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OUR REVIEWERS
SAY:
"Begin Chase" has already achieved
good doujinshi standing in that it paid attention to rule
number 1: there is a tangible story which employs
all of the following: dynamic characters who are understood
while still retaining some ambiguous mystery, an action
sequence which is easily followed yet does not have a
great big neon sign pointing to how it will end, and casual
flirting across the lines-- the best form of romance in
my book.
Illustrating a doujinshi is something one can only do
with a certain combination of natural talent and practiced
skill. Writing one however, is something which requires
work, judgement, and a trashcan full of rewrites. For
a novice doujinshika, Cristal has definitely shown she
can write a doujinshi. The panel work captured all of
the right moments without going over into excess, the
plot was kept simple-- a few random facts provided which
tell us what is going on, without going into the verbal
diarrhea of fanfiction intrigue-- and the characters were
only developed along the lines presented in the immediate
plot. It made for a story that was both easily read and
understood without trivializing it in any way. Kudos to
succeed on her first try!
As far as the artwork goes, Cristal did a very good job
for someone on her first doujinshi. I was impressed with
her attentions to detail. It showed that she had gone
out and seized hold of actual images from her surroundings
to better capture their likeness onto her paper. The line
shading --which she admitted was her first attempt at
-- will improve with a bit of practice (cant wait to see
how the final book looks in comparison to the first!)
and that will have the effect of both lightening and clarifying
her sketchier scenes. May I make the suggestion that Prismacolor
makes a special set of grayscale marker/pens designed
specifically for color shading in the black and white
medium? Having different pens to use for line work and
shading can help to provide more emphasis in the places
you choose.
My only other serious recommendation for next time would
be to soften the emphasis on the canines during the chase
scenes. I confess, I thought it was an original vampire
doujin until I reached the author's comments and found
out it was Gunsmith Cats. Of course, maybe I wouldn't
have thought that if I"d seen Gunsmith Cats... Perhaps
I'll do a bit of research myself before the next book
comes out and watch a few tapes so that I can comment
on the characterizations in comparison to the anime as
well. ^__^
All things considered, I would recommend this as a very
light-spirited and enjoyable read. The main "villain"
has a certain ambiguous sweetness to him, and the heroine
Rally is a very strong-willed and driven character. Combined
with an as yet uncertain fate, and it makes for some easily
read and enjoyed material. I'm looking forward to volume
2.
--reviewed by Awaresa
Now this is something you don't see everyday. A Gunsmith
Cats doujinshi! I'm proud to say that Cristal's
"Begin Chase!" is my very first Gunsmith Cats dj and I
loved every minute of it.
"Begin Chase!" is the first of what artist says will be
a 3-part story focusing on the relationship between Rally
Vincent and Bean Bandit. So not only is this a Gunsmith
Cats doujinshi, but it focuses one of my favorite manga
characters, Bean Bandit! Gotta love that!
The story starts off with Rally Vincent and Minnie May
Hopkins chasing Bean Bandit who happens to have a "client"
in his car. This client also happens to be a bounty that
Rally and Minnie May are trying to capture. Unfortunately
for them, Bean has his own code of ethics when it comes
to doing a job, and he refuses to stop so that Rally can
collect her bounty. So Bean and his customer both get
away.
Later on, Rally is sitting by herself in a cafe when Bean
walks in and joins her. Rally tries to pry the information
out of Bean with little success. What follows is a brief
glimpse into the souls of Rally and Bean. This was very
interesting to me because both characters are usually
very introverted.
At the end of the book, there is the artist's inspiration
behind this doujinshi and there are a few pinups of Rally,
Minnie May and Bean Bandit. I'm very curious about the
last pinup of Rally and Bean. They're dressed in fantasy
garb. Cristal says she would like to do a doujinshi based
on that picture, and if she does, I'm all for reading
it!
All in all, for a first doujinshi, Cristal did a pretty
good job. My only problem with the book is that she didn't
have any contact information so that people could order
more books from her or offer positive feedback on the
story. Oh well. Hopefully she'll read this and see that
she has at least 1 new fan! ^_^
--reviewed by Jason
I had never seen Gunsmith Cats before, so I didn't know
these were characters from an anime or manga.
I thought this was an original story ^0^ It was only
until Cristal's note to the readers at the end, that
I realized. So one thing I can say right away about
Cristal's doujinshi, is that one does not need to know
the background of the story in order to understand and
enjoy her doujinshi ^0^
That said, Begin Chase is about a Rally, young bounty hunter. Opposite
Rally is Bean, a courier helping Rally's bounty (and payment) escape. Add
in a bit of chemistry between bounty hunter and courier and you have Begin
Chase ^.^ So this is a nice action/romance doujinshi with spunky
characters. Unlike the usual yaoi doujinshi (which don't get me wrong -
they are quite enjoyable and I have tons to enjoy) provide something a
little different. In addition to the myriad of facial and body expressions,
Cristal has a good eye for proportion IMOHO and her sylized art is enjoyable.
This is Cristal's first doujinshi ever, and it's cute and entertaining. It
promises action and excitement in the volumes to come and I have to say
that the volume 2 sitting next to me is even better ^0^
--reviewed
by Rence
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BEGIN CHASE
