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Brave Story (3 part version) #1
ブレイブ・ストーリー 上
小学五年生の亘（わたる）は、成績はそこそこで、テレビゲームが好きな男の子。大きな団地に住み、ともに新設校に通う親友のカッちゃんがいる。街では、建設途中のビルに幽霊が出るという噂が広がっていた。そんなある日、帰宅した亘に、父は「この家を出てゆく」という意外な言葉をぶつける。不意に持ち上がった両親の離婚話。これまでの平穏な毎日を取り戻すべく、亘はビルの扉から、広大な異世
界ー幻界（ヴィジョン）へと旅立った！
界ー幻界（ヴィジョン）へと旅立った！
460 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2003
5 people are currently reading
20 people want to read
About the author
Miyuki Miyabe
308 books555 followersSee also 宮部 みゆき (Japanese language profile) and 宮部美幸 (Chinese language profile).
Miyuki Miyabe (宮部みゆき Miyabe Miyuki) is a popular contemporary Japanese author active in a number of genres including science fiction, mystery fiction, historical fiction, social commentary, and juvenile fiction.
Miyabe started writing novels at the age of 23. She has been a prolific writer, publishing dozens of novels and winning many major literary prizes, including the Yamamoto Shūgorō Prize in 1993 for Kasha and the Naoki Prize in 1998 for Riyū [The Reason] (理由). A Japanese film adaptation of Riyû, directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi, was released in 2004.
Miyuki Miyabe (宮部みゆき Miyabe Miyuki) is a popular contemporary Japanese author active in a number of genres including science fiction, mystery fiction, historical fiction, social commentary, and juvenile fiction.
Miyabe started writing novels at the age of 23. She has been a prolific writer, publishing dozens of novels and winning many major literary prizes, including the Yamamoto Shūgorō Prize in 1993 for Kasha and the Naoki Prize in 1998 for Riyū [The Reason] (理由). A Japanese film adaptation of Riyû, directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi, was released in 2004.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 15, 2018
I had watched the movie "Brave Story" when it came out on DVD in Japan... well, back in 2006, or 07. I remember renting it at the local videostore (those things still exist nowadays in Japan) and thinking, 'anime, well, it looks fun', and discovering a movie way deeper that what it looked on at first sight, a very enjoyable adventure story with messages around the family and growing up that I hadn't expected it to have.
Cue me getting to the library this year and seeing the book. I have read Miyuki Miyabe before, so I knew she was fun to read. Interestingly enough, I had never read "ブレイブ・ストーリー". I decided to give it a try.
And, gosh, it deserves it. This first part is an absolute blast. It is an amazing look on a disintegrating family and society, and the problems of growing up, dressed up as a fantasy adventure story that delivers on all levels and only falters close to the end with the jump to the fantasy world and the need to introduce background and new characters . I was expecting something more average, more centered on adventure and fantasy, and I discovered Miyabe had betrayed me and decided to offer a look on a nuclear family with more secrets and surprises than one would expect when starting the story. The way the author creates and develops the characters and, with it, the story, is just amazing.
Let's see if the next volumes, that seem to be more centered on the fantasy world, deliver as this first. But even if they fail to, no one will take from me this amazing first part.
The best: the characters, better developed and with more depth than you would expect in this kind of book; the plot development, with some nice and unexpected surprises; the depth of the story
The worst: there is some filler; the constant comparisons to the game within the book; the last part when there is like 50 pages of exposition made by a new and random character
Other options: well, the movie?, which I remember being really fun; "Harry Potter" or "The Hunger Games"; "The Legend of Arslan", "The Lord of the Rings"... There is a lot of good fantasy out there.
8.5/10
(Original Japanese)
Cue me getting to the library this year and seeing the book. I have read Miyuki Miyabe before, so I knew she was fun to read. Interestingly enough, I had never read "ブレイブ・ストーリー". I decided to give it a try.
And, gosh, it deserves it. This first part is an absolute blast. It is an amazing look on a disintegrating family and society, and the problems of growing up, dressed up as a fantasy adventure story that delivers on all levels and only falters close to the end with the jump to the fantasy world and the need to introduce background and new characters . I was expecting something more average, more centered on adventure and fantasy, and I discovered Miyabe had betrayed me and decided to offer a look on a nuclear family with more secrets and surprises than one would expect when starting the story. The way the author creates and develops the characters and, with it, the story, is just amazing.
Let's see if the next volumes, that seem to be more centered on the fantasy world, deliver as this first. But even if they fail to, no one will take from me this amazing first part.
The best: the characters, better developed and with more depth than you would expect in this kind of book; the plot development, with some nice and unexpected surprises; the depth of the story
The worst: there is some filler; the constant comparisons to the game within the book; the last part when there is like 50 pages of exposition made by a new and random character
Other options: well, the movie?, which I remember being really fun; "Harry Potter" or "The Hunger Games"; "The Legend of Arslan", "The Lord of the Rings"... There is a lot of good fantasy out there.
8.5/10
(Original Japanese)
March 6, 2014
I always enjoy Ms Miyabe's novels, and this was no exception. I strongly identified with Wataru, even though I am not and have never been a 10-year-old boy.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews