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A review by absentminded_reader
Little Princess in Fairy Forest by Tsubaki Tokino
3.0
This is a story about redemption, clothed in a fairytale. Visually, it is a stunning read. There are many passages in this story that I wish to see animated on screen. I loved the lore and the world building. There was care taken with the finer details of the Black Forest, and the guardians of the little princess, the Black Night and the Dragon, were wonderful characters.
Unfortunately, the story seems to have craftsmanship errors. The first problem I had with the story was that it was unclear who the main character was. The story began in the first person point of view of the princess, but soon it became evident that she was mostly a passenger in this tale. The point of view often fluctuated between Gideon's first person point of view and a third person narrative about Gideon. At one point, a passage was related about Gideon in the third person, switched to the 3rd person POV of the villain, then became Gideon's first person POV. The overall affect was jarring. There were also passages that began in the princess's first person POV, then became a third person POV by the next paragraph, complete with adult language, unless seven-year-olds use words like "coalesce" in this fairy world. In fact, one might be confused that this is a children's tale because of the first chapter told from the point of view of a seven year-old, but soon salty language, sexual innuendo, and graphic violence reveal this story to be geared towards young adults.
The narrative also fluctuated between fluffy sections with anime comedy dialogue to thoughtful passages with depth and pathos to nightmarish scenes of grisly horror. There was a decided lack of narrative continuity throughout the entire book. At first, I thought perhaps these were translation errors, but I ended up feeling that this was a problem with the source material. I appreciated the afterword where the author explained his reasoning behind pitting the middle-aged black knight versus the middle-age tyrant. Unfortunately, the tyrant came across as a pointless character, lacking any depth whatsoever. There was an effort to explain his delusions, as well as an effort to reveal who the real villain of the story was, but I found the true villain wanting in depth as well.
So, it was a terrible book? No. It was a lovely tale. Despite the narrative flaws, and the flat villains, the story was rich, and the main characters were interesting. I felt compelled to continue reading. Isn't that what we want from a book?
This was Tsubaki Tokino's first work, and although it is rough in places, his visionary talent shines brightly. I loved the ideas presented as well as the Japanese take on European fairytales. The gruesome monster at the end was also chilling and vividly described. Often, I find the epilogue anticlimactic, but this epilogue hit all the right notes, including a heart-breaking scene were the reader found closure along with the main characters for the most horrific event in the story. I look forward to Tokino's future stories. Fans of anime fantasy should feel right at home here.
Unfortunately, the story seems to have craftsmanship errors. The first problem I had with the story was that it was unclear who the main character was. The story began in the first person point of view of the princess, but soon it became evident that she was mostly a passenger in this tale. The point of view often fluctuated between Gideon's first person point of view and a third person narrative about Gideon. At one point, a passage was related about Gideon in the third person, switched to the 3rd person POV of the villain, then became Gideon's first person POV. The overall affect was jarring. There were also passages that began in the princess's first person POV, then became a third person POV by the next paragraph, complete with adult language, unless seven-year-olds use words like "coalesce" in this fairy world. In fact, one might be confused that this is a children's tale because of the first chapter told from the point of view of a seven year-old, but soon salty language, sexual innuendo, and graphic violence reveal this story to be geared towards young adults.
The narrative also fluctuated between fluffy sections with anime comedy dialogue to thoughtful passages with depth and pathos to nightmarish scenes of grisly horror. There was a decided lack of narrative continuity throughout the entire book. At first, I thought perhaps these were translation errors, but I ended up feeling that this was a problem with the source material. I appreciated the afterword where the author explained his reasoning behind pitting the middle-aged black knight versus the middle-age tyrant. Unfortunately, the tyrant came across as a pointless character, lacking any depth whatsoever. There was an effort to explain his delusions, as well as an effort to reveal who the real villain of the story was, but I found the true villain wanting in depth as well.
So, it was a terrible book? No. It was a lovely tale. Despite the narrative flaws, and the flat villains, the story was rich, and the main characters were interesting. I felt compelled to continue reading. Isn't that what we want from a book?
This was Tsubaki Tokino's first work, and although it is rough in places, his visionary talent shines brightly. I loved the ideas presented as well as the Japanese take on European fairytales. The gruesome monster at the end was also chilling and vividly described. Often, I find the epilogue anticlimactic, but this epilogue hit all the right notes, including a heart-breaking scene were the reader found closure along with the main characters for the most horrific event in the story. I look forward to Tokino's future stories. Fans of anime fantasy should feel right at home here.