16 January 2013 Leave a Comment

Blade of the Immortal, Volume 17: On the Perfection of Anatomy

Creator: Hiroaki Samura
U.S. publisher: Dark Horse
ISBN: 9781593077822
Released: June 2007
Original release: 2004
Awards: Eisner Award, Japan Media Arts Award

On the Perfection of Anatomy is the seventeenth volume of Hiroaki Samura’s manga series Blade of the Immortal as published in English. Although the Japanese and English volumes collect slightly differently chapters, On the Perfection of Anatomy is most closely equivalent to the sixteenth volume of the Japanese release of the series, published in 2004. (The Japanese volume includes one additional chapter.) On the Perfection of Anatomy was released by Dark Horse in 2007. Blade of the Immortal has won several awards and honors, including a Japan Media Arts Award in 1998 and an Eisner Award in 2000. The series is also one my personal favorites. There were some fairly dramatic developments in the previous volume, Shortcut, so I was particularly interested in seeing where Samura would take things in On the Perfection of Anatomy.

Manji’s life has gotten more complicated ever since he became a near immortal. Even more so now that he has been captured and imprisoned in a hidden underground cell where he is the primary subject of an investigation into immortality. Manji and other felons are being experimented upon in an effort to transfer Manji’s bizarre regenerative powers to another person. Initially, the shogunate’s doctor Mozen was in charge of the investigation, but he was removed from the case after he was unable to produce results. Now the responsibility of finding the secrets behind Manji’s immortality has fallen to Ayame Burando, a young doctor who, due to his pursuit of Western medicine, is also considered a criminal. Burando sees the investigation not only as a way to redeem himself, but as an opportunity to advance the state of Japanese medicine.

Most of On the Perfection of Anatomy is devoted to Burando and the experiments he is conducting in the prison. Burando was first introduced in the previous volume, Shortcut. He goes through some very significant changes as a person by the end of On the Perfection of Anatomy. Burando was originally so devoted to advancing his own knowledge of medicine that he was willing to risk his own life. He tried to leave Japan in order to study Western medicine, inviting execution should he be caught or try to return. Ultimately he was found out which is how he became involved with the immortality experiments. At first things go astonishing well, but then Burando is confronted by failure after failure. Faced with this, his struggle as he tries to justify himself as both a scientist and doctor changes him.

Some of the experiments carried out in Shortcut and On the Perfection of Anatomy and their results are truly horrifying. Samura’s artwork captures the grotesqueness, terror, and despair as bodies fall apart and waste away. The experiments are not only physically damaging, they also take a huge mental toll on most of the people who are even remotely involved with them. Of course, there are also those who don’t appear to be affected much at all, which is a little terrifying in its own right. On the Perfection of Anatomy doesn’t actually advance the plot of Blade of the Immortal much, but it is a critical volume in the characters’ development, particularly Burando’s evolution. And, as usual, I’m very interested in reading the next volume in the series, The Sparrow Net.

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14 January 2013 Leave a Comment

My Week in Manga: January 7-January 13, 2013

My News and Reviews

Last week I posted the most recent edition of Library Love, a recurring feature in which I take a quick look at the manga that I’ve been reading from my local library. I also reviewed Frederik L. Schodt’s newest work Professor Risley and the Imperial Japanese Troupe. It’s a fantastic book and very easy to recommend, especially if you’re interested in Japanese history and/or 19th-century popular culture. And speaking of Frederik L. Schodt, The Japan Times Online recently posted a great interview with him—Frederik Schodt: Japan’s pop culture ambassador to the world.

This week I’ll be gearing up for the Moyoco Anno Manga Moveable Feast which will be hosted here at Experiments in Manga. The Feast will begin on Sunday, January 20. If you haven’t seen the Call for Participation, please do check it out. I’d love to see as many people as possible contribute to the Feast. I hosted the Usamaru Furuya Manga Moveable Feast last year which I think was fairly successful. I hope that I can manage to pull it off again! I really appreciate everyone who has helped to get the word out about the upcoming Feast.

Quick Takes

Danza by Natsume Ono. I’m a fan of Ono and so was very excited to see Danza licensed. Danza is a collection of six of her short manga, originally serialized in Morning Two. I quite enjoyed the volume. Thematically, all of the stories in Danza feature male-bonding and relationships of one sort or another (fathers and sons, coworkers, brothers, and so on.) I didn’t find Danza to be particularly stunning, profound, or life-changing, but it was a very satisfying collection overall. The stories range from the delightfully charming to the melancholic and bittersweet. Ono also tries her hand at science fiction (specifically time travel), a genre I haven’t seen her work in before, which was interesting to see.

Garden Dreams by Fumi Yoshinaga. Garden Dreams was the only work by Yoshinaga currently available in English that I hadn’t read yet. It’s a collection of four closely connected stories (although they might not appear to be related at first) surrounding the life and tragic loves of Baron Victor Bianni as well as the young man who becomes his personal bard. The artwork in Garden Dreams is fairly sparse, with very little use of backgrounds. This was a little disappointing since the manga takes place in a historical setting which I would have loved to have actually seen. But her characters are all attractive and their designs are all easily distinguished. Garden Dreams isn’t Yoshinaga’s strongest work, but it was still enjoyable. I particularly liked the manga’s trick ending.

Rurouni Kenshin, Omnibus 5 (equivalent to Volumes 13-15) by Nobuhiro Watsuki. A continuation of the long Kyoto story arc, the fifth omnibus of Rurouni Kenshin begins a sequence of duels as Kenshin and his allies begin to face Shishio and his underlings head on. These volumes are fairly action-packed and battle heavy, which I enjoyed. Granted, some of the fights can be rather ridiculous and over the top, but they’re exciting, too. Occasionally Watsuki’s action sequences can be difficult to follow, but many of the duels feature some very cool moves and techniques. I was very pleased to see Okinawan kobudō (which I study) show up. There’s also a fight in a library and even a cross-dresser in this omnibus for good measure.

Umineko: When They Cry, Episode 1: Legend of the Golden Witch, Volume 1 written by Ryukishi07, illustrated by Kei Natsumi. The first volume of Yen Press’ edition of Umineko collects the first two volumes of the original Japanese release. The manga is based on a series of visual novels (none of which I have played). Perhaps I would have a better opinion of the manga if I was more familiar with the franchise, but Umineko just isn’t working for me. Eighteen characters stuck on an island bickering over inheritance issues and I don’t care about or like a single one of them. Nearly 400 pages pass before anything even remotely interesting happens in the manga. Granted, the big revel is suitably and effectively shocking, but I’m not sure that the buildup was worth it.

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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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9 January 2013 Leave a Comment

Professor Risley and the Imperial Japanese Troupe: How an American Acrobat Introduced Circus to Japan—and Japan to the West

Author: Frederik L. Schodt
Publisher: Stone Bridge Press
ISBN: 9781611720099
Released: November 2012
Awards: Stuart Thayer Prize

Professor Risley and the Imperial Japanese Troupe: How an American Acrobat Introduced Circus to Japan—and Japan to the West was written by Frederik L. Schodt and published by Stone Bridge Press in 2012. It is Schodt’s seventh book dealing with Japanese culture and history. I am primarily familiar with Schodt’s work as a manga and anime scholar and translator, but as can be seen with Professor Risley and the Imperial Japanese Troupe and several of his other books, his knowledge and interests extend to other subject areas as well. I first learned about Professor Risley and the Imperial Japanese Troupe because I follow Schodt’s work in general. I was interested in reading the book for that reason, but also because I happen to have an interest in Japanese history as well as in the performing arts.

After a brief preface explaining how he came to write the book, Schodt launches into the main text of Professor Risley and the Imperial Japanese Troupe. The first chapter, or “act,” is appropriately titled “Setting the Stage” and provides the necessary background and historical context for the book. The next three acts—”The Risley Act,” “Going for Gold,” and “Into Asia”—explore the life of Professor Risley, the stage name of American showman Richard Risley Carlisle. Acts five through nine—”Yokohama, Japan,” “Taking America,” “At the Exposition,” “The Long Way to London,” and “The Matter of the Contract”—follow the formation of the Imperial Japanese Troupe and their nearly two-and-a- half-year tour of seven countries: the United States, France, England, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, and Portugal. Act ten, “Final Acts” traces the end of Professor Risley and the troupe and their lasting influence. The book is completed with an afterword, notes, select bibliography, and a thorough index.

In 1866, the eighteen men, women, and youths from the Sumidagawa, Matsui, and Hamaikari preforming families who would make up Risley’s Imperial Japanese Troupe received the first official passports granted to ordinary Japanese citizens. Since the mid-17th century, the Japanese government had severely limited travel into and out of Japan. The opening of Japan helped to ignite an interest in Japanese art and culture across the world. A large part of the Imperial Japanese Troupe’s success was due not only to the members’ skill but to the perceived exoticism of their performances. For the first time the world at wide was being introduced to Japanese culture. At the same time, ordinary Japanese were finally allowed and able to see the world beyond their own country. The tour of the Imperial Japanese Troupe was a meeting, meshing, and clashing of cultures. And while the group was away, Japan itself was undergoing a revolution as the Meiji era was ushered in.

Professor Risley and the Imperial Japanese Troupe was absolutely fascinating. Additionally, Schodt’s writing is an utter delight to read. Although Professor Risley and the Imperial Japanese Troupe has been thoroughly researched and has an academic bent to it, the book is still easily accessible and approachable even for more casual readers. One of the things that I particularly loved about Professor Risley and the Imperial Japanese Troupe is that it is filled with reproductions of historical photographs, artwork, newspaper clippings, playbills, advertisements, and so on, including sixteen pages in full color. They are a fabulous addition to an already great book. I enjoyed Professor Risley and the Imperial Japanese Troupe immensely. It’s an incredibly engaging work on 19th-century popular culture and very easy to recommend.

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7 January 2013 Leave a Comment

My Week in Manga: December 31, 2012-January 6, 2013

My News and Reviews

Probably the most important thing to take away from Experiments in Manga last week is the fact that I will be hosting January’s Manga Moveable Feast! This month, from January 20 through January 26, we will be focusing on the work of Moyoco Anno. I’d love to have as many people contribute to the Feast as possible, so please do check out the Call for Participation and the Archive.

Also announced at Experiments in Manga last week was the Shoujo Science Fiction giveaway winner. The post also includes a list of shoujo manga with science fiction elements that have been licensed in English. I revealed the ridiculous amounts of manga and anime I managed to acquire last month in December 2012’s Bookshelf Overload. Finally, I posted the first in-depth manga review of 2013! The honor goes to Ryo Hanada’s Good-bye Geist from Gen Manga. Even though some of the storytelling is a little awkward, I’m actually quite fond of Good-bye Geist as a whole.

Robot 6 posted quite a few previews and exclusives over this past week, including Shigeru Mizuki’s Kitaro from Drawn and Quarterly (which I’m looking forward to and already have preordered), Inio Asano’s Nijigahara Holograph from Fantagraphics (which looks amazing; I’ll definitely be ordering it), and the Western comics adaptation of Cyborg 009 from Archaia (which could either be great or go horribly wrong).

Elsewhere online, Noah Berlatsky of The Hooded Utilitarian wrote a great article on Moto Hagio’s The Heart of Thomas for The Atlantic—The Gay Teen-Boy Romance Comic Beloved by Women in Japan (Noah didn’t get to choose the article title). This led me back to an article I had forgotten about at The Hooded Utilitatraoin from a few years ago by J. R. Brown—1000 Years of Pretty Boys. Last week’s Jason Thompson’s House of 1000 Manga was particularly interesting, looking at The Greatest Manga Censorship Fails. Finally, I was recently reminded that The Golden Ani-Versary of Anime project has started. A group of anime bloggers are tackling anime’s timeline and devoting at least one post to each year beginning with 1963.

Quick Takes

Bad Teacher’s Equation, Volume 1 by Kazuma Kodaka. After reading the first volume of Bad Teacher’s Equation, I’m not entirely convinced that Kodaka knew what she was doing with the series at first. It also feels a bit dated, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Bad Teacher’s Equation is boys’ love with shounen influences. There’s a lot going on that doesn’t quite mesh yet—delinquents, basketball, car chases, cross-dressers, host/ess clubs, fujoshi, awkward relationships, etc. But despite it’s random goofiness, or maybe because of it, I actually really enjoyed the first volume of Bad Teacher’s Equation. I’ve heard that the manga gets much better from here, so I’ll definitely be checking out more of the series.

GTO: 14 Days in Shonan, Volumes 1-4 by Tohru Fujisawa. It’s been a few years since I read Fujisawa’s original Great Teacher Onizuka manga, but I do remember enjoying it. Fujisawa isn’t really doing anything new or different with 14 Days in Shonan. The artwork might be a bit more polished and the supporting characters and location have changed, but Onizuka is still Onizuka. There are plenty of other parallels to the original series, too. 14 Days in Shonan takes place in the middle of Great Teacher Onizuka, during the summer vacation after Onizuka was shot by fellow teacher Teshigawara. 14 Days in Shonan is fairly easy to jump into even if you haven’t read the original manga. The story and characters are still outrageous, over-the-top, and highly entertaining.

Please Save My Earth, Volumes 8-14 by Saki Hiwatari. I am still loving this series. These few volumes spend quite a bit of time delving into Shion’s backstory. He’s an extremely tragic character. His past has twisted him so much as a person that, while it is easy to feel sympathy for him, it’s difficult to actually like him. As fascinating as Rin and the rest of the characters’ past live are, it’s how they are dealing with those memories and leftover feelings in their current lives that I find particularly engaging. Their past lives are causing more and more trouble for them. The story of Please Save My Earth has become increasingly complicated and involved; I’m very curious to see how Hiwatari will bring things to a close.

Uzomuzo edited by Adam Pasion. Uzomuzo is a comics collective based in Nagoya, Japan made up of a group of international creators. The Uzomuzo book came about as a result of a Kickstarter project. Included in the collection are twelve hour comics, short stories, jam comics, and Kickstarter commissions. Most of the book is in English, but there is some untranslated Japanese as well. The contributors to Uzomuzo originally hail from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan. Uzomuzo is an interesting and somewhat curious collection of alternative and experimental comics and manga. I was particularly intrigued by the improvisational jam comics in which a different artist was responsible for each panel, riffing off of whatever came before.

King of Thorn directed by Kazuyoshi Katayama. Although I quite enjoyed Yuji Iwahara’s King of Thorn manga series, I do remember it being somewhat convoluted. The animated film adaptation is no less bewildering. In fact, it may even be more so. The film and the manga start out very similarly, but by the end they’ve gone in different directions. The pacing of the film seemed a little awkward. In the beginning, it’s almost tortuously slow, so the ending ends up having to be rushed in order to fit all of the plot twists in. Ultimately, I wasn’t always entirely sure what was going on, but there were some nice action sequences and the animation was pretty good, too. I do prefer the manga, though.

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