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A review by rereader33
The Witch and the Beast, Vol. 4 by Kousuke Satake
5.0
Okay, no fucking joke, this series is the FUCKING BEST. I shit you not, I BLEW through this volume with reckless abandon and I regret nothing.
One of the things that I love about this series is how it handles exposition. First off, the exposition never feels forced or unnatural, occurring during scenes when it logically would. Second, even when exposition occurs in the middle of a fight (like in this volume) it never disrupts the momentum of said fight and goes right back into the action when it's done. Third, each exposition scenes is handled concisely and quickly. I never feel like a character is reading from a textbook or using repetitive/ redundant language because characters say what needs to be said to understand the context of what's going on and that's it. And I will forever FUCKING PRAISE Satake for writing concise exposition scenes because apparently that is a serious issue some mangaka (and honestly novelists) struggle with.
But more than that, the pacing in this series is perfect. It's not so rushed that it feels like crucial details or plot points are skimmed, but doesn't drag on for the sake of mystery or drama. And of course, the artwork and characters continue to be the absolute best. Guideau and Ashaf are still an amazing duo and I'm so glad Helga has joined them. She's a super interesting character and I was hoping she wouldn't disappear after this arc, but thankfully she's joining the crew. The art is absolutely stunning and suits the world, story, and tone and I will never shut up about it, so get used to it.
Okay, I need to wrap this up or else this is gonna turn into a fucking dissertation. In short, this series is still amazing, I am still having the time of my life reading it, and I still highly recommend it to all fantasy fans. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk, have a nice day.
One of the things that I love about this series is how it handles exposition. First off, the exposition never feels forced or unnatural, occurring during scenes when it logically would. Second, even when exposition occurs in the middle of a fight (like in this volume) it never disrupts the momentum of said fight and goes right back into the action when it's done. Third, each exposition scenes is handled concisely and quickly. I never feel like a character is reading from a textbook or using repetitive/ redundant language because characters say what needs to be said to understand the context of what's going on and that's it. And I will forever FUCKING PRAISE Satake for writing concise exposition scenes because apparently that is a serious issue some mangaka (and honestly novelists) struggle with.
But more than that, the pacing in this series is perfect. It's not so rushed that it feels like crucial details or plot points are skimmed, but doesn't drag on for the sake of mystery or drama. And of course, the artwork and characters continue to be the absolute best. Guideau and Ashaf are still an amazing duo and I'm so glad Helga has joined them. She's a super interesting character and I was hoping she wouldn't disappear after this arc, but thankfully she's joining the crew. The art is absolutely stunning and suits the world, story, and tone and I will never shut up about it, so get used to it.
Okay, I need to wrap this up or else this is gonna turn into a fucking dissertation. In short, this series is still amazing, I am still having the time of my life reading it, and I still highly recommend it to all fantasy fans. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk, have a nice day.