The Isolator Archives | 100 Word Anime

The Isolator Overview:

Minoru Utsugi had a tragic childhood but it has made him want only one thing from life and that is solitude. However sometimes you don’t get what you want in the way you expect and when yours isn’t the only wish being granted all sorts of things can happen.

The Isolator Review:

I’d kind of determined a long time ago I wasn’t going to read the Sword Art Online books. I enjoyed the anime and I’m not really one to chase down the source material of things with a handful of exceptions. Still, I was curious about this series by the same author so when the first book came on sale I grabbed it.

Still, hardcover only makes for an interesting reading experience and removing the jacket of the book leaves you with one of the ugliest plain blue books ever (horrible shade and absolutely plain save the spin) so you are stuck having to keep the jacket on while trying to read, leaving the book slipping about or the jacket flapping and all and all I’m just not a fan of actually reading hard cover books.

I get they are good for collecting and look good on shelves but the actual reading experience isn’t great (sorry, I’ll leave the rest of that rant for another time along with the bruise I got when I fell asleep reading this and dropped the book on my forehead).

So, this first book in the series, focusing on Minoru’s encounter with a guy who will end up being called The Biter is kind of hard to discuss without plot spoilers. Basically, Minoru had an encounter three months before the start of this story with something that may or may not have been real and since then he’s gotten a bit faster at running and noticed a few other changes. Turns out his encounter was real and he wasn’t the only one to have had such an encounter.

Most of this book first book of The Isolator deals with Minoru coming to terms with the fact that he has a power and that it is going to make him a target and there’s a lot of set-up for future stories going on even while the story around Minoru and The Biter is beautifully concluded in a single volume.

I wish more series would do this. This book tells a complete story in itself and gives the reader a great resolution to that story. The fact that this story takes place within a grander narrative is fine. Now I can choose whether I want to learn more about that larger narrative or not. This story worked fine stand-alone but also made me interested in that ongoing story. Such a great introduction to a series and there is so much potential for what they could do with this story (granted I kind of feel this is heading down the cliché team super hero path but there isn’t anything wrong with that in the end).

I really enjoyed the way the powers were explained and how they are linked (seemingly) to the characters’ desires prior to their encounters. I also like that there’s a lot not yet explained about them and that leaves all sorts of possibilities going forward. If I was to criticise one thing it would probably be the whole ruby/jet binary opposition thing they seem to be setting up as that seems to be making the story a very clear-cut good vs evil story rather than one where we have to consider the human motivation.

Unless of course the colours were attracted to the people in the first place based on their inner desires in which case that could end up being fairly interesting. Either way, I’m not going to discuss the plot any further because it will just spoil what is a fairly interesting story.

From a writing point of view, this is pretty well done. There is definitely a reliance on some cliché patterns with the main character having your standard entire family killed back story and then the attachment to the older ‘sister’ who took him in (setting up damsel in distress material). In the absence of a childhood friend there’s the runner from his school who attempts to befriend him and then serves much the same purpose that a childhood friend would.

Basically outside of Minoru and the Biter no one else really gets any kind of depth or development as a character. There’s also this odd fixation on small scenes that reinforce Minoru’s character but seem to serve little other narrative purpose. For instance the scene in the convenience store where Minoru ends up giving a boy a few yen to make up the tax difference on a set of cards.

There’s a lot of time put into that scene, and while there is a character purpose behind it, it also doesn’t seem enough to justify the words spent on it. However, for the most part the dialogue works well, the descriptions are sufficient, and the story flows along quite well most of the time.

One thing I would have liked is for The Biter to be more of a character. We do get the back story and we learn quite a bit about this character, including why he seems so far gone and crazy, but he really isn’t a particularly satisfying opponent given his own nature is pretty self-destructive in the first place. Admittedly, his power vs Minoru’s is a great way to show off Minoru’s capabilities and just how impressive his isolation is but it would have been nice to see a villain with a bit more wits about him and a little less self-indulgence. This is a minor complaint though in what is a pretty solid story.

All and all, I’m glad I picked this up and I will have a read of the second book. I’m not sure if I will enjoy where the story intends to go next but I’m definitely curious enough to give it a go and even if I don’t end up liking the second book, this first book is a good story as a stand alone.

If you’ve had a chance to read The Isolator I would love to know your thoughts on it.

If you’re interested in reading The Isolator Volume 1 it is available on the Book Depository.

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Karandi James

Previously I reviewed Volume 1 of this series and was pleasantly surprised by how enjoyable the story was even if the villain seemed a little weak and the basic idea a little cliche. Alas, with the high cost of the hard cover volume, its been a fair while between books for me but volume 2 finally came down in price during a sale and so here we are. How did this book go?

Review:

While it was established in volume 1 that there was an organisation working with those who received jet-eyes to fight the menace of those with ruby-eyes, it never really felt overly real given we only saw the two agents and one was a fairly young girl. Still, volume 2 takes us into the organisation as Minoru begins his work for them in his quest to ultimately be forgotten by everyone.

The inherent paradox in making connections with people in order to sever your connection with the world is not lost on the characters either, though I will point out the overall lack of subtlety about Minoru’s personality and choices is probably one of the more grating aspects of this particular volume. While he remains an interesting enough protagonist and his goal, which is not to become the strongest, is at least novel, the execution and the way the plot forces him to still actually become the strongest in order to achieve that goal pretty much undermines any novelty that may have been found. That said, I quite like like him as the lead because I can kind of relate and despite gaining power and a sense of responsibility toward others, he isn’t abandoning his original ideals even if he is letting circumstance dictate some of his choices.

Then again, as we meet more members of the organisation, you have to wonder if there is anything other than generic at work here. There is almost zero chemistry between the various members as each is so far more or less a one-trick pony who exists in this story to be introduced, show off their power, and to be all amazed when the newbie essentially swoops in and saves the day after, despite their experience and preparation, they very nearly fail the mission. It is incredibly predictable and while that in itself isn’t an issue, the lack of any spark or interesting personality amongst this support cast, that are apparently going to be in it for the long haul given they all come out unscathed, is more of a problem. Future books might develop these characters and certainly the relationship between Minoru and Yumiko gained strength in this volume, but that doesn’t help the mostly flat dialogue and various set ups that this volume delivers.

I know it sounds fairly negative but despite all of that, I still had some fun reading along. The abilities of the characters are interesting in their own way as is the speculation about where the eyes come from. We are introduced to an opposing faction that are in contact with our villain this time around but they aren’t directly involved in most events which leaves a nice way for the book to resolve the conflict of this volume and leave plenty of room for a sequel. And while nothing was overly surprising here, it was all done well enough even if I might have wanted more from the characters.

However, like in the first volume, the villain kind of lets things down. While at first he seems more together than the Biter, Igniter quickly becomes just another thug with a grievance against society amplified by the power of the Ruby-Eye and while his power is fascinating and quite the challenge to overcome, he himself is not.

Overall, I’m left wanting to read the next book but not really willing to pay full price for it yet again. Once again I’ll wait for a decent sale and try to pick this one up. And once again, taking the jacket off of this book will leave you with a truly hideous blue cover. I really wish they’d either pick a better colour or give us some kind of pattern or something. I really dislike picking on a book for its look, but this one is ugly, and that is a shame given the jacket is quite pretty when it isn’t sliding off while trying to read the book.

That said, I’ll finish up and turn it over to the readers. Have you had a chance to read The Isolator Volume 2: The Igniter? If so, what did you think?

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If you’re interested in reading The Isolator Volume 2 it is available on the Book Depository.