Maou (2008)

This has to be one of the best series I have ever seen.  The story was just so absorbing and suspenseful.  The central characters were all interesting and magnetic.  A wonderfully delivered plot, plus great performances, plus a smorgasbord of themes, made this an intensely gripping and emotional story. 

The title is literally translated as “devil king”.  That’s because the central character is a lawyer who’s being dubbed as “angelic” for his reputation for clearing accused people who were really innocent of their purported crime.  In truth, though, this lawyer is very carefully manipulating his clients and his entire career in order to stage a vengeance that took him eleven years to plan and execute.  When he was seventeen years old, Manaka Tomoo’s brother was accidentally stabbed by a classmate named Serizawa.  

It all began there.  Slowly but surely with each episode all the events that led up to Manaka’s bitter search for vengeance unfolds.  Death comes one by one to people who were related to the case.  Serizawa, who now has become a police detective, tries to unravel the mysteries surrounding the deaths caused by a mysterious figure called Amano Makoto.  Eventually Serizawa finds out the truth about the deaths that seem to be hounding his friends and family and their connection to the painful past that he has been trying to overcome since the unfortunate incident eleven years ago.  Unfortunately, the tides cannot be turned anymore.  Manaka and Serizawa must confront each other and face the consequences of their actions, and the series comes to an appropriately tragic conclusion.

The series dealt with some very serious themes, including guilt and atonement, closeness to one’s family, loyalty to one’s friends, betrayal, justice, sacrifice, and the redemptive power of forgiveness.  It also had a supernatural element, represented as a psychic ability possessed by Manaka’s love interest.  That particular aspect of the story gave the entire series even more depth because although Manaka finds love and the hope of happiness, he ultimately sees himself unworthy of anything good – love, forgiveness, or joy.  I was truly enthralled by the story, its twists and turns, and the unexpected ways Manaka delivered his vengeance.  He was so dead set on it that he gave up his entire life for the fulfilment of his crusade.  The pacing was excellent, and the characters were all flawlessly portrayed.  I highly recommend this series to all who are looking for something of a detective thriller/mystery, because you will definitely get much more than you expect.  Maou has quickly become one of my most favourite series of all time.  

More information on Maou.

Angelology - Danielle Trussoni

Sister Evangeline was just a girl when her care was entrusted to the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration.  Now at twenty-three, she discovers a 1943 correspondence between the convent’s late mother superior and the famous philanthropist Abigail Rockefeller that plunges her into a secret history stretching back a millennium: an ancient conflict between the Society of Angelologists and the monstrously beautiful descendants of angels and humans, the Nephilim.  Blending biblical lore, the Miltonic fall of the Rebel Angels, the apocryphal book of Enoch, and the myth of Orpheus, Angelology is a Luminous, riveting tale of ordinary people caught up in a battle that will determine the fate of the world. (Back cover synopsis)

I read this book about a month ago.  So a researcher named Verlaine wants to get into the library of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, which is famed for its collection of everything related to angels.  Why?  Because he works for Percival Grigori, a Nephilim who is dying and desperately looking for information leading to a cure for the mysterious disease plaguing him and others of his kind.   Verlaine then meets the lovely Sister Evangeline, and the two begin a search into some pertinent letters of a strange nature related to a certain “discovery” made in 1943.  Thus begins the sometimes adventuresome, sometimes mysterious, a little bit thrilling, and quite intriguing tale of Evangeline’s family history, their relationship with the angelologists, and the war that has been waged against the Nephilim since the time of Noah’s Ark. 

I quite liked this book – there were plenty of well-developed allusions to the Bible, mythologies, world history, and at the same time it gave the possibility of the presence of angels some credence however fantastical.  Very interesting, I thought.  The imagery was well-done; I could quite easily imagine for myself what these Nephilim looked like, their power, their mystique, and so on.   The novel was nicely paced, too, in my opinion.  It’s not unlike reading The Da Vinci Code, that kind of feeling.  Not really the type that gets you hanging at the edge of your seat, no, but enough to intrigue you and hold you and keep you reading.  The thing is, once it was revealed that Evangeline’s grandmother had an affair with Grigori, well it all got predictable from there.  Another thing, the Watchers (fallen angels held prisoner in some cave somewhere in Europe) was a frustration for me.  They were just left there, like abandoned puppies.  I kind of wished the author gave that particular aspect of the story some more development.  One good thing, though, was the ending.  It was kind of hanging but in a good way.  I felt like I could be free to imagine my own conclusion; quite nicely executed, and I’m glad it wasn’t given a candy-coated fairy-tale happy ending.  That would have been really corny.  I wouldn’t call this book a favourite though it was a pretty good read; but if you’re interested in something with an element of angelic fantasy, mystery, detective thrill, history, and mythology, this story might prove worthwhile.

Visit the author's website.

Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de (謎解きはディナーのあとで 2011)

I’ve always enjoyed a good mystery and the Japanese literary world is rich with them.  This series was based on a popular manga of the same name and starred Sakurai Sho and Kitagawa Keiko. I felt like watching something light and witty so I decided to give this series a try.  It aired in 2011 and ran for ten episodes.

The premise gives you a young heiress (Hosho Reiko) who lives a double life, moonlighting as a police investigator, and her astute and opinionated butler (Kageyama).  Together they try to solve the murders that the young lady encounters in her job as an investigator.  It just so happens that in his functions serving, protecting, and assisting his mistress, Kageyama doesn’t hesitate to insult her and mock her naiveté and her troubles in unlocking the riddles presented by the murders.  He ends up being the one who unravels everything and solves the cases.  And while Reiko can hardly stand the mockery (she keeps threatening to fire him), she recognizes and appreciates Kageyama’s help and dependability in almost every aspect of her life. More comic situations arise due to the apparent randomness of Reiko’s chief detective (Kazamatsuri) who also happens to be the nouveau riche heir to an automobile company. 

What I appreciated best were the murder mysteries and riddles – they were really presented so that you won’t find the answers so simple to decipher.  And in the grand tradition of Sherlock Holmes, Kageyama always seems to make the revelations painfully easy and obvious.  Solving riddles comes after dinner, though.  Too bad they didn’t delve more into the characters of Reiko and Kageyama.  I would have liked it if there was at least one episode that enabled the audience to get a more involved view of the main characters even if another riddle had to take the back seat for a while.  Reiko, Kageyama, Kazamatsuri and all the other regular personages came out as quite flat and stereotypical.  Thus, the series ended with not much in terms of character development.  Other than that, the pace was good, the comedy wasn’t too corny, and I generally felt eager to see the next episode.  Not bad at all. 

Psychic Detective Yakumo （心霊探偵八雲）

I just finished watching this anime series.  心霊探偵八雲 (Shinrei Tantei Yakumo) was released in 2010, and was based on a novel by Manabu Kaminaga.  They also adapted the same story into a manga (Japanese comic book series), a live action drama series, and a stage play, I think. 

The story revolves around Yakumo, whose left eye is a demonic red colour and with which he is able to see the spirits of the dead. Because of this “affliction” he chooses to keep to himself and tries to isolate himself by being quite abrasive and anti-social.  Things begin to change when he meets Haruka, a girl who heard of his rumoured psychic abilities, and came to consult with him regarding the possession of her friend by the spirits of some dead.  Haruka is the first person Yakumo met who thinks his red eye is beautiful and who doesn’t behave as if he’s some kind of freak.  They solve her case, and from then on the connection is made.  As the series progresses, we meet the other characters whose lives are intertwined with Yakumo’s.  As more and more strange cases are thrown their way, they begin to discover that the master manipulator and perpetrator of these crimes is actually someone who is targeting none other than Yakumo himself. We get to know more and more about Yakumo as his mysterious past is slowly unveiled and he begins to change into a much kinder person who is more accepting of himself and of others.

The pace of the series is good enough, and the storyline holds enough mystery that carries you well to the last episode – there is never too much information revealed to make it predictable at any point during the series.  I also liked the soundtrack; I found it fitting with the mood and tone of the story.  Character development is where my peeve lies, especially with regard to the villain.  The villain’s persona went largely ignored and I was left with too many unanswered questions.  How did he get to be the way he is?  What were his motivations?  Personally, I really like it when a story is as much about the villain as it is about the hero; or when the lines are really blurred between these roles.  That’s not the only problem here either.  All the other characters, except Yakumo, are pretty much flat and stereotyped.  But then, I suppose the story is supposed to be all about Yakumo anyway, so.  I’d say this anime is pretty entertaining and interesting.  It wasn’t boring, but it wouldn’t be in my top ten.  Give it a try, maybe it’d be more to your taste than mine.  Have fun! 

A Great and Terrible Beauty - Libba Bray

I found this book at a used-book store, which is kind of regrettable in a way.  That’s because at that time, I wasn’t aware that it was the first of a trilogy of books, and the other two of the series were nowhere to be seen then.  If I knew it then, I would not have bought this book – because it’s excruciating to think that I might not be able to find the other two anytime soon!  This was such a good read, and the ending, though it did provide enough resolution, left me sorely hanging and hoping against hope that I might find the other two in the series just as cheaply someday.  Searching for them at used-book stores would be similar to the proverbial needle in a haystack.

(You must understand: new books here in my country do not come cheap, and only the very rich have the luxury to put in special orders and such.  Having books readily available to you at any time is as much a dream for a lot of people as is, let’s say, winning the lottery.)

The story is set in Victorian times and centers on Gemma Doyle, a 16-year-old English girl who was born and raised in India.  Her mother refuses to let her go to London to have a “season” but doesn’t give any good reason for her refusal either.  Now Gemma, being too headstrong and stubborn for a Victorian girl, argues openly with her mother and runs away from her and into an Indian marketplace.  As she roams around lost, a vision comes to her – she sees her mother’s suicide – a choice to take her own life rather than end up a victim to a monstrous, dark and malevolent creature.  As Gemma recovers from her vision, she finds that it was not just a dream.  Her mother’s death marks the beginning of her “adventures” as she finally is sent to a finishing school in England, makes new friends and enemies, begins to discover the range of hidden ability she possesses, and uncovers more and more of the horrible truths that her mother tried so hard to hide from her.

I loved the character development the most.  Each of the characters’ personalities was revealed subtly, gradually, and they were all portrayed in such a way that no one was a stereotype, or a flat character.  And you felt that such people could have really existed in such a time and place, and still do exist even now.  The characters were the zeitgeist of their era, facing the conflicts that the times presented, and their interactions with each other and with their environment, their struggles with the demands and “norms” of the society that they lived in, molded them and made them distinct, recognizable, and believable.  Gemma, is of course, central to the story.  She is depicted as a girl who rejects the stifling standards set for girls during those times when girls are meant to be groomed to be wives to the wealthiest husband they could manage to catch.  She even entertains an attraction to the mysterious Indian boy who has an important connection to the inexplicable things that are happening around her – unthinkable in Victorian England!

The novel plays on themes of friendship, bullying, feminism, coming-of-age, the first stirrings of sexual awareness, and the repressive and elitist standards of society in general.  These universal themes give the whole story the feeling of timelessness, no matter that it may be set in a time and place long gone. 

The pacing of the novel was also well-rendered – nothing had been revealed too quickly or too slowly. It will carry you on a sustained eagerness to know what happens next until the very last page.  I also very much appreciated the author’s ability to create good imagery.  You could almost see the somber faces of the girls in the annual class pictures, could almost hear the susurration of corset and crinoline, could almost smell the candle smoke.  Add to that a heavy dose of magic, murder mysteries, and alternate realms, and you have a winner of a book.

I highly recommend this book to everyone but most especially to teen-age girls.  They should be reading such rich and relevant material and not the current trend of popular literature that could only be best described as vapid and shallow.  This book is well-worth reading, and I can only hope I can manage to find the two others in the series, “Rebel Angels” and “The Sweet Far Thing.”  Check it out: http://www.randomhouse.com/teens/gemmadoyle/

The Prestige - Christopher Priest

I finished the book "The Prestige" by Christopher Priest, and it is simply spectacular!  I'm so terribly fortunate to have been given the chance to read so many great books, and this is definitely one of those.  I've seen the movie and I loved it (awesome director [Christopher Nolan] and fabulous cast [Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Michael Caine] ), but the novel just gives you an entirely different perspective since YOU get to create the world and the people in your mind.  The revelations simply become all the more astonishing.

The novel transports you to the 19th century, where two talented magicians are locked in a bitter rivalry that consumes both their lives, spanning even to the generations that follow them.  Both equally obsessed with revenge and with outdoing the other, they attack and retaliate all through each other's every success and failure in search of a means to bring about his rival's downfall.  As they guard their magician's secrets jealously, they begin to weary of the endless enmity and resentment.  Yet still they inadvertently and inevitably bring disaster and tragedy on each other, even as they seek to find reconciliation and an end to the bitter feud. 

The story is told in memoirs and journals, in confessions and revelations, all of which culminate in a final horrifying discovery - the terrible outcome of their contest.  The entire book, from start to finish, is an incredible balancing act - full of mystery and illusion - a perfected magical performance all on its own.  Even the look of the book is strange and captivating.  I also love the typeset of the text - it really gave the whole story a period ambiance. The pace is gradual at first, then builds up until you can't let go of the book without knowing what happens next anymore.  Central to the novel is the slow but sure revelation of the true characters of the two magicians. Who is the hero; who is the villain?  One can't say.  Who won in the end?  I don't think anyone did.  They both gained and lost just as much. Who was the better magician?  Impossible to tell.  They both did to perfection what only the great magicians could do - they kept their secrets well.

This is an absolutely brilliant book - it won the World Fantasy Award even though it is only toward the end that one can find elements of science fiction in it.  It is so unlike anything I've ever read before.  Christopher Priest must be a real magician or a true genius.  Otherwise he must be a truly gifted madman to have produced such work as this.  I definitely recommend it to all readers who enjoy deep, thought-provoking, mind-boggling material - and to most everyone else who loves to read good stuff.