied by oddness I couldn't understand or place within a framework (the "land of the gods" where no one wants for anything and no predation even occurs--except that human fodder is going into this all-consuming ... what??) It's just so fantasy and so all over the place.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery and Trafficking
Moderate: Gun violence
TW: heteronormative