Drawing the Line
I browsed Descendants of Darkness vol. 4 today and just can't do it. Can't. I loved the anime. I want to like this series. But everybody's overwrought and it's straining too hard for The Funny and I like my guys to look like men not prissy girls. A full cast of men who look like girls would be bad enough, but they all look like prissy girls. Augh. What little I can make out of plot around my distaste of the art and descension into The Funny hasn't been thrilling me either.
Whereas I hate the busyness of the art (and the gratuitous T&A) for the GetBackers manga but have been enjoying the plot I can stand to imbibe while my eyes freak out over the artwork. Which is actually more frustrating, since what I can make out makes me really want to be able to read these. The linework is dense and detailed in a way that makes my eyes scream, "Where the hell are we supposed to look?" At least Ban and Ginji look less like lesbians as the series go on. I have no problems with lesbians, but I don't want my guys looking like them.
For those of you wondering if anything can please me, I really enjoy Kazuya Minekura's work with its balance of linework and space and its characterization of characters through visuals. Shuri Shiozu and Kara Lim I like too, though they go chibi too often for me. Yû Watase has a good, clean look, though her figures can be too stiff at times (and I object to how most of the guys in her stories are pervs and that she subscribes to the "romance by forced kisses and literally throwing people at each other" school. How many times can you plausibly make characters fall on top of each other?).
Whereas I hate the busyness of the art (and the gratuitous T&A) for the GetBackers manga but have been enjoying the plot I can stand to imbibe while my eyes freak out over the artwork. Which is actually more frustrating, since what I can make out makes me really want to be able to read these. The linework is dense and detailed in a way that makes my eyes scream, "Where the hell are we supposed to look?" At least Ban and Ginji look less like lesbians as the series go on. I have no problems with lesbians, but I don't want my guys looking like them.
For those of you wondering if anything can please me, I really enjoy Kazuya Minekura's work with its balance of linework and space and its characterization of characters through visuals. Shuri Shiozu and Kara Lim I like too, though they go chibi too often for me. Yû Watase has a good, clean look, though her figures can be too stiff at times (and I object to how most of the guys in her stories are pervs and that she subscribes to the "romance by forced kisses and literally throwing people at each other" school. How many times can you plausibly make characters fall on top of each other?).