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Kizuna, all done
Dec. 1st, 2011 11:12 amI finally finished Kizuna, all 11 volumes *pats herself on the back*
The first six or so volumes of this series were amazing. They focused mostly on Ranmaru and Kei with Kei's Yakuza family lurking around. There were murder attempts, kidnappings, crippling injuries and the slow road to recovery, revenge... And it was fantastic because it was about Ran-chan and Kei. Around volume 6 though, it felt like Kazuma Kodaka ran out of ideas...
... And so she pushed Ranmaru and Kei into the background and focused on Masa and Kai. As you know, I'm not a fan of an age-difference!kink or a daddy!kink. And in this case, it was pretty extreme. Masa was there when Kai was born, he basically played the part of Kai's father/big brother/guardian. Also, Kai was a brat, awful, annoying, childish, very unlikable brat. I didn't get this pairing at all. And they became the focus of the rest of the series.
... And then two other pairings were introduced, the assassins JB and Tashiro plus Tachibana from a rival Yakuza gang and his lover. I so did not care about either couple. Unfortunately, especially JB and Tashiro got a lot of space, a half of a volume twice. Why?
... And the plots moved away from murder and mayhem and towards mundane, everyday problems. How do I tell my father/grandfather/friends that I'm gay? What do I do after I'm finished with school? I have a responsibility to take care of my grandfather. Etc. and so on. It didn't really fit this series. In Kazuma Kodaka's other series, Kiss Me, Teacher (or Bad Teacher's Equation in the English edition), it was a part of the package. In Kizuna, it made the story slow and tedious.
So, to sum it up: The first half of Kizuna is fantastic, the second half rather boring. Between Kizuna and Kiss Me, Teacher, KMT is definitely better, hands down!
The first six or so volumes of this series were amazing. They focused mostly on Ranmaru and Kei with Kei's Yakuza family lurking around. There were murder attempts, kidnappings, crippling injuries and the slow road to recovery, revenge... And it was fantastic because it was about Ran-chan and Kei. Around volume 6 though, it felt like Kazuma Kodaka ran out of ideas...
... And so she pushed Ranmaru and Kei into the background and focused on Masa and Kai. As you know, I'm not a fan of an age-difference!kink or a daddy!kink. And in this case, it was pretty extreme. Masa was there when Kai was born, he basically played the part of Kai's father/big brother/guardian. Also, Kai was a brat, awful, annoying, childish, very unlikable brat. I didn't get this pairing at all. And they became the focus of the rest of the series.
... And then two other pairings were introduced, the assassins JB and Tashiro plus Tachibana from a rival Yakuza gang and his lover. I so did not care about either couple. Unfortunately, especially JB and Tashiro got a lot of space, a half of a volume twice. Why?
... And the plots moved away from murder and mayhem and towards mundane, everyday problems. How do I tell my father/grandfather/friends that I'm gay? What do I do after I'm finished with school? I have a responsibility to take care of my grandfather. Etc. and so on. It didn't really fit this series. In Kazuma Kodaka's other series, Kiss Me, Teacher (or Bad Teacher's Equation in the English edition), it was a part of the package. In Kizuna, it made the story slow and tedious.
So, to sum it up: The first half of Kizuna is fantastic, the second half rather boring. Between Kizuna and Kiss Me, Teacher, KMT is definitely better, hands down!
