Hiromu Arakawa (author: 荒川弘) is a Japanese manga artist, best known for Fullmetal Alchemist (鋼の錬金術師 Hagane no renkinjutsushi). Her real name is Hiromi Arakawa (荒川弘美).
Arakawa was born and raised on a dairy farm in Hokkaidō. She thought of being a manga artist since she was little. After graduating high school, she took oil painting classes while working on her family's farm. During that time, she also created dōjinshi manga with her friends and drew yonkoma for a magazine. After eight years she moved to Tōkyō and started out as assistant writer for Hiroyuki Etō. Her debut as manga artist is in 1999 with STRAY DOG. In 2001 she started working on her famous and award winning series Fullmetal Alchemist, that soon gets a successful anime adaptation. Other works include Silver Spoon (銀の匙 Silver Spoon, Gin no saji Silver Spoon).
All the feels are happening. Arslan will be turning 15 soon. He is an imperfect ruler with a big heart. You can’t help but want to carry the burden of leadership for him. The third-rate painter is a brilliant military tactician, always 3 steps ahead. How does he do it? Narsus is one of my favorite character ever. I am interested in getting more of the history of the Persian war after reading this to help me understand the military dynamics. I especially love the use of Azrael the hawk in this one.
Volume 7 of the Arslan saga has a very tight and fast-moving plot - once again, (and just like in the two volumes before that) some things are handled differently from the anime. I liked this element of surprise. It's just a pity that there wasn't time to focus on the characters, except maybe Arslan in the last couple of pages. Also, the drawing was quite sloppy at times, what was that about? I am still enjoying the series, hopefully the next volume is going to be an improvement.
Ce tome se concentre sur la gestion du conflit avec Sindôra, qui tente de profiter de la confusion pour assiéger la forteresse de Peshawar. Mais, bien entendu Arslân et sa troupe ont déjà prévu comment retourner la situation en leur faveur. Une fois de plus, Narsus démontre son habilité à déjouer toute une armée avec quelques ruses bien pensée, c’est tout aussi plaisant qu’hilarant à lire. Daryûn a de nouveau l’occasion de prouver son habilité au combat en duel – toujours à cheval.
J’avais mentionné, dans ma chronique du premier tome il me semble, que j’étais désappointée par le fait que tous les personnages soient blancs alors que l’histoire se déroule dans un équivalent de la Perse. Si quelques personnages apparaissaient être de couleur dans les tomes précédents, il s’agissait souvent d’esclaves ou de personnages anecdotiques. Ici on découvre que tout le peuple de Sindôra est racisé et il était bien temps que des personnages non Blancs d’ampleur fassent leur apparition !
Arslân est toujours hanté par les révélations à demi-mots de Baqhman, qui sous-entendent qu’il ne serait pas de lignée royale. Le Marzbâhn refusent toujours d’en dire plus, se murant dans son silence et laissant toutes les suppositions courir. En attendant que l’homme accepte de révéler ses secrets, Arslân continue à écouter attentivement ses conseillers afin de s’appuyer sur leurs connaissances pour prendre la meilleure décision. Narsus en profite pour continuer son enseignement auprès d’Arslân sur ce qui fait un bon monarque et nul doute que ses leçons mettront en perspective la suite.
Dans ce tome, on découvre aussi un aspect des traditions du royaume de Parse, notamment pour la nouvelle année et cela permet de montrer à quel point les traditions peuvent être galvanisantes et rassembler un peuple, voire le remotiver pour les combats à venir.
Ma partie préférée est sans aucun doute l’apparition d’un nouveau personnage, un antagoniste bien travaillé et au passé mystérieux dont j’espère que le rôle sera étoffé par la suite. Le volume se termine sur une superbe scène touchante comme on a peu eu l’occasion d’en voir jusqu’ici, c’était très beau !
I don't know about you guys, but I feel like I've been waiting forever for this volume!? Like I genuinely can't remember when I read the last volume...but I've been so eager to get this in to my hot little hands and I pretty much read it straight away! And then you know...it left me wanting more and with a long wait for the next volume!
In this volume, we're all about tricking Rejendra and out manoeuvring him....in order to form an alliance with him. Sounds tricky right? But Narsus is on the case so you know he's got a super intelligent plan to make it happen. He's a scary genius. I love the way all the plots and plans are written and come out over the course of the volume, it's very well done and very well thought out, I have to say!
Some of the reaction drawings in this volume....they're priceless. Like so freaking hilarious, particularly Gieve at points! I really did see some FMA style in those, I have to say! Even Asrael the bird got some reaction shots! The battles are drawn brilliantly, and they're portrayed in a manner that has you on the edge of your toes and doesn't shy away from showing the brutality in it.
There's plenty of humour to go with the action and battles and dire situations, this volume it mostly comes in the form of Gieve, my favourite character! He's hilariously threatened by Rajendra and there's a drinking competition and he's basically like a child at points. Daryun is a little bit funny at points too.
A character familiar to everyone from the anime finally makes his appearance this volume, Jaswant! I'm intrigued to see if he'll be any different or if his character growth will be any different! There's a few little differences from the anime that I've picked up, but from what I remember from the anime...it hasn't changed that much!
The plot continues to move at a steady pace with Silver Mask seemingly taking a backseat for this story arc and Arslan is starting to question himself and who he really is. This volume is heavy with the strategising and the battles, something I love as it's incredibly well done in this manga! We have multiple fights to keep you hooked, with a few comic moments, and we're inching closer to a confrontation with Rajendra's brother which should be quite spectacular! Especially as I don't trust Rajendra further than I can throw him.
I'm continuing to really enjoy this series. It was a bit slow-going for me for the first few volumes as Tanaka/Arukawa take their time establishing the characters and the world, but once the pieces are in place, this is a really engrossing story. The characters are the big draw for me. Some are in the spotlight more than others, but this is a true ensemble cast and the dynamics between the different members are of the group feel very natural.
The political intrigue is another draw - this is akin to Historical Fantasy where the world is completely fictional, but also devoid of other Fantasy tropes (ie. magic). The main characters travel a lot and so readers get to experience much of Tanaka/Arukawa's world which are generally well fleshed out (both in visuals and in the politics). Much of it feels like a typical western fantasy, but there's a pinch of something different to this work that makes it stand out to me. There's also a lot of military and political strategy, but it never feels dry or boring to read - there's a good balance.
Arukawa's art continues to be a treat - she has great variety with her character designs (though she has a propensity for making fat people be bad/greedy/evil which is kind of annoying) and her work is so clean and crisp.
I'm bummed that we're only getting two more volumes this year (one is slated for April and the next for October - so far away!!) but I look forward to getting my greedy hands on them as soon as they become available to me.
Die Reise geht weiter. Dabei gibt es wieder sehr viel Tiefe was Entscheidungen angeht. Ich finde die taktische Tiefe gut und nicht zu anstrengend. Nach längerer Pause musste ich erstmal wieder überlegen wo wir stehen geblieben sind, denn leider gibt es am Anfang weder eine kurze Zusammenfassung noch eine Beschreibung der Charaktere. Aber die Reihe bleibt vor allem was die Charaktere angeht sehr stark.
Si j'ai une grande affection pour cette série pleine de richesse et de complexité, je trouve qu'on perd facilement le fil tant l'attente entre chaque tome est longue et l'histoire complexe ce qui me gâche un peu le plaisir. Cependant le 7ème tome est plein de rebondissements, de stratégies et toujours cette touche d'humour qui me plaît tant.
With two brothers fighting for supremacy at the border of their kingdom, Arslan and the others have a prime opportunity to turn this struggle of power into an advantage. By picking one side but not fully trusting them it is a battle of wits as the kingdom of Sidhura is manipulated by the masterful strategist Narsus in this fast paced story.
I’m thoroughly enjoying this series. This seventh installment goes further into character development, which is something that I feel has been lacking to this point. Now I’m starting to feel attached to the characters.
I have been hurting for Arslan ever since that stupid old man opened his big fat mouth. Arslan keeps a good front but every once in awhile you see it and it hurts my heart to see him suffering. I'm so glad he has someone like Daryun 😭
Un bon tome, avec de l'action et de la ruse, c'était sympa. J'attends toujours d'en apprendre plus sur Arslan mais c'était une lecture sympathique. une série sûre.
I am still really enjoying this series. It's consistently good, and the characters are a joy to read. The mysteries are beginning to slowly unravel, and I can't wait for more!
The capture of the young Sindhuran prince, and the beginnings of the Sindhuran civil war. Somehow, it seems less thrilling when Arslan is secure and in a position of power.
3.5⭐️ Le petit moment Daryun / Arslan m’a trop touché 🥺 Mais je trouve qu’on s’éloigne bcp de l’intrigue principal même si y’a une certaine logique à cela.
Jaswant reveals his allegiance during a pivotal siege as Arslan’s army marches to the Sindhuran capital. Gieve, as envoy, seduces the jewelry off of the Sindhuran women. What a charmer! Bahman joins the march and makes Arslan a promise, but will he be able to keep it. A very touching exchange between Arslan, now filled with self-doubt, and Daryun. A good mix of humor, compassion, intrigue, and conquest in this one. I love how Arakawa sensei has such a graceful, clean line yet panels and pages never seem sterile; there is so much going on!