Links to "Lullaby for a Dragon": (Zip) (PDF -- mobile and tablets)
More Thoughts on this One-shot:
Despite the beautiful artwork and interesting lead male character, this one-shot ultimately fails for me. Shuen is immature and acts like a self-indulgent 3-year. Personally, I would have longed for the day to be free of Shuen's non-stop crying, whining, and tripping. Shuen's immaturity is a fatal wound to the story since there's no way for Kito to have a deep and meaningful romantic relationship with her. It's so bad that I think the story could have proceeded without her and focused exclusively on Kito's worries about becoming a heavenly Dragon -- losing his humanity, the loneliness he's always felt, and whether he can live up to the villagers' expectations. In order to have Shuen be a meaningful part of the story, there had to be some strong romantic feelings involved. Kito had to have something to lose in order for there to be dramatic tension. But, Kito was already detached from the world and consciously detached himself from Shuen. I was VERY peeved. There was supposed to be some grand romantic act that leaves Shuen with a momento of Kito -- preferably a baby to continue the Dragon clan bloodline...and not some half-assed come hug me moment and the ending peck on the cheek. UGH!!! So much FAIL!!!
Anyhow...I'm done translating Akizuki Sorata for a while. I'll gladly edit the images, but I can't take anymore complicated word-salad that amounts to "meh" with no emotional payoff.
