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| © Usamaru Furuya |
The Usamaru Furuya Manga Moveable Feast is drawing to a close. It’s been a great week with some great contributions. Here are the most recent submissions.
At Experiments in Manga, I posted a review of No Longer Human, Volume 1. Furuya’s adaptation of Osamu Dazai’s original novel was one of my most anticipated releases for 2011. I wasn’t disappointed.
Connie of Slightly Biased Manga brings us a license request for Palepoli, which includes great examples from the manga showing off the tremendous range in Furuya’s artwork:
Every single one of his books is interesting to look at. He’s constantly using unusual imagery and a plethora of styles to convey the story visually, and there’s nobody quite like him when it comes to this. It’s fine art in manga form, and I wish like nobody’s business that more of his work would be licensed.
Manga Connection participates in the Manga Moveable Feast for the very first time and uses the opportunity to take a look at Furuya’s No Longer Human, noting how easy it is to dislike Yozo and yet still relate to him:
Yozo is a manipulator and takes advantage, no doubt, but how many of us acknowledge it like he does? Does that make him any better or worse that us — no longer human? These are questions I could mull over a long time.
Terry Hong of BookDragon, a part of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program, only recently discovered the Manga Moveable Feast and joins in for the first time, reviewing the final two books of Genkaku Picasso:
Picasso’s closer friends finally begin to wonder how he knows so much about their lives. Questions, then accusations fly, sending Picasso off on a soul-search of his own … and Chiaki must guide him through one more challenging adventure.
Genkaku Picasso is also the subject of All About Manga‘s Daniella Orihuela-Gruber’s delightful article Usamaru Furuya’s Genkaku Picasso & Why It’s Currently the Only Shounen Manga on My Shelves which looks at the series from the perspective of someone who’s not generally a fan of shōnen manga:
Genkaku Picasso, on the other hand, has enough creativity to attack unconventional issues and goes so far as to mock the generic shounen formula it does take. Not to forget the manga’s shounen roots, the ending will probably make you cry a single, manly tear. I couldn’t think of a better shounen title to read right now.
As always, if I’ve missed something relating to the Feast, please let me know so that I can add it to the archive. While today was the official end of the Feast, I know there are still some contributions out there being written. Maybe you wanted to participate but for one reason or another weren’t able to during the Feast. Don’t let that hold you back! I will be posting one last, final farewell sometime later this week. Please let me know if you plan on submitting something and I’ll be sure that you are included.
I have already mentioned this several times during the Feast, but this was the first time that Experiments in Manga hosted the Manga Moveable Feast. It was a lot of work, but it was a great experience for me. I’m very glad that I volunteered. I sincerely hope that I was able to serve an adequate host. (Actually, I really hope that I was good host, but I’ll settle for adequate.) But, more importantly, I hope that you enjoyed the Feast.
I would like to thank everyone who participated in the Usamaru Furuya Manga Moveable Feast, especially those who contributed reviews and articles. I would also particularly like to thank everyone who helped spread the word about and link to the Feast; Experiments in Manga is a newer and not particularly well-known manga and Japanese literature blog, so I really appreciated the assistance. Thank you also to everyone who took time to comment on the various posts. And all of you lurkers who wandered around reading but not saying anything? I’d like to thank you, too. The Feast would have been unrewarding if no one showed up to appreciate it. Thank you all for making the Usamaru Furuya Manga Moveable Feast a success.
I hope you’ll all join us again for February’s Feast, hosted by the magnificent Kate Dacey of The Manga Critic. Scheduled for February 19-February 25, we’ll be celebrating Osamu Tezuka and exploring his works together. Bring a friend!
The Feast was of lot of fun, though I was nervous about submitting! Now I’m really looking forward to the final volume of No Longer Human. I’m really tempted to read the original novel, but I don’t want the ending to be spoiled since I’m already so far into the manga adaption. Also, I’m interested in joining in the Japanese Literature book club; I’ve seen random posts on your blog about it, would you mind providing a link?
(I noticed you happened to link my WP blog on your resources page; I had no idea anyone even knew that thing existed! Mind changing it to my Tumblr one now?)
I’m really glad you joined in the Feast! I hope you do again, too. ^_^
Personally, even if you wait to finish the manga adaptation first, I’d recommend reading Osamu Dazai’s No Longer Human. It’s a tremendous work. Furuya’s interpretation of the story is slightly different, but still very effective.
As to the Japanese Literature Book Group, you can find more information here. We’re currently on a break as the host recently moved from one country to another and is still settling in and unpacking. Let me know if you have any questions.
Oh! And I’ve updated your link on the Resources page as requested. ^_^
Thanks for stopping by!