Manga Review: Millenium Snow, Vol. 1
Posted by: Katherine Dacey on March 28, 2007 at 12:12 am
Millenium Snow, Vol. 1
By Bisco Hatori
Viz, 208 pp.
Rating: Teen
Millenium Snow epitomizes what I call “kitchen-sink” shojo, freely mixing supernatural elements with melodramatic plotlines and slapstick humor. Done poorly, the results would yield something akin to NBC’s campy Passions. A human-vampire romance set in a high school? A heroine suffering from a life-threatening but unnamed disease? A supporting cast that includes a talking bat and a werewolf? Yet in Bisco Hatori’s capable hands, these disparate elements gel into an appealing story with surprising emotional resonance.
Millenium Snow focuses on Chiyuki, a terminally ill seventeen-year-old girl, and Toya, a brash, eighteen-year-old vampire who finds the very smell of human blood revolting. Toya has the power to grant a human being unnaturally long life by sucking her blood. Once bitten, that person becomes his partner (and, presumably, on-call snack) for the next 800 – 1,000 years. Yet Toya cannot bear the thought of biting anyone. It’s not a great leap of imagination to guess what happens next. Chiyuki becomes smitten with Toya, and offers to become his partner. The two engage in a classic shojo courtship, trading public insults while secretly harboring feelings for one another. What prevents their relationship from blossoming is fear: Toya worries that his human partner might grow tired of his company, while Chiyuki worries that she may not live to see the first snowfall of the year.
The real pleasure of Millenium Snow is the skillful way in which Hatori balances Lifetime movie moments with goofy sight gags. Toya’s sidekick Yamimaru, the aforementioned talking bat, injects the right amount of comic relief into many potentially mawkish scenes. Some readers may find this kawaii critter an irritant, as Yamimaru has a tendency to misconjugate verbs and mangle words in the not-so-proud tradition of Jar-Jar Binks. Yet I found him an essential, endearing member of the cast, as he offers insights into Toya’s personality, acts as a go-between for Chiyuki and Toya, and serves as Toya’s punching bag, sounding board, and butler.
Much as I enjoyed Millenium Snow, I found the book visually chaotic. Many pages feature panels-within-panels, overlapping images, and jokey asides addressed to the reader. Used sparingly, all of these devices can enhance a story; used too frequently, they clutter the page with unnecessary information and hamper the narrative flow. The overly fussy layout of the first chapter is especially choppy and disjointed; I had to re-read the first ten pages several times before I could piece together the sequence of events. When Hatori exercises restraint, however, the results are pure shojo gold; through a few simple gestures or the placement of a figure on the page, we learn more about Toya’s true nature than from a chapter’s worth of dialogue.
Volume one extras include the usual manga-ka commentary on the characters, presented in the form of a five-page mini-comic. (You know the drill: “This character is my personal favorite, but alas, I don’t draw him very well. This character is very cute and a fan favorite. Doesn’t he look good in leather pants? This character is dressed as a nun because I like drawing Catholic vestments.” And so on.) The book also includes “A Romance of One Moment,” Hatori’s first published work. “Romance” is a short story that shades ever-so-slightly into yuri. While it lacks the polish of Ouran High School Host Club, “Romance” demonstrates something that Hatori’s legions of fans already know: she spins a good yarn.
The second and final volume of Millenium Snow will be released in July. This review is based on a complimentary copy provided by the publisher.
12 Responses to "Manga Review: Millenium Snow, Vol. 1"
1 | Natsumi
I read the preview to Millenium Snow in Shoujo Beat magazine and I enjoyed it, so I’m planning to purchase the first volume.
I definitely agree that it was very cluttered and busy. Alot of sound effects and panels were crammed together so it was hard to see what was going on.
What I’m curious about is why Viz decided to rename Sennen no Yuki, ‘Millenium Snow’. It’s more commonly known as A Thousand Years of Snow, which sounds more aesthetic and romantic that ‘Millenium Snow’.
That’s an excellent question, Natsumi! To my ears, A Thousand Years of Snow sounds like a shojo romance; Millenium Snow sounds like a Philip K. Dick story.
3 | Ameko
I think A Thousand Years of Snow is very nice sounding myself,but from the point of view of the American audience who either isn’t concerned with the Japanese or doesn’t know anything about the original title,Millenium Snow was also appealing.It got me into it….but I’m more forgiving of these things.It really is about finding the nearest,SHORTEST translation…usually.
I saw the peek in ShojoBeat,and can’t wait to go out and buy it in a week or so (haven’t had time… :’( ).I definately agree with the thing about being “cluttered”,but I followed it easy enough.The only thing that makes me sad is its only two volumes,and that I have to wait so long for the next one.
For sure a cute little 2-part story that I think people should pick up.
4 | ayachan698
the characters look sooo much like Ouran characters!!! i wanna read it so badly!
5 | Mizu_chan
The comic called Millennium snow sounds kindda interesting, can sumone tell me where to read this comic??help
The first chapter was published in Shojo Beat magazine a couple of months ago (either the February or March issue, I think). Volume one was released last month, so you should be able to find it at Borders, Barnes & Noble, Waldenbooks, or your local comic book store (or an online retailer like amazon.com, bn.com, or Midtown Comics). The second and final volume will be published in July.
7 | Lea
Millenium Snow was a book that I picked up because I like Bisco Hatori’s drawing and I had never heard of it before. I loved the first copy and bought the second copy as soon as I could. ^^;
I think that the story moves very quick and I am easily confused by most of it. I am always getting the characters’ personalities confused with Host Club characters’ personalities.
I am still hoping that Hatori does finish the series though.
8 | Kaitlin
I actually picked up Millenium Snow on a whim because I happen to have very little self restraint when it comes to bookstores, but I’m very glad I happened to have an extra *coughcough* twenty bucks. The characters are endearing, interesting, comical and human and the story, although a bit cliche, helps to bring out their best qualities.
The only thing I regret about buying this series is… there’s no ending! I was unaware that there were only two volumes, and was wondering what would happen next. ;-; Maybe I’ll never know! So hopefully Hatori-sensei decides to pick up where she left off, because with her ability for unexpected plot twists (which is rare these days) I’m still curious as to what will happen, and I know I’m not the only one.
I also found the lack of closure frustrating, especially since the second volume is so different in tone–it feels more like Ouran High School Host Club and less like a supernatural romance. I also liked the characters, and wanted to see what happened to them.
10 | Melissa
I don’t know if this is true, but on wikipedia it says something about the series not being done… I can’t remember EXACTLY what it said, but I think it said something about the author working on Ouran currently, so it might be a while for the next volume… I could be wrong though.
11 | Katherine Dacey
January 30th, 2008 at 10:28 am
The Wikipedia entry refers to a sidebar in an early volume of Ouran High School Host Club in which Hatori states that she’d like to finish Millenium Snow. Snow has been on hiatus for a long time, however (over five years), so I wouldn’t hold your breath waiting for volume three.
12 | Mysidia
I skimmed through Millennium Snow (volume two, I believe) at Barnes & Noble a few months ago after spazzing that it had been released in English. I’d never read any of it before, but I know it was mentioned in both the anime and manga of Ouran, and I was interested to read more of Hatori’s work.
What I -did- read of it caught my affections on the spot. The characters, yes, reminded me very much of “certain” members in the Host Club, but that didn’t make a difference in my interest in the series. Even though it’s only two volumes, I plan on purchasing it next time I’m at the book store. :3
Also, this is pretty off-topic, but a few moments ago I freaked out to my friend about a comment I made that was almost exactly the same as Natsumi’s above, but also that just below it, in your reply, my grandfather was mentioned. XDD
Funny world. :3
