Asuka Katsura
Author of Blood+, Volume 1
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So if you find yourself buying the manga because you can't find the original OVA (which came first), you're going to be very disappointed by the manga...
It feels like it's trying to be a completely different series compared to the OVA. You still have the spirit of Cosette and the mortal man, Eiri, who she haunts and tempts into being with her forever, but the OVA portrayed their horrifying relationship with a lot more mastery and used a loli as part of a psychological horror extremely well. show more In the manga, Eiri is even more bland, and Cosette doesn't feel like the fearful loli she is in the OVA, feeling like a completely different spirit that haunts you in a more calm and reserved way; still wanting to tempt you into eternity with her, but also keeping secrets in a far more innocent and elegant way compared to her OVA counterpart. They feel like two different characters - and Eiri is somehow even more boring in the manga than he is in the anime because Eiri had a whole cast of female characters to play off of in the OVA, showing his relationships with the women in his life and why Cosette is so different in dangerous by comparison. In the manga, he doesn't have that. He's basically dragged into a quest to get all of Cosette's stuff back.
And on that note: the manga's telling a story about spirits and their relationships with the stuff they left behind.
The concept alone is interesting and had the potential to be better explored if the series was longer, but the manga is just 2 volumes long. And I could even forgive the characterization of Eiri and Cosette being different, and their haunting relationship being different since Cosette's final goal is slightly different (getting all her stuff back in the manga where that was only implied that could be a goal in the OVA, but ultimately never explored in the OVA - which just focuses on Eiri and Cosette's relationship and all of Cosette's secrets and complex feelings). Manga Cosette does have a little depth in a different way that makes her very sympathetic and makes you hope she'll find peace and not be so lonely, but then it's also a shame that the fetch quest for all of her stuff is only 2 volumes long, and that her relationship with Eiri isn't all that developed along the way. Her attachment to her belongings, even if they brought her pain, were still things she wanted back in order to feel complete and move on into eternity with Eiri - which is a pretty mournful and introspective concept right there! But when your ghost girl has a stronger attachment with her stuff than her love interest, that's saying something... It's a great idea and a story that could be interesting between a ghost and an antique store clerk - but it's definitely not made interesting here, because Eiri has the personality of wet newspaper, and just can't keep up with this less vengeful, calmer and slightly more somber Cosette who's still just as lonely (and ready to move on) as her OVA counterpart.
And you know it's also sad when the theory that Eiri might be a pervert (based on very subtle details in the OVA and the fact that he became obsessed with a little ghost lolita in a wine glass/portrait in the first place), makes him more interesting as a character. But even OVA Eiri had other people around his age to bounce off of and show that he actually had a life outside of Cosette, which made him giving into his obsession with Cosette all the more tragic. Manga Eiri is literally less interesting than the OVA version of Eiri who might be a pervert... Now that's just tragic.
So yeah, you can skip the manga and focus on trying to find the OVA if you just wanna relive the Le Portrait de Petite Cosette experience all over again. The manga will not help you relive the OVA. It will only disappoint. show less
It feels like it's trying to be a completely different series compared to the OVA. You still have the spirit of Cosette and the mortal man, Eiri, who she haunts and tempts into being with her forever, but the OVA portrayed their horrifying relationship with a lot more mastery and used a loli as part of a psychological horror extremely well. show more In the manga, Eiri is even more bland, and Cosette doesn't feel like the fearful loli she is in the OVA, feeling like a completely different spirit that haunts you in a more calm and reserved way; still wanting to tempt you into eternity with her, but also keeping secrets in a far more innocent and elegant way compared to her OVA counterpart. They feel like two different characters - and Eiri is somehow even more boring in the manga than he is in the anime because Eiri had a whole cast of female characters to play off of in the OVA, showing his relationships with the women in his life and why Cosette is so different in dangerous by comparison. In the manga, he doesn't have that. He's basically dragged into a quest to get all of Cosette's stuff back.
And on that note: the manga's telling a story about spirits and their relationships with the stuff they left behind.
The concept alone is interesting and had the potential to be better explored if the series was longer, but the manga is just 2 volumes long. And I could even forgive the characterization of Eiri and Cosette being different, and their haunting relationship being different since Cosette's final goal is slightly different (getting all her stuff back in the manga where that was only implied that could be a goal in the OVA, but ultimately never explored in the OVA - which just focuses on Eiri and Cosette's relationship and all of Cosette's secrets and complex feelings). Manga Cosette does have a little depth in a different way that makes her very sympathetic and makes you hope she'll find peace and not be so lonely, but then it's also a shame that the fetch quest for all of her stuff is only 2 volumes long, and that her relationship with Eiri isn't all that developed along the way. Her attachment to her belongings, even if they brought her pain, were still things she wanted back in order to feel complete and move on into eternity with Eiri - which is a pretty mournful and introspective concept right there! But when your ghost girl has a stronger attachment with her stuff than her love interest, that's saying something... It's a great idea and a story that could be interesting between a ghost and an antique store clerk - but it's definitely not made interesting here, because Eiri has the personality of wet newspaper, and just can't keep up with this less vengeful, calmer and slightly more somber Cosette who's still just as lonely (and ready to move on) as her OVA counterpart.
And you know it's also sad when the theory that Eiri might be a pervert (based on very subtle details in the OVA and the fact that he became obsessed with a little ghost lolita in a wine glass/portrait in the first place), makes him more interesting as a character. But even OVA Eiri had other people around his age to bounce off of and show that he actually had a life outside of Cosette, which made him giving into his obsession with Cosette all the more tragic. Manga Eiri is literally less interesting than the OVA version of Eiri who might be a pervert... Now that's just tragic.
So yeah, you can skip the manga and focus on trying to find the OVA if you just wanna relive the Le Portrait de Petite Cosette experience all over again. The manga will not help you relive the OVA. It will only disappoint. show less
So if you find yourself buying the manga because you can't find the original OVA (which came first), you're going to be very disappointed by the manga...
It feels like it's trying to be a completely different series compared to the OVA. You still have the spirit of Cosette and the mortal man, Eiri, who she haunts and tempts into being with her forever, but the OVA portrayed their horrifying relationship with a lot more mastery and used a loli as part of a psychological horror extremely well. show more In the manga, Eiri is even more bland, and Cosette doesn't feel like the fearful loli she is in the OVA, feeling like a completely different spirit that haunts you in a more calm and reserved way; still wanting to tempt you into eternity with her, but also keeping secrets in a far more innocent and elegant way compared to her OVA counterpart. They feel like two different characters - and Eiri is somehow even more boring in the manga than he is in the anime because Eiri had a whole cast of female characters to play off of in the OVA, showing his relationships with the women in his life and why Cosette is so different in dangerous by comparison. In the manga, he doesn't have that. He's basically dragged into a quest to get all of Cosette's stuff back.
And on that note: the manga's telling a story about spirits and their relationships with the stuff they left behind.
The concept alone is interesting and had the potential to be better explored if the series was longer, but the manga is just 2 volumes long. And I could even forgive the characterization of Eiri and Cosette being different, and their haunting relationship being different since Cosette's final goal is slightly different (getting all her stuff back in the manga where that was only implied that could be a goal in the OVA, but ultimately never explored in the OVA - which just focuses on Eiri and Cosette's relationship and all of Cosette's secrets and complex feelings). Manga Cosette does have a little depth in a different way that makes her very sympathetic and makes you hope she'll find peace and not be so lonely, but then it's also a shame that the fetch quest for all of her stuff is only 2 volumes long, and that her relationship with Eiri isn't all that developed along the way. Her attachment to her belongings, even if they brought her pain, were still things she wanted back in order to feel complete and move on into eternity with Eiri - which is a pretty mournful and introspective concept right there! But when your ghost girl has a stronger attachment with her stuff than her love interest, that's saying something... It's a great idea and a story that could be interesting between a ghost and an antique store clerk - but it's definitely not made interesting here, because Eiri has the personality of wet newspaper, and just can't keep up with this less vengeful, calmer and slightly more somber Cosette who's still just as lonely (and ready to move on) as her OVA counterpart.
As for the ending of this two volume manga, it's got a different theme than the ending of the anime did.
The anime's themes were all about obsession, how are your obsessions would take you, and the consequences for you going so far just to have the token of your obsession with you always. Eiri's obsession became Cosette, Cosette's obsession was revenge for her death and the death of her family, and the women in Eiri's life didn't really have obsessions beyond one childhood friend who was obviously romantically interested in Eiri - if anything, it's the women (female friends) in Eiri's life that were trying to warn him about impending disaster, and making sure Eiri took caution and took care of himself. Eiri didn't listen. He simply gave into his obsession. And when you take into consideration the theory that Eiri might've been a pervert (his entire relationship with the titluar ghost girl Cosette - who's never given an actual age but looks very young, as well as a subtle blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment at the start of the OVA where two school girls pass him by, and he smiles and waves at them), the theme of obsession becomes even more tragic and all-consuming - like a more passive Humbert Humbert who's also paying the price for his obsessions by way of being haunted by the ghost girl he so desires.
The manga has no such themes of obsession and no such conflict. Cosette just wanted her stuff back. Cosette just wanted another person to go into eternity with her so she wouldn't be lonely, and the only way to possibly make it right was to have the reincarnation of her very own killer atone for his sins and go into eternity with her; wanted someone to love her so much that they would sacrifice their life for her. And Eiri was it. Eiri became her goal after that, because he was just that perfect fit. But sadly the tale of Cosette will always end in tragedy... It's very much a bummer ending that doesn't give you even the slightest bit of hope like the OVA ending did - and even that bit of hope was extremely subtle and only ever implied, discussed on wikis, but never actually 100% confirmed in the OVA itself (and all the DVD's bonus features are in Japanese without subtitles)... But despite how purposefully open-ended it was, the OVA ending still felt like an accomplishment. Like overcoming an addiction and having all the withdraw symptoms wash over you like it was nothing, and like you could keep moving forward. In the manga, the ending is just bland and sad, with no such catharsis to be had.
So yeah, you can skip the manga and focus on trying to find the OVA if you just wanna relive the Le Portrait de Petite Cosette experience all over again. The OVA handles it's themes much better, dealt with their titular ghost girl's struggle better, and I honestly wish the OVA just had a 1:1 manga adaptation so those struggling to find the OVA on DVD had an alternative.
The story the manga is trying to tell could've worked if it lasted longer, or if it was workshopped a lot more before publishing. show less
It feels like it's trying to be a completely different series compared to the OVA. You still have the spirit of Cosette and the mortal man, Eiri, who she haunts and tempts into being with her forever, but the OVA portrayed their horrifying relationship with a lot more mastery and used a loli as part of a psychological horror extremely well. show more In the manga, Eiri is even more bland, and Cosette doesn't feel like the fearful loli she is in the OVA, feeling like a completely different spirit that haunts you in a more calm and reserved way; still wanting to tempt you into eternity with her, but also keeping secrets in a far more innocent and elegant way compared to her OVA counterpart. They feel like two different characters - and Eiri is somehow even more boring in the manga than he is in the anime because Eiri had a whole cast of female characters to play off of in the OVA, showing his relationships with the women in his life and why Cosette is so different in dangerous by comparison. In the manga, he doesn't have that. He's basically dragged into a quest to get all of Cosette's stuff back.
And on that note: the manga's telling a story about spirits and their relationships with the stuff they left behind.
The concept alone is interesting and had the potential to be better explored if the series was longer, but the manga is just 2 volumes long. And I could even forgive the characterization of Eiri and Cosette being different, and their haunting relationship being different since Cosette's final goal is slightly different (getting all her stuff back in the manga where that was only implied that could be a goal in the OVA, but ultimately never explored in the OVA - which just focuses on Eiri and Cosette's relationship and all of Cosette's secrets and complex feelings). Manga Cosette does have a little depth in a different way that makes her very sympathetic and makes you hope she'll find peace and not be so lonely, but then it's also a shame that the fetch quest for all of her stuff is only 2 volumes long, and that her relationship with Eiri isn't all that developed along the way. Her attachment to her belongings, even if they brought her pain, were still things she wanted back in order to feel complete and move on into eternity with Eiri - which is a pretty mournful and introspective concept right there! But when your ghost girl has a stronger attachment with her stuff than her love interest, that's saying something... It's a great idea and a story that could be interesting between a ghost and an antique store clerk - but it's definitely not made interesting here, because Eiri has the personality of wet newspaper, and just can't keep up with this less vengeful, calmer and slightly more somber Cosette who's still just as lonely (and ready to move on) as her OVA counterpart.
As for the ending of this two volume manga, it's got a different theme than the ending of the anime did.
The anime's themes were all about obsession, how are your obsessions would take you, and the consequences for you going so far just to have the token of your obsession with you always. Eiri's obsession became Cosette, Cosette's obsession was revenge for her death and the death of her family, and the women in Eiri's life didn't really have obsessions beyond one childhood friend who was obviously romantically interested in Eiri - if anything, it's the women (female friends) in Eiri's life that were trying to warn him about impending disaster, and making sure Eiri took caution and took care of himself. Eiri didn't listen. He simply gave into his obsession. And when you take into consideration the theory that Eiri might've been a pervert (his entire relationship with the titluar ghost girl Cosette - who's never given an actual age but looks very young, as well as a subtle blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment at the start of the OVA where two school girls pass him by, and he smiles and waves at them), the theme of obsession becomes even more tragic and all-consuming - like a more passive Humbert Humbert who's also paying the price for his obsessions by way of being haunted by the ghost girl he so desires.
The manga has no such themes of obsession and no such conflict. Cosette just wanted her stuff back. Cosette just wanted another person to go into eternity with her so she wouldn't be lonely, and the only way to possibly make it right was to have the reincarnation of her very own killer atone for his sins and go into eternity with her; wanted someone to love her so much that they would sacrifice their life for her. And Eiri was it. Eiri became her goal after that, because he was just that perfect fit. But sadly the tale of Cosette will always end in tragedy... It's very much a bummer ending that doesn't give you even the slightest bit of hope like the OVA ending did - and even that bit of hope was extremely subtle and only ever implied, discussed on wikis, but never actually 100% confirmed in the OVA itself (and all the DVD's bonus features are in Japanese without subtitles)... But despite how purposefully open-ended it was, the OVA ending still felt like an accomplishment. Like overcoming an addiction and having all the withdraw symptoms wash over you like it was nothing, and like you could keep moving forward. In the manga, the ending is just bland and sad, with no such catharsis to be had.
So yeah, you can skip the manga and focus on trying to find the OVA if you just wanna relive the Le Portrait de Petite Cosette experience all over again. The OVA handles it's themes much better, dealt with their titular ghost girl's struggle better, and I honestly wish the OVA just had a 1:1 manga adaptation so those struggling to find the OVA on DVD had an alternative.
The story the manga is trying to tell could've worked if it lasted longer, or if it was workshopped a lot more before publishing. show less
In this very creepy ending to this horror manga duet we learn Cosette's plan and Eiri's unique role. Even more chilling than the first volume it pretty much made my skin crawl, and not just because of those darn dolls (I'm very doll-a-phobic).
Certainly not one I plan to read again although I think that those who like the dark, Gothic horror type stories will eat this one up.
Certainly not one I plan to read again although I think that those who like the dark, Gothic horror type stories will eat this one up.
With creepy drawings and a dark plotline this anime based manga takes the tragic ghost story to a more personal plain. Art student/antique shop employee Eiri isn't quite sure what is happening to him. He had always considered himself a normal teen until he becomes obsessed with drawing a beautiful yet sad seeming young lady. When his dream girl comes to life in the form of a ghost only he can see it sets him on a quest to find the spectral Cossette's cursed possessions, hopefully before they show more kill anyone else.
I found this story pretty interesting although I don't usually care too much for horror manga. Cossette's desperation is palpable and although she appears to have a growing concern for Eiri, it still isn't completely clear if it is because she really cares, or if it is because she needs him for a nefarious, hidden purpose.
The artwork is dark and sort of reminds me Death Note in the way the characters, with the exception of Cossette, and backgrounds are drawn. Cosette is a creepy little girl personified in black and white and is one of the more uniquely drawn people I've seen.
At this point I tend to suspect we may be heading for a tragic end in the second volume finale and I'm curious to see how thing work out. This is certainly a good one for older teens who enjoy light horror and more erudite dialog than often seen in manga. show less
I found this story pretty interesting although I don't usually care too much for horror manga. Cossette's desperation is palpable and although she appears to have a growing concern for Eiri, it still isn't completely clear if it is because she really cares, or if it is because she needs him for a nefarious, hidden purpose.
The artwork is dark and sort of reminds me Death Note in the way the characters, with the exception of Cossette, and backgrounds are drawn. Cosette is a creepy little girl personified in black and white and is one of the more uniquely drawn people I've seen.
At this point I tend to suspect we may be heading for a tragic end in the second volume finale and I'm curious to see how thing work out. This is certainly a good one for older teens who enjoy light horror and more erudite dialog than often seen in manga. show less
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