Indulgence and chaos
Jan. 11th, 2017 09:27 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
foxinthestarsDesktop computer is still in the shop. Waiting for the shop to call is stressful.
I didn't so much decide as observe after the fact: I'm pretty much on news blackout right now. I can't help a certain amount coming in because my Dad watches it all the time, and I'm still trusting the internet to pass along anything hugely important, but it all feels really raw. Even news sources I would normally be aligned with aren't something I have spoons for at this point.
On the upside, I ordered myself some translated manga volumes so I'll be caught up on the English releases of Yona (which currently stand at vol. 3 of 22, thank goodness for scanlations), and to start giving my Natsume Yuujinchou collection some love again.
While I was looking at my manga collection and deciding for sure what I wanted, it struck me that I had the old TokyoPop volumes of Loveless and hadn't read them in years, and I figured I'd take a look and see if I still liked it enough to hang onto it or even catch up. So far I've only re-read vol. 1, and I would like to at least read the rest of what I have before letting it go, but as of now, I think I'm ready to let it go. Even when I liked/collected Loveless, I noted that it was one of the more fucked-up things I'd ever read, and I guess that still holds but without the shine it used to have. I'm still shocked and impressed how much this series got away with while coming anywhere close to "mainstream" (what with the BDSM theming and the highly-charged relationship involving a 12-year-old and the visible virginity status and just, yeah). But like, I think I have better ways of indulging the relevant kinks now, and my sensibilities have changed such that some of the "fascinatingly edgy" stuff has tipped over into "just creepy" (looking at you, Soubi). I also place a premium on stories that feel well-thought-out, and I can't shake the impression that Kouga-sensei here was just making shit up as she went along; this impression was further reinforced when I was looking into what kind of publication schedule was going on here ("four new volumes in eight years, what the...?") and I think it's safe to say that the wheels have come off the bus, so I have no faith that the narrative hooks are going to get any real payoff. Even the art doesn't do it for me the way it used to. It's still intensely pretty, but another thing I put a premium on is clarity in artwork, and this hangs together better than some shoujo/josei I've seen, but does seem more interested in looking cool than making sense. (I also hope the new Viz releases have fixed some of the typesetting because god-damn, some of this is so tiny, stylized, and/or low-contrast as to be really hard on the eyes.) I can't quite shake the sense that something is winking at me from the bottom of this pile of WTFery, but yeah, if volume 1 is any indication, I think I'm ready to accept that the best thing about this series is that people can write fusion fanfics now*, and I can just read my collection through one last time and let go.
*For those unfamiliar, Loveless Fusion would involve one or more of the following:
-People are born with cat ears and tails but lose them when they lose their virginity
-And there are soulbonded pairs
-Who engage in word-magic battles
-Where "damage" takes the form of BDSM-ish restraints appearing out of nowhere
(Have I forgotten anything?)
So yeah, good fun.
I didn't so much decide as observe after the fact: I'm pretty much on news blackout right now. I can't help a certain amount coming in because my Dad watches it all the time, and I'm still trusting the internet to pass along anything hugely important, but it all feels really raw. Even news sources I would normally be aligned with aren't something I have spoons for at this point.
On the upside, I ordered myself some translated manga volumes so I'll be caught up on the English releases of Yona (which currently stand at vol. 3 of 22, thank goodness for scanlations), and to start giving my Natsume Yuujinchou collection some love again.
While I was looking at my manga collection and deciding for sure what I wanted, it struck me that I had the old TokyoPop volumes of Loveless and hadn't read them in years, and I figured I'd take a look and see if I still liked it enough to hang onto it or even catch up. So far I've only re-read vol. 1, and I would like to at least read the rest of what I have before letting it go, but as of now, I think I'm ready to let it go. Even when I liked/collected Loveless, I noted that it was one of the more fucked-up things I'd ever read, and I guess that still holds but without the shine it used to have. I'm still shocked and impressed how much this series got away with while coming anywhere close to "mainstream" (what with the BDSM theming and the highly-charged relationship involving a 12-year-old and the visible virginity status and just, yeah). But like, I think I have better ways of indulging the relevant kinks now, and my sensibilities have changed such that some of the "fascinatingly edgy" stuff has tipped over into "just creepy" (looking at you, Soubi). I also place a premium on stories that feel well-thought-out, and I can't shake the impression that Kouga-sensei here was just making shit up as she went along; this impression was further reinforced when I was looking into what kind of publication schedule was going on here ("four new volumes in eight years, what the...?") and I think it's safe to say that the wheels have come off the bus, so I have no faith that the narrative hooks are going to get any real payoff. Even the art doesn't do it for me the way it used to. It's still intensely pretty, but another thing I put a premium on is clarity in artwork, and this hangs together better than some shoujo/josei I've seen, but does seem more interested in looking cool than making sense. (I also hope the new Viz releases have fixed some of the typesetting because god-damn, some of this is so tiny, stylized, and/or low-contrast as to be really hard on the eyes.) I can't quite shake the sense that something is winking at me from the bottom of this pile of WTFery, but yeah, if volume 1 is any indication, I think I'm ready to accept that the best thing about this series is that people can write fusion fanfics now*, and I can just read my collection through one last time and let go.
*For those unfamiliar, Loveless Fusion would involve one or more of the following:
-People are born with cat ears and tails but lose them when they lose their virginity
-And there are soulbonded pairs
-Who engage in word-magic battles
-Where "damage" takes the form of BDSM-ish restraints appearing out of nowhere
(Have I forgotten anything?)
So yeah, good fun.
