Desert Coral Volume 1

Desert Coral #1

by Wataru Murayama

Naoto Saki is a typical young boy. He gets average grades in school, and nothing about him really stands out. His favorite thing to do is sleep - which doesn't exactly endear him to his teachers when he dozes off in class. Whenever he falls asleep, Naoto dreams of the same fantasy world. Then one day, Naoto gets magically summoned into the very world he had once only seen in dreams! All at once, he's caught up in a battle between the powerful beings called Elphis, and a group of human-like beings called the Sand Dusts. For Naoto, this desert world of Orgos is no longer a dream-he can feel pain here, and possibly even die. He decides he'd rather not risk his life, and would like nothing more than to return home. But the pretty sorceress who summoned him in the first place has other plans for him

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Comics, Graphic Novels, Comics Manga, Young Adult, Fiction

200 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Raven · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I was looking for more manga books to read, I some how landed on this one. I looked at what the book was about, and thought that this was a good choice for me(just because I couldn't really find anything else). As I started reading it, it started to get kinda confusing. I had no idea what was going on in the book, until I got into over half of the manga.
The manga also seemed very chaotic and fast paste, and it made me very confused and irritated not know what the hell was going on!

After reading the manga, I decided that this book, wasn't for me. I have read many manga's where the first few pages in the first volumes are very fast, but that they get better over time. This book lacked that. I'am not saying that this is a bad manga, but it isn't a good one. The plot line itself is wonderful, but the way that the author tells it in this book is very fast.

I won't exactly recommend this manga, but it's something to read when you can't find anything else! :)

[Kyla Sixkiller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Desert Coral offered an intriguing concept – a fantastical dreamscape fused with a magical world. However, the execution fell short. The plot's complexity made it difficult to follow, and character designs lacked distinction, particularly between Lady Camu and the Elphis. Chisato, Naoto's friend, felt underdeveloped, diminishing the impact of their separation. Additionally, the budding romance between Naoto and Lusia felt rushed and lacked emotional depth. Lusia's near-confession, despite the obvious context, went entirely unanswered by a clueless Naoto.

Despite the cool premise, the narrative stumbles in its execution, leaving me hesitant to recommend continuing the series.

[K · Rating 2 out of 5]

Feels eerily similar to something I would write when I was 12.

[oak tuah]

putting this in for a different book of the authors i read that isnt on here, "Is a family like this worth keeping?"

[Yoyomaus Die Büchereule · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zum Inhalt:
Naotos schönste Hobbys sind Schlafen und Träumen. Bei jeder Gelegenheit entschwindet er der Realität und taucht, zunächst nur als unsichtbarer Beobachter, in die sagenhafte Welt von Orgos ein. Durch die Beschwörung von Lucia, der geheimnisvollen Anführerin der Desert Coral, wird Naoto sichtbar und muss zusammen mit der Desert Coral-Truppe zwischen Dimensionsdrachen und bösen Völkern unglaubliche Abenteuer bestehen...

Cover:
Wie alle Cover der Coral Desert-Reihe ist dieses Cover in sandfarbenen bis grünlichen Tönen gehalten und präsentiert einen der Charaktere der Reihe. Hier zu sehen ist die Protagonistin Lucia, scheinbar mit einem Dimensionsdrachen. Für mich ist das Cover ehrlich gesagt jetzt nicht so ansprechend gewesen, weil mir einfach die liebevollen Details fehlen. Das Cover wirkt für mich etwas lieblos, weshalb ich auch nicht mit sehr hohen Erwartungen an dieses Werk heran gegangen bin. Und das war ehrlich gesagt auch gut so.

Eigener Eindruck:
[Orgos]: Die Kämpferin Camus und ihr Kumpel Euro haben sich auf den Weg gemacht, um die Ephilem zu jagen, welche es sich zur Aufgabe gemacht haben die Kinder der Sandvölker zu stehlen. Doch bevor die Sache richtig losgehen kann, kommt ihr die Kämpferin Lucia in die Quere mit der Camus scheinbar ein Hühnchen zu rupfen hat. Bevor die beiden miteinander kämpfen, schaut Lucia in den Himmel und sagt einen Namen: Naoto.

[Währenddessen in der realen Welt]: Naoto ist eine Schlafmütze. Er liebt es überall zu schlafen und zu träumen, selbst wenn es mitten im Unterricht ist. Schon oft hat er in seinen Träumen die Welt von Orgos besucht und die Gruppe der Coral Desert bei ihrem Kampf gegen die Ephilem beobachtet. Doch noch nie ist jemand auf ihn aufmerksam geworden. Ein Grund mehr, bereits in der Straßenbahn wieder ein Nickerchen zu halten und der Sache irgendwie auf den Grund zu gehen.

[Orgos]: Um gegen Lucia gewinnen zu können, beschwört Camus ein Biest, da sie sich sicher ist, dass Lucia diese Technik nicht beherrscht und sie somit im Vorteil ist. Doch Lucia wagt ein Experiment und will ebenfalls ein Biest herbei beschwören. Dass der Schuss nach hinten losgeht, bemerken alle Beteiligten erst, als Naoto plötzlich vor ihnen steht. Während Naoto erst denkt, dass er noch träumt, muss er feststellen, dass er keinerlei Talent besitzt, um sich in Orgos zu wehren. Als einer der Ephilem auftaucht und die Gruppe angreifen will, verletzt sich Naoto – eine Verletzung, die Naoto in der realen Welt ebenfalls davon trägt. Für Naoto ist klar, dass das nicht mit rechten Dingen zugeht. Und doch fiebert er seinem nächsten Traum entgegen in dem er mehr über die Ephilem, die Sandvölker und die Gruppe der Coral Desert erfährt…

Die Coral Desert-Reihe ist zwar eine ganz nette Idee aber leider dann doch recht schlecht umgesetzt. Die Zeichnungen sind eher so mittelmäßig, Hintergründe werden noch weniger mit Details ausstaffiert. Die Storyline ist doch recht mau und bisweilen so sprunghaft, dass man gar nicht mitkommt, da Informationen einfach mal so in den Raum geworfen werden, getreu dem Motto: Hey wusstest du das noch nicht? Das nimmt der Sache natürlich den Lesespaß. Außerdem geht bei der Storyline bereits zu Beginn die wichtigste Information rund um die Ephilem verloren. Die bekommt man nur häppchenweise präsentiert und muss sich dann auch dem ganzen Hickhack die Story fast schon selbst zusammen schneidern. Ich mag die Idee wirklich, aber die Umsetzung ist einfach mangelhaft. Da fehlen einfach Informationen. Mit mehr Liebe zum Detail hätte es vielleicht was werden können, aber so kann ich nur 3 Sterne vergeben, obwohl die Tendenz eher zu zwei Sternen geht. Schade.

Fazit:
Wer über flache Charaktere, wenige Details und eine sprunghafte, kindliche Storyline hinweg sehen kann, der könnte hier durchaus Spaß haben. Wer wirklich gute Qualität erwartet, der sollte hier jedoch die Finger davon lassen, sonst ist man nur enttäuscht.

Idee: 4/5
Details: 3/5
Charaktere: 3/5
Storyline: 3/5
Spannung: 2/5

Gesamt: 3/5

[Naomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm quite surprised that I haven't already put this on my shelves. This is actually the first manga that I ever bought. I bought it at my middle school book fair because of one thing and one thing only. The dragon on the girl's shoulders.

Now, while the book isn't my most favorite manga and I never even finished collecting the series. I did love the art style and costuming choices. I was actually quite disappointed after buying it though, because the dragons lack in making any real appearance for quite a long while. Even when they do appear, it is only as a very brief side character.

So, while this manga will always have a special place on my shelf seeing as it was my first, and I do look through it quite often for the artwork, I probably won't be looking for the third volume. I did buy the second volume in hopes of seeing more dragons, but alas, there's not many there either.

So, if you're looking for a manga with dragons, this probably isn't the one for you. I'm not going to try and estimate the time that I actually read it, that was back in middle school and I'm now done with a two-year college degree. I'll just put it down for today seeing as I was looking through it today, reading excerpts here and there. I really wish it had more to do with dragons.

[Ace · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought this at a middle school book fair; it was one of the first manga I ever read. I really liked the concept (though I know I've seen magical other-worldly dreaming like this before), but I had to read it a number of times before I was able to follow the plot. Some of the characters looked alike (Lady Camu and the Elphis at the end) so I had trouble keeping them all straight; this may be because I hadn't read very many graphic novels before this.

Naoto's friend Chisato isn't very well-developed and I don't feel bad for her when Naoto tells her that he's leaving for a while - I wanted to see more of their friendship to see the impact his leaving would have! Her bio in the back gives more info than the story does.

The romance is sort of silly - is Naoto supposed to be Lusia's love interest? She tells him that she loves him (well, almost) and there's no reaction even though it seems fairly obvious what "I lo-" means, given the context: she's looking all nervous and says she always wants to be with him and Naoto is 100% clueless.

Overall, the plot had a cool concept, but the story wasn't told convincingly enough for me to want to continue.

[✨ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I kind of liked the concept this comic brought forward but I feel like it didn't deliver to full potential. I feel that volume one (this one) could have been either a little longer or more detailed in explaining what's going down. I can't seem to get into the series all that much, the art style isn't really what I like either. Perhaps I'm older than the target audience age for this but regardless, I'm kind of glad I didn't pay money to read this. [My little sister got it as a gift from a friend.]

[Mike Foley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read this in middle school and decided to give it another go. I loved the art and the characters and the story but it needs work. I felt it was a bit choppy and didn't transition well between flashbacks and present day and it took me a bit to figure out the plot. I also wish the last 2 volumes were in English since my favorite part was the relationship between Lusia and Naoto and I want to know if they resolve it.

[Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute manga with interesting concepts. Not quite good enough for me to want to keep it though. Might work for someone else. =)