Customer Reviews

Crescent Moon, Vol. 5

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The reviews of Crescent Moon all seem a little tepid to me, so I'd like to right that by writing a properly effusive review of this truly superb manga. First of all, Haruko Iida's art is gorgeous and highly reminiscent - but not derivative - of Brian Froud. I can't understand the reviews that state the art is "too cutesy" (it is actually less cutesy than typical shojo manga) or that the characters "sure aren't good-looking" - again, the style is different from usual shojo, but the characters all have features that connect them to their demon selves (such as Misoka the fox spirit, with his long slits for eyes), and many of the characters have a delicate, ethereal beauty that threatens to float off the page and fly into the heavens!

The story, by Takamura Matsuda, is somewhat archetypal, but that's the beauty of it. Mahiru was orphaned very young and ever since has been haunted by recurring dreams and visions. When she's a high school junior, she finally discovers why: she's a descendant of the Lunar Princess and is destined to help the Lunar Race recover the Teardrops of the Moon that were stolen by the humans many years ago. The demons are the good guys! Mahiru must come to terms with her newly-found powers while gaining confidence in herself and learning about her people's past. Meanwhile, the reader comes to know a charming rogue's gallery of characters, such as Nozomu the vampire and Mitsura the tegura (a sort of Japanese ogre with command of the winds). Akira the werewolf is the most endearing werewolf you will ever meet! The demons' names, personalities, and physical characteristics all reflect their demon selves (for instance, Nozomu means "desire that never ends"). The story has depth but isn't confusing, and action is deftly interpolated with touching and humorous moments.

Run, don't walk, to get ahold of the four currently-published volumes of Crescent Moon. You'll be glad you did!

This series is spectacular, not only is the artwork amazing, but the storyline and characters are gripping too! And as to the allegations of this being about a girl being groped by her schoolmates, there is absoloutely no sexual content in there AT ALL. Guys don't be put off, there's plenty of humour and action, I'm not a fan of really girly books either but I looooved this. This series really stands apart from the others, it's worth buying even just for the artwork alone. Even if you just buy a cheap used copy to give it a go, this is a definate must. I guarantee you'll be hooked!

I got this book at first because I was semi-interested. In finishing the book I was left wanting more. Though it is confusing as to who is what character at times I still greatly enjoyed the plot and the characters (even if I wasn't exactly sure who they were). After reading it I lent it to a few of my friends, and all that have read it are begging me to get the rest of the series as soon as possible. I highly recomend it to anyone who is looking for a good fantastical manga.

Concerning the first book, Cresent Moon is an extremely enjoyable, yet typical, girl with dead parents and unique magical capabilities suddenly is discovered by a group of hot guys with magical powers and are (gasp) considered to be bad guys by the corrupt humans. WOW- its like the authors of these kinds of stories were like, "SHOOT! I'm going into Ranma 1/2/Fruits Basket/(insert typical story here) territory! Lets make this original and make the demons good and the powers of light bad! OOOHHH!" However, this book is pleasurable if you like stories where you can easily fantasize if this was happening to you. I do, so do many of my friends. If you like that stuff, you'll enjoy it despite its unoriginality. I swear, if I hear someone calling another 'Let's kill angels/good guys/forces of light!' story original ever again, I am going to puke. Originally, it was a good idea, but its dead now. Now its original to make the 'good guys' good.
The one thing that is original about Cresent Moon is its artwork. I have never seen anything as full or round as the style of drawing, and its a breath of fresh air in my opinion. Its also a good thing to read if any artist is afraid that their drawing style is veering over too quickly into a copy of someone else's. As well, there are a few noticible differences in the character designs. One is the demon transformations of the boys, and their corresponding human forms. In most of my friends' opinions, the typical key love interest Mitsuru (meaning the extremely introverted, mean, socially inept and violent member of the group) is the cutest. His demon form is so ugly it doesn't fit into words. It looks like those toy trolls with the stick-up hair. And if you turned its eyes into swirlies. And enlarged the nose. The second cutest(the secondary love interest, meaning friendly, smoozing, kind, cool guy figure and my favorite) is Nozomu, a vampire. No, this is not your typical vampire. This is an ugly vampire, with blunt features, beady eyes, and a large nose. A 40 year old looking kind of vampire. Yeah. The third cutest and almost immeadiatly rejected love interest is the lovable Akira (that sounds so weird), an adorable werewold. But unless you think puppies are hot- not a bishi demon form by any means. Finally, the last, Misoka, the tiny, long haired, brains of the operation (and by far one of the ugliest characters I have ever witnessed in these kinds of books) has a very cute, Sesshomaru (aristocratic, extremely bishi) demon form. Go figure. Otherwise, everyone else who is not a main character has a horrible, flat design. She cannot draw adults for beans.
For girls who like Kyo/Inuyasha figures, ENJOY!

So now that you've clicked on the link above, read over what the book is about, and (hopefully) looked at some sample pages, you're probably asking yourself "should I buy this manga?" My answer to you then would be a resounding "YES!!!" This is a great series, especially if you are a big fan of Inu-Yasha and Fruits Basket. (Like I am.:) ) The characters are endearing, and the storyline is highly addictive. (I'm such a nut, I stayed up until 3am reading through the first five books! I just couldn't put them down!) The only thing that bothered me at first was the style of the artist. After getting over my "Takahashi is the best manga-ka ever!" prejudice though, I was thoroughly able to enjoy the books. It was actually Akira that inspired me to buy the entire series (so far). Not many books, including manga, have a lovable werewolf as one of the main characters.:)
So, to sum everything up, here are the main reasons why the Crescent Moon series should be a permanent addition to your manga collection:

1. Great (and addictive) storyline with fantastic character developement

2. Amazing (although different) and beautiful art (I love Misoka when he's transformed!)

3. Lovable and endearing characters (buy it for Akira, if nothing else! :D )

Crescent Moon is the story of Mahiru and her adventures with the so-called "Lunar Race." Mahiru herself has notoriously bad luck, but by touching her all her friends seem to acquire abnormally good luck. She continually has dreams of a princess and a demon and sees another world when she is swimming under water. A chain of events leads to her meeting the Lunar Race (humans who can transform into demons). She discovers she is their princess and has the power to help them to regain the Teardrops of the Moon, the essence of their existance.

As far as art goes, you have to give the author credit for her unique style. The characters aren't exactly beautiful, but that's what makes it fun! I particullarly love the way she portrays the demon forms of the Lunar Race.

As far as story goes, she has a pretty interesting story going on. It sort of draws you in; you want to know more. The author's characteres, however, have been done before. Mahiru struggles to gain the trust of the tengu, Mitsuru who hates humans. (You might be reminded of Fruits Basket or Inu Yasha). However, the lot of them is really rather cute. Also, I must mention the language. I feel like they didn't take enough time to translate it or something; a lot of the Japanese is still present in the text without a translation. And... it feels like the characters are trying to be too modern. Mahiru has a tendency to sound like a valley girl...

Overall, it's a cute manga. After I read and reread the first volume I found myself wanting to buy more and more! It's a worthy read!

This manga is about a young girl named Mahiru who, for some strange reason, gives good luck to the people around her. She, however, always seems to have bad luck! Now there is a group of bandits who say that she's the descendant of a legendary princess!

This is a great story, with tons of fantasy. There are characters that are vampires, werewolves, and monsters, but they're the good guys! The art is very cute, but don't let that fool you, this manga can get dramatic at times. There is plenty of comedy, but it never seems to get in the way of the drama. (Something that many manga are very bad at.)

There are some bad points, though. The artwork is cute and looks great, but there are times when a panel can seem either too crowded or too empty. Also, the pacing is quite fast, so some readers may have to go back a few pages to catch up on what's going on.

Art: 8/10 Story: 8/10 Characters: 8/10 Overall: 8/10 Trying to get a friend or family member into manga? Fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer might be interested in this. There is a little violence and some swearing, so I'd recommend this for readers age 13 and up.

This book was great, mostly it's a girl manga but a guy would like it too. It's about Mahiru a girl with extremely bad luck, but while her luck sucks other people get good luck if they touch her, she has a recurring dream about a demon, a princess, and a song. (I am leaving out details) She meets the Lunar Race a band of monster bandits. A vampire, a werewolf, a tengu and a fox, they tell her she is the Descendant of the Princess and must help them steal back the teardrops of the moon.-If you like the summary the book is better!-The first one'll get you hooked, you'll wanna know more! I especially like the art in the book, it's all cute at first but it gets more serious when they transform, I also like the idea that the demons/monsters look just like humans (so cute) until they transform. Buy this book, I know you'll LOVE it and want the rest!

I thought it was really good and I understood it. Mahiru Shiraishi is always thought of as a good luck charm, except to herself, she has the worst luck even her parents died in a car crash. Somehow everyone she touches she transfers her luck to them, leaving her with none. She then meets the Lunar Race who needs her as the descendant of the princess. She is able to invoke in them their full moon form as a bat, vampire, fox, and werewolf, even when it is not a full moon, just by touching them. A group of detectives are after the Lunar Race because the Lunar Race is after the tear drops of the moon, which were taken from them so they steal them back. The detectives simply think they are theives and are chasing them. One of the demons of the lunar race hates and is scared of Mahiru she has to decide whether she will help them or not.

I really enjoyed this book and have read it five times in the last two days, sad huh? anyway, it's a good book if you like fantasy

It is a great fantasy read with an interesting plot. Although it may seem average at first, the plot does thicken. Mahiru, the main character, is unsure of which side is "good" and which side is "bad." The artwork is different from the usual styles, so scrutinizing manga fans may find it difficult to adjust to. After you've gotten use to the artwork, you can truly see the beauty of the book and it's characters; especially the transformed Misoka. Don't compare this to other types of manga, it's too unique. It brings a fresh title to the manga world.