A second reboot has hit Apple Black
"I love how George Lucas kept futzing around with Star Wars" -said no one, ever
Apple Black is getting rebooted a second time1. Now all of my critique can be handwaved away with how I was, acktually, reading the old version (you know, the version widely available in bookstores from Quarto books, the version sent to print as recently as 2022). Chapter 1 is available for free on Patreon. Any further and you have to join, but since I’m blocked from Whytmanga’s patreon2, that’s the end of the road for me.
The newest version of chapter 1 is a combination of scenes from chapters 1 and 2 (done out of order, which makes it incredibly rocky), all tied together with new scenes and punched-up dialogue.
I am curious if this latest edition has the same letterers on staff as the Quarto edition, since the text seems a little rougher… but that’s some pretty small potatoes. The real headline here:
I lost. Good job. I’ll take my ball and go home.
I can’t review this series if the latest edition is on a website where I’m blocked. You did it! The one place I can’t find Apple Black and nitpick it to shreds.
I just hope this latest reboot clarifies the rules of Nuori. Because Nuori is not Chess. A Nuori board is 7x7, and Chess is 8x8, so, like, what the heck gives.
That’s that for now3. Subscribe to Whytmanga on Patreon if you want the latest Apple Black.
“Reboot” is a strong word but I don’t know what the hell else to call what’s happening here. There’s significant changes between the Apple Black you’d read if you bought it from the bookstore, versus the Apple Black you’d read if you read it from Saturday AM’s magazine. These changes go beyond typical touch-ups found in manga serialization to its final tankobon form. The most notable change is Chapter 2 introduces the character Opal Wantmore. Seriously, how many manga have you read where they clumsily retcon a new main character in the tankobon version? Zero? Okay.
This tells me I need to buy the Apple Black tankobons multiple times, to make up for all the patreon dollars I can’t give. Its tragic. If you see Apple Black at your local bookstore, buy one for yourself, and buy a second to make up for the month on Patreon that your friend Tapirclip couldn’t get.
I started this review with Volo and I’ll end with Volo
Sad to hear you got blocked lol I bet you brought a lot of genuine interest to the series even if you're critical. How close is Apple Black from being complete? The series is like 14 years in. Kinda ruins the emersion when series redo their stories, especially the beginning. For indie stuff where the creator started at a very different skill level I can understand if it happens once, especially if there's no major narrative changes and the art and writing is just polished up. But I've noticed when it happens more than once it's usually diminishing returns both for the audience and story itself. Definitely an issue if it's a product for purchase and you may prefer a previous version that'll become unavailable. I wonder if people in Whytt's creative circle have warned him why no major manga series take this direction. Anyways, glad to get another Tapir Tuesday!