Yu-Gi-Oh Junior: Introduction
It's time for us to delve into one of the major bodies of work of Brian Corvello. Welcome to the Yu-Gi-Oh Junior series.
A long while back - it's hard to say when, since Brian temporarily pulled the first three stories off of FF,net and they're hard to find on the only forum he posted them on otherwise - Brian Corvello started writing Yu-Gi-Oh fics. His first story in the fandom was "Legacy of the Duelist", a story starring Yugi Muto's son, Yugi Muto Jr. Never mind that the name is laughable if you know anything about Japanese naming conventions, this was one of those stories that pretended everything took place in Japanamerica.
The story received fair reception on the Pokemasters forum and FF.net, so he wrote a sequel, "City of Souls". When this, too, received a good response, he capped the newly-formed trilogy with "Mandate of Heaven", possibly his best-received fanfic up until the Shadowchaser AU began.
After a long hiatus, Brian returned to the setting with another timeskip, focusing his subsequent two stories on the descendents of Yugi Jr. and his allies. The first of these stories, "Legend of the Sorcerer Kings", was not met with anywhere near the acclaim of "Mandate", and in fact generated a great deal of controversy over his portrayal of atheists. Despite the lukewarm reception, he wrote a sequel, "Soul of Silicon"; this story was largely ignored, and in its epilogue he took steps to permanently close the setting.
The impact of this series on Brian can't be understated - its immense popularity got him into writing Yu-Gi-Oh fanfiction on a large scale. So, how does it hold up?
If you read the Operation: P.O.W.E.R.P.U.F.F. sporking, you should have some clue what I'm going to say here.
Even leaving aside that this was very early in Brian's writing career, when his work was substantially sloppier on a mechanical level, many of the flaws that will dog him later on come into full view here. Self-repetition runs rampant; watch for the phrase "What? No!", almost an authorial catchphrase, and the word "coward", which we saw before and will see again. Characterisation is minimal, with only one character having any real distinction (making him a fan favorite).
Brian's disturbing viewpoints are muted early on, but by the time we reach Mandate, they emerge to be backed away from in horror. We'll deal with them as we come.
This will be an introduction to the series as a whole. Individual stories will have their own recaps.
So... shall we?
A long while back - it's hard to say when, since Brian temporarily pulled the first three stories off of FF,net and they're hard to find on the only forum he posted them on otherwise - Brian Corvello started writing Yu-Gi-Oh fics. His first story in the fandom was "Legacy of the Duelist", a story starring Yugi Muto's son, Yugi Muto Jr. Never mind that the name is laughable if you know anything about Japanese naming conventions, this was one of those stories that pretended everything took place in Japanamerica.
The story received fair reception on the Pokemasters forum and FF.net, so he wrote a sequel, "City of Souls". When this, too, received a good response, he capped the newly-formed trilogy with "Mandate of Heaven", possibly his best-received fanfic up until the Shadowchaser AU began.
After a long hiatus, Brian returned to the setting with another timeskip, focusing his subsequent two stories on the descendents of Yugi Jr. and his allies. The first of these stories, "Legend of the Sorcerer Kings", was not met with anywhere near the acclaim of "Mandate", and in fact generated a great deal of controversy over his portrayal of atheists. Despite the lukewarm reception, he wrote a sequel, "Soul of Silicon"; this story was largely ignored, and in its epilogue he took steps to permanently close the setting.
The impact of this series on Brian can't be understated - its immense popularity got him into writing Yu-Gi-Oh fanfiction on a large scale. So, how does it hold up?
If you read the Operation: P.O.W.E.R.P.U.F.F. sporking, you should have some clue what I'm going to say here.
Even leaving aside that this was very early in Brian's writing career, when his work was substantially sloppier on a mechanical level, many of the flaws that will dog him later on come into full view here. Self-repetition runs rampant; watch for the phrase "What? No!", almost an authorial catchphrase, and the word "coward", which we saw before and will see again. Characterisation is minimal, with only one character having any real distinction (making him a fan favorite).
Brian's disturbing viewpoints are muted early on, but by the time we reach Mandate, they emerge to be backed away from in horror. We'll deal with them as we come.
This will be an introduction to the series as a whole. Individual stories will have their own recaps.
So... shall we?