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We have now officially reached the conclusion of the Moyoco Anno Manga Moveable Feast!
As a sort of bonus review, I took a look at Japan as Viewed by 17 Creators which includes Anno’s short manga “The Song of the Crickets.” I’m calling it a bonus because I reviewed the volume as a whole as opposed to focusing on Anno’s contribution. “The Song of the Crickets” is a mere six pages long, but it’s a beautifully illustrated period piece.
At All About Manga, Daniella Orihuela-Gruber has a great post about Moyoco Anno’s Study of the Bitch, looking at Anno’s portrayal of women in Happy Mania, Sakuran, and Sugar Sugar Rune:
There is something about how Moyoco Anno portrays women in her manga. Put simply, each and every female character is a bitch. While this may seem like a derogatory way to say it, it is simply how Anno sees all women. To her, women are fierce, fighting bitches, not simpering little things who take life as it comes.
This week’s My Week in Manga video from Melinda Beasi at Manga Bookshelf is a special edition focusing on Moyoco Anno’s work. It’s just a little over ten minutes long and well worth a watch/listen. Melinda discusses Anno’s approach to love and romance (or lack of romance) in her manga and specifically how Sugar Sugar Rune fits into that approach and how it compares to her other works.
Anna at Manga Report gave Happy Mania a second chance for the Feast, and discovered a new appreciation for the series:
Shigeta’s antics didn’t really sit very well with me the first time I tried this series, but in the intervening years I’ve read a bunch more manga, and right now I find a manga about a woman finding unhappiness through her pursuit of men much more interesting than a more typical manga that is going to head towards a happy ending after a series of wacky misunderstandings.
Last but not least, Sarah at Nagareboshi Reviews digs into Sakuran and finds it to be a great introduction to Anno’s work:
Sakuran is a beautiful heartbreaking manga. It is open in its depiction of life in Yoshiwara and the character of Kiyoha is someone readers will both despise and admire, often at the same time. That’s good; polarizing figures are often the most interesting to read about. Add to that Anno’s matchless artistic style and it’s clear we have yet another fantastic release from the people at Vertical Inc.
If I have missed any contributions to the Feast, or if there are still posts being written, please do let me know. This may be the last roundup, but I would be happy to include links to any and all remaining contributions on the archive page.
And finally, I would like to everyone again: those who helped spread the word about the Feast, those who contributed posts, and those of you who quietly enjoyed the Feast from the sidelines. (Readers are important, too!) I couldn’t have pulled of the Moyoco Anno Manga Moveable Feast on my own. I hope you all enjoyed the Feast as much as or even more than I did hosting it.
Please join us all for February’s Feast which will be hosted by Organization Anti-Social Geniuses between February 17 and February 24. The focus of the Feast will be on Naoki Urasawa and his work. Urasawa is one of the reasons I became obsessed with manga, so I’m particularly looking forward to the upcoming Feast.
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