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rhodrymavelyneI’m struck by the similarities between this manga series and my own Tales of the Navel/The Shadow Forest.
Not that this is a bad thing. I tend to read the kind of stories I myself want to create.
Of the Red, the Light, and the Ayakashi has its own unique, beautiful style, steeped in an ambience which is exqusitely Japanese.
Not that I don’t strive for beauty myself.
One of the reasons I created the ambient fantasy genre was I worried that the mainstream fantasy genre had little to do with my writing or the brand I wished to create for myself.
If you shelf my works, they belong in the fantasy category or speculative fiction. I’m not sure about the fantasy genre, though.
Genre relies a lot on imagery. Fantasy genre, I learned to my alarm, was expected to appeal to a more masculine audience, using more rugged imagery to draw them in.
This goes counter to my own tastes as a fantasy reader. Nor am I alone. Many other female readers (and not just female) share my tastes.
I’ve met them at anime and manga conventions. I’ve seen them gather in droves online to particular sites, which cater to the series which favor our shared tastes. Like CLAMP, Black Butler, Yami no Matsuei, Revolutionary Girl Utena, or Puella Magi Madoca Magica.
There’s a market out there for ambient fantasy. I’ve just figure out ways to gather this market together and let them know I’m there.
Sometimes I encounter a series which I almost feel myself resonating with. It’s more than just enjoying it, or even obsessing over it.
It corresponds in some way with my own vision, the direction I’m going with my art.
Of the Red, the Light, and the Ayakashi is one of those series. Yue has some almost eerie correspondances with Christopher.
At the same time, each boy has his own unique story to tell.
I hope readers will enjoy both of them.
Not that this is a bad thing. I tend to read the kind of stories I myself want to create.
Of the Red, the Light, and the Ayakashi has its own unique, beautiful style, steeped in an ambience which is exqusitely Japanese.
Not that I don’t strive for beauty myself.
One of the reasons I created the ambient fantasy genre was I worried that the mainstream fantasy genre had little to do with my writing or the brand I wished to create for myself.
If you shelf my works, they belong in the fantasy category or speculative fiction. I’m not sure about the fantasy genre, though.
Genre relies a lot on imagery. Fantasy genre, I learned to my alarm, was expected to appeal to a more masculine audience, using more rugged imagery to draw them in.
This goes counter to my own tastes as a fantasy reader. Nor am I alone. Many other female readers (and not just female) share my tastes.
I’ve met them at anime and manga conventions. I’ve seen them gather in droves online to particular sites, which cater to the series which favor our shared tastes. Like CLAMP, Black Butler, Yami no Matsuei, Revolutionary Girl Utena, or Puella Magi Madoca Magica.
There’s a market out there for ambient fantasy. I’ve just figure out ways to gather this market together and let them know I’m there.
Sometimes I encounter a series which I almost feel myself resonating with. It’s more than just enjoying it, or even obsessing over it.
It corresponds in some way with my own vision, the direction I’m going with my art.
Of the Red, the Light, and the Ayakashi is one of those series. Yue has some almost eerie correspondances with Christopher.
At the same time, each boy has his own unique story to tell.
I hope readers will enjoy both of them.
