Customer Reviews

Land of the Blindfolded - VOL 01

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The first lines of this manga are what intrigued me about it and would be the perfect opening lines if this was ever made into an anime: "If there were a land of blind-folded people, would they understand the concept of sight? Sometimes, my 'blindfold' slips a little bit." Those in the "land of blind-folded people" can't see anything but the present. Kanade Outsaka, the main female character, says her "blindfold" is defective; sometimes, when she touches a person, she "sees" their future.

Kanade has a good heart and tries to prevent the sad futures of those she bumps into, even if that person is a stranger. When she bumps into Arou Naitou, a schoolmate, he discovers Kanade's "gift of sight", which is a common link between the two teens. Arou-kun tells Kanade that in this "land", they are facing opposite directions. He can only see the past, and, where her "blindfold" is loose, his "blindfold" is gone, lost a long time ago. But unlike Kanade, his approach to "seeing" is don't get involved, because all you can do is "see", and anyone you try to help won't be able to understand why you are trying to help them and usually won't appreciate it. Kanade's best friend, Eri, proves this by getting mad at her when Kanade tries to prevent Eri's boyfriend, Ezawa, from dumping her for a girl with long dark hair, and instead causes confusion and frustration for both Eri and Ezawa.

Kanade meets someone else just like her, Masahiro Namiki, who can see the future. He has the same policy as Arou: Don't do anything about it. Only he enjoys being able to see someone's fate with a smug, omniscient-like attitude. This disgusts Arou, and Namiki-kun doesn't show that side of himself to Kanade so she doesn't realize why Arou doesn't trust him.

Both young men are changed by their relationship to Kanade. Arou starts doing something about what he "sees" (he reports the hit-and-run driver who killed a small boy months earlier), and Namiki starts caring about what he "sees", especially since Kanade could get hurt trying to help if he doesn't get involved.

The extra stories are sweet and really wonderful tales about love and high school: "After the Festival" is about new love that happens after a school sports festival. Takeshi is so worn out from the festival preparations that he falls asleep in class and Katsura, a cute cheerleader, happens upon his nap. After the festival, they both are so worn out that they miss their stop and end up spending a lot more time together. There is a really "nice" romantic scene in this story that the author claims she had struggled over putting in. "The Mistaken Man" is about how making a mistake can actually changing someone's life for the better. Nobuhiro Fujisaki ends up in the wrong classroom one morning, meets a pretty girl, Yuki Mishina, and falls in love with her at first sight. He relates the whole event to his best friend, Takeshi, who tells Nobuhiro there is no one by that name in school. When Nobuhiro introduces Yuki to Takeshi, both guys are confused why she acts so nervous around Takeshi and keeps calling him "Takashi"; that is, until they find out the truth about this beautiful girl.

CMX Manga is the manga branch of DC Comics and I'm pleased that they kept this in the right-to-left format--the way the manga-ka, Tsukuba Sakura, intended it. The only problem I had was the binding on the first three volumes of this series are a little on the tight side, so it isn't easy to keep the books open. CMX must have figured out what was causing that because the rest of the volumes are just fine. In conclusion, "Land of the Blindfolded" is great manga for all readers of all ages!

This is a beautiful read about three main characters (two in this volume and one more will be introduced in later volumes) who have special gifts - either the ability to see the future or the past.

Contrary to what you would expect, the focus in the story is on relationships and the consequences of dealing with special powers in every day life situations - not on the powers themselves. The psychology, ethics, emotions, reactions, and responsibilities of these three people are slowly explored in an intricately crafted story. At its heart, Land of the blindfolded is about kindred spirits who find one another and teach each other a thing or two about life, love, and acceptance.

One would expect the writer to use the powers to push the romantic theme in this type of genre. And although there is definitely enough romance to keep every fan happy, the supernatural powers do play a very background role to exploring the mindsets and psychology of the main characters. That may make it sound boring, but the skill of the author ensures that it is a very engrossing read with characters you can really like and care about as the story progresses.

Land of the Blindfolded differs greatly from North American type of genre romances in that the story isn't about the angst and anticipation of getting together. Rather, it's about those precious early days of a relationship when everything is new and unsure. This theme of uncertainty is carried throughout the volumes and greatly enhances each of the arcs, providing contrasting unity and consistency.

This series can be best described as a very subdued, playful, and warm experience. There are wonderful scenes of respect and intimacy between the main characters but no sexual situations, making it very suitable for young and older readers. It's nice to read a romance novel where the object of the story isn't about putting the characters in compromising and unrealistic sexual situations.

I can enthusiastically recommend this series. It gets even better as it progresses into later volumes.

One is no doubt familiar with the saying "in the land of the blind, the one-eyed are kings." Now, use that example where the majority of people, like you and me, are blindfolded so that we are present-oriented, i.e. but what if there were others whose blindfolds slip off?

That's the premise behind Land of The Blindfolded. High school girl Outsaka Kanade can see a person's future by touching that person. She's an altruist by nature, trying to head off danger at the pass and avert a person's fate. For example, when she learns that Eri's boyfriend Ezawa, is going to dump Eri for a girl with dark long hair, she tries to set things up so that Eri won't get hurt or dumped.

In contrast, there's her opposite, Naitou Arou. He can tell a person's past but also at will. When he learns of Kanade's attempt to change Eri's future, he uses the example of trying to warn someone who's about to step into a manhole. Fair enough, you might save the guy, but they wouldn't understand it and probably curse you out. His advice, "leave other people alone, otherwise the only person who'll be hurt is you." Also, what if the black-haired girl is a better match for Ezawa than Eri? Wouldn't interfering prevent either from reaching happiness?

Then there's the flipside. What if you were a past-oriented person and learned of a tragedy after the fact? In the same way, Arou is unable to go back to the past and prevent the accident. The best he can do is call the police and give them the license number of a hit-and-run vehicle. However, what if someone past-oriented totally enjoyed a hands-off policy and was smug about it? Namiki Masahiro is that person and it's Arou's more compassionate nature that separates him from Namiki.

All the same, Kanade finds solace in Arou, who despite his hands-off policy, is nice to her. Arou sums things up the best when he says that even if one can see into the past or future, one can't see what will make a person happy. And also, no one can see into another's heart with those powers. But no matter what, it also doesn't pay to be afraid to touch someone, metaphorically speaking. per temperament theory, idealists are more romantic and future oriented, guardians more cautious and past-oriented, which fit Kanade and Arou to a tee.

Also included are two stories. After The Festival involves a guy, Takahashi, and a girl, Katsura, who are on the same team during a relay. Takahashi is tired from working on the preparations for the sports festival, he, along with Katsura, miss their intended train stop and end up spending more time together. In The Mistaken Man, Fujisaki Nobuhiro mistakenly arrives early at school, only to find out he's entered the wrong classroom. He meets a cute girl named Mishina Yuki before going back to the right room. He tells his best friend Takeshi, who's puzzled because there's nobody by that name at school. Sure enough, he meets her, but she calls him Takahashi. A slip of the tongue, or something else? The moral here seems to be that if one makes a mistake, turn it into a happy one.

An interesting concept that succeeds with a pair of likeable protagonists. Here's hoping the second installment comes soon.

I was randomly looking for a new books to buy, and this is one of those book i would never buy if i wasn't in the mood to try new things. Once i got home and read the first Chapter, i feel in love with the book, everything about. It was the cover that got me to buy it, but the art work within was somewhat different. But this book didn't disappoint me. The characters are great, Arou gotta be my favorite, he is so unpredictable. This book reminds me of Hana Kimi, That Arou is Sano, maybe since it is his dark hair. Kanade reminds me of Mizuki. Give this book a shot. Im glad i sure did.

What if you could see the future?

What about the past?

"Land of the Blindfolded" does two of the three things every manga needs to do: 1) Tell a great story. 2) Have really likable characters. With the excellent premise of students with the ability to see forwards or backwards in time, Tsukuba Sakura has managed to pull off an amazing feat in manga. The dialogue is laugh-out-loud funny, and sometimes it can really pull at your heartstrings.

But it misses the mark on the third point: 3) It needs to have a good art style. "LotB" is by no means unique in its art. In fact, it looks like just about every other generic CMX manga title out there. (Ah, CMX: The world's first "Me too!" manga company.) Tsukuba Sakura obviously put together all the manga art techniques of the time, threw them in a blender, and poured them onto the page.

But the amazing story saves it all. The book is a page-turner. If only Sakura had taken some time to develop a unique kind of technique.

I found the context of this manga captivating. Fate, future, destiny, and past. We have all, at one time or another, wanted or wished we knew the future or could change the past.
To the naked eye, this might seem like a slice of life manga with some supernatural elements, and in a way it is, but in another it's not. It's about being different and testing the people you call friends. It's about doing good whole heartedly and have people dislike you for it. Everything has it's consequences and even though you might think you want to know or see the end result, at the end pain goes both ways.

Two strangers, Arou Naitou and Kanade Ootsuka each have a gift. Arou can see the past with a single touch while Kanade can see the future. Kanade's seeing doesn't work on every touch and Arou can never touch without seeing. In a world where everyone is blinded by what's in front of them they could see beyond it when their blindfolds gets dropped. Arou transfers to her school and with one accidental touch they both see each other's past and future. Thrown in a spiral of faith and believes, Kanade can't help but want to save those who's futures are in peril and Auro believes things should happen for a reason. Can these two people who were thrown together by fate agree to disagree?

The Characters are essential, all of them. Change one of them and the manga wouldn't be the same. They are each others yin and yang, they create balance to one another. They are not the complete opposite of one another but they each have their own way of looking at things as human generally do.
There really isn't any "evil" characters. I actually think the evil character in this manga is their abilities, or the future and past if you will. It's the one thing they are constantly fighting against either to save others or to save themselves. The main characters have their own arc, to better understand them and how they came to be, broken or not.
Kanade is selfless and the way she gives of herself and puts herself in peril is borderline suicidal sometimes. She is an optimist and honestly I think it rather ironic that she is, given her power and the amount of people's lives she sees in danger.
Arou seeing the past, seemed at first glance the weakest of the powers but I got proven wrong, repeatedly. And it return he turned out to be the most wounded of all.
While it seemed that the manga was going to be about this one couple, Namiki stumbled into their lives. He, like Kanade can see the future but like Arou his blindfold is completely off. He doesn't believe in helping people and stands by and laughs while their futures are unfolding badly.

The Art was average, the typical of a shojo anime in the higher mid nighties. You do notice that it gets better, cleaner, as volumes pass. the years didn't pass by in vain for this manga. There isn't anything amazingly beautiful about the art but in rare occasions when the manwah wants us to feel different, you will see each character transform before your eyes and the manga art shifts. I noticed it first with Kanade, she is a beacon of hope for the boys and the way she was drawn kept reminding me of sunlight, and you'll get that impression every time she smiles.

The Story, though it centers around three people, one girl and two boys There is no boy and girl drama, not enough to count anyway. The characters know of each others feelings and handle it fine, but it isn't about that. It isn't a love triangle sort of manga, even though it could have certainly go that way if the author wanted to extend her volumes and make it like most other shojo manga out there. The manga doesn't drag on and even though the it seems like it's plot is repetitive with the "who are we helping this week" theme, it isn't. It will give you enough information at a time to make you come back for more while also giving you a glimpse into the emotional and phycological impact it has on the lives of those who are able to see.

The only thing that confused me to the point of almost not giving it a 10 were that of events pertaining to Arou that don't get explained and it didn't make much sense to me. Though I could guess if I wanted to and make my own assumption, which I did, if it would have been made apparent it would have been better. Though incredulous at times, I do believe in small amounts of clairvoyance and I don't question their more then perfect "vision" but even I have my limits and I start questioning when particles starts breaking...

"There are times when I can't help but think, in the world, there is no such thing as a waste of time."

I love the theme of this story. It is true to be both fortunate and unfortunate to be able to see the future or the past. I like the decisions the main character Kanade makes in the story. She is selfless and very compassionate. She is like an angel. Although the story is little far fetched, it is a great story. I almost feel that the inspirational words the author wrote in the story are more intriguing than the story itself. I have learned a great deal from reading this manga. Besides, the short stories at the end of the graphic novel are very high in quality. I have to say the whole book is more like a prose than a story.

Kanade, Namiki & Arou share a secret, when Kanade & Namiki touch something they see its future, and for Arou he sees its past.

the story has too much drama and some romance

how will the main characters deal with things that they know it will happen ( accidents, break up, etc..), or how to deal with things that already happened ( murder, things that shouldn't be known, etc..)

but those powers doesnt always show what the owner wants, it sometimes comes randomly,

in Kanades case, she thinks that the future can be changed if she reacted
but in Namikis case he thinks it is meaningless and just getting yourself into trouble
while Arou has different type of matters since he is dealing with the past

of course while keeping everything a secret, so its expected to see some other characters comes later and notice those powers which will give the story some action

the romance is poor here and thats normal because there cant be misunderstandings between people whom know what happened and what will happen, but their is countless ideas that can be made to let the story be great, and I hope the artist didnt waste his cool story on side stories only, its the artist first work that gets more than one shot anyways so its kinda hard for her to make a bright ideas for one story

I hate giving a manga less than 5 stars unless its realy sux and this one aint bad so try it!

Land of the Blindfolded contains two chapters of the story of a girl who can see glimpses of a person's future just by touching them. She is shy and sweet-natured, not really comfortable with her ability. She meets a boy who can catch glimpses of people's PAST. Together (they instantly become a cute couple, no third love interest, waiting, or drama) they struggle with the choice of trying to help other people, who probably won't understand or appreciate their assistance.

The last two stories in the volume are unrelated short stories with different characters. They are romantic and wistful. So this volume is slow-moving, but easy to like.