Manga: Tail of the Moon Review

So from Freshman to Senior year of high school, I was under this impression that I had to, oh, buy manga. Lol, it's really horrible, it's kind of like this progression that people have made, looking at it online rather than purchasing it but I bought the complete Rurouni Kenshin series. I'm not regretting it but $7.95/book and 20+ chapters, that's just...a lot of money, especially for a high school student with no job. Not to mention with online translators, we can have the whole series out while the first issue is just seeing American bookshelves...

Nevertheless, I still bought Shojo Beat for a time before it started getting weird (Also, Vampire Knight was getting like...beast translated compared to the rate the story was going, as was NANA) and was intrigued by this story...



Tsuki no Shippo (translated Tail of the Moon) is a series by Rinko Ueda centered around a wannabe ninja named Usagi. 'Oh God, another ninja story?' you probably say but this isn't a Naruto.

Usagi is pretty much an all around failure at being a ninja or trying to even gain the honor to be called one. Alas, she is a very skilled herbalist (I was left wondering why THIS wasn't pursued as a career instead of something she is entirely horrible at) who lives with her grandfather and, for all purposes, her adopted son, Mamezo. He seems to be fed up with her and sends her to woo local clan leader, Hattori Hanzo, in order to gain her ninja status. Problem is Hanzo isn't quite, oh, interested. Then you get the normal shoujo plot.

However, Ueda does have a lot more depth below the surface of her stories than most shoujo manga. It's not all endless fluff and I do admire that she's not afraid to just kill off a character every now and again. I think some shoujo manga play out like soap operas when it comes to this task: they're pretty much dead but somehow surpassed death and are living on a hidden island somewhere. Not to say this doesn't happen in the story but you'll see what I mean.

SPOILERS

I don't really recall what volume it was but Mamezo apparently is the son of some elite people who mysteriously lose him in the forest...? Questionable at best, I'd say, but the resulting story just pissed me off and I basically refuse to read it. Alas, it was one of those writings that was still impressive because you get an idea how people would react to these situations (SPOILER: The parents have another child and refuse to acknowledge Mamezo because they already had accepted that he was dead...to me, this is utterly tragic and downright selfish in all manners) Again, while too hard to accept, it's still kind of interesting...

GRADE: A- to B+

I loved this story. It made me laugh, it made me angry, and it made me sad. It covered a lot of ranges and still made for a nice ending. It's kind of the mantra I go for in my stories XD

I do have a few issues, NATURALLY. Now, I loved Goemon, he was my favorite. In fact I kind of thought Usagi and him could have had a brief tryst to explore feelings even if nothing came of it but I guess not...I was super against him and Yuri though, I just hate that 'let's pair the two extra people together!' kind of thing like it wasn't even anticipated and I don't even get the idea Goemon liked her that much ^^; (I'd say the ending was him just giving in XP)

Rant aside, did we ever figure out exactly why Goemon broke off the engagement...? Some things with Yukimaru bugged me as well and there was a lot of plots that died off a little too easily at times too.

A definite pro that I think Ueda definitely should be applauded for though is her characters actually APPEARED older at the end of this manga! Like, I mean, not SO old it's like thirty years passed or the only change was they got a haircut after ten years but look the same. They look as if they've aged reasonably and I was super impressed.

Oh yes, the men were hot. Definitely worth a read :)