I know, I'm a lamb to the slaughter and I kinda like it this time.

[oldschoolheart]

In the Fire Emblem common blog I and other people mantain, I was asked by the head poster and owner to review the Seisen mangas since he has his hands full with Hasha no Tsurugi already. He also asked me to gather some people's opinion on the three we have knowledge about: the ones by Nea Fuyuki, Natsu Fujimori, and Mitsuki Oosawa

Comments

[defendsthehated]

Oosawa: Well, I won't lie, the ships are a big factor for me. The fact that it has pretty much all of my favorites is a big plus, but no Alec/Sylvia makes me sad. :( I LOVE Diadora in this manga, though, she gets to be more active without sacrificing her ladylike traits.

Unfortunately, I HATE how Oosawa treats Eltosian's wife. A lot of people think Iria is a bitch, and she is, but what I hate is the reason she became one. I'd expect a professional not to resort to Die For Our Ship, kthx. (And I kind of liked Grahyne, so it's a double sting.)

So overall this is a good re-telling, but it could've done a lot better with some things. :/

Fujimori: This one makes me laugh my ass off, I love it. XD Oifaye is one of the fuuniest things ever, and I liked watching Edain smart off to Gandolf. Also it's made me ship Azel/Midayle a little.

Fuyuki: I've barely read any of this, but...eh. I'm not too crazy about it outside of Lester and Patty being cute. I do like the Leaf/Celice interaction, but jealous!Nanna gives me bad yaoi fanfic vibes.

[oldschoolheart]

I know, right? I admit I almost squealed like a little girl with all the Fin/Lachesis shiptease and hook-up, since it's my OTP in both Seisen and Thracia and their relationship was portrayed in a way eerily similar to my headcanon.

Yeah, can't say I'm happy about that either. My older brother used to complain endlessly about how Chuck Austen derailed Polaris in the X-Men comic to have Havoc hook up with his nurse, and now I udnerstand the way he feels. (And never EVER mention One More Day in front of him, either!) Iria wasn't AS bad as derailed!Lorna since at least she didn't try to directly kill Lachesis, but it could've been handled much better.

Fujimori... surprised me. I wasn't sure if she'd be able to portray the story believably, and yet she did.

Fuyuki. Just started on it... and well, we'll see. Where is Leen, to start? *shakes head*

[defendsthehated]

Finn/Lachesis is amazing, and the manga actually gives us fuel for it. :D The game couldn't give us more than Finn's chat with Nanna, which always disappointed me. :(

I just...can't have as much respect as I'd like for an author who resorts to character derailment to make their ships look better. :/ (Ugh, One More Day. My aunt was a big Spiderman fan back in the day and she hates that one.)

Definitely. It seems like the story is still being taken seriously to a degree, but Fujimori seems to be saying "hey, the characters can still have their zany sides and their fun!". I love that.

I heard she left Leen out due to editor pressure, because the cast was too big as it was. So at least we know she doesn't hate the girl.

[oldschoolheart]

Don't forget Thracia! Lord, how I love Fin and Selphina talking about it. Even if she verbally smacked him almost just like Nanna did. :/

Oh, you don't know it. You don't know HALF of it. Oosawa has NOTHING on some comic book authors, male or female, and years of lurking in comic book forums have shown me that you do NOT get in the way of the fandom fringe's favorite pairings and not get at least scratched. Scary, whether DC or Marvel or Dark Horse Comics.

Well, that's refreshing! I knew Oosawa chose to leave Beowulf out since she didn't like him which is still better than what she did to Mrs. Eltoshan, so this is new.

[dramaislove]

I...have mixed feelings about Oosawa's manga. On one hand, it has the drama and angst and tragedy that I love so much about Seisen. It made me appreciate Alvis a lot more than I already did, and Midayle is given so much more depth.

But the shipping aspect makes me sad. :/ I know, that's stupid and shallow and I might as well be one of those obsessed fanbrats, but it's depressing when people go "oh, Levin/Fury is SO canon, Levin/Sylvia never had a chance".

I'm warming up to the Fujimori manga, but I still find all the humor a bit jarring. ^^; Still, it apparently has Holin/Ayra, which makes me happy.

[oldschoolheart]

Ah, yes. The Levin/Fury deal disappointed me a little, but I decided to be for once a good puppy and take the bone Oosawa threw at me with all the shiptease between him and Sylvia. Besides, it looks like since she didn't talk a lot to Alec, she may be paired up with Claud? That suits me fine, if it happens.

On the other hand, Alvis is awesome in Oosawa's manga and I still have my Fin/Lachesis, so I'm not complaining that much.

Looks like it! I missed Holyn and my Holyn/Ayra, but if they end up as THE couple in Fujimori's version I'll be really happy too.

[dramaislove]

*nods* I actually do like Levin/Fury a little storywise, but too many statshippers rub it in my face for me to love it. Sylvia may not get to be with him, but I'm glad her feelings for Levin are at least taken seriously. (Her explanation for why she loves him so much made me cry.)

I still prefer Noish/Lachesis, but Oosawa made me appreciate her and Finn together.

According to a friend of mine they hook up. I feel a bit bad for Lex, but maybe he'll get to go with Tiltyu? ...oh, but then Azel will be all alone. :/

[oldschoolheart]

I know. I keep having to cool off fights among Levin/Sylvia and Levin/Fury shippers in the Seisen forums I mod, and they get SO ugly once in a while. I also appreciate that even if Levin/Fury is the canon choice, Sylvia doesn't get snubbed aside or bashed.

Good! :D More of an incentive to hunt down translations and all. I do feel bad for Azel, though... too bad I don't think there's room for a threesome or another alternative.

[threesomesftw]

Fujimori. Is. LOVE. ♥ Someone who manages to turn a serious story into lighthearted fun and do it well has my utmost respect as an artist. I think Fujimori secretly OT3s Azel/Edain/Midayle, their interactions are awesome. XD I can't wait to see more of the scanslations, I hear it gets even better!

Oosawa...I'm not big on melodrama, I'll admit it. But at least it's fitting given the original story, and it's good for character development. And the artwork is some of the sexiest I've ever seen in any manga, UNF~

(I wish she hadn't ditched Holin and Beowulf, though! Two of my favorite threesomes Jossed! Oh, well, at least she did draw 'em in the Extras so we could see how they would look if she'd kept them in.)

[oldschoolheart]

I guess so! Like i said, I wasn't too keen on the "comical!Seisen" idea first, but she makes it actually work better than expected. My kudos to that, seriously.

Oosawa has more technical skill in regards to drawings and has really beautiful illustrations... but in regards to the story, it can either be wonderful or really bad. She re-created Alvis, Levin, Sylvia, Ayra and Diadora beautifully, made Edin/Jamuka and Ayra/Lex a little too sappy but fine... and then missed so badly with Eltoshan, Iria/Grahnye and Lachesis. She did redeem herself with Lache and Fin, but the treatment of the other Nodions still leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

[threesomesftw]

I didn't know what to expect, I thought it could either rock, or end up seeming like a teenager on a sugar high trying to write a Seisen fanfic. It rocked!

Yeah, Edain/Jamuka was pretty sappy. @_@ They fell in love so damn fast and were pretty much all over each other. Lex/Ayra was a bit odd at first, wasn't used to seeing them so emotional, but Oosawa made it work.

Yeah, the Nodion storyline always bugged me. EltoLache is delicious incest subtext, but seeing them all Serious Business True Love was kinda jarring. If I'd been writing it I would've made them a quirky threesome with Iria. XP But I was glad Finn got more character development than he did in-game.

[maincharassuck]

Oosawa's manga takes things more seriously, which pleases me. However, I am not a fan of the way she glorifies the incestual love between Eltosian and Lachesis, or her exclusion of Holin. I also don't think it was wise of Oosawa to pair Fury with Levin for the same reason I don't care for the pairing in-game: Fury would just be a replacement for Mahnya. Sylvia, on the other hand, is an unrelated and completely different person. I wish Oosawa had let her go with Levin instead.

I have no respect for the Fujimori version, however. The story of Seisen no Keifu is rife with political drama and tragedy, and to turn it into a laugh riot is simply unacceptable.

[oldschoolheart]

Well, it IS canon that Eltoshan and Lachesis are each other's more important persons regardless of what they think of Mrs. Elto, so keeping that was a given. She could have handled it better, definitely, but I'm not complaining that much since she did keep Eltoshan dead and she did end up with my favorite suitor for her. (Could have treated Mrs. Eltoshan better, though).

Levin/Fury is hardly surprising since it IS the most canon-favored pairing if we consider Thracia 776, though I see why it could be objected. The insight she gives on Mahnya is good, though, and she did give Levin/Sylvia a nice shiptease dose...

Is Fujimori's version so bad for you? Really? I think she actually rose to a challenge and until now she's filling in some huge shoes, but I suppose your mileage and mine will definitely vary. *shrug*

[maincharassuck]

Yes, but the game was at least subtle about it. The blatancy of the romance between them in Oosawa's manga and her treatment of Eltosian's wife nearly made me stop reading.

Yes, I'm aware of that. But it's still always rubbed me the wrong way that Fury could only be with her unrequited love after her sister died. Too "loving a shadow" for my tastes.

I do agree with the insight to Mahnya, though. It always bugged me how she was such an amazing character but seemed like she was only added to the story to become cannon fodder.

It just feels completely inappropriate to me. The original story had its comic moments, but those were necessary to balance out the heavy drama. To turn the story completely comedic loses what made it so amazing in the first place.

[lolgaypuppies]

OMG FUJIMORI IS TEH FUNNIEST THING EVAR AND I LOVE IT! :DDDDD Especially teh awesome Edain/Midayle, THEY'RE CUTER THAN EVER IN THIS MANGA!! but on the other hand Oosawa makes Lex/Ayra canon. :D And Diadora gets to be awesome, too! (i dun like the Levin/Fury, though, it's too dramatic and I still think Fury goes with Noish and Levin should be with Tiltyu.)

I dunno about Fuyuki, it looks kinda cute but WHERE IS LEEN?! D: AND WHY IS ALESS WITH YURIA?!?!?!!? leaf/celice is funny, though. XD

[oldschoolheart]

Ah, I thought you'd say that! I like Edin/Midayle a lot too. Easy to get, sticks to canon well, and at least in my case Lester is always a really good character if Midayle's his disappeared dad.

(You ship Levin/Tiltyu too? Guess we're two among hordes of Levin/Sylvia and Levin/Fury fans, huh.)

[lolgaypuppies]

YES! <33333333 and edain was sooooo funny when she gave Gandolf a smackdown. XD

(yep. T_T I got it my first time cause Sylvia ended up with Alec and I already knew I wanted Fury/Noish, and when Levin cried while talking to Tinny it made ME cry T_T)