I mentioned earlier the division of “mythology” and the “political” with the overall storyline, with the former being more fantasy inclined as supposed to the latter which comes off as more sci-fi. Plus, a good handful of Japanese light novels really do tend to favor foreign (and often gratuitous) naming schemes, though if Miko Limjoco intended for that similarity is only my assumption. After reading Book One I would also like to believe that Miko Limjoco intentionally chose names that would, in time, be easy to remember for this very reason (basing this on the scheme used in the Japanese and Filipino influences). I was contemplating that fact midway into the novel but as it stands this is really more of an introductory novel (at least my take on it is as such) so the moments of info-dump is for the most part forgivable. It doesn’t help that almost every shift in narrative focus there are new characters or places being mentioned. Being as culturally diverse as it is, some names (Xiang Yu, Ava Faselheim, Felicia Silverstath) took some time getting used to. In part with its oriental richness of the different themes present in the story are the naming schemes and the names in general. However it is from that element that one of my small (almost trivial) concerns for Kuro came about. Being a Pilipino myself, the prospect of having our native myths being read by non-Pilipinos in this sort of context is beyond wonderful. Kuro in its enirety, according to Miko Limjoco, has inspirations from many Asian mythologies naming a few to be that of Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, and Korean – the latter three already made apparent in Book One.
GODDESS OF THE NIGHT BOOK SUMMARY SERIES
It is also very reminiscent of the character mechanics of the Durarara!! series by Narita Ryogo (interwoven plot-lines, multiple characters in focus). A good point of reference for anime fans (and even Japanese light novel fans) would be the To Aru Majutsu no Index (A Certain Magical Index) series by Kazuma Kamachi, as it shares a similar dichotomy of “worlds” (so far) as well as showing foreign influences in terms of naming, characterization and scenery (though it is mostly naming on Index’s part). It would be good to note from that slew of names just now that the Kuro-verse is vast, and within the first few chapters it is as clear as day that it is so.
Of course, in the talk of beginning journeys, that goes for all the other characters as well, as we also see a good portion of the “political” thread of the story starting to take shape in the character of Drake Riordan and his quest for the truth veiled by Taiyou-Shi and the Diskarma Corporation. Taking what was given from the synopsis, and what the title of Book One implies it is safe to assume that a good bulk of the novel focuses on the major storyline, which I would refer to during the review as the “mythology” thread of Mina, the girl who can manifest sunlight, as she begins her journey in Kuro. This review will be for Book One of Kuro, A Vanished Goddess. With his own spin on writing light novels, he welcomes readers into the land in darkness Kuro. Is it really that hard to transcribe that experience, that of anime and manga, into a book?Īuthor Miko Limjoco wishes to do just that. To watch a story unfold in anime, as supposed to reading one in a novel is in theory something that most would consider more fun to actually do after all. Anime and manga fans are a more casual bunch in that regard I should say.
It may even be pigeon-holed as being only for fans of Japanese media in general.
I attribute it to the specific literary nature of the Japanese – a style that is their own completely common-place to them yet, to the eyes of an outside reader, a relatively new and unfamiliar sight.Īn unfamiliar sight indeed, being shared by what I would assume as, a relatively small niche of fans of Japanese media in general. Granted, I read them not in their intended form, which is that of Japanese text, but it is with the essence of the novel that makes for me the biggest difference. It is not merely the amalgam of fantasy and sci-fi, coupled with romance at times, that stock the Young Adult shelves of today. Personally speaking, I have always considered the light novel as a genre of its own.
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