 omasuoniwabanshi 2005-07-04 . chapter 1Hmm, where to begin? You captured the angst and darkness of the OAV version of Rurouni Kenshin very well. The tone and atmosphere you created were powerful and dramatic. The thought of Saitoh's sister zooming around Japan as a sort of avenging angel was unexpected, but considering Saitoh's personality type, it was believable.
The spelling errors were a bit off-putting (your previous reviewer pointed them out so I won't belabor the point) but the flashback method you used was masterful and effective.
I enjoyed this a bunch! Nice use of angst! |
 White Rabbit Tale 2005-07-04 . chapter 1I'm surprised, but I enjoyed this fic a lot! The style of telling basically her whole life works pretty well for me. Half-way in thoughts and half-way in flashbacks with the framework of her last battle. Very well done. I did notice a LOT of spelling errors, however.
"fallowing" is actually "following."
And you used the wrong kind of "aloud" in your fic. The kind you used "aloud" means "out loud," whereas you should have used "allowed" as in "she wasn't allowed to carry a sword." permitted. etc.
I actually think that the way you weaved Tanokai into the storyline with her knowing all the characters...actually very well done. Usually it's a bit of a stretch, but I liked the way you did it, the way she always had favors to be repaid and soon those favors became excuses to kill.
One thing, though. While I loved the drama between her and Saitou, I thought that Saitou got a little preachy near the end and sounded almost like Kenshin. Ehh...I'm into the badass Saitou so it didn't really work for me. I think to avoid getting preachy with him, you could have him relate the situation to the Shinsengumi slogan "aku zoku zan" because that IS what it was about. And THAT is what Saitou is loyal to.
Another thing...just a general tip...the names you came up with don't sound like very convincing Japanese names. "Tanokai" sounds like you just stuck two parts of two different words together. "Kint" sounds like a pastery. Do a little bit of research on Japanese entymology--you'll find that there are a LOT of patterns in Japanese names. "ko" is a traditional ending to a girls name, and boys are often named after their order of birth. Like "Ichiro" meaning "first born" or "Rokuro" as a character of mine is named, which means "ninth son." Those names were very common, especially in feudal times and the Meiji Era.
Another thing that disettled me was your constant referance to Soujiro. He wasn't actually well-known at all until Shishio died. I mean, he was too young to be involved in the war, and he really was just a beggar child, so his speed isn't legendary or anything. You can come up with something a bit more creative and eloquent to tell how fast Tano is. An analogy or simile or sorts.
Usually I don't dig the whole "female fighter" angle...well, that sounds sexist. When a woman is in the role of "all-powerful sword master," I don't find it believable, but it didn't bother me TOO much how you did it because you focused on more character-centric parts of the story and I applaud that. So all in all, good job, and I hope anything I've said has helped in any way. |