Intricate Relations Review

Title: Intricate Relations                                   Author: Teagarden

Source: Brothers x Conflict                               Characters: Ema H. & All Asahina Brothers

Genre(s): Drama / Romance                              Rating: T

Chapter(s): 36                                                  Status: Complete

Author’s Synopsis: Ema Hinata joins the Asahina family at age eleven. As Ema grows she offers the brothers support in their dreams, care when they’re down, and cheering when they succeed. The brothers all come to adore Ema, but as time goes on they have to ask themselves: do they love her as their stepsister, or as a woman?

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11933610/1/Intricate-Relations

 

Welcome Readers, I felt like I was on a movie kick with my reviews lately and I needed to change things up.  So, I returned to a story a found a couple of months ago when I was on a Brothers x Conflict binge.  It was one of the few stories I found that featured the series’ focal character, Ema, and the multitudes of stepbrothers rather than on just one or two brothers; so, it caught my attention.  Now, after reading this story twice I can properly give it a review that it deserves.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am your reviewing host, the Fan Fic Reviewer; here to review the good, the bad, and those that should never exist in fan fiction.  Today we are entering the world of harem fan fiction – well, reverse harem fan fiction – with “Intricate Relations.”

For those who may have never heard of Brothers x Conflict it is an Otome game, there are manga and light novels available, and an anime.  The premise is that Ema Hinata an only child of a world renowned adventurer, she gains 13 stepbrothers when her father remarries.  Ema begins living with her stepbrothers and over the course of the game, novel, manga, and anime several (all 13) of the brothers come to feel romantic feelings for Emi and vie for her heart.

That is not a typo, there are 13 potential guys for this girl.  Well, 12 in this story because the story didn’t bother with the youngest (thankfully) who is 10 in the anime (13 in Season 2 of the novels).  Still, that is 12 guys to juggle and build potential relationships with in the story.  It’s hard work and the story puts in an admirable effort, however it still has its flaws.  Let’s start there, with the balance of these 12 suitors and their quest for Ema’s affections.

This story was not a slouch in how it handled the brothers.  The brothers each made a different impact on Ema and had their moments with her, and while the balance was pretty well maintained there were still some characters who ended up falling to the way side during the course of the story.  Hikaru didn’t get much of an opportunity to try his luck at Ema’s heart due to the fact that the character moved out of the country and was mostly kept out of the picture; in the end, he became the voice of wisdom to Ema.  Not a bad change.  Iori suffered though.  His potential romance was built as strictly one-sided and his sudden departure then return left no room for anything to potentially take root between him and Ema.  Louis was another one that got regulated to “friend” despite having a decent beginning and would have made a strong contender had his character and attentions been maintained.

Otherwise, the other 9 siblings had pretty solid romance opportunities with Ema.  Each one being cultivated over time from Ema at age 9 to Ema at 18.  The story maintained several of the rivalries from the game / novels / anime and used those to help generate tension between the brothers.  Unfortunately, this made these characters seem narrow sighted for not seeing all their brothers as rivals.  The few brothers who did not have rival to be pitted against normally had to compete with their jobs and the age difference.  Those were probably the most interesting characters as they often acted not out of jealousy (except for 2 instances) but out of the desire to make the most of their time with Ema.

It’s a difference in terms of how the characters approach their feelings for Ema but still the 9 brothers build up strong potential romances with Ema.  Strong enough that it’s hard to know who she will eventually choose.  I will touch on the ending later, for now I want to dive into Ema’s side of this romantic harem.

Ema Hinata is one of those characters who is meant to be the “every girl,” very few defining personality traits and quirks in the game and while she has a bit more in the anime, she lacks a bit of depth.  This story gives her that depth and actually tries to shape her away from the “every girl.”  She doesn’t have a strong personality but she does have one, enough of one that when as her brothers start confessing their feelings to her and (some) becoming aggressive with their affections she reacts.  She doesn’t just take their actions or words; she reacts to them.

Everything that happens as the brothers make moves on her causes Ema stress and the pushier they become, the more she retreats from them.  In the anime, Ema kept pointing out that “they’re family” and in this story she clings to the idea of “Family” even more firmly because she grew up side by side with the brothers then suddenly – it would feel sudden to her – how her brothers feel for her has turned from familial to romantic; it causes her to eventually lash out and say how she sees them as family.  In the anime, it feels like the “family” reason is more of an excuse for her to not analyze her feelings but in this story it makes sense given the history it builds between her and the brothers.

Actually, because of how Ema reacts to the brothers’ aggressive behavior leads to my favorite moment in the story; the part where she leaves Japan with Louis (the brother regulated to friend/family zone) to spend the summer in France.  It’s my favorite part of the story because unlike the anime where Ema tries to family-zone the brothers and they all decide to still pursue her; this story shows that there are consequences to the brothers pushing so hard for her to return their affections.  Ema leaving is also the best point because it allows the character to analyze her feelings and what she wants for her future – a subplot in the story.  It’s the only time where Ema is able to focus on herself instead of the Asahina brothers.

Now, as for the end; much like the game, there are multiple different endings.  There is an ending for Tsubaki, Azusa, Natsuem, Yusuke, Fuuto, Kaname, and Masomi.  While I think this is genius because it allows just about any Reader to be happy with the various endings, it also pisses me off.  Note the number of different endings – 7 – note how many brothers I said had strong romance potential with Ema – 9.  Yeah, two of those brothers did not get an ending, Ukyo and Subaru.  Why I’m mad about this is because the Ukyo had a strong build and was on the same level as Masomi yet for whatever reason he was never given an ending.  Just nothing.  Apparently the story didn’t bother with giving Ukyo a happy ending beyond him just being happy that Ema’s happy.

Truthfully, I’m more upset about Subaru not getting an ending because out of the 9 potential romances his got dropped a bit earlier than the others.  Not completely dropped but enough to signal that the story was done trying to wiggle the basketball star back in.  He had a strong beginning, a weak middle, and then he disappears near the end to pursue his career only to return when Ema returns.  There’s concessions made for the other brothers to try and tie up loose unrequited ends but Subaru gets nothing.  I understand that he’s hard to write – whoever created Subaru’s character did not bother trying to go past “he’s a basketball star who’s awkward with girls” – but this story could’ve given him a bit more potential.  It certainly could’ve – at the very least – given him an end where Ema goes to watch one of his first games in the pro and…well, time makes the heart grow fonder.  This story could’ve gone corny and made it work.  Instead, it ignored the potential.

Overall, the story is very good.  Despite my grievances about certain characters not receiving an ending or a chance at romance, I still enjoy it a lot.  I appreciate how the brothers’ feelings slow eat away at Ema until she breaks down and must literally leave to find herself.  I also enjoy the amount of time devoted to each brother’s feelings and their interactions with Ema.  Personally, my pick would be for Kaname or Yusuke but I’m biased.

I do highly recommend the story, it’s a good one to read and it does a great job of maintaining the harem aspect of the story.  I seriously could see each one of those endings happening and when Ema returned from Japan it was wide open as to who she would end up with.  It was a great story to read and I hope other Readers take the time to check it out.

 

Stars: 8.5 / 10

Chasing Methuselah Review

Title: Chasing Methuselah                                       Author: Sandra E.

Original Source: Inuyasha                                       Character(s): Kagome & Miruko

Rating: M                                                                 Genre(s): Romance

Chapter(s): 13                                                           Status: Complete

Author’s Synopsis: NA

http://www.continuingtales.com/story.php?name=methuselah&part=1

 

Welcome Readers, I am your reviewing host, Idunwanaprofile, reviewing the good, the bad, and those that should never exist in fan fiction.  What I have for my dear Readers this time is a treasure that I had discovered years ago.  I’ll kind of date myself but I found this story back when Fanfiction.net still had the rating NC-17 and before they said “nay-nay” to stories containing descriptive sex scenes.  I know that stories with sex scenes still get posted but this story I found before the whole drama with the ratings and content.

As anyone can see with the URL I provided, I didn’t link this to FFN.  I couldn’t.  This story has been removed from FFN despite the fact that the scenes weren’t posted on FFN but on a different site.  That’s neither here nor there.  The important thing is that I did find a place where this story still exists and the link above is still good as of August 18, 2017.

As for what drew me to the story, it is a Miroku x Kagome fan fic and when I first found it I was relatively new the world of fan fiction and didn’t realize that fans mixed and matched character romances.  That concept blew my mind at the time!  So when I found this story and it was NOT Inuyasha x Kagome I was pleasantly surprised.  This story was my gateway into exploring non-canon couples.

Enough of my relationship with the story, on to the actual content!

In this story Kagome discovers Miroku’s reincarnation in the form of a transfer student in her class and he has memories from his past life.  In an effort to try and glean as much information as possible about the future from him, Kagome spends more time with the reincarnated Miroku in modern Japan.  However, she ends up spending more time with the actual Miroku in Feudal Japan, setting in motion a series of events and situations that open the characters up to romance.

There are several things that this story does right (and thus set the bar kind of high for other stories), but it does have its flaws.  Flaws that while I overlook while I am reading still need to be addressed.  Unlike A Dangerous Game (see my first review ever), this fic is not the type where I had loved it growing up and now that I have reread it, I find that it doesn’t live up to my fond memories.  Nope!  I am grateful for not having another repeat of that disaster.  Nah, this story still meets my expectations even though I do pick up on aspects of the story that need work.

I guess I’ll start with some of the things the story does right.  There’s so many so I’m going to limit myself a bit otherwise we’ll be here all day.  So I’ll focus on: the romance, the characters, and balance of the story.  Those three areas will be plenty.

Anyone who has read my previous reviews of romance fics have probably figured out that I’m very particular when it comes to romances.  Read some of my previous reviews, I get up on my soapbox quite often – I haven’t lately but I will soon.  The romance between Miroku and Kagome is the type of romance that I can really get behind and believe to work out despite any dysfunction.  It takes its time to shift the relationship between the characters from companions/friends to lovers and when the shift happens it’s not sudden; instead it comes softly.

What the story does NOT do, is make Miroku the rebound guy turned romance.  Nope, Kagome is gradually recovering after Inuyasha has chosen Kikyou and is not on the hunt for her next crush.  Nor does the romance start as some scheme of Miroku’s to get into Kagome’s pants…er, um her skirt.  Nope, because for the better part of the story Kagome is under the distinct impression (like most fans) that Miroku likes Sango.

The romance is a slow build up and is a bit complicated.  I’m trying to think of a way to describe the romance without spoiling the story.  …It’s a romance that buds from an accident.  Remember the synopsis and Kagome discovering Miroku’s reincarnation with memories intact?  Yeah, it all starts because of him!  Kagome realizes that the only way there can be a reincarnation of Miroku is if Miroku died and since the reincarnation nonverbally communicates that he dies sometime before they defeat Naraku, Kagome makes it her personal mission to try and prevent his death.

So, it’s not that Kagome instantly realizes she loves Miroku (in fact she doesn’t realize that until chapter 8 or 9) and Miroku isn’t instantly in love with Kagome; he goes from being curious about Kagome’s sudden attention to his personal health to curious about her life in modern Japan (particularly about this “he” she keeps referring to) to jealous over having to share her with another time and an invisible romance rival.  It’s a slow yet seamless build.  I love it!

Kagome and Miroku (original and reincarnated) make this story.  All of the other characters are great in building out this world and bringing depth to the two worlds Kagome interacts in, but the leads absolutely steal this story.

Kagome is a bit different from the anime / manga; she truly asks as a girl out of time as she brings up science and facts that she would know from the future.  There is a point where she literally explains out a math problem to Shippo while she’s studying – you’ll never see that in the anime.  There’s another point where she uses her knowledge of science and biology to form a plan to take out Naraku; I’m pretty sure the anime doesn’t bother with science in Naraku’s downfall.  Then in her time, she’s brings up knowledge that she only gained from her time in the Feudal Era.  I appreciate this change because Kagome’s knowledge should be slipping into the two worlds.

There’s some other OOC (out of character) quirks and traits that make Kagome different from her anime / manga counterparts, but the essence of Kagome is still there.  She wants to help her friends, collect the shards, defeat Naraku, have everyone find their “happily ever after,” etc.  The core of Kagome is there with a few embellishments.

Miroku (original) is amazing.  The changes to his character are in reaction to changes in Kagome’s behavior.  Like her increased interest and concern in his health causes him to start hanging out with her a bit more.  This in turn makes him unfazed when Sango is engaged to another man.  Instead, he becomes jealous about the unknown suitor from the modern time who has Kagome all to himself.  I don’t normally like the jealous characters but Miroku pulls it off well in this story; he subtly stirs the conversation away from Kagome’s time and to more immediate topics in the Feudal Era.

Just like with Kagome, the core of Miroku is there but now it’s enhanced due to the interactions with Kagome.  The two characters play off each other easily.

Miroku (reincarnated) holds his own in this story.  It would so easy to make this character as someone who just sets things in motion but doesn’t truly make an impact until the end.  That is not this character!  No… This reincarnated version of Miroku actively inserts himself into Kagome’s life when she’s home and pursues her (romantically).  He’s not necessarily aggressive with his romantic advances but he certainly makes it obvious to onlookers that he has feelings for Kagome.  He lets Kagome know enough to set in motion key events while not sharing everything until she finally reaches critical points.

For example, the bath tub scene.  I’m not going to spoil the entire scene but I will say that this scene really shows how much reincarnated Miroku was holding back – emotionally.  Realizing that the past has finally reached point X, he “finally” acts on his emotions.

The reincarnated Miroku is very much his own character.  There is enough that ties him to the original but his past and upbringing is different and it shows in his character.  It’s refreshing and it causes confliction in Kagome as she tries not to think of the reincarnation as the original yet can’t help but feel attached to him like she does to the original.  It’s a great addition and allows for further depth to Kagome and the romances.

Finally, this story has balance!  It’s not purely romance, action, slice of life, etc.  It is a combination!  There are times when Kagome is in the Feudal Era and romance is developing, the gang is attacked, there’s questions about what comes after Naraku’s death, etc.  The romance reigns supreme but there’s plenty of time devoted to action scenes and the characters – particularly Kagome – figuring out what to do after the adventure is over.  Then in the modern era, there’s a balance between school, romance, and more action.  Nothing feels like it’s encroaching on each other, it all weaves into this story.

There’s a bit of everything for everyone.

I mentioned flaws in the story and indeed there are flaws.  I will address the elephant first, the very end.  What the fuck?  It’s not a bad ending but the logic behind defeating Naraku is both genius and questionable.  I don’t want to spoil it but let’s just say that on the one hand the logic seems feasible but on execution is questionable.  It’s the difference between hypothesis and results.  The hypothesis can make sense and seem solid, but the results make you question “how is this possible?”  That’s the final fight with Naraku.  Then there’s the ending after the final fight which makes sense and doesn’t.  Like, it makes sense because why wouldn’t there be demons in modern day, but how they all get there makes zero sense.

It’s a flaw but it doesn’t deter me from reading this story and recommending it to others. Oh and I recommend this story; I recommend it so hard!  Regardless of the end, the journey is amazing and the characters are such a joy to read.  The romance is wonderful and it’s one of those things that when it finally comes together you just want to cheer.  Oh yeah, this story is great and worth reading.

Go check out Chasing Methuselah, it’s worth the read.

 

Stars: 9.5 / 10

A Breach of Etiquette Review

Title: A Breach of Etiquette                     Author:  Ponygirl7

Source: Secret of Moonacre                     Characters: Maria Merryweather & Robin De Noir

Rating:  K (G)                                          Genre: Romance

Chapter(s): 1                                           Status: Complete

Synopsis: Admit it; you wished Maria and Robin were established as a legitimate couple in the movie. We all do. Well, I have continued their little romance into the next day. I hope it meets with your standards of excellence. I apologize if it’s rather long compared to my others; if you’re only reading this for the romance, skip to the latter part. Please enjoy, and please review! Thanks!

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11726519/1/A-Breach-of-Etiquette

 

Welcome Readers, I’ll start with an apology.  I have not been posting my reviews for almost a month now.  I am sorry.  Things turned hectic at work and I just never got an opportunity to truly sit down, read a fan fic or two, and type up my review.  I am sorry and I will strive to do better in the future.

In the meantime, I’m happy to talk about this cute story I found for a little movie called Secret of Moonacre.  If anyone is not familiar with the movie, it’s about a cursed land – Moonacre – and the two dominate families that have brought upon this curse through their greed and pride.  To save Moonacre (and everyone living there) the destined Moon Princess must find the moon pearls and return them to the moon.  It’s a cute movie that is similar to Secret Garden and A Little Princess.  I happened upon it on Netflix.

To my delight there is a decent sized community of fans out there who have written fan fiction for the movie.  Thus I was able to find the piece for today.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am your reviewing host, the Fan Fic Reviewer; here to review the good, the bad, and those that should never exist in fan fiction.  Let’s dive into A Breach of Etiquette.

The Author’s synopsis doesn’t provide any information about the story other than that it’s a Maria x Robin romance.  So, I’ll give my own synopsis.  Moonacre has been saved yet for some reason everyone is trying to keep Maria away from the Merryweather mansion.  What secret is everyone hiding?  Thankfully, Robin is willing to keep the Moon Princess distracted.

Cheesy synopsis but since there wasn’t one available for me to build off of I figured I’d write one that should be available.  Plus, that is the gist of the story.  There is a secret that everyone but Maria knows about and they are determined to keep her away from the mansion until the appropriate time.  So, Maria ends up spending the day in the forest with Robin.

I’ve already said this a few times but this is a cute story; it’s a bit of fan service in that it’s about a romance that never happens in the movie.  However, unlike the MirrorMask story, From Here to There, this story doesn’t toss out storytelling to get to the fan service.  Instead, this story cultivates a narrative that weaves in the romance and awards fans with the long awaited kiss.  It’s thoughtful and does a great job in keeping the characters in line with their movie counterparts.

The interactions between Robin and Maria are in line with the movie and are sweet.  There are moments that are meant to be subtly romantic like Robin catching Maria when she slips on the cliff, but there aren’t back-to-back heart fluttering moments.  Instead, it’s very much like two friends going off to play and bantering.  That’s not to say that the romance is out of nowhere, it’s woven in through looks and bits of dialogue that have deeper meaning – like when Robin asks Maria if she meant what she said to his father (that Robin is clever, handsome, and would make a good husband).  It’s those understated moments that really help to build the romance.

Maria doesn’t act like a love struck teenager towards Robin.  Rather she approaches him like a friend (or a friendly-rival) – much like near the end of the movie – and isn’t above teasing him about his “fans.”  She takes the views of the other women in stride and doesn’t turn irrationally jealous; instead, their comments just make Maria consider her own thoughts about Robin.  It’s a characterization that I can appreciate; a teenage girl who doesn’t burn with jealousy because another girl thinks her friend is attractive.  It’s something that I think gets overlooked by many fans; jealousy doesn’t need to be part of the equation to indicate attraction.

Robin’s feelings are more easily discernable but he’s not blatant with them.  He’s not stuck in the limbo of trying to discern his feelings – at least not completely; he knows what he feels but he hasn’t quite figured out how to express it.  While there are moments he experiences embarrassment (during lunch as his father and Maria talk about him) and possessiveness (writing his name in all the blank spots on Maria’s dance card), Robin doesn’t try to cage Maria.  This is an important part of the story to me because it is easy to write teenage boys as – unintentional – abusers.  It would have been easy to write Robin as someone who intimidates the other men away from Maria and as someone so insecure that he snaps at Maria for her teasing.  Instead, he doesn’t do any of those things.  He lets her dance with another boy and doesn’t fill up Maria’s dance card until she asks him how to get out of so much dancing.  He takes her teasing in stride and returns it with his own.

The characterizations of Maria and Robin make for great chemistry and makes the journey of the story enjoyable.  And the ending worth the wait.

I’ll wrap this up by saying that it’s a cute story that is worth checking out.  I also highly recommend watching Secret of Moonacre, it is a cute movie with whimsy elements more associated to A Little Princess and The Neverending Story.

 

Stars: 10/10