Monday, November 17, 2008

Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne Volume 2

Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne Volume 2


By: Arina Tanemura
Reviewed by: gothiclolitamaiden, 15
Rating: Really liked it


I have to say that Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne is kind of like a cross between DNAngel, Vampire Princess Miyu and Cardcaptor Sakura. I am immensely fond of all three, but KKJ doesn't quite live up to them. It's light-hearted, like CCS, nowhere near as dark as VPM (though some characters are somewhat similar. That and the whole exorcism thing). And many of the characters and relationships are similar to DNAngel. This series is not enough for an "amazing" rating, but enjoyable nonetheless. Maron Kusakabe is Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne by night. Jeanne is the reincarnation of Jeanne D'Arc (Joan of Arc) and her task is to exorcise demons hiding in paintings, statues etc. Her enemy is Kaito Sinbad, who happens to be her crush, Chiaki by day (little bit typial). The key to pulling off a magical girl series is to keep a balance between action/fighting scenes and romance/drama scenes. Too much of either and you'll throw it off. Like one of Tanemura's other works (Full Moon O Sagashite) KKJ focuses mainly on relationships between characters. It worked in FM, because FM only contained a little bit of fantasy, but in KKJ, the fantasy should perhaps be playing a slightly larger role in the story. Kaito Jeanne (like Dark of DNAngel) is a thief for crying out loud! I didn't read the first volume, (couldn't find it) but I suspect that there was more action in it. Arina Tanemura's art is as good as ever. The plot isn't a typical love triangle, thank goodness. It doesn't rely on a cute little magical beast for comedy either. I look forward to further character and relationship development in future volumes and perhaps a little more action.

By the way, thanks Connie for posting about that Gothic and Lolita book.


Recommended to: Fans of the magical girl and shojo genres. Like the E rating says, its suitable for all ages.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Leaving a comment on my own review, I usually don't do this....Anyhoo, KKJ is rated T 13+ after about volume 4, for good reason. I thought I'd warn y'all not to let your little siblings read this one quite yet.