Murase (Nancy Drew
) unravels a typical high school narrative of anxiety and self-loathing through highly stylized visuals and an array of text fonts. Aki is a high school student who lives in the shadow of her brother's reputation and is haunted by his death. At school, she's the brunt of jokes and harassed by most of her classmates. Luckily, her insecurities make room for her alter ego, Kai, to come forth and intimidate the mean girls. Murase is obviously a talented illustrator, but whether her illustrations can lend themselves to graphic fiction is another question. The flourish of each panel often distracts from the narrative, and Murase has difficulty balancing the visuals with the story itself. The dialogue is stale and unimaginative, and the characters too flat for such artistic talent. Readers may even find the story obscured by the graphics and multiple fonts used throughout, and the ending is especially confusing. The law of “show, don't tell” still rings true, and Murase could benefit from more scenes illustrating Aki's brother's perfect reputation, or condensing the multiple verbal attacks she is subjected to. Me 2
has promise, as does Murase, but needs a clearer presentation. (July)
