Kieli discovers the past the Harvey didn’t know he had.
Creative Staff
Story: Yukako Kabei
Illustration: Shunsuke Taue
Translation/Adaptation: Sarah Alys Lindholm
What They Say
Her spirit cast adrift, Kieli finds herself trapped in the world of Harvey’s past and witnessing the worst day of a young Ephraim’s life. Can she—with a little help from Harvey in the land of the living—find her way back to her body? But perhaps more importantly, is there anything she can do for the spirits who have taken her under their wing?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Volume 6 of the Kieli series is a direct continuation of the ominous cliffhanger ending to volume 5, The Sunlit Garden Where it all Began. I’m still not certain what the title refers to, I sincerely doubt that Kieli’s world has gardens. Kieli finds herself wandering a wasteland, a layered tapestry of memories of the city and the citizens who lived and died there. The ghosts of Kieli’s world take many forms, some threatening and some benevolent. Trapped inside a loop in time she meets two young boys who she knows well, Ephraim and Joachim. Harvey’s childhood is hardly a cheery affair, and the ghosts of the past relive the last days of their childhood again and again, trying to change their unavoidable fates.
Back in the present day city, Harvey discovers what happened to Kieli and promptly flies into the sort of rage you would expect. He ends up tracking down the perpetrators by sheer coincidence and, in a scene that had me cheering, violently confronts them. Heros aren’t supposed to take revenge, but Harvey is far from a knight in shinning armor. It’s only after his fight in broken up by an unexpected arrival that he realizes how badly he lost control.
In earlier volumes Harvey remained mostly an enigma to the readers, and from his internal dialog a mystery to himself as well. It makes sense, the series is called Kieli after all, not Harvey. What this story arc has done is allowed us to see his circumstances through his eternally tired eyes, and get into his head a bit more. Not that there is much going on in his head, he remains as guarded and emotionally stunted as ever. Even though throughout the last half of this volume he’s forced to address some of the emotions that he tries to ignore or repress.
After the strong opening this volume starts to meander. Kieli and Harvey are lead on a merry chase by vengeful ghosts out in the amusement park. Now, poorly made animatronics coming to life and trying to kill you is a terrifying thought, but in writing the whole scenario comes off as ridiculous. Even the leads think the whole situation is absurd, but their also too busy fleeing for their lives to give it much thought. The out of control ghosts wreck most of the amusement park in the process of hunting Harvey down.
The climax ties up the loose threads involving the two brothers from volume five, to a predictable outcome. It provides our leads with an fine excuse for all the destruction in the park, and allows for Harvey to escape scrutiny by the church forces for once. As for Harvey and Kieli, their loose ends remain firmly dangling. That’s perhaps the most frustrating part of this adventure. Despite the glimpse into Harvey’s past, he remains stubbornly guarded and doesn’t open up to Keili. Maybe that will change in the next volume, but I have a feeling that time is growing every shorter for our two leads and I wish they’d be more open and honest with each other.
The weak ending isn’t the only part rubbing me the wrong way. Six volumes in and I’ve given up on the notion that the writing will improve dramatically in the final volumes. The writing style is something that I was reluctant to bring up in reviews because it’s often difficult to tell what is comic from the author and what is the translator. The narrative voice in Kieli is often uneven, and it shows here more so than in previous volumes. This was the first series that Ms. Kabei had published, so I’ve become used to the stilted style and momentary lapses in logic. I do have to remind myself that it is, after all, a young adult novel.
There’s a very neat extra included at the end of this volume. The series illustrator drew a side story comic that was included in the Japanese release and is also included in the English release. I’m not overly fond of the illustrator’s style, especially since Yen Press had released the manga adaptation of the first novel prior to releasing the novel series and I prefer that artist’s take on Kieli and Harvey. The side story takes place after the events of volume 2 of the novels, and it mostly provides a bit of wish fulfillment to those readers who might want to see what a friendlier Harvey and Kieli might be like. It also shows just how wrong that version of Kieli and Harvey feel, a nice ‘be careful what you wish for’ to all fanfiction authors out there.
In Summary
The second half of “The Sunlit Garden Where it All Began” ends weaker than the first would have lead me to believe. There are hints of classic horror as Kieli and Harvey try to escape the fix they’re in, with a nod to Frankenstein along the way. It seems that everything resolves too quickly, and with a tease which is sure to leave readers frustrated. The volume is at it’s strongest when it leaves the action behind and focuses on what the series does best, ghosts, and explores the past of the world Harvey and Kieli call home.
Content Grade: B
Art Grade: B
Packaging Grade: B +
Text/Translation Grade: A –
Age Rating: 16+
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: April 3rd, 2012
MSRP: $11.99
