#yuuki aru mono yori chire

[animehouse-moe]

The Valiant Must Fall Volume 2: Nonstandard

So, finally, we've gotten the second volume of Aida's latest series in English. Not too far off from the experience of the first volume, it improves in some areas, expands on various pieces, but may leave readers dissatisfied or questioning what's going on. Is it worth the read? Personally, I believe so, but I don't know if it's quite for everyone, which is what I'm hoping to explain here.

Also, apologies for the lack of images but I couldn't find any scans for the series online, so I've had to do without.

Okay, so Adashino, Kinsmen, Sessohiki, Meiji Restoration, etc. etc. Yeah, bit of a hefty plate for those that aren't too interested in a more traditional approach to Japanese historical storytelling, and those that don't have much knowledge of Japanese history.

Much like the first volume, I think that Aida does a good enough job in filling in the gaps for those that might not have the necessary knowledge and understand. I say "enough", because I think there's more that could be done in structuring the story to help readers, but that's mostly because of the average English speaking person's understanding of Japanese history and storytelling.

Anyways, lets go back over some of the core aspects to the story. Haruyasu and Shino try to kill her mother and fail, Haruyasu nearly dies due to the Sesshoseki, and Shino's brother leaves the group there. Following that we go on the run as the crew regroups.

And that's really all that happens in this volume. The storytelling is very slow, but then hits explosive moments towards the end of the volumes. You might say that it's a bit formulaic, though we're only on the second volume so it's hard to really be fair in that regard.

Let's talk specifics about this volume though. There's two things that sort of rub me the wrong way, that I think will be even taller hurdles to others: the Sessoseki (for reference, the name literally means "killing stone" and comes from a Japanese myth), and the handling of characters.

The concept of Sesshoseki is undeniably cool. An all powerful sword that consumes its user. It's dangerous, and is treated as such within the story. But it's almost underplayed. The demonic side of it isn't really displayed, and the combat feature doesn't carry the weight that you might expect. I wouldn't say it's terrible, none of this really is, but it's aspects that can very easily turn readers off from the series. Which is why it might be important to note that Aida's art is rather stiff through this second volume as well. Good layouts and paneling, but it can't really create that feeling of movement or flow that the art itself can.

Alright, the handling of characters. The supporting cast can fall flat, frankly speaking. I think some are certainly more interesting than others, but characters can easily become one dimensional or focus solely on delivering a single aspect to the story. I wouldn't say it's incredibly uncommon in more traditional Japanese storytelling to see single-faceted characters like this, especially with how Aida can treat them through this second volume. But for regular audiences this side of the pond, it can be abrasive. A character that seems important one second is gone the next, and that guy with the name that you can't remember actually comes back to be important and interesting. It's not quite hit and miss, but it's very whimsical and flippant with how characters can be approached.

So where does that leave all of this? In between a rock and a hard place?

Yes, but sort of no, but mostly it depends. There's bumps in the road for almost every reader, but overall I think it's a story that has the potential to hold interest, especially as this volume ends in a more interesting fashion, teasing the involvements of Shino's other siblings. The real question isn't so much if you like point A and point B in the story, but rather if you can find interest in the distance between them. The gaps stuffed full of historical information and interactions, the names that are a mile long and the details that seem all too forgettable.

Gunslinger Girl was never a mainstream or wildly popular series, but The Valiant Must Fall surely shrinks that fanbase to even a fraction of its predecessor. I know it sounds like I'm saying a lot of bad stuff about the series, but I really do want potential readers to be cautious with signing on for this series. It's not impossible to get into, but it's also not something you can just jump on and get the gist of.