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turret's review
4.0
+8 World-building is an important aspect of any fictional universe that is told through the media released, allowing the places and events going on around the characters to feel realistic in comparison to our own world - even if concepts of the fictional universe are non-existent.
In Blood of Noxus, world-building is presented to readers through the military exploits of the protagonists throughout the years as their relationship develops, but also as they travel to new lands for their country Noxus - which is a well-known empire intent on consistently invading cities and countries to sustain itself. The ideological discussion between main characters Darius and Quilletta on the ethics and consequences for victims of Noxus’s conquest has the most interesting dialogue in the whole story - putting Darius, the top commander of Noxus’s army and role model of the country’s values against his disillusioned lover Quilletta, who has now lost so much from serving for Noxus such as her arm and child. Reading about the different experiences and seeing those characters discuss the best course of action is really revealing how important a sense of perspective is, and to try and see a discussion from the opposing person’s view.
Sana Takeda’s art is painted, with detail placed in the important sections that a reader’s eye is most likely to be drawn to, like facial expressions and the action. Unfortunately, some facial expressions are underwhelming, with some of the action also being drawn very confusingly that it isn’t entirely clear how it plays out. All of Draven’s exaggerated facial expressions are a joy to look at, but I wish the same could be said for the other characters consistently. Make no mistake, the art is wonderful and Takeda has found her own unique artstyle that won’t be forgotten, but it was a noticeable issue when reading.
Really enjoyed the romantic, emotional and thought-provoking story beats condensed into a quick 22 pages, and the art could have had more work done, but nonetheless its unique appearance has more of my respect than if it were done generically.
[Read and reviewed in July 2023]
In Blood of Noxus, world-building is presented to readers through the military exploits of the protagonists throughout the years as their relationship develops, but also as they travel to new lands for their country Noxus - which is a well-known empire intent on consistently invading cities and countries to sustain itself. The ideological discussion between main characters Darius and Quilletta on the ethics and consequences for victims of Noxus’s conquest has the most interesting dialogue in the whole story - putting Darius, the top commander of Noxus’s army and role model of the country’s values against his disillusioned lover Quilletta, who has now lost so much from serving for Noxus such as her arm and child. Reading about the different experiences and seeing those characters discuss the best course of action is really revealing how important a sense of perspective is, and to try and see a discussion from the opposing person’s view.
Sana Takeda’s art is painted, with detail placed in the important sections that a reader’s eye is most likely to be drawn to, like facial expressions and the action. Unfortunately, some facial expressions are underwhelming, with some of the action also being drawn very confusingly that it isn’t entirely clear how it plays out. All of Draven’s exaggerated facial expressions are a joy to look at, but I wish the same could be said for the other characters consistently. Make no mistake, the art is wonderful and Takeda has found her own unique artstyle that won’t be forgotten, but it was a noticeable issue when reading.
Really enjoyed the romantic, emotional and thought-provoking story beats condensed into a quick 22 pages, and the art could have had more work done, but nonetheless its unique appearance has more of my respect than if it were done generically.
[Read and reviewed in July 2023]
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