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11 January 2013 4 Comments

Library Love, Part 13

Support manga, support your library!

Here’s what I’ve been reading:

Arisa, Volumes 2-4 by Natsumi Ando. I found the first volume of Arisa to be quite intriguing and darker than I expected, and so I was looking forward to continuing the series. As much as I enjoyed these volumes, they also frustrated me. They are very engaging and make for quick reading, but not much seems to have actually happened. As many twists and turns as Ando packs into each volume, and there are a lot, somehow the plot as a whole seems to be progressing very slowly. It’s an odd sort of dissonance. Tsubasa continues to investigate the mystery surrounding her sister Arisa’s attempted suicide and the strange ritual known as “King Time.” She has some help, but it’s becoming more and more difficult to tell who’s an ally.

Emma, Volumes 4-6 by Kaoru Mori. I’m a little heartbroken that I missed this series when it was first being published. Emma is absolutely wonderful and unfortunately very out of print. Mori’s attention to historical detail is fantastic and her artwork is gorgeous. She has really captured Victorian-era England and has created an immersive setting. By this point in Emma, the series has left its episodic roots behind in favor of an increasingly involved (but not overly complicated) romantic storyline. It seems that whatever happens as a result of their love, it won’t be easy for either Emma or William. Because of their class differences, pursuing their relationship will have consequences not only for themselves, but for their families and acquaintances as well.

Jiu Jiu, Volumes 1-2 by Touya Tobina. I ended up liking Jiu Jiu much more than I expected. Takamichi becomes the next heir in a family of Dark Hunters, responsible for killing demons, when her twin brother dies protecting her. Soon after, Snow and Night, part demon themselves, become her jiu jiu, aiding in her hunts. This is a fairly dark setup, but Jiu Jiu is unexpectedly fun and funny. The darker elements still show up, but don’t completely mesh yet. Snow and Night are delightfully endearing. They’re shape-shifting wolves, but maintain their dog-like personalities even when in human form: they’re loyal and excitable and love frisbees and walks. Left to their own devices, they also tend to wander around naked.

Monokuro Kinderbook by Kan Takahama. With a background in contemporary art and later becoming a part of the Nouvelle Manga artistic movement, Takahama made her manga debut in the alternative manga magazine Garo with the story “Women Who Survive.” That story and nine others (some if not all of which were also published in Garo) are collected in Monokuro Kinderbook. The stories, though unrelated, all tend towards the darker, messier side of life. This is emphasized by Takahama’s artwork, which I love. Her style is reminiscent of ink wash painting. What particularly stands out to me about her stories are their realism; Takahama doesn’t go for the easy endings. Some of the pieces in Monokuro Kinderbook also incorporate autobiographical elements.

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30 November 2012 Leave a Comment

Library Love, Part 12

Support manga, support your library!

Here’s what I’ve been reading:

Black Blizzard by Yoshihiro Tatsumi. When a train is derailed by an avalanche, two criminals on board make their escape. Handcuffed together, they disappear into the mountains under the cover of a blizzard. Black Blizzard was my introduction to Tatsumi. It also happens to be Tatsumi’s first full length, non-serialized graphic novel. Written in the late 1950s, it is one of the earliest examples of gekiga. Black Blizzard is a great read, even if the ending’s twist seems a little too convenient. But even so, the story is quickly paced and engaging. The English-language edition of Black Blizzard from Drawn and Quarterly also includes an interview with Tatsumi which is a nice addition.

Here Is Greenwood, Volumes 1-2 by Yukie Nasu. Okay, I’m really enjoying this one. Here Is Greenwood isn’t an outstanding series, but for the right audience (to which I apparently belong) it’s solidly entertaining. It has a large cast of quirky and offbeat characters. The residents of the “Greenwood” dormitory frequently find themselves in some fairly ridiculous and unbelievable situations, generally of their own creation. The main protagonist is Kazuya Hasukawa, a perpetually stressed out student at the prestigious all-boys Ryokuto Academy who Mitsuru Ikeda, the head resident of the dormitory, delights in tormenting. Here Is Greenwood is really funny stuff if you enjoy the absurd, which I certainly do.

Nana, Volumes 1-4 by Ai Yazawa. The first volume of Nana serves as a sort of prologue to the main series and can stand completely on its own. It introduces the two main characters and their backstories: Nana Komatsu, a young woman trying to establish her independence after one too many heartbreaks, and Nana Osaki, a punk singer working towards her success as a musician. The two women become roommates by chance more than anything else, but their friendship becomes very important to them. The characterization in Nana is phenomenal. All of the characters are complex and their relationships are complicated and messy. Nana has a sense of humor, but it’s really the human drama that makes the series.

Peace Maker Kurogane, Volumes 1-3 by Nanae Chrono. I’ve enjoyed manga with a basis in history for quite some time. More recently, I’ve developed a particular interest in the Shinsengumi. So, I was looking forward to giving Peace Maker Kurogane a try. Unfortunately, these early volumes just aren’t working for me. I have a decent handle on what was happening during the time period in which the series takes place, but I had a hard time following the plot of the story or even caring about what was going on. Things start to come together and get to be more interesting with the third volume, but I’m not sure that’ll be enough for me to track down the rest of the volumes that are available in English.

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28 September 2012 Leave a Comment

Library Love, Part 11

Support manga, support your library!

Here’s what I’ve been reading:

Emma, Volumes 1-3 by Kaoru Mori. Emma is a series that has sadly gone out of print and is becoming progressively more difficult to find. Fortunately for me, my library has the entire series. The artwork is simpler in Emma than in Mori’s later manga, but Mori still devotes attention to even the smallest details. Of particular note is the amount of historical research put into Emma; it portrays Victorian-era London in a very realistic way. There is an overarching story to the series, but these first few volumes of Emma felt fairly episodic to me. The series focuses on the eponymous Emma,  a maid, who falls in love with William Jones, the son of a wealthy merchant, and the difficulties that their class differences bring them. 

The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, Volumes 1-11 written by Eiji Otsuka and illustrated by Housui Yamazaki. Even though I had previously read much of The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, I had forgotten how funny the series is. Granted, it’s very dark humor, which isn’t to terribly surprising from from a manga with so many supernatural horror elements. But all of the horror and gore is balanced by a cast of likeable, quirky characters. One of the things I like best about The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service is that the creators take inspiration from real life events, mixing them with traditional Japanese ghost stories and urban legends. The series is mostly episodic, with stories generally ranging from one chapter to an entire volume in length.

Phoenix, Volumes 1-3 by Osamu Tezuka. Phoenix was considered by Tezuka to be his life’s work. Unfortunately, much of the series is now out of print in English. (Thank goodness for libraries.) Phoenix is a mixture of historical fiction and science fiction. Each volume alternates between the past and the future, slowly converging towards the present. The themes of death and rebirth and the cyclical nature of life echo throughout the manga. The stories in each volume stand alone, but they also reflect and mirror one another. I actually haven’t read much of Tezuka’s science fiction before, so I found that to be particularly fascinating. I can see the influence his work has had on later mangaka.

Yuri Monogatari, Volume 2 by Various. I wasn’t quite as taken with the second volume of Yuri Monogatari anthology as I was with the first, but I still found it to be an enjoyable collection. (And it’s much easier to find.) The series is a collection of yuri-themed stories published in English. The stories range from the realistic to the fantastic. Once again, Althea Keaton’s contribution was particularly strong. But my favorite work in this anthology was Beth Malone’s “Night Out.” Yuri Monogatari features many of the same creators who contributed to the first volume as well as a few newcomers, which was nice to see. For some reason, toasters (yes, the kitchen appliance) came up in multiple stories, which was a little odd but kind of fun.

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13 July 2012 2 Comments

Library Love, Part 10

Support manga, support your library!

Here’s what I’ve been reading:

Good-bye by Yoshihiro Tatsumi. Good-bye collects nine short manga from gekiga pioneer Yoshihiro Tatsumi. The stories all tend to be somewhat dark and pessimistic but somehow manage to avoid being overly depressing. Sex and sexuality seems to permeate the tales. The political commentary and social satire can be a bit heavy at times, but overall the stories are all very strong. I haven’t read much of Tatsumi’s manga, but Good-bye seems to be a fine introduction to his work. The storytelling is powerful and the narratives are engaging. Frederik L. Schodt contributes an excellent introduction to the collection. A brief interview with Tatsumi is included at the end of the volume as well.

Mangaman written by Barry Lyga and illustrated by Colleen Doran. Mangaman has a fun concept that, sadly, wasn’t executed as well as I was hoping. The basic premise is that Ryoko Kiyama, a manga character, has fallen through a rip between worlds and has landed in reality. Expect, he brings all the quirks of manga and comics along with him—people can see his thought bubbles, he literally transforms into a chibi, speedlines get in the way and fall to the floor making a mess, and so on. Unfortunately, the comic is hindered by a plot that barely exists and flat characters. There’s also a tendency to rely too heavily on stereotypical perceptions of manga. Still, Mangaman can be amusing and quite clever at times (especially visually) and I did like Doran’s high-contrast artwork.

Real, Volumes 7-9 by Takehiko Inoue. I think Real may very well be my favorite series by Takehiko Inoue. This surprises me a bit since while I enjoy sports manga, it’s not really my “thing.” But Real is phenomenal. Sure, there’s wheelchair basketball and it’s important to the story (and the athletes are amazing), but to me Real is more about its human elements and drama than it is about sports. The characters are confronted by their limitations and either have to overcome them and accept themselves as who they are or else fall into despair. The characters’ struggles aren’t easy ones—they make progress and they have their setbacks. I can’t help but wish the best for all of them. I’ll be picking up this series to own.

Uzumaki: Spiral into Horror by Junji Ito. Uzumaki features some genuinely creepy and disturbing imagery. Kurôzu-cho is a small Japanese village that has become infected with spirals. This doesn’t sound particularly horrifying, but in Ito’s hands it absolutely is. People become obsessed and driven insane by the spirals they find in nature or by those that are man made. Bizarre and terrifying events unfold in the town that can all be traced back to spirals. The stories are fairly episodic, but they do all tie together in the end. Many of them are also somehow tied to a girl named Kirei who often serves as the narrator. I preferred the first volume before things get really weird, but I was thoroughly engaged for the entire series. I was seeing spirals everywhere long after I finished Uzumaki.

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6 May 2012 2 Comments

Library Love, Part 9

Support manga, support your library!

Here’s what I’ve been reading:

Gogo Monster by Taiyo Matsumoto. Even after reading it multiple times, I’m not entirely sure I completely understand Gogo Monster but it is very good. The manga is wonderfully atmospheric, dark, and chilling. There’s something very sinister and innocent about it all at the same time. Some might find Matsumoto’s art to be ugly, but I quite liked it and found it to be very effective. Yuki sees things that others can’t. He’s considered to be a weirdo by most of his class, but a transfer student named Makoto reaches out to him. As the story progresses it becomes more and more difficult to know what to believe. Where does reality end and imagination begin, or was there never really a difference to begin with?

One Piece, Volumes 2-4 by Eiichiro Oda. I really want to like One Piece—I know a lot of people who love the series—but these early volumes simply aren’t clicking for me. This is not to say I didn’t enjoy reading them. They are fun and Oda’s artwork is delightfully bombastic, fitting the story perfectly. But I’m simply not compelled to follow the series for some reason that I haven’t quite been able to identify. I’m just not “getting” it yet. And with a series that’s already over sixty volumes long and still going, I find it a rather daunting prospect to try and pursue One Piece. Still, if my library gets any more of the books, I’ll likely try to hang on for at least a few more volumes.

Travel by Yuichi Yokoyama. Travel is one of those manga that I can easily appreciate without necessarily liking. The artwork is abstract and Yokoyama’s draftsmanship is superb. Personally though, I don’t find the style to be particularly appealing. There is no text in the manga itself, but Yokoyama provides plenty of notes at the end to help guide the reader and provide interpretations for the images. (I actually preferred some of my own interpretations.) One thing in particular that impresses me about Travel is the sense of motion that Yokoyama is able to convey. After finishing the manga, it really feels as if a journey has been completed; Travel is a very apt title.

Yuri Monogatari edited by Erica Friedman. If it wasn’t for my library and the joy of interlibrary loan, I probably would have never had to opportunity to read the first volume of the Yuri Monogatari series. Only two-hundred-fifty copies of the book were printed; even the editor doesn’t have a copy. Yuri Monogatari is the first anthology of original English-language yuri. The first volume collects nine stories that are sexy, sweet, thoughtful, and authentic. My personal favorite was the final contribution in the volume, “The Scales” by Althea Keaton. Although it is highly unlikely, I hope that one day I can own a copy of Yuri Monogatari. It’s a wonderful collection.

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