Baccano Fanfic Review: Copycats by r_lee

Fanart by JaviDLuffy

Isaac and Miria. Two names, two characters with a meaning all by themselves. If blind optimism and dumb luck were to mate and have children, it would be these guys. Or better yet, they're the patron saints of both attitudes.

Too bad we hardly had any origin story for both of them that would've explained how in the hell they ended up like this. Only a few vague hints in the light novels, but those things weren't even conclusive. But, then again, detailing their origins might spoil some of their mystique.

This author though, r_lee, gives us an interesting speculation on how these two met though. Nothing detailed, nothing out of character for either one of them, and definitely not boring. Might not be as good as canon, but it might as well have captured what they could have been like when they first discovered their natural chemistry together.

Check it out here:

http://archiveofourown.org/works/37191

The author had also done a few other fics on the other Baccano cast as well. Maybe worth a look.

Enjoy :)

Baccano Fanfic Review: Family Rites by karanguni

Fanart by chiart

I was never really a fan of the three Gandor brothers in Baccano, much preferring the antics of the more colorful members of the cast. Compared to the rest, these three seemed to be the only sane guys in the entire entourage. In fact, excluding their mortality and criminal roots, they seemed the most normal. Down to earth, even.

But that must be why they make this fic work.  

Simply put, this fic shows the dynamics of the Gandors as a family and how they cope together after the events of 1930 in the series’ timeline. Like mentioned in the fic’s introduction, one of them gets married, starts a family, all that stuff even men of the criminal underworld have the luxury of having. But they still have to put up with the consequences of living forever while the rest of the normal world couldn't.

Some of the other characters make brief appearances in this fic. That’s not to say they don’t do much either, since they always drop by to keep the brothers grounded when the changing world proves a little too much to handle. Oh, and Claire drops by every now and then, of course.

It’s all keeping it in the family alright. Even if one of the members in question is Claire batshit-crazy-insane Stanfield.

Oh, and if you read between the lines hard enough, you might even spot some slash between Luck and Claire. I’m no fan of yaoi and I’m not starting now or anytime soon, but I don’t really mind since that side-plot doesn’t overtake the rest of the story.

You can find the fic in either of these pages in livejournal:

http://baccano.livejournal.com/92518.html

http://karanguni.livejournal.com/26782.html

EnjoyJ

From One-Shot to Series: Koe no Katachi Serialization

OH. MY. GOD.
It's a series...

It has happened. I was expecting something like this would eventually come to pass so it shouldn't be a surprise. Koe no Katachi (The Shape of the Voice), the heart-moving, tear-jerking one-shot manga about a deaf girl and grade school bullying, is finally serialized.

It means that we now have a long drawn-out version of that drama short. I'm now kinda hesitant in reading it now.

I make it a point to never review an anime/manga series unless it is finished, but I'm making this an exception. I've read and made a review about the one-shot last March (see http://fanworksandreviews.blogspot.com/2013/03/one-shot-manga-review-koe-no-katachi.html) and, though it's been months since that time, I still find myself... scared - more like hesitant, actually, but I can't deny also being outright terrified - of following the drama again now that it has a continuity. I'm still willing to go through with it, given that the author won't jump the shark, but only if - ONLY IF - the series is finished or has reached a considerable number of chapters.

Because I don't think my heart can take a cliffhanger chapter in this series...

The one-shot was first published by Kodansha last February where it appeared on Bessatsu Shounen Magazine and Weekly Shounen Magazine, the same publications where the manga is now being serialized. Apparently, it had trouble being released at first most likely due to its content. I'm only hoping the author, Ooima Yoshitoki, would make the story work well in this form in the long run.

Original Doujinshi Review: Blindfold Play by Shiwasu no Okina

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How To Train Your Dragon Fanfic Review: Tradition by The Antic Repartee / AvannaK

Artwork by the author, AvannaK, herself

I only got into the How to Train Your Dragon bandwagon just recently. I never had the chance to watch the movie until I leeched a copy off the internet a few weeks back. Before that I hadn't been interested in seeing another movie adaptation of another popular book series - much less one aimed for little kids, if the books' artwork was any indication.

Then I watched Dreamwork's pragmatic adaptation of the damn thing and was left breathless.

Since then, I've been scouring fanfics online that could give that same kind of feeling again. Thank whatever gods out there for TVTrope's FanficRecs section for narrowing the search down.

That was how I managed to find The Antic Repartee - also known as AvannaK in deviantart. She's one of the best, if not THE BEST, fanfic writer for this franchise so far. It helps that she's also familiar with the book series and she incorporates some elements from there to flesh some of her stories out more. She is also best known for the epic What If? fic Hitchups which is widely acclaimed amongst the HTTYD fandom for its well-developed characters and intriguing plot when compared to the source material. She had also done a few other fics for the franchise. Some set in her Hitchups universe and a few more from the original movie and books.

Tradition is a creative take on the events that follows after the Gift of the Night Fury animated short. It hadn't been all celebrations in the end. Berk was still in shambles after Astrid's dragon-egg fiasco, and almost everyone in the village would be busy with repairs in the morning.

Oh, and Astrid's grounded for her little stunt. Meanwhile, Hiccup gets an idea with a branch of mistletoe that had gotten tangled in his hair.

It's kinda easy to imagine these events happening after Hiccup's and Toothless swandive at the end of the short, because the fic might as well have started at that point. Anyway, the plot of this fic practically referenced a deleted scene that never got into the finished product - so this girl has definitely done her homework on this one. Apparently, Astrid had this idea of starting a tradition where you punch the face of whatever poor shmuck who got under someone's missing toe hung over them. It also addressed something about Astrid in the short that kept bothering me: she was a little too much of a genki girl there than in the movie and series.

This passage from the fic pretty much spelled it out for me:

Vikings found Hiccup's ideas to be disturbing at best. Astrid never came up with new ideas before she started dating Hiccup; she was content to practice and master the ideas of warrior Vikings before her. If her behavior over Snoggletog was anything to go by, Hiccup had somehow convinced her it was okay to create ideas.

It was not okay.

And this coming from Snoutlout's frame of mind. Especially after the... hehe... yaknog incident.

You can read the complete fic through these links here:
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7667885/1/Tradition
http://avannak.deviantart.com/art/Tradition-A-HTTYD-Holiday-Story-275547787

And, as you can see, the author had also made a fanart related to this story, which also includes an extra scenario that goes along with the fic. You can check it out here:
http://www.deviantart.com/art/Happy-Snoggletog-338320391

Enjoy :))

Doctor Who & Firefly Fanfiction Review: The Man With No Name/A Life Less Extraordinary by Frostfyre7

Fanart by geniesapocalypse

Consider this my next foray into the field of non-anime fanworks. I've recently been checking out some of the video files I've leeched off from some of my friends, and I ended up having a Doctor Who and Firefly marathon. Yes, it was that awesome an experience.

And yes, so was this fic. 

Premise is simple: we got the Tenth Doctor, my favorite Doctor, still reeling from the loss of his companions in the "Doomsday" and "The Runaway Bride" episodes. So he decides to do what he's been doing: keep on moving.

He just never thought he'd get to tag along with another would-be heroes of another story.

On the Firefly side of things, there's been disturbing reports of Reavers suddenly acting like an army. Not exactly good news for anyone in this 'verse ever since the Miranda fiasco. There's also a possible sighting of a would-be alien somewhere in the Core Worlds - and no, it isn't another dead calf. Also, while the crew had been trying to get by after the events of the big damn movie, Captain Malcolm Reynolds is getting worried when his new co-pilot is having another of her moments again.

Something about a storm coming...

You know a crossover fic is good when the writer had managed to capture the tone, atmosphere, and style of two different shows and make their resulting chemistry work in a single story. All the while keeping everyone and their interactions with each other so in-character that it almost seemed like the studios of both shows just banded together and made this story off-record.

Here are the links:

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3486089/1/The-Man-With-No-Name

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3486070/1/A_Life_Less_Extraordinary

Most recommended for fans of either series. Believe me, it's totally worth it.

It's been a while since I've last posted here, busted laptop and corrupted files can do that to you. I'll be sure to post some more articles this coming August to make up for lost time. Until then, see ya.

Discworld Fanfic Review: Sparrows by SilverInkblot

Fanart by TxoriBuru

Now for something completely different: Discworld. Consider this my first fanwork review of anything out of anime and video games, which goes to show that these are not the only kinds of media I cover. That, and I'm a Terry Pratchett fan.

Picture a hooded figure on a hill. Picture the sight of the landscape from that vantage point. So vast, so empty, and utterly devoid of life. Notice the figure raise its hand and snap his bony fingers.

You may wonder where that sudden breeze had come from, and the smell of grain. You may also wonder how a wheat field was suddenly there. Though by now that scythe the figure was holding suddenly made sense.

Looking at his work, the figure seemed satisfied as the adopted kittens playing around in his robe. Though this was one harvest he wouldn't reap, he keeps the scenery around for the novelty. And the reminder that there is something the harvest can hope for under the care of the reaper man.

Death has always been one of my favorite Discworld characters, right beside Sam Vimes and Granny Weatherwax. Out of everyone else on the Disc that I know of, only these three could take a look -  a really good look - at the cold, bitter place that is the universe at large and not succumb under its weight. Or better yet, they could tell the world around them to shove off and the damn thing listens. And in Deaths' case, literally.

This oneshot fanfic takes place some time before he gets fired in the Reaper Man book, and it also gives us some insight in a line Death mentioned in the story:

"FOR THE SAKE OF PRISONERS AND THE FLIGHT OF BIRDS." 

We never really got a hint where he got that line from in the book itself, but this fic could give us a really good idea. Good enough to be canon, god-willing. The writing even has a bit of Pratchett's own style in it especially in describing the atmosphere and the overall theme in a whimsical, poignant kind of way.

You can access the fic here:
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5386180/1/Sparrows
Enjoy :)