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Rating for the whole series, true rating is likely closer to a 3-3.5.
I first (and last) read Full Moon as a middle schooler, so the series does have a nostalgic place in my heart, and Arina Tanemura is undoubtably a master of her craft (the artwork and coloring is really gorgeous, and her style remains renowned) but I would still hesitate to call it a “good” series.
It’s one of those series where you can tell the targeted age - it’s meant for young girls, riffs on the magical girl genre, and does feature some darker emotional themes, though admittedly with an immature and optimistic take. As a middle schooler, this didn’t bother me - it was maybe one of the first series I read that addressed issues like terminal illness and suicide in a serious way through the eyes of a child still trying to be optimistic and headstrong. But as an adult, I can see some downsides to that - Mitsuki is only 12, magically transforming into a 16yo to become a singer, but still wrestles with adult ideas of love and fidelity with other assumed-adult characters because of her emotional maturity. But if that’s the case, why are the adults around her so immature?? Mitsuki really goes between total optimism/innocence and withheld grief/guilt, and I feel like this is mainly because of her youth because the other characters feel more flawed and nuanced. Also I don’t love that her romance story with Takuto only works because he looks young?? She’s 12 and he was 12 /when he debuted with her dad’s band/ so how old is her now? There’s also some other red flags in other romantic situations but I liked the emotional messiness of it sometimes.
Honestly, I feel like the strength of this story is in the shinigami characters and implied underworld, though Tanemura doesn’t go into nearly enough (if any) detail of how that world actually works or came to be lol. But the idea of shinigami being people who died by suicide gripped me then, and it compelled me now. The other adult storylines have nuances in how flawed the adults were in their lives and choices, but they were still very much background stories compared to Mitsuki’s main storyline. I also enjoyed the background of the music industry that reminds me of the modern Oshi no Ko, though while there were some inferences to darker happenings tbh in the music industry, it’s largely glossed over because Mitsuki is “pure” and shouldn’t be “sullied”.
Anyways, fun for a nostalgic read! Really gorgeous to look at even if Tanemura isn’t my favorite because of her writing. Appreciate the darker themes but ultimately feel like it’s not nuanced enough. Also sorry eichi that you never got any true dialogue )’:
I first (and last) read Full Moon as a middle schooler, so the series does have a nostalgic place in my heart, and Arina Tanemura is undoubtably a master of her craft (the artwork and coloring is really gorgeous, and her style remains renowned) but I would still hesitate to call it a “good” series.
It’s one of those series where you can tell the targeted age - it’s meant for young girls, riffs on the magical girl genre, and does feature some darker emotional themes, though admittedly with an immature and optimistic take. As a middle schooler, this didn’t bother me - it was maybe one of the first series I read that addressed issues like terminal illness and suicide in a serious way through the eyes of a child still trying to be optimistic and headstrong. But as an adult, I can see some downsides to that - Mitsuki is only 12, magically transforming into a 16yo to become a singer, but still wrestles with adult ideas of love and fidelity with other assumed-adult characters because of her emotional maturity. But if that’s the case, why are the adults around her so immature?? Mitsuki really goes between total optimism/innocence and withheld grief/guilt, and I feel like this is mainly because of her youth because the other characters feel more flawed and nuanced. Also I don’t love that her romance story with Takuto only works because he looks young?? She’s 12 and he was 12 /when he debuted with her dad’s band/ so how old is her now? There’s also some other red flags in other romantic situations but I liked the emotional messiness of it sometimes.
Honestly, I feel like the strength of this story is in the shinigami characters and implied underworld, though Tanemura doesn’t go into nearly enough (if any) detail of how that world actually works or came to be lol. But the idea of shinigami being people who died by suicide gripped me then, and it compelled me now. The other adult storylines have nuances in how flawed the adults were in their lives and choices, but they were still very much background stories compared to Mitsuki’s main storyline. I also enjoyed the background of the music industry that reminds me of the modern Oshi no Ko, though while there were some inferences to darker happenings tbh in the music industry, it’s largely glossed over because Mitsuki is “pure” and shouldn’t be “sullied”.
Anyways, fun for a nostalgic read! Really gorgeous to look at even if Tanemura isn’t my favorite because of her writing. Appreciate the darker themes but ultimately feel like it’s not nuanced enough. Also sorry eichi that you never got any true dialogue )’: