Henry V is probably Shakespeare's most popular history, especially today now that the love of Falstaff has dimmed a bit. The combination of the 1944 Laurence Olivier movie and the 1989 Kenneth Branagh movies make it a play many are likely to have seen, and it's very good at stirring the emotions. In fact, is it a bit too good? As this is also Shakespeare's most controversial and criticized history.

There's lots of reasons for this. First of all, at the time, there was the killing off of Falstaff. Henry IV Parts 1 and 2 were incredibly popular, and the end of Part 2, even though it featured Hal renouncing Falstaff, seemed to indicate that they would be back soon. True, there was The Merry Wives of Windsor about this time as well, but since Hal and Falstaff seemed so intertwined, no one was expecting anything less than "Henry IV Part 3", only with a new king.

But Shakespeare had already given signs that he was a bit sick of the Falstaff gang. (I will go into more details when I get to Part 2 of Henry IV.) What's more, the plot was shaping up in such a way that it would be very difficult to use Falstaff. If he reformed, he'd be dull, but if he didn't, how would be be near the King at all? Pistol took his place for most of the comic scenes in Henry V, along with the Welsh captain Fluellen, who was allowed to have most of the jokes *and* be a competent soldier. Falstaff, meanwhile, died offstage. And by the end of the play, Bardolph and Nym were dead, and Pistol mentioned Mistress Quickly dying of syphilis. Really, this is almost Shakespeare kicking his audience in the teeth.

And then there's Essex. I haven't mentioned the Earl in some time, but it's hard to avoid him here. The epilogue to this play is basically a giant paean to Essex's campaigns, comparing his wars against the Irish to Henry V. Of course, a few months later, Essex would return from Ireland defeated. And then conspire to assassinate the Queen. Shakespeare's plays have had their awkward timely references (Richard II is another good example, and almost as controversial), but even in Henry VIII his patronage wasn't THIS obvious.

In modern times, Henry V has also been rather awkward. One of the bigger reasons is one that we've come across many times before - Shakespeare rarely likes to let his character's motivations be obvious and one-sided, always preferring to draw subtle shades of grey to black and white. Of course, here he's doing so in a play whose plot demands black and white. Is Henry an awesome warrior king, restoring England to her rightful glory? Or is he a hypocrite and chessmaster, using his subjects for his own ends? Well, yeah. Certainly fans of Hal were already irritated with him after his throwing off Falstaff in IV-2, and he does a few things here that raise an eyebrow (the tennis balls are hardly a good reason for war, although you can argue he wanted a random excuse; he also tries to bribe divine vengeance).

Modern productions have occasionally chosen to add darkness to several scenes - Bardolph's execution, for instance - which I think fits in very much with the tendency of Henry IV plays to have serious, melancholy Falstaffs these days. Many are simply uncomfortable with the idea of comedy in the History plays, feeling that it makes light of the wars and death that surround them. (What these people make of Hamlet, which is frequently hilarious, is best left for another time.)

In the end, I think Henry V works best on stage or screen, when you can let yourself get carried away by its fervor. On the page, with only cold words to analyse, Henry is a lot less easy to like.

Yes, it comes out on Wednesday. Veteran's Day is only a semi-holiday. And there's quite a bit of it again.

801 MEDIA:
Dog x Cat Vol. 1. Yaoi. Core Magazine, serialized in Drap since 2007.
Love Skit. Yaoi. Libre Shuppan, serialization unknown, 2006.

DARK HORSE:
Oh My Goddess Vol. 13 (unflipped). Seinen. Kodansha, serialized in Afternoon since 1988.

DC/CMX:
Deka Kyoshi Vol. 1. Softbank/Flex title.

DEL REY:
Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle Vol. 24. Shonen. Kodansha, serialized in Weekly Shonen Magazine since 2003.

DIGITAL MANGA PUBLISHING:
Blue Sheep Reverie Vol. 2. Yaoi. Nihon Bungeisha, serialized in Karen since 2006.
Ciao Ciao Bambino. Yaoi. Core Magazine, serialization unknown, 2005.
Devil Inside. Yaoi. Shinshokan, serialization unknown, 2003.
Great Place High School Student Council Vol. 1. Yaoi. Houbunsha, serialization unknown, 2008.
Millennium Prime Minister Vol. 2. Whatever Wings Is. Shinshokan, serialized in Wings since 1998.
Train Train Vol. 3 (Final Volume). Whatever Wings Is. Shinshokan, serialized in Wings since 2002.

GO! COMI:
Ultimate Venus Vol. 5. Shoujo. Akita Shoten, serialized in Princess since 2006.

UDON:
Swans in Space Vol. 1. Kodomo. Poplar, serialized in Comic Bunbun since 2006.

VIZ:
Flame of Recca Vol. 33 (Final Volume). Shonen. Shogakukan, serialized in Shonen Sunday since 1995.
Hayate the Combat Butler Vol. 13. Shonen. Shogakukan, serialized in Shonen Sunday since 2005.
Ikigami The Ultimate Limit Vol. 3. Seinen. Shogakukan, serialized in Big Comic Spirits since 2005.
Inu Yasha VIZBIG Edition Vol. 1. Shonen. Shogakukan, serialized in Shonen Sunday since 1996.
Inu Yasha Vol. 42. Shonen. Shogakukan, serialized in Shonen Sunday since 1996.
Jormungand Vol. 1. Seinen. Shogakukan, serialized in Sunday Gene-X since 2006.
Record of a Fallen Vampire Vol. 7. Shonen. Square Enix, serialized in Shonen Gangan since 2003.
Switch Vol. 11. Shonen. Square Enix, serialized in GFantasy since 2002.
Yakitate Japan Vol. 20. Shonen. Shogakukan, serialized in Shonen Sunday since 2002.

YEN:
Cat Paradise Vol. 2. Shonen. Akita Shoten, serialized in Champion Red since 2006.
Crimson Shell. Shonen. Square Enix, serialized in GFantasy since 2005.
GA - Geijutsuka Art Design Class Vol. 2. Seinen. Houbunsha, serialized in Manga Time Kirara Carat since 2006.
Higurashi When They Cry Vol. 5. Shonen. Square Enix, serialized in GFantasy since 2005.
Ichiroh! Vol. 2. Seinen. Houbunsha, serialized in Manga Time Kirara since 2007.
Sundome Vol. 6. Seinen. Akita Shoten, serialized in Young Champion since 2006.


That's a lotta manga. Recs? Flame of Recca finally ends, a loooong series. For those who never read Inu Yasha, the VIZBIG edition is bigger and unflipped. I really enjoy Hayate the Combat Butler. Jormungand should appeal to Black Lagoon fans. GA is cute 4-koma. And I'm enjoying seeing how they kill 'em all again in Higurashi, which starts the Curse Killing arc with this volume.

Cover goes to Oresama Teacher.

Color pages for Seiyuu Kaa! (2), Love So Life, Monochrome Kids, and Akatsuki no Yona.

The one-shot is from a newbie, Hio Izumi. This is her debut in Hana, she's had stuff in The Hana before.

Breakdown:
Seiyuu Kaa! 9
Gakuen Alice 122
Love So Life 17
Oresama Teacher 41
Berry Berry 10
月刊なかとば (gag comic)
Monochrome Kids 15
Nice To Meet You, Kamisama 33
Hana To Akuma 40
Hoshi Wa Utau 44
Akatsuki no Yona 6
鎌田ギュウ乳販売店 (gag comic)
Kyou Mo Ashita Mo 31
Isshi Ni Neyou No 13
Black Cat And My Master (one-shot)
幸福ローン (short manga)

Skip Beat!, Jiu Jiu, and Tadaima na Uta are off this issue.

27!!!

It's Yaoi-Con, so there's a pile of new yaoi licenses from Digital Manga Publishing. They are all 1 volume unless noted.

Double Cast. Yaoi. Shinshokan, serialized in Dear+ since 2007.
Koyoi wa Kimi to Chi no Kiss wo. Yaoi. Shinshokan, serialized in Dear+ since 2008.
Café Latte Rhapsody. Yaoi. Libre Shuppan, serialized in Magazine Be x Boy since 2008.
Ayashi no Kimi no Koiwazurai. Yaoi. Libre Shuppan, serialized in Magazine Be x Boy since 2008.
Koi suru Boukun. Yaoi, 6+ volumes. Kaiousha, serialized in Gush since 2005.
Soba ni Oitene. Yaoi. Libre Shuppan, serialized in Magazine Be x Boy since 2005.
Seven Days. Yaoi, 2 volumes. Taiyo Tosho, serialized in Craft since 2007.
Koukyuu no Arika. Yaoi. Taiyo Tosho, serialized in HertZ since 2007.
Doushitemo Furetakunai. Yaoi. Taiyo Tosho, serialized in Craft since 2008.
Spiral of Sand. Yaoi. Taiyo Tosho, serialized in HertZ since 2005.
Kizuna (Deluxe Edition). Yaoi, 11 volumes. Libre Shuppan, serialized in Magazine Be x Boy since 1992.
Cho Maniac ni Aishite. Yaoi. Libre Shuppan, serialized in Magazine Be x Boy since 2008.

Good times for yaoi fans.

Henry VI, Part 3 has always had a few basic problems to overcome. It's the third part in a trilogy, so is very rarely performed on its own. It's one of Shakespeare's earliest plays, and many scholars suggest that it was co-written. Modern critics tend to focus on the fact that his prose and verse is still in development and ignore the actual plot and characterization. And like all the history plays, it steals shamelessly from other sources.

Sorry, scrap that history in the last sentence. Like all Shakespeare's other PLAYS.

It really has to be said, mostly as everyone does, Shakespeare stole. Constantly, from almost everything. There's not a critical edition that I haven't read that doesn't go on for pages about his 'sources', be they Holinshed's Chronicles, Boccaccio's Decameron, Plutarch's Lives, or what have you. This does not, of course, stop these from being some of the greatest plays in the world. Shakespeare took his varied sources and simply made magic.

Admittedly this isn't among his top plays, but it's still a very good read. Its main problem - again - is the King. Generally critics have been fairly harsh on Henry VI in these three plays. The ones who sympathize most tend to be those who admire his religious views, and his tendency to believe that God will provide and His will is absolute. Unfortunately, to those who want a more active King, this leads them to want to beat him to death with staplers. The country really begins to fall apart in this play, culminating in Henry's murder by Richard of Gloucester, and it's hard these days to take it the way Elizabethans did, as God's revenge for the events of Richard II.

Speaking of Richard, this is pretty much where the future Richard III comes into prominence. In fact, it's not so much character development as character turning on a dime. In Act III, Scene ii, he announces to the audience "Hi, I'm the villain!", and his ability to get his way even as others detest him and asides to the audience are in full force here. The only thing missing is his sense of humor and the sheer FORCE of personality. You never actually like him here, whereas one of the key points of Richard III is that you admire him despite his evil. (As a note, a lot of Richard III performances add the killing of Henry as some sort of flashback, to remind the audience how we got here).

And then there's Margaret, who also has her decline and fall here, although unlike Henry she is still around for Richard III. Basically, all of Shakespeare's future strong female roles, be they heroines or villains, owe a lot to Margaret. She keeps railing at Henry to get a backbone, she leads armies, she gleefully taunts York (and he rails against her, in one of Shakespeare's most famous rants). Just as her rages are powerful, so is her grieving when Prince Edward is stabbed, and she almost becomes an inhuman force of nature by the next play. But we'll leave that for Richard III.

As I said, this gets short shrift, like all the other Henry VIs, and he has written better histories. On the whole, though, this trilogy has proved to be much better than I'd expected, and an excellent example of Shakespeare's genius being evident right at the start of his career.

Spoilers abound!

( Read more... )

My icon has never been more appropriate. Viz hates us.

BANDAI:
Lucky Star Vol. 2. Shonen. Kadokawa Shoten, serialized in Comp Ace since 2004.
Gundam00F Vol. 1. Shonen. Kadokawa Shoten, serialized in Gundam A since 2008.
Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion Vol. 6. Shoujo. Kadokawa Shoten, serialized in Asuka since 2006.

DC/CMX:
King of Cards Vol. 8. Shoujo. Hakusensha, serialized in Bessatsu Hana to Yume since 1998.
Fire Investigator Nanase Vol. 3. Seinen. Shinchosha, serialized in Comic Bunch since 2006.

DEL REY:
xxxHOLIC Official Guide. Kodansha.
Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle Vol. 23. Shonen. Kodansha, serialized in Weekly Shonen Magazine since 2003.
Papillon Vol. 4. Shoujo. Kodansha, serialized in Bessatsu Friend since 2006.
Mahou Sensei Negima Vol. 24. Shonen. Kodansha, serialized in Weekly Shonen Magazine since 2003.
Minima Vol. 4 (Final Volume). Shoujo. Kodansha, serialized in Bessatsu Friend since 2006.
Kamichama Karin-chu Vol. 6. Shoujo. Kodansha, serialized in Nakayoshi since 2006.
Fairy Tail Vol. 8. Shonen. Kodansha, serialized in Weekly Shonen Magazine since 2006.
Air Gear Vol. 14. Shonen. Kodansha, serialized in Weekly Shonen Magazine since 2002.

DIGITAL MANGA PUBLISHING:
Selfish Mr. Mermaid Vol. 2 (Final Volume). Yaoi. Libre Shuppan, serialization unknown, 2006.
La Satanica. Yaoi. Core Magazine, serialization unknown, 2007.

SEVEN SEAS:
Dance in the Vampire Bund Vol. 5. Seinen. Media Factory, serialized in Comic Flapper since 2006.

VIZ:
We Were There Vol. 7. Shoujo. Shogakukan, serialized in Bessatsu Comic since 2002.
Wāq Wāq Vol. 2. Shonen. Shueisha, serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump since 2002.
Vampire Knight Vol. 8. Shoujo. Hakusensha, serialized in LaLa since 2005.
Ultimate Muscle Vol. 24. Shonen. Shueisha, serialized in V-Jump since 1998.
Shonen Jump.
Shaman King Vol. 25. Shonen. Shueisha, serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump since 1998.
S.A. Vol. 13. Shoujo. Hakusensha, serialized in Hana to Yume since 2003.
Rosario + Vampire Vol. 10 (Final Volume). Shonen. Shueisha, serialized in Monthly Shonen Jump since 2004.
Prince of Tennis Vol. 34. Shonen. Shueisha, serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump since 1999.
Ouran High School Host Club Vol. 13. Shoujo. Hakusensha, serialized in LaLa since 2003.
Otomen Vol. 4. Shoujo. Hakusensha, serialized in Bessatsu Hana to Yume since 2006.
Nana Vol. 19. Shoujo/Josei. Shueisha, serialized in Cookie since 2000.
Love Com Vol. 15. Shoujo. Shueisha, serialized in Bessatsu Margaret since 2001.
Kurohime Vol. 14. Shonen. Shueisha, serialized in Jump Square since 2000.
Kaze Hikaru Vol. 15. Josei. Shogakukan, serialized in Flowers since 1997.
Honey Hunt Vol. 3. Shoujo/Josei. Shogakukan, serialized in Cheese! since 2007.
Hikaru No Go Vol. 17. Shonen. Shueisha, serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump since 1998.
High School Debut Vol. 12. Shoujo. Shueisha, serialized in Bessatsu Margaret since 2003.
Haruka Beyond the Stream of Time Vol. 6. Shoujo. Hakusensha, serialized in LaLa since 2000.
Gintama Vol. 15. Shonen. Shueisha, serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump since 2004.
Fushigi Yuugi Genbu Kaiden Vol. 9 (Final Volume?). Shoujo. Shogakukan, serialized in Shoujo Comic since 2003.
D.Gray-Man Vol. 15. Shonen. Shueisha, serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump since 2004.
Claymore Vol. 15. Shonen. Shueisha, serialized in Jump Square since 2001.
B.O.D.Y. Vol. 7. Shoujo. Shueisha, serialized in Bessatsu Margaret since 2004.
Black Bird Vol. 2. Shoujo. Shogakukan, serialized in Bessatsu Comic since 2007.
Beast Master Vol. 1. Shoujo. Shogakukan, serialized in Bessatsu Comic since 2007.


Viz, why do you hate freedom like this? Why all the first week? Geez.

New Negima and Fairy Tail are always fun. As for Viz, some not-quite-final volumes. Rosario + Vapire has a 2nd season of manga that's still running, and the FY sequel is on hiatus, not ended. New Ouran and Otomen are always welcome. Love Gintama. And I've heard good things about Beast Master, plus it's short.

It's the end of October, which means the year is over for LaLa, whose dates are always way ahead of actual sale date.

Cover goes to Vampire Knight.

Color pages for Ouran High School Host Club (2), フォークテイルのトナカイ (2), Chotto Edo Mate, and Mishounen Produce (2).

Breakdown:
Ouran High School Host Club 75
Maid-sama! 43
Vampire Knight 55
Faster Than A Kiss 30
Babysitters' School 2
フォークテイルのトナカイ (one-shot from the Haruka: Beyond the Stream of Time author. Something Reindeer?)
Library Wars: Love & War 22
La Corda D'oro Special Chapter (16 pages)
Chotto Edo Matte 16
Junai Labyrinth 7
嫁姑教室 (gag comic)
Mishounen Produce 6
Ookami-heika no Hanayome 5
ゆめくらい (one-shot from Ken Saito, the Name of the Flower author)

Natsume's Book of Friends is off this month.

I've been going on for some time about scholars and critics arguing about which play was Shakespeare's first, for many and varied reasons. Having read all the contenders, I am prepared to side with those who argue that Henry VI, Part 2 was the first play to be primarily written by William Shakespeare (which means I also agree with those saying Part 1 was written last, as a prequel). This is especially odd, given that it's also probably the best of the three Henry VI plays.

There's a lot to like here, provided that you don't go to a play called Henry VI and expect to side with Henry VI. He's a weak king, historically, and the trouble with weak kings is that they tend to make weak characters. Richard II had similar problems, but his speeches, some of the most poetic in all of Shakespeare, helped make up for that. Henry VI doesn't have such luxury. His faith is nice to see, but it's not really enough.

However, we have a ton of other interesting characters. The Duke of York, for one, who gets his rebellion on in full force here. We also meet his two sons, Edward and Richard, who will both become far more important later. (It should be noted that Richard here is basically a young jerkass who happens to be deformed. He really doesn't become the fascinating study of machiavellian evil he would become until about halfway through Henry VI Part 3.)

Queen Margaret also comes into power here, and she is a piece of work, being Shakespeare's first major strong female role. Yes, she's not meant to be a likeable strong female role, but that doesn't stop actresses wanting to play Lady Macbeth either. Actually, it's rather surprising how little actress attention Queen Margaret has gotten, considering the strength of the role throughout both Part 2 and 3 and Richard III. Certainly she makes a nice contrast to Eleanor, who is almost the traditional dumb blonde here.

And then there's Jack Cade. You can't really discuss Part 2 without mentioning Cade, who rules all of Act 4 with the carnival-esque People's Rebellion. Possibly the most historically inaccurate part of a play filled with historical inaccuracies, but that's missing the point. The scenes of him and his men can be terrifying, with the mock trial and executions of fairly sympathetic Lords, and the heads up on pikes thrusting out towards the audience. It's even more interesting when you consider the possibility that this might have been a very early role for Will Kemp, who would go on to become Shakespeare's most popular comedic Fool.

Of course, if you're going to see this play these days, as with almost all historical performances of the trilogy, you're likely going to see an abridged combination of 2 or more of the Henry VI plays. The shows get cut, adapted, switched, rewritten, and otherwise stretched into shape so that the audience doesn't have to sit for 12 hours to see all 3 plays. So most likely you won't see this play on its own unless you actively search it out (You might see it as part of a trilogy done over months, but most people don't want to see a Part 2 by itself.) Still, it's a good 'un, and works much better on stage than it does on the page.