"Children of the Sea" is a continuing manga series by author/artist Daisuke Igarashi. The story follows the life of Ruka, a young Japanese girl who feels drawn to the sea, and gets roped into a complicated friendship with two brothers, Sori and Umi. Sori and Umi are possibly human, possibly supernatural creatures, who were raised in the ocean by dugongs -sea dwelling creatures that resemble manatees. (Except a little smaller.) When Ruka was a small girl, she was taken to the aquarium by her father - and swears she saw a sparkling, beautiful ghost in the tank there. While swimming with Sori and Umi (who don't need oxygen tanks!,)in the ocean, Ruka sees other creatures
that resemble the ghost she saw in the aquarium. From this point, her love and relationship with the sea grows. I found this "book" to be incredibly interesting, and the artwork was incredible. I would certainly recommend this book to teenagers - it's engrossing, and the story is very relatable. I found myself, even as an adult, totally wrapped up in Ruka's fate, and totally enamoured with the "sea" lifestyle that Sori and Umi live together. There a few issues that the book might have - since its translated from Japanese, some of the dialogue is a little hard to follow, and slightly inconsistent. Not all of the translations are accurate or make sense, but since the book is primarily illustration based, you can get by without understanding ALL of the words. Also, since the book is translated from Japanese, its backwards! Well, at least according to us Americans. You begin the story at the back cover, and finish at the front cover, and read from right to left. This took a little getting used to, but finding new ways to read and enjoy stories is always something that's beneficial, and good for the mind.
"Children of the Sea" is a continuing manga series by author/artist Daisuke Igarashi. The story follows the life of Ruka, a young Japanese girl who feels drawn to the sea, and gets roped into a complicated friendship with two brothers, Sori and Umi. Sori and Umi are possibly human, possibly supernatural creatures, who were raised in the ocean by dugongs -sea dwelling creatures that resemble manatees. (Except a little smaller.) When Ruka was a small girl, she was taken to the aquarium by her father - and swears she saw a sparkling, beautiful ghost in the tank there. While swimming with Sori and Umi (who don't need oxygen tanks!,)in the ocean, Ruka sees other creatures
that resemble the ghost she saw in the aquarium. From this point, her love and relationship with the sea grows. I found this "book" to be incredibly interesting, and the artwork was incredible. I would certainly recommend this book to teenagers - it's engrossing, and the story is very relatable. I found myself, even as an adult, totally wrapped up in Ruka's fate, and totally enamoured with the "sea" lifestyle that Sori and Umi live together. There a few issues that the book might have - since its translated from Japanese, some of the dialogue is a little hard to follow, and slightly inconsistent. Not all of the translations are accurate or make sense, but since the book is primarily illustration based, you can get by without understanding ALL of the words. Also, since the book is translated from Japanese, its backwards! Well, at least according to us Americans. You begin the story at the back cover, and finish at the front cover, and read from right to left. This took a little getting used to, but finding new ways to read and enjoy stories is always something that's beneficial, and good for the mind.
3 comments:
I can relate to the different read, the book I decided on was the same way started from back to front and from right to left. Initially, I though weird, but then I got a sort of epiphany. I think this kind of book teachers our American young adult readers something in itself. “Think outside the box.” Of course, I would not expect a teenage reader to think this, but I think it is a subtle lessons. In just reading the book, readers are going against the norm. Most importantly, they are being opened minded because they are reading some that is physically different. Also, I think the partial translation coincide with this objective, the reader is experiencing something different; a different language. As a result, the reader is being pushed to make analysis of his/her own away from the text, but by aid of pictures. I think the structure is different, but great for young adult readers.
I can relate to the different read, the book I decided on was the same way started from back to front and from right to left. Initially, I though weird, but then I got a sort of epiphany. I think this kind of book teachers our American young adult readers something in itself. “Think outside the box.” Of course, I would not expect a teenage reader to think this, but I think it is a subtle lessons. In just reading the book, readers are going against the norm. Most importantly, they are being opened minded because they are reading some that is physically different. Also, I think the partial translation coincide with this objective, the reader is experiencing something different; a different language. As a result, the reader is being pushed to make analysis of his/her own away from the text, but by aid of pictures. I think the structure is different, but great for young adult readers.
I agree, Schenieka! I also thought it was a positive thing, especially for young readers.
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