Otaku Magazine ISSUE #4 June 2014

❧ Undiscovered Gems ❧

❧ Undiscovered Gems ❧

  First of all, I’d like to thank the crew at Otaku Magazine for choosing me to take over this position! It’s truly an honor to be chosen to represent the stories not well known on this site and beyond. For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Allison, Wattpader for over two years, member of the Dead Fictional Boyfriends club, and certified weeaboo trash. It’s nice to meet ya.

 

  This article is about a story by my main homegurl and one of our writers on Otaku Magazine, @FujikoIzu. Though you may know her for her guide to writing Naruto fanfiction and parody starring Haku with a tumblr and a blue-haired Mary Sue self-insert of herself, she in fact also writes her own original stories and a Shingeki no Kyojin fanfiction known as Red Threads (if you don’t know what SnK is, then congratulations, you are officially living under a rock).

 

  This lovely college age AU fanfiction takes place in our world and focuses on Mikasa, who is quietly grieving after her emo adoptive brother Eren goes missing in an attack perpetrated by an elusive gang known only as the Titans. Now, I’m no stranger to SnK AUs, having read a great deal of them myself and watching as a tiny minority of fics expanded to its own genres, complete with its own cringeworthy tropes and cliches. However, this one, much like the rest of Fujiko-senpai’s writing, is a true gem. She excels at describing emotion and exposes us to the raw inner turmoil of a normally stoic girl, but subtly, so that she does not seem out of character in the least. Every relationship is explored in depth and perfectly balanced, the most stand-out of which being Mikasa’s relationship with classmate Sasha. The growing bond between the two is very touching and genuine, sparkling with witty dialogue and moments of levity, as well as the emotionally heavy and dark.

 

  The story is impeccably paced; nothing feels too fast or dragged out, and it is extraordinarily well explained. There was never a moment when I couldn’t follow the story or was confused as to why certain things happened. Everything is given purpose and does not feel superfluous in the least. Much like Fujiko’s other writing, it is concise, organized, and straight to the point. However, despite how this sounds, Fujiko manages to pull together a compelling narrative without letting her ideas roam wild and get out of hand, complete with twists and turns and a fair dose of suspense. The writing, too, is an absolute joy to read; there are little to no grammatical errors, the dialogue is sharp and humorous, her descriptions are fabulous and don’t seem excessive in the least. The characterizations are super on point, as well as her headcanons. I mean, emo Eren? Can you honestly deny that?

 

  In short, this is a masterpiece that deserves to be just as acclaimed as her Naruto writing. If all of my lavish praise hasn’t made it through that dense skull of yours, I’ll say it again: read it. It’s funny, inspiring, and heartbreaking bundled up into the one, and I guarantee that if you like SnK, you will absolutely love it.

  Red Threads is currently on hold, and as of now, has seven chapters.