neko's thinkbox

Ar Tonelico II Vol.3 cover

Obviously, I was very busy today packing my last stuffs for the UK, so I barely had enough time to read the last volume of this manga. Since it’s pretty late, I’ll try to keep it short. ^^;

As usual, major game spoilers ahead, proceed at your own risk, etc.

Well, it’s over again. And… I am satisfied. Yes, this last volume hasn’t disappointed me (much).

This much is clear: the end is the same. However, this time there were a lot of differences in the storyline that could distance this a little further from the game, the most important being the final part of the story: the Infelsphere was very short, as expected; it only quickly showed Cloche’s past, and was about to reach completion, but then Infel decided to kidnap Luca. Here as well, Infel’s goal is to revive Nenesha (who lives as a Heart of Gaea on Sol Marta) in order to execute Sublimation; however, this time, she needs the body of the Maiden of Fuero, Luca, in order to do that. It is a very interesting development that actually makes a lot more sense than in the original story! I liked it a lot, as well as the resolution, well, which I obviously won’t reveal to you.

The epic showdown between Croix and Targana - a lot better than I had expected.

The epic showdown between Croix and Targana – a lot better than I had expected.

There were also a lot of expected shortcomings, for instance, the whole last volume in fact only takes place on Pastalia between the Public Square and the Hill of Metafalica; there’s no traveling about whatsoever. As such, the Tower to the Heavens never appeared. Instead, everything else came to Pastalia: Raki, Infel, even Sol Marta got pulled all the way down to speed up matters.

The epilogue, was VERY surprising. Not only for Croix’s choice of character (well it kind of seemed obvious in the previous chapters who he was gunning for), but also for the direction he was going, and for the people who were left behind. Under different circumstances, I would have been massively disappointed in Croix (since that’s definitely not the choice I would have made) but I shall easily forgive him.

What I didn’t like was the pretty fast pace in the last few chapters, which caused a few minor holes in the story. Raki flew down and attacked our people, and Alfman held her back – we’ve never seen her again ever since. Surely Alfman wasn’t THAT strong, as far as I remember? Or, as the final battle was over… argh, I can’t say it. But it was quickly swept aside, it was quite rushed. At least Croix sang in the final battle, too! But singing and fighting altogether… I thought men sucked at multitasking.

Another thing, the lack of Jakuri. She wasn’t shown all too often, and I wished she would have made a bigger difference with her presence, but she seemed so passive overall.

Only now did I notice that Jakuri's extended hand is a little... odd. D:

Only now did I notice that Jakuri’s extended hand is a little… odd. D: OH AND THE DIVINE ARMY! Never noticed them either.

In the end, I am glad that I read this manga though. It offered me a different way how this interesting story could have been told, while making me remember all the great moments of the game as well. The only trouble with it is, its shortness. Three volumes simply cannot do justice to such a lengthy and fascinating story that is Ar Tonelico 2, and I do regret not seeing some key side characters like the shopkeeps, Reisha, Chester, etc and all the other gimmicks of the game.^[1] Had there been a few more chapters/volumes, perhaps we could have had a glimpse of it all, and it could have shown a little more of the people of Metafalss (so it wouldn’t have felt as if our protagonists were fighting only for their own sake).

Nevertheless, once again, it was a very enjoyable read, and a lot of it is of course attributed to the great design by Aya Megumu. What an improvement since ~Arpeggio~!

Ah… I’ve seen this story end so often now, and yet I still want to see it again and again, until I get sick of it. Or until Ar Tonelico 3 is announced. What gives, TGS 2009? Good or bad news??

Midnight already? I must go, big day ahead. Leaving for the UK today, so… ^^; Don’t worry, you will not see my professional scanning skills again so soon. :P

1. Not even a cameo from the first game… :( [↩]