I don't like things that are dark for the sake of being. Sad and depressing I can take, but when a story's being miserable for the sake of being miserable I tend to lose interest. And that's why I was pleasantly surprised to find myself liking this story. It's grim, and dark, and all the other things that the page and the other reviews will call it. But at it's core is hope—hope that things will get better.
As far as the writing goes, it isn't brilliant, but it doesn't need to be. It's solid, and that's all it has to be. What really carries the story is the concept—sailors as Child Soldiers—and the characters. Dark depressed Himei, Stepford Smiler Aki, cynical Shin, and on the villianous side, snarky, angry Cobalt and the Dangerously Genre Savvy Argon. The author brings these characters to life, and that is where the story shines—not in being a deconstruction or anything of the sort, but in its ability to make you care about these girls—and their enemies—and what they're going through.
There is rape in the story. There is violence and torture. But it isn't overdone, and it isn't glamourised. At the end of the day Sailor Nothing is exactly what it purports to be: a dark take on the sailor concept, with a lot of struggle along with the way, but an ultimately happy ending.
Not bad at all
I don't like things that are dark for the sake of being. Sad and depressing I can take, but when a story's being miserable for the sake of being miserable I tend to lose interest. And that's why I was pleasantly surprised to find myself liking this story. It's grim, and dark, and all the other things that the page and the other reviews will call it. But at it's core is hope—hope that things will get better.
As far as the writing goes, it isn't brilliant, but it doesn't need to be. It's solid, and that's all it has to be. What really carries the story is the concept—sailors as Child Soldiers—and the characters. Dark depressed Himei, Stepford Smiler Aki, cynical Shin, and on the villianous side, snarky, angry Cobalt and the Dangerously Genre Savvy Argon. The author brings these characters to life, and that is where the story shines—not in being a deconstruction or anything of the sort, but in its ability to make you care about these girls—and their enemies—and what they're going through.
There is rape in the story. There is violence and torture. But it isn't overdone, and it isn't glamourised. At the end of the day Sailor Nothing is exactly what it purports to be: a dark take on the sailor concept, with a lot of struggle along with the way, but an ultimately happy ending.