Review of "The Animal Keeper" by Theodore Leung



Star Ocean: the Second Story, a game famous for its 80+ endings; a game that's probably also famous for scaring away most fanfic authors. Maybe its just all of the different variables that the authors are given; or maybe its just that most fanfiction authors have been focusing on Final Fantasy VII for so long that they've been drained of all of their creativity. Don't misinterpret, I love a good FFVII fic as well as the next guy, but I also appreciate the rare, shiny... (Okay, maybe not shiny ^_~) Star Ocean
fic. And that brings us to "The Animal Keeper" by Theodore Leung, the very first out of the handful of Star Ocean fics I've found and read.
"The Animal Keeper" is a short fic focusing on Noel Chandler, whom the author feels is the only character whose ending would not change, in which he is forced to realize he has been denying the truth about so many things in his life.
Theo does a good job of enlightening his readers on some of the gray areas of Noel's personality, although one would have to raise a question of whether its a wee bit out of character, but that isn't to say I don't like this, I do. Noel is one of the most misunderstood characters in Star Ocean and the game's producers could have done a little better with elaborating on his characterization, so this may not be out of character afterall. It all depends on the readers' own interpretation, so I won't say anything more on the matter. As for his use of Chisato, I was very impressed. Theo uses her somewhat as Noel's antagonist, forcing him to see the truth without making it too unrealistic.
As for the plot, this being a short fic, I really can't go into too much detail without spoiling the story itself. This is simply one author's look into a character's feelings after the game. Don't let this bad generalization fool you though. Theo's look is rather unique, covering ideas in the game that some authors probably wouldn't even consider, and its well worth the read!
The style was short but sweet, getting right to the point without rambling on for pages about the color of the sky. But if you're one of those readers who wants a lot of detail to set the scene, this could leave you with something to be wanted, getting a taste but not the essence of the story. The grammar wasn't atrocious, but making the same mistake consistently was enough to catch my attention. The use of "where" when it should have been "were" and the fact that he misspelled the name "Chisato" throughout the whole fic is just a few of the things Theo needs to watch, but I'm by no means the expert.
Despite a few problems and minor setbacks, "The Animal Keeper" is still a good fanfic and worth the read for any Star Ocean fan. With a little more work on the author's part and a larger fandom for SO2 fanfiction, this has the potential to become an excellent fanfic. I recommend this to anyone who has a few minutes to sit down and read good story.
Theo gives us a good fanfic written for a game that doesn't get half the blitz it should. I hope that I'll see a lot more work in this fandom from him as well as anyone else who has the whim to become my best friend by writing an excellent SO2 fanfic. ^_~

RATING: 3 out of 5. The few mistakes and the question of character may take away from the story, but not enough to take away from the overall effect. With a little blood, sweat, and tears (Okay, maybe it won't require quite that much ^_~) "The Animal Keeper" has the potential to easily become a 5 on my scale.