Fangirl ranting about Gentleman's Alliance +

[amatyultare]

So in a moment of weakness, I bought volumes 1-6 of Gentleman's Alliance + (newest series from Arina Tanemura, manga-ka of Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne and Full Moon o Sagashite). After reading it, I was really hoping to talk spoilers with lacontessa11. But she hasn't read all of it yet. Not her fault at all; she's got tons of stuff to read and she just finished the bar. But argh, I wanna talk about it with someone! Has anyone read it?

General, non-spoiler-y comments (which by volume 6 is EXTREMELY difficult, btw):

So pretty! Tanemura-sensei's one weakness is character designs, but her artwork is so lovely it almost doesn't matter. I had been rereading Wallflower before starting Gentleman's Alliance +--that manga-ka also has pretty artwork, but she almost never draws detailed backgrounds. In contrast, every page of Tanemura-sensei's manga is drawn and screentone-ed from cover to cover. And's it's all GORGEOUS. It's the visual equivalent of drowning in roses.

Tanemura-sensei notes somewhere in her comments in volume 5 or 6 that this is the first series that she hasn't planned all the way to the conclusion; she's not totally sure how it's going to end. And you can really tell--not that the plot is loose, but you as the reader don't have as much of a sense of who the heroine will 'inevitably' end up with, for example. This causes a lot of dramatic tension. It's a good trend.

There is a LOT I could say about Maora, most of it spoiler-y. Maora is such a great character. One note: she has a pet that she CALLS a mini-sheep. Apparently Tanemura-sensei has never seen a sheep in her life, because that thing is NOT a sheep. It looks vaguely like a fuzzy baby octopus sitting on top of a tiny ottoman. I kid you not.

In response to a question about animating it, Tanemura-sensei says there are no current plans, but who knows? And adds that she'd kind of like to see it dramatized. And now I am totally in love with the idea of a live-action TV version of Gentleman's Alliance +. TOTALLY IN LOVE. JAPANESE TV PRODUCERS, PLEASE PICK UP THIS PROJECT.

And a final random now: Tanemura-sensei has a blog now! She mainly seems to post little drawings and photos of her cats.

Comments

[lacontessa11.livejournal.com]

I just started volume 5 today. Sigh, artwork. I've been reading mostly School Rumble recently, which is not BAD . . . but it's certainly not Tanemura-sensei's shoujo style. I'm already loving how much she makes the characters' emotions very clear without using many words (like Haine fainting? That whole scene is awesome). I had seen the link to her blog, and I was going to check it out when I got home--thanks for posting it :)

[amatyultare.livejournal.com]

Arian Tanemura-sensei is just plain amazing as an artist. And yeah, isn't her blog cute? Her little self-portraits are adorable.

[bonbon868.livejournal.com]

I've read it! I've read it! The last chapter is out in Japan and out on the internet. I also own volumes 1-6 because my library wasn't carrying it.

I agree that it's GOREGOUS artwork, but I often get confused between Haine and her best friend. They look identical to me!

Also, the twist in volume 3 (I think that was the volume) about the Emperor floored me. I didn't expect it at all!

[amatyultare.livejournal.com]

There are twists all over the place; that's why it's PERFECT for a potential J-Drama. And I agree about Haine vs. Ushio--I finally twigged to the hair style difference, which helped.

How many chapters are there altogether?