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| | Another subtle example of Karbo's storytelling ability. | |
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Greyman Roaming thug
Posts : 95 Join date : 2011-04-17
| Subject: Another subtle example of Karbo's storytelling ability. Tue Mar 20, 2012 7:38 pm | |
| I was thinking back to #5, and something hit me.... In 2 through 4, Karbo went out of his way to paint harpies as DEEPLY unlikable predators, even among other species that gobble up humans without a thought. Belletia, in particular, was depicted as quite acerbic and petty, even for a harpy. Then 5 finally comes along, and... - Spoiler:
We see Belletia in a sympathetic light, a helpless victim. Plus, it puts her insecurities and feelings toward her niece, shown briefly in 4, in a new light. Seeing Malika fuss over the exhausted Belletia was quite touching. Plus, the whole scene with Belletia's mother even changed my overall view of harpies in general.
Oh, and am I the only one who thought Belletia's mother was kinda hot when she was angry and swearing up a storm?
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| | | Archmage_Bael Mara's snack
Posts : 4158 Join date : 2009-05-05 Age : 35 Location : Shatterock Caldera
| Subject: Re: Another subtle example of Karbo's storytelling ability. Tue Mar 20, 2012 10:11 pm | |
| Hm, should this go in the manga discussion? If its about storytelling ability I dunno. Still I agree, however I think that harpies can be likable creatures, especially if you get used to their way of talking. It just takes a bit of a different mindset than what people are normally used to, and I agree that Karbo did a great job of displaying the fact I just stated for anyone who might see the manga first, before coming to our community. (wouldn't that be great, people coming to our community because they loved the manga? ) | |
| | | TheLightLost Survivor
Posts : 965 Join date : 2010-10-18 Location : Who cares anymore
| Subject: Re: Another subtle example of Karbo's storytelling ability. Wed Mar 21, 2012 5:45 am | |
| - Greyman wrote:
- I was thinking back to #5, and something hit me....
In 2 through 4, Karbo went out of his way to paint harpies as DEEPLY unlikable predators, even among other species that gobble up humans without a thought. Belletia, in particular, was depicted as quite acerbic and petty, even for a harpy.
Then 5 finally comes along, and...
- Spoiler:
We see Belletia in a sympathetic light, a helpless victim. Plus, it puts her insecurities and feelings toward her niece, shown briefly in 4, in a new light. Seeing Malika fuss over the exhausted Belletia was quite touching. Plus, the whole scene with Belletia's mother even changed my overall view of harpies in general.
Oh, and am I the only one who thought Belletia's mother was kinda hot when she was angry and swearing up a storm?
I don't think Karbo went out of his way to make harpies seem unlikable. What you saw was a particular group of nagas interaction with ONE harpy who had been having a bad day. And I probably liked Belletia for all the reasons you may or may not have disliked her actually. It looks more like a case of people taking the manga as representative of Felarya as a whole, rather than just the experiences of three or four of its inhabitants. Sure, Karbo's manga would lead some to believe that nagas are the -main- species and all others are more suited for suppporting roles but then it's not solely Karbo's responsibility to portray Harpies, Sphinxes, and Dridders in a more interesting manner. I feel like I'm partly to blame because I haven't done enough to make "likeable" Harpies more visable. I'm going to try harder in the near future and hopefully there won't be many people taking the viewpoint that you carried through the first four tomes as a result. | |
| | | Greyman Roaming thug
Posts : 95 Join date : 2011-04-17
| Subject: Re: Another subtle example of Karbo's storytelling ability. Wed Mar 21, 2012 4:59 pm | |
| It's not the cluster f-bomb language that gave harpies an air of unlikability. It was mainly how petty and vindictive Belletia acted; the race against fairies to find Lea was quite telling.
And then there were the other harpies briefly seen in the start of 4. Basically called Belletia and old hag who was losing it, and harpy speak CAN'T be used as an excuse for how sharp that tongue-lashing was, given Belletia's reaction. | |
| | | TheLightLost Survivor
Posts : 965 Join date : 2010-10-18 Location : Who cares anymore
| Subject: Re: Another subtle example of Karbo's storytelling ability. Wed Mar 21, 2012 6:27 pm | |
| Allz I'm gonna say is this; don't take mistake a patch for the quilt. Unless you are incapable of not making generalizations or you are simply seeing things through biased eyes, there is no reason for you to believe that Belletia (or harpies as a "race" for that matter) are all one dimensional, mean spirited wenches. Just as not all nagas are either childish or oversexed. And I certainly hope you don't think of harpies as plug in antagonists. | |
| | | FalconJudge Hero
Posts : 1040 Join date : 2008-11-07 Age : 32 Location : Work
| Subject: Re: Another subtle example of Karbo's storytelling ability. Wed Mar 21, 2012 6:31 pm | |
| Have there been any Dridders yet? | |
| | | Greyman Roaming thug
Posts : 95 Join date : 2011-04-17
| Subject: Re: Another subtle example of Karbo's storytelling ability. Wed Mar 21, 2012 6:49 pm | |
| - gt500x wrote:
- Allz I'm gonna say is this; don't take mistake a patch for the quilt. Unless you are incapable of not making generalizations or you are simply seeing things through biased eyes, there is no reason for you to believe that Belletia (or harpies as a "race" for that matter) are all one dimensional, mean spirited wenches. Just as not all nagas are either childish or oversexed. And I certainly hope you don't think of harpies as plug in antagonists.
That's why I find Karbo such a crafty storyteller. Harpies were indeed getting that way in my eyes, but the little bit with Belletia's niece in 4 and EVERYTHING in 5 turned that around. It's like how Horace Slughorn and Draco Malfoy in Harry Potter 6 permanently torpedoed the 'all Slytherins are SOBs' line of thinking. - Spoiler:
I mean, the whole thing with Belletia's mother can be seen as how harpies do have a sense of honor and pride, and in their own way, have high standards for themselves.
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| | | Pendragon Grand Mecha Enthusiast
Posts : 3229 Join date : 2007-12-09
| Subject: Re: Another subtle example of Karbo's storytelling ability. Thu Mar 22, 2012 11:41 am | |
| You know, if you think about it, every race in Felarya has their "bad days".
Dridders had a queen who started a giant war, and now they're labeled as "evil". Harpies have one bad day during a trip through air traffic, and suddenly they're foul-mouthed jerks. And so on.
Overall, no species is inherently evil, or even bad for that matter.
It's a nice mix, like how a good artist would depict it. | |
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