Qwan 3

[telophase]

The reason I'm going to be behind rachelmanija and kate_nepveu in reading Genji for a bit - I got my hands on a copy of Qwan 3.

If you haven't heard me squee over it before, it's a manga by Aki Shimizu set in ancient China. Qwan is a mysterious boy who eats demons who doens't know who he is or what his purpose is, although he knows he has one, and who has a cute little headless flying dog-pig-thing. He hooks up with the scruffy Chieki - or more accurately, Chieki gloms onto Qwan as a way to get some quick cash by going into the demon-busting business - and sets off to find his purpose. On the way they meet the prostitute Shaga, who knows a lot more than she's letting on, a young girl who communes with insects and her villainous father, and learn that the scrolls of the Essential Arts of Peace may help Qwan remember his purpose.

The art is wonderful - detailed and quirky, with great character touches - and the story is delightful and quirky. Sorry, not going to try to rewrite that to take the second 'quirky' out - you'll just have to deal with it. Anyway, book 3 takes us out of the world we know and into a demon-type world out of Chinese myth, with all sorts of bizarre creatures. With mustaches. And beards. And we get to see Shaga sporting a cute little mustache along with her normal flowing hair, for reason that make perfect sense once you get to that point in the book.

Anyway, this is the sort of myth-based fantasy I love, where you get ... er, well, I can't describe it. Basically where the creatures just flat aren't human. (It's one of the reasons I love Spirited Away.) It's also got so much of a feel of an ancient China that never was that I keep expecting Master Li and Number Ten Ox to wander by. It's a worldbuilding that relies on an emotional, fairy-tale kind of logic, not a scientific one, if that makes sense. Kazuya Minekura, much as I love her, fails in this sort of worldbuilding (luckily she knows it and concentrates her efforts on the bits she excels at, which are character and relationships) - her demonic, magical world lacks the quality of the numinous* and her youkai, while loosely based on Japanese mythology, are mostly humans with pointy ears, funky tattoos, and a talent for magic.

I sort of lost track of where I was going, so I'll just wind up with: READ QWAN. NOW.


* WOO-HOO! Grad school word! Let's see if I can work in "paradigm" and "vis-a-vis" next!

Comments

[the-z.livejournal.com]

I second that! Qwan is awesome! It's really inspired me to get back to work on Ninja Monkey too since it's set in a similar environment.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Cool! XD

[coffeeandink.livejournal.com]

I totally agree.

I've been putting off Qwan 3 until I have enough time to focus on it. And possibly reread the first two.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

I expect I will read and reread all of them many times in the future. :D

[fourthage.livejournal.com]

Qwan is indeed excellent. Have you read Shimizu's adaptation of Suikoden III?

[telophase.livejournal.com]

I've been leery of it, since the bits I've picked up by flipping through it in the store haven't really struck me, and the chapter included at the end of Q3 didn't make me want to read more (and the art was less detailed than in Q). And then there was coffeeandink's comment from here (http://www.livejournal.com/users/coffeeandink/531221.html):

Unfortunately, I was forced to drop it after the scene in book 2 where one of the characters is consoled for the genocide of his tribe by the comforting embrace of his foster uncle, who is a giant duck.

[fourthage.livejournal.com]

Heh. I was already a fan of the game, so that didn't throw me. I think the series gets really good around volume four or five when Shimizu starts deviating from the game storyline.

[codfishbunny.livejournal.com]

his foster uncle, who is a giant duck

Sergeant Joe FOR THE WIN!

[kate_nepveu]

*dutifully adds to keeping-track-of-things Amazon list*

online read

[(Anonymous)]

anyone know wher to read this online qwan