Mahoutsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto (Someday's Dreamers) 2nd

Created/Updated 2003-04-26



I like quoting myself because I know I won't sue myself for quoting. In my DVD 1 review, I said that every well-written review of this manga said something in the line of, "It has interesting setup, but doesn't make the best of it. Drawing is very pretty, however." What can I say? That's exactly how I feel, too.

The art, especially that of the main character, Kikuchi Yume, is so pretty at some places that I get a new level of understanding as to what Kurosawa-sensei was feeling when she first encountered Chiyo-chan, dressed in the Penguin suit. Yoshidzuki-sensei's drawings are extremely well balanced. If Tateo-sensei's (Full Metal Panic) drawings are bolder and more "perfect" and Abe-sensei's (NieA_7, Haibane Renmei) drawings are more soulful and "imperfect," I'd say Yoshidzuki-sensei's drawings are like the perfectly balanced nature. Not too complex, not too simple, not too fuzzy, not too sharp, and extremely cute. There's no such thing as "too cute" as far as I'm concerned.

Moving away from the purely artistic point of view, progression of the story leaves much to be desired. I think perhaps that if magic wasn't so prevalent, the story might have worked better. The main theme is fairly subtle, which I have absolutely nothing against, but because it is so subtle, having such a strong plot device defocuses the story. I feel that perhaps that's why people feel it is lacking. Come to think of it, I think that just toning down the mind bogglingly pretty drawings could've helped me feel better about the story. But then, my personal focus _is_ the drawing, so I wouldn't want to sacrifice the art for anything.

I like Yume-chan's extreme righteousness even though it doesn't always make sense. She's so unspoiled that it can feel unnatural at times! In this world of corporate corruption and power struggles, I feel so warm and fuzzy just seeing a character like Yume-chan.

Oops, I better write something more relevant so I don't lose the few readers I have. Then again, do I actually care?

Anime art is obviously not as good as the manga art, but it's good enough to make the series collection-worthy. A lot of the manga story is munged a little for the anime. I don't think either one is any better than the other. They're just slightly different. For those who find something to like about the anime, I recommend you buy these books. There are only two volumes and kanji has furigana. Even if you can't read Japanese, I think these are worth it for the art work.


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