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REVIEW: Atelier Marie and Elie –Zalburg Alchemist– GN 1-2




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Kyogissun



Joined: 17 Aug 2007
Posts: 676
PostPosted: Mon Dec 08, 2008 5:55 am Reply with quote
I can't say much for the earlier series but...

The Mana Khemia series has been a blast so far. Simplistic turn based RPG but the inclusion of a fast pacing to the actual combat has made it fairly enjoyable for a typical JRPG.

...I know, completely off topic, but still, any excuse to discuss something related to Mana Khemia, being it's a related series, I take. Very Happy
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Taiyz



Joined: 16 Aug 2005
Posts: 202
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Mon Dec 08, 2008 6:59 am Reply with quote
This review doesn't seem to be far off the mark. I've been into the series for a bit and it sounds like a very amusing side-quest, so to speak. The review has only convinced me that I now need to check the books out.

However I can also see why you'd be tired of it so readily, as it is pretty by-the-book fantasy; the slime-like Puni creatures, for example.

And yeah, Kyogissun, I absolutely love how fast the series' battles are. There's just no other way of describing how they've nailed down the system.
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Teriyaki Terrier



Joined: 26 Mar 2008
Posts: 5689
PostPosted: Mon Dec 08, 2008 1:32 pm Reply with quote
Initally, based off the cover, I thought this might be a good read. However, with Casey's well descripted review, I might read this next time I am in a bookstore. But if the quality is anything like that Evagellion doujin (the licensed one that is set in a diffrent world, where fighting robots is secondary), I think I might pass.

Excellent review though Casey, I enjoyed how you descriped the first and second volumes.
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belvadeer





PostPosted: Tue Dec 09, 2008 1:44 pm Reply with quote
Unfortunately, most of the Atelier series games weren't released here. We only got Iris, which is the one series we're all familiar with. However, lots of references to Marie, Elie, etc. are found in other games.

Last edited by belvadeer on Wed Oct 31, 2012 2:53 pm; edited 1 time in total
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tebalith



Joined: 17 Oct 2004
Posts: 134
PostPosted: Tue Dec 09, 2008 5:37 pm Reply with quote
I disagree with this review. It assumes too much about how people unfamiliar with the game series will experience the manga.
I read the manga five years ago wgen I didn't even KNOW there was an Atelier series. I loved it. It's still one of my favourite short manga series.

You just have to accept that it is episodic, light-hearted slice-of-life. It may not be your cup of tea, but I enjoyed it immensely, because of its likeable characters and great sense of humour. The artwork contributes a lot to that... some facial expressions are fantastic... but it is by no means the only cool thing about this manga.

Comparing it to Lodoss War, The Grey Witch... I like Marie and Elie more.
I think the Lodoss stories are overrated, and even though the Gray Witch was still one of the most enjoyable versions, I am not so keen on having some epic, world-shattering, dangerous heroic quest for a plot for every dang fantasy manga. Marie and Elie felt so much fresher.
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Althalus



Joined: 20 Mar 2004
Posts: 47
Location: NRW / Germany
PostPosted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 3:06 am Reply with quote
tebalith said it. I also liked that manga a lot. Enough to have bought it in several language editions, actually. That's primarily because I like Ochi's art style very much, and his great visual sense for comedy, but the stories are in no way bad or uninteresting. It's a slice-of-life comedy set in the Atelier fantasy world. There are some fights, but it's not meant as an action-oriented fantasy with humor like, say, Monster Collection, or something serious like Lodoss War. But if a reader is looking for a bit more of a continuous story: volumes 3-5 have a slightly more coherent set of stories revolving around that lady in the tower at the end of vol.2, Strafe (the striped wolf guy), Kyrie and the Black Knight. I just hope TP will get around to publish vol.5 in english, though.


~Althalus
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