From Far Away Volume 1

From Far Away Volume 1


By: Kyoko Hikawa
Reviewed by: gothiclolitamaiden, 15
Rating: Didn't like it


"On her way home from school, one day, Noriko is unexpectedly plunged into a strange and extraordinary famtasy world. her troubles compound exponentially when she is rescued and befriended by a handsome young man by the name of Izark. He may be brave and courageous, but inside Izark lurks the darkest evil imaginable. And according to an ancient prophecy, Noriko possesses the power to unleash that evil...."

Starting to sound familiar? Normal schoolgirl, fantasy world, handsome man who saves her, ancient prophecy. It sounds like Fushigi Yugi, for those of you who don't know. And in case you don't know, I don't like Fushigi Yugi all too much. After reading the summary,I don't know why I picked this one up, I was being optimistic I suppose.
The art of From Far Away is a cross between that of Osamu Tezuka and that of Naoko Takeuchi. At best, Noriko and Izark look OK, but all secondary characters look really strange. I realize that this is from the early 90s, but the quality of the art is pretty bad by any standard. Tezuka-sama and Takeuchi-sama made it work, but Kyoko Hikawa doesn't. Character designs are bland, or just plain goofy looking. On a positive note, the art isn't totally devoid of backgrounds.

My major problem was the plot was its lack of originality. The plot is dull and slow throughout. At the end of this volume, the author employs the cheapest trick in a writer's arsenal, the cliff-hanger. It leaves the reader wanting to know what exactly is wrong with Izark, but not enough to go buy the second volume. My guess is that he has some demon/spirit sealed inside of him. Noriko's attempts to learn the language of the fantasy-land is pretty funny, but nothing that had me laughing for long. Another prediction, Noriko and Izark will fall in love. I almost want to pick up the next volumes to see if I'm right.


Recommended to: Those of you who aren't tired of the girl gets sucked into a fantasy world story. Those of you who are out of manga to read.