25 January 2013 1 Comment

Sugar Sugar Rune, Volume 1

Creator: Moyoco Anno
U.S. publisher: Del Rey
ISBN: 9780345486295
Released: September 2005
Original release: 2004
Awards: Kodansha Manga Award

Sugar Sugar Rune was the third manga series by Moyoco Anno to be licenced in English. The first volume of Sugar Sugar Rune was released in Japan in 2004. The English-language edition, published by Del Rey Manga, was released only a year later in 2005. Unlike all of Anno’s other manga currently available in English, Sugar Sugar Rune is a shoujo manga created for a younger audience, specifically girls between the ages of six and twelve. However, the series also appeals to adult readers. Sugar Sugar Rune is probably one one Anno’s most popular and well known manga series. Anno received the 2005 Kodansha Manga Award for best children’s manga for Sugar Sugar Rune. The manga was also adapted into a fifty-one episode anime series between 2005 and 2006. I thoroughly enjoyed Sugar Sugar Rune when I first read it and was happy to have the excuse of the Moyoco Anno Manga Moveable Feast to take a another look at the series.

Chocolat Meilleure and Vanilla Mieux are two best friends whose personalities couldn’t be more different. Vanilla is shy and reserved while Chocolat is brash and outgoing. Now the two of them are rivals as well as friends—both of the young witch girls have been selected as a candidate for the next Queen of the Magical World. As part of the test to determine who will become Queen, Chocolat and Vanilla are sent to the Human World to see who can capture the most hearts. Chocolat’s aggressive personality, which was admired in the Magical World, seems to have put her at a disadvantage in the Human World where most boys appear to prefer the more demure Vanilla. But that’s not about to stop Chocolat from doing her best to win over, and take, the hearts of those she meets.

In part, Sugar Sugar Rune is a magical girl series and so many of the tropes and conventions of that genre are present. There are strong themes of love, friendship, and staying true to yourself as well as plenty of accessories and merchandising opportunities. But underneath Sugar Sugar Rune‘s sugary, candy-coated exterior is a center that’s bittersweet. There is fun and magic, but there’s also the beginning of Chocolat’s coming-of-age story. Stealing hearts and playing with the feelings of others have some very real consequences with which the girls will have to come to terms. They also have to guard their own hearts carefully: humans can have their hearts taken multiple times, but witches and wizards only have one true heart. Should a witch fall in love with another person and have her heart stolen she may even die.

Sugar Sugar Rune starts out innocently enough but there are also hints of something more ominous brewing. I think that’s one of the things that makes the series so engaging. I also love Anno’s characters and their designs. Chooclat really steals the show in the first volume. I wasn’t as enamored with Vanilla at first, but she did grow on me. The secondary characters are great, too—everyone from the girls’ guardian of sorts Robin, who makes his living in the Human World as an idol stealing the hearts of women hundreds at a time, to the neighborhood boy and classmate Akira, who is obsessed with aliens and is convinced Chocolat is from another planet. Anno’s artwork is a wonderful as always although occasionally there’s so much going on on a given page that it can be overwhelming. Sugar Sugar Rune is a truly delightful series; the first volume only gives a taste of what is to come.

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24 January 2013 1 Comment

Sakuran: Blossoms Wild

Creator: Moyoco Anno
U.S. publisher: Vertical
ISBN: 9781935654452
Released: July 2012
Original release: 2003

Sakuran: Blossoms Wild by Moyoco Anno was initially serialized in the manga magazine Evening between 2001 and 2003 before being collected into a single volume in Japan in 2003. The English-language edition of Sakuran was published by Vertical in 2012. It’s a physically beautiful volume with a foil color and retaining Anno’s color pages. The previous manga by Anno to be released in English, the final volume of Sugar Sugar Rune, was published in 2008. Four years later, I was thrilled to finally have more of Anno’s work available in English. Except for her short manga “The Song of the Crickets,” collected in the anthology Japan as Viewed by 17 Creators, Sakuran is currently the only historical period piece by Anno in English; her other manga all take place in contemporary settings. Although I’m only now getting around to actually reviewing Sakuran for the Moyoco Anno Manga Moveable Feast, I was very excited for its release.

Kiyoha is one of the highest-ranking courtesans in Yoshiwara, the pleasure district in Edo. She hasn’t always held that position, though. Bought as a young girl by Tamagiku House, Kiyoha began her service as a maid but her good looks and cleverness made her an ideal choice to become an apprentice courtesan. Kiyoha’s willfulness and lack of social graces prove problematic and her attempts to escape Tamagiku lead to her being severely punished. Life in Yoshiwara is an extremely difficult one and the women who live there have very little control over their own existences. Kiyoha, like so many of the other courtesans, is both admired and hated. It’s a harsh world. Every glimmer of hope, as few of them as there are, is accompanied by sadness, heartbreak, and tragedy. And yet Kiyoha perseveres.

Sakuran is one of the most realistic and honest portrayals of sex work in Edo-era Japan that I’ve come across in manga or in fiction in general. No doubt Sakuran is sensual, but the brothels and the lives of the courtesans haven’t been glamorized or romanticized. The story is almost matter-of-fact in its presentation. There is explicit sexual content in Sakuran, which probably shouldn’t be too surprising considering the manga’s subject matter, but Anno handles it very tastefully. Even though the women in Sakuran are largely powerless, forced to work within a system not of their own choosing, they are also incredibly strong. Becoming a high-ranking courtesan had its benefits but also carried with it a tremendous amount of responsibility. Supporting their houses and those who served them was often a thankless job.

Before reading Sakuran, I had never seen any of Anno’s color work. I am very glad that Vertical kept the color pages for the English release of the volume because they are gorgeous. Some might find Anno’s art style to be ugly, but it is also exquisitely elegant. I love it. I’ve always been a fan of Anno’s distinctive artwork, but Sakuran is particularly arresting visually. Anno has an interest in fashion and Sakuran allows her to really let loose. The attention she gives to the details of the elaborate kimono and intricate hairstyles and their accessories is stunning. Sakuran is a beautiful manga. It may only be a single volume, but that also means it’s more immediately accessible than her longer series. Sakuran is one of Anno’s more serious and sophisticated works, but I also think it’s one of her strongest overall. Simply put, Sakuran is marvelous.

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24 January 2013 Leave a Comment

Moyoco Anno Manga Moveable Feast: Roundup Two

© Moyoco Anno

Today is the second Moyoco Anno Manga Moveable Feast roundup!

Except, it appears as though the only new Feast content was posted here at Experiments in Manga. I took a look at the first volume of Happy Mania, which was the very first manga by Anno to be published in English. I also posted a review of Flowers & Bees, Volume 1, which was the first seinen series that Anno created as well as the second of her series to be translated into English.

Although the two series are definitely their own works, they do share many similarities: rude and raunchy humor that can be a little harsh, absurd and ridiculous characters and situations, and protagonists who both have terrible luck when it comes to love, just to mention a few. I enjoy both series immensely, but I can more closely identify with Komatsu from Flowers & Bees than I can with Shigeta from Happy Mania. Interestingly enough, Anno mentioned in an interview that Komatsu was the character of hers who most closely reflected her own personality and experiences.

So, that’s where things are with the Feast at the moment. I have posts planned for the rest of the week, but I’m looking forward to reading others’ even more. And if I’ve missed any contributions, please let me know so that I can add them to the next roundup and to the archive!

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23 January 2013 Leave a Comment

Flowers & Bees, Volume 1

Creator: Moyoco Anno
U.S. publisher: Viz Media
ISBN: 9781569319789
Released: October 2003
Original release: 2000

Flowers & Bees was the second manga series by Moyoco Anno to be released in English. Viz Media published the first volume of the series in 2003, six months after Tokyopop published the first volume of the English-language edition of Happy Mania. In Japan the first volume of Flowers & Bees was released in 2000. Flowers & Bees was Anno’s first foray into a series aimed at a predominantly adult male audience. Prior to Flowers & Bees, Anno was primarily known for her work as a josei artist. I’ve heard Flowers & Bees described as a male version of Happy Mania. Having read both manga, I’d have to say it’s actually not a bad comparison; the two series share many themes and other similarities. Even though I had previously read Flowers & Bees, I was looking forward to reading it again for the Moyoco Anno Manga Moveable Feast.

Masao Komatsu is desperate. He’s convinced that the reason he’s unpopular is his unattractiveness. All he really wants is a little respect and for Noriko, a girl from another high school who he’s developed a huge crush on, to give him the time of day. That’s when he stumbles into the World of Beautiful Men, a men’s beauty salon filled with people who delight in tormenting Komatsu just as much as they do in helping him to develop something at least resembling style. What starts out as a simple eyebrow job soon spirals out of control as Komatsu will do anything and everything he possible can in order to look cool. And it seems to be working. Sort of. The attention that he starts to draw isn’t exactly what he had in mind, but at least women are starting to notice him.

I’m rather fond of Komatsu as pitiful as he can be. I can’t help but feel some sympathy for the poor guy. He’s not nearly as big of a loser as he thinks he is. He just hasn’t realized quite yet that he needs to work on his confidence and self-esteem more than he needs to work on his hair. (Granted, a decent haircut certainly doesn’t hurt, either.) But Komatsu tries. He really, really tries. His earnestness and obsession with becoming attractive is impressive. It is also highly amusing. As self-conscious as he is as a person, he is also incredibly self-absorbed. Anno doesn’t go easy on Komatsu. He’s the subject of some pretty cruel treatment. Admittedly, Flowers & Bees can be a little mean, but it can also be hilarious.

As harsh as Flowers & Bees is on occasion, Anno actually does incorporate some legitimate fashion and relationship tips into the manga. At times they’re a little difficult to discern as Komatsu is put through all sorts of overly dramatic, not to mention traumatic, experience. Komatsu is desperate and highly impressionable, grasping at even the smallest piece of advice. He doesn’t always quite get it, but there’s still hope for him. I think that’s one of the reasons Flowers & Bees works for me. Komatsu has plenty of room to grow and develop as a character. Many of the changes in the first volume are merely physical, but the foundation for his metamorphosis as a person as a whole is also established. I really do enjoy Flowers & Bees.

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22 January 2013 Leave a Comment

Happy Mania, Volume 1

Creator: Moyoco Anno
U.S. publisher: Tokyopop
ISBN: 9781591821694
Released: April 2003
Original release: 1996

Happy Mania was my introduction to the work of Moyoco Anno. The series was actually one of her earliest professional works and was the first of her manga to be released in English, preceding Flowers & Bees by about half a year. Happy Mania, Volume 1 was first published in Japan in 1996. Tokyopop released the English-language edition in 2003. I believe that Happy Mania was one of Tokyopop’s first shrink-wrapped, mature manga. It was also one of the first, if not the first josei manga—manga intended for an adult female audience—to be released in English. If I recall correctly, Happy Mania was also the first josei manga that I ever read. What I don’t remember is how I learned about Happy Mania or why I picked up the eleven-volume series to begin with. I’m glad that I did, though; it ended up being an unexpected surprise. And I’m happy to give Happy Mania another, closer look for the Moyoco Anno Manga Moveable Feast.

Twenty-four-year old Kayoko Shigeta wants only one thing in her life—a boyfriend. Luckily for her, Shigeta’s love horoscope seems to indicate that the right guy for her is just around the corner. Having been dumped almost a year earlier, she’s not about to let her chance at true love slip her by. In fact, she takes a job at a local book store in order to meet more men, hoping to find her mate for life. But for one reason or another, Shigeta just can’t seem to land a long-term boyfriend. She does have plenty of flings, though. But the men she pursues and attracts simply aren’t interested in a committed relationship. Well, there is Takahashi—Shigeta’s coworker who is genuinely in love with her. But Shigeta isn’t about to give the awkward, geeky Takahashi a second glance. She wants the perfect boyfriend, someone much cooler and better looking. Shigeta just can’t understand what she’s doing wrong. Will she be doomed to be alone forever?

Happy Mania is very aptly named. Shigeta is the most manic character I have ever encountered in a manga. She’s a terrible person—incredibly self-absorbed, judgemental, impulsive, and selfish. But her negative traits (which seem to be most of them) are so exaggerated that Happy Mania ends up being hilarious rather than annoying, assuming that the reader can put up with Shigeta to begin with. (I probably could never be her friend, but I do like her immensely as a character.) In an interview, Anno mentioned that she meant Happy Mania to be in part a cautionary tale. All of Shigeta’s romantic failures are brought upon by herself. It’s difficult to feel sorry for her when she’s flying from one obsessive love to the next or deliberately trying to ruin someone else’s happiness. Takahashi, the poor guy, is an entirely different matter and Shigeta’s complete opposite. He’ much too nice for his own good.

I think Happy Mania works because Shigeta is so outrageously over-the-top. One moment she’s in the depths of despair and in the next she’s caught up in her own delusions. A more realistic portrayal would have ended up being depressing rather than funny. And Happy Mania is very funny, even if it’s not always very kind. Truly horrible things happen to Shigeta and those around her (often as the direct result of her actions.) It’s all very melodramatic, and parts of Happy Mania may at first hardly be believable, but underneath are some very nasty grains of truth. Shigeta’s obsession with finding true love is something that many people can probably identify with, but woe be the person who actually follows her example. The first volume of Happy Mania actually provides some great dating advice—just think of what Shigeta would do in any given situation and then, whatever you do, don’t do it. In real life, Shigeta would be utterly exhausting to have as a friend. Thankfully, Happy Mania isn’t real life and provides a buffer against her mania.

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