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14 November 2011 Leave a Comment

My Week in Manga: November 7-November 13, 2011

My News and Reviews

Okay, here we go! I posted a couple of reviews last week. The first was Hideyuki Kikuchi’s Yashakiden: The Demon Princess, Volume 1 courtesy of Digital Manga. I had some problems with the first volume, but I do plan on reading more of the series. The second review I posted was the first in-depth manga review for November, Death Note, Volume 10: Deletion. After a few bumpy middle volumes, the series is starting to get really good again.

Ed Sizemore of Manga Worth Reading and my favorite podcast Manga Out Loud is saying goodbye to reviewing manga to the same extent that he’s doing now. I understand his decision but am still sad and will definitely miss his voice. My best wished go out to Ed and his future pursuits.

Over on Tor.com, Ron Hogan has an interesting essay about Haruki Murakami’s 1Q84 and why those who read speculative fiction might get more out of it than those who don’t—Genre in the Mainstream: Haruki Murakami’s 1Q84. I’m currently reading 1Q84 and should have a review of my own posted within the next couple of weeks.

Once upon a time, June 2009 to be exact, Digital Manga published Osamu Tezuka’s Swallowing the Earth. Since then, the book has gone out of print. However! Digital Manga has created a Kickstarter project to bring the manga back. I’m particularly excited about this venture because if it succeeds it could establish a workable publishing model to bring niche manga to English-reading audiences.

And finally, this week is the Natsume Ono Manga Moveable Feast! I’ve got a bunch of quick takes here for you featuring some of Ono’s works (plus a couple that are completely unrelated). Later this week I’ll also be posting an in-depth manga review of House of Five Leaves, Volume 1. I am quite fond of Ono’s manga, so I’m really looking forward to seeing everyone’s contributions to the Feast.

Quick Takes

The Drops of God, Volume 1 written by Tadashi Agi and illustrated by Shu Okimoto. While I like the drink, I am not by any means a wine connoisseur. Still, I enjoyed The Drops of God probably even more than I expected to. I will admit, I’m actually a little jealous of the characters and their passion for wine. For them, it’s not just a drink but a way to express themselves. The characters’ experiences and the mental images elicited while drinking are brilliantly captured in Okimoto’s artwork. It makes me envious that I’ve never had such visceral and emotional reactions to wine. The Drops of God reminds me a lot of Oishinbo, which I don’t think is a bad thing. I’m looking forward to reading more.

Gente: The People of Ristorante Paradiso, Volumes 1-3 by Natsume Ono. Ono has a superb talent for drawing marvelously sexy…pardon me, distinguished…older gentlemen. I don’t think that Gente always stands very well on its own, but as a companion series to Ono’s one-shot Ristorante Paradiso, it’s wonderful. The manga is a series of short stories and vignettes featuring characters from Ristorante Paradiso. It’s really nice to be able to get to spend more time with them and learn a little bit more about their pasts and personalities. The first two volumes take place before for the events of Ristorante Paradiso while the final volume takes place during the same time period and perhaps a little bit after.

House of Five Leaves, Volumes 2-4 by Natsume Ono. As much as I enjoy all of Ono’s work, House of Five Leaves is my favorite series by her. I saw the anime adaptation before the manga was available in English, so it’s difficult for me not to compare the two. The fourth volume is the first volume with a significant amount of unique content, including a character that doesn’t even appear in the anime. However, the heart of the story remains the same. The manga reveals some of the characters’ backstories in greater depth and explores their personal turmoils in more detail. In particular, the vicious side of Yaichi’s nature is shown more than it is implied. I’m greatly anticipating the release of the rest of the series.

La Quinta Camera: The Fifth Room by Natsume Ono. La Quinta Camera was Ono’s breakthrough work. It was originally published as a webcomic before being picked up by a publisher. The manga is a slice of life story focusing on the lives of four men who share an apartment in Italy and their relationships with the constantly changing tenant of the fifth room which is rented out to exchange students. Each chapter, six in all, brings a new student and reveals just a little bit more of the residents’ lives. Some of the tenants are only there briefly while others stick around even after they’ve moved out, but they all leave a lasting impression on the men. I prefer Ono’s later work but I did enjoy La Quinta Camera. Although it’s fiction, the manga has a charming sense of authenticity to it.

Dragon Head directed by George Iida. While I can safely say that I, for the most part, prefer the Dragon Head manga, the live-action film is not that bad of an adaptation. It just doesn’t translate the character’s struggles with fear quite as well. Nobuo’s descent into madness seems a bit rushed at the beginning (granted, it happens pretty quickly in the manga, too), but that is somewhat understandable since there was a lot of material to fit into a two hour movie. Certain plot details of the story have been changed, some for the better, and an excellent job was done making the whole film coherent. The special effects are pretty decent and the devastated Tokyo landscape was particularly well done.

House of Five Leaves directed by Tomomi Mochizuki. House of Five Leaves may very well be my favorite anime series; I am absolutely crushed that a Region 1 DVD set hasn’t been licensed. I’m glad that I can at least stream the series, but watching the show on my laptop is less than ideal. It’s a story that profoundly resonates with me for some reason and I continue to think about the series long after I’ve finished watching it. It’s not a anime that will work for everyone. It has a sort of art house feel to it, retaining much of Ono’s style, and the drama relies entirely on the characters. The music also creates an odd, but I think effective, sort of atmosphere, mixing traditional Japanese instruments with modern beats and what sounds a lot like a French tango.

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10 October 2011 Leave a Comment

My Week in Manga: October 3-October 9, 2011

My News and Reviews

The winner for Experiments in Manga’s latest manga giveaway was announced last week—Manga Giveaway: Hikaru no Go Giveaway Winner. As part of the contest I asked people to tell me about the manga that inspires them. There were some great responses, so I hope you’ll take the time to check them out. I also posted the September 2011 Bookshelf Overload, if anyone cares about that particular feature.

There are a few links I’d like to point out this week. First is an essay posted on the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund website that was written by Melinda Beasi of Manga Bookshelf—Voicing an Opinion: Manga Bookshelf’s Melinda Beasi Talks Canada Customs Case. Beasi’s arguments are very well stated and I support them fully. I also read an interesting interview with Sean Michael Wilson, who edited the first volume of AX: Alternative Manga among other things—From Scotland to Japan. There was also an nice look at Takehiko Inoue’s Vagabond that I came across—‘Vagabond’: Takehiko Inoue creates a samurai masterpiece. Vagabond is a fantastic series and I highly recommend it. I’ve reviewed the first omnibus volume as well as Eiji Yoshikawa’s novel Musashi on which the series is based.

Finally, there have been some blogs added to the Resource page, so give them a look: Chou-Dori, Nagareboshi Reviews, OtakuStew, Read About Comics.

Quick Takes

Don’t Blame Me, Volumes 1-2 by Yugi Yamada. Don’t Blame Me is the first of Yugi Yamada’s works that I’ve read. It took a little while for the artwork to grow on me, but the story telling is excellent from the beginning. Don’t Blame Me doesn’t end with everything tied up nicely. Relationships are messy, complicated, and far from perfect. Yamada does a very nice job portraying this while still crafting a very satisfying ending. Additionally, Don’t Blame Me doesn’t just focus on the potential romance between the lead couple. Instead, there is a whole cast of characters that play an important part in the story. It’s nice to see everyone’s interactions and developing relationships.

Kekkaishi, Omnibus 1 by Yellow Tanabe. I really enjoyed my first taste of Kekkaishi; its a lot of fun. A few things make it stand out for me among shōnen fighting series. First and foremost are the two main characters. Both are very strong in their own ways and complement each other nicely. Yoshimori may be more powerful, but his rival and potential love interest Tokine is more knowledgeable, practiced, and generally more competent than her younger neighbor. They are both well-rounded characters, especially Yoshimori. Another thing I really like about Kekkaishi is the magic system used. Tanabe comes up with some really creative uses and applications for the cuboid force fields that Yoshimori and Tokine can create.

Kiichi and the Magic Books, Volumes 1-5 by Taka Amano. As a librarian, I feel a certain affinity for Kiichi and the Magic Books. Mototaro reminds me a bit of Ginko from Mushishi, which is not a bad thing at all. The series starts out as a solid little fantasy, but ends up going in some strange directions. While there were some elements I really liked—especially the power granted to books and librarians—ultimately, I’m not sure I completely got or was really convinced by the world’s mythology. Still, I enjoyed the manga, particularly the earlier volumes. I think Kiichi and the Magic Books will probably appeal more to younger readers than older audiences, but there’s good stuff to be found and the artwork is nice.

Kurozakuro, Volumes 1-2 by Yoshinori Natsume. I haven’t figured out exactly why, but Kurozakuro is surprisingly entertaining for such a mediocre series. There’s really nothing that makes it stand out story-wise or art-wise in these first two volumes and I’ve seen most of the plot elements before. Even the message the series is sending seems to be mixed. Mikito finally has the power to stand up for himself, but is basically told that he has to remain an underdog or die. However, I do like the change in art style between the dream sequences and reality, although the more abstract dream style occasionally bleeds over. Kurozakuro is only seven volumes, so it might be worth pursuing to see how and if it might improve.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Season 2, Part 1 (Episodes 29-40) directed by Seiji Mizushima. While I have seen the first season of Fullmetal Alchemist several times, this is the first time I’ve watched the second season. Much of this season is spent exploring the homunculi and their origins. I’m still not sure if there’s a deeper meaning to naming them after the seven deadly sins or not, but the symbolism certainly has the potential to be significant. There were a few twists thrown in that I probably should have seen coming but didn’t. Even if they were somewhat unexpected, they still make a lot of sense in the context of what came before. We learn more about Scar and his brother in these episodes, too.

Seven Samurai directed by Akira Kurosawa. Seven Samurai was the first film by Akira Kurosawa that I ever saw and it remains my favorite. If you’ve never seen Seven Samurai before, you should really take the three and a half hours to watch it. Not only is it a good film, it’s also a highly influential one. The premise is fairly simple: a group of samurai is hired by a farming village to protect it from bandits. But first the villagers will have to find samurai willing to fight for them for very little pay and no glory. Fortunately, they come across the charismatic Shimada and are able to win him over to their cause. Soon, more samurai follow, each for their own reasons. That’s when the real battle starts.

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12 September 2011 Leave a Comment

My Week in Manga: September 5-September 11, 2011

My News and Reviews

I’m still recovering from last week’s misadventures, but that hasn’t stopped me from updating Experiments in Manga. Other than that, however, I don’t have much news. I announced the winner of the Joy of Josei manga giveaway. The post also includes a list of recommended josei and josei-esque manga licensed, so please check it out. There were some titles that I hadn’t heard of before that I look forward to giving a try. I also posted a review of Shogo Oketani’s semi-autobiographical novel J-Boys: Kazuo’s World, Tokyo, 1965 that I received from Stone Bridge Press through LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers Program. It’s not the most engaging book, but I did find it to be interesting and informative. Anyway, that’s all for now!

Quick Takes

Gravitation EX, Volume 1 by Maki Murakami. Fun fact: the first print volume of Gravitation EX was released simultaneously in Japan and in the United States. The series is still ongoing, but only the first volume was ever published in English. It’s hard to tell from only one volume, but Gravitation EX seems to be very different in tone than Gravitation. I’d be hard pressed to actually put my finger on what exactly makes it different, though. The randomness and craziness is certainly still there, but feels a bit forced. Almost all of the major characters from Gravitation make at least a brief appearance, although once again some of the personalities seem to have been adjusted or changed.

Redmoon, Volumes 1-6 by Mina Hwang. As far as I know, Redmoon is one of the first examples of manhwa to be released in English. The series is eighteen volumes long, but only the first six volumes were published by ComicsOne before the company went defunct. I’ll admit, I didn’t really start to enjoy Redmoon until the fifth and sixth volumes when the story follows a major flashback. Before that, the confusing plot lines with random introductions of characters from out of nowhere developed far too slowly for me to really take an interest. However, I did like the characters. Philar’s development in particular is handled well. He starts as a fairly carefree high school student but has to come to terms with the fact that he’s sharing his body with another entity.

Riot, Volume 1 by Satoshi Shiki. I have no idea where I picked up Riot or why I even have it because, really, it’s not very good. The series only lasted for two volumes before being canceled. The world-building is a mess; Shiki can’t seem to decide between dark fantasy, post-apocalyptic, straight up science fiction, or Western. This could be fun, but Shiki isn’t quite able to pull it off. He does manage to cram a lot plot threads in a single volume. Some have decent potential, but I get the feeling that he’s being too ambitious and would have done better to focus on just one or two elements. I did like character design for Billy (a.k.a. Billy the Kid), but most everyone else’s, especially the women’s outfits, are fairly ridiculous.

Robot: Super Color Comic, Volume 1 edited by Range Murata. To me, Robot comes across more as an artbook rather than manga. It’s oversized and in full color. The first volume collects contributions from twenty different creators. Some of the works are one-shots or pinups while others are part of a continuing series. I was already familiar with some of the artists, Yoshitoshi Abe and Sho-u Tajima for example, but most were new to me. Many contributions are under ten pages, just enough to get a taste of what the creators can do. The storytelling varies tremendously in quality but the artwork is consistently top-notch. Granted, there is some unnecessary fanservice, too. But overall, Robot is a gorgeous collection to look at if not read.

Ultraman, Episodes 1-13. I’m surprised that I’ve never actually seen Ultraman until now. I’m really enjoying it so far. In case you weren’t already aware, Ultraman is a Japanese live-action television show, thirty-nine episodes, that was broadcast between 1966 and 1967. Ultraman in all its iterations continues to be a huge pop culture phenomenon to this day. The series focuses on the Japanese branch of the Science Patrol who are called upon to investigate odd and unexplained happenings. Inevitably, this leads them to confront the monster, or kaiju, of the week. The members of the Science Patrol are competent, but more often than not they need the aid of Ultraman. It’s a really fun show.

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11 July 2011 Leave a Comment

My Week in Manga: July 4-July 10, 2011

My News and Reviews

Not much news (surprise!) other than I’m preparing to go on an extended vacation later this week. I’ve got posts ready to go while I’m away, and supposedly there will be web access where I’ll be, so there shouldn’t be too much interruption here at Experiments in Manga. (Fingers crossed.) In other news, last week I announced the winner of the Rurouni Kenshin manga giveaway. I also took the opportunity to make a couple of lists of samurai manga licensed in English, so if you’re looking for some to read, check it out. I also posted a review of the first volume of Anthony C. Yu’s translation of The Journey to the West. Since The Journey to the West is Chinese and not Japanese, I debated whether or not to include the review here. But because it’s such an influential work and there are so many references and adaptations of the story in Japanese literature I decided that I would go ahead. So there.

Quick Takes

Ghost Talker’s Daydream, Volumes 1-3 written by Saki Okuse and illustrated by Sankichi Meguro. Overall, Ghost Talker’s Daydream feels very disjointed to me; it hasn’t quite managed to pull itself together yet within the first three volumes. The action sequences are often difficult to follow, which is particularly unfortunate as the fight scenes were some of my favorite parts. I also appreciated the S&M elements of the story although they are not incorporated into the work as a whole very well. Misaki does somewhat frustrate me as a character since she hates both her job as a dominatrix and as a necromancer but doesn’t seem willing to make an effort to change the status quo.

Gin Tama, Volumes 6-14 by Hideaki Sorachi. I really do love this series. It’s ridiculous and absurd and genuinely funny if you’re into that sort of thing (which I am.) The cast of characters is huge and they all have their own distinct quirks and personalities. You will never confuse one with another. Despite recurring gimmicks, I haven’t yet gotten bored with Gin Tama. The diverse imaginings of Sorachi impress me greatly, especially considering that Gin Tama is a weekly serialization. Frequently it parodies other established series (and I know I’m missing some references) but it also parodies commonly used tropes. Sorachi doesn’t hesitate to break the fourth wall and I find his omake (which is usually text) to be hilarious.

Go West!, Volumes 1-4 by Yu Yagami. Yagami has a talent for taking a tremendously silly concept, running with it, and making it work. In the case of Go West! we have Red Bullet—a horse that will only travel west in a straight line no matter what obstacles are in the way. Added to that is Naomi, a girl who has come to the West to search for her long lost parents. Pairing up, she and Red Bullet face many challenges together. Not the least of which is a bounty hunter and a wanted man who both claim to be related to her despite the complete lack of any evidence. Plus there’s plenty of gunfights, explosions, and general chaos and destruction that make Go West! highly entertaining. It’s goofy, but that’s not a bad thing.

Seven Days: Monday-Thursday written by Venio Tachibana and illustrated by Rihito Takarai. Every Monday morning, Seryou agrees to go out with the first girl to ask him out. If he doesn’t develop any feelings for her by the end of the week, they break up. As a joke Shino, an older male schoolmate, asks Seryou out and is surprised when he says yes. Shino treats the whole thing like a game, buy Seryou is quite serious about it, especially when he discovers he actually likes Shino. The premise might sound irrational, but it actually works and makes sense in context. I was quite taken with the first volume of Seven Days and look forward to the second and final volume, Seven Days: Friday-Sunday.

Yo-yo Girl Cop directed by Kenta Fukasaku. Yo-yo Girl Cop is based on the manga Sukeban Deka by Shinji Wada (who sadly passed away just last week), making it the third live action film to be based on Wada’s series. A skilled and strong brawler, a teenager from New York is deported and recruited by a Japanese police organization to help track down a group of terrorists. Given the codename Asamiya Saki and a steel yo-yo as her only weapon, she heads undercover as a high school student. Yo-yo Girl Cop is a fun movie that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Asamiya is pretty badass and there are some fight sequences, especially towards the end, that make really nice use of the yo-yo.

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13 June 2011 Leave a Comment

My Week in Manga: June 6-June 12, 2011

My News and Reviews

I’ve mostly recovered from my trip to St. Louis and was able to post a couple reviews this past week. The first review was for the inaugural volume of the English edition of the Japanese literary journal Monkey Business. It’s a pretty cool collection that includes manga along with short fiction, poetry, and an interview with Haruki Murakami. The second review was for The Twelve Kingdoms, Volume 1: Sea of Shadow a fantasy light novel by Fuyumi Ono. I liked the first volume of The Twelve Kingdoms so well that I bought the rest of the series (well, all of the books that were published in English, anyway) as well as the anime adaptation. Next week is the Wild Adapter Manga Moveable Feast, hosted by Manga Bookshelf. Wild Adapter is one of my favorite series, so I’m looking forward to the Feast. I’ll be reviewing the first volume as well as taking a quick look at Mahjong and Kubota.

I’ve added two publishers (well, a publisher and an imprint) to the Resources page: Kodansha Comics, which has taken over quite a few of Del Rey’s titles and Kodansha licenses, and Digital Manga’s new hentai imprint Project H.

Quick Takes

7 Billion Needles, Volumes 2-4 by Nobuaki Tadano. 7 Billion Needles is a nice, compact, four volume science fiction series. Tadano’s artwork is consistently well done but the plot feels a little hurried in the last two volumes. Some elements, like the subspecies and the Moderator, are introduced without much explanation. I do like Hikaru’s rapport with Horizon and Maelstrom and it doesn’t feel forced. I still haven’t read Hal Clement’s novel Needle, but I’m interested in the source material since I enjoyed the manga. The final volume includes the story “Hikikomori Headphone Girl” which I quite liked; the main character serves as a prototype for Hikaru although the plot is unrelated to 7 Billion Needles.

Finder, Volumes 1-3 by Ayano Yamane. Finder began in a special S&M issue and so understandably the sex is fairly intense and explicit, especially in the first volume. Because Akihito is constantly being abducted by one criminal faction or another there is a fair amount of non-con to begin with. But while there’s plenty of sex, there’s also a fairly well developed plot to go along with it. And I really like Yamane’s artwork; it’s clean and consistent. Her men are definitely lanky bishōnen, but they also have some muscle, which I like to see. Each volume also includes a few unrelated stories; I’m particularly happy to see the characters from “Plants in Love” make repeat appearances.

Iono-sama Fanatics, Volume 1 by Miyabi Fujieda. What a delightful yuri fantasy! It’s too bad the second volume was never published in English, I would really like to read it. Iono is the queen of a small country who has a habit of collecting women. At the moment, she is particularly interested in black haired maidens and so has come to Japan to find some to take home with her. The art is attractive and while Fujieda might overuse chibis, they are absolutely adorable. Iono-sama Fanatics is funny and sweet with charming characters, particularly the titular Iono. Her attendants are completely devoted to her and she adores them in return; I couldn’t help but love her sincere but lighthearted personality.

Itsuwaribito, Volume 1 by Yuuki Iinuma. Do not allow the cuddly tanuki on the cover fool you: there’s some cute in Itsuwaribito but there’s even more bloody violence. Iinuma does some clever things with the concept of lying to do good, but Utsuho’s catch phrases “I was lying” and “I was lying about lying” were pretty obvious and somewhat annoying. I do like his moral ambiguity, though.  His obi is absolutely ridiculous, but it does prove to be useful. I personally preferred the character of Doctor Yakuma, who is introduced towards the end of the first volume, and was very happy to learn that he becomes one of the main protagonists in the series. And Pochi, the aforementioned tanuki, is really cute.

The Lower Depths directed by Akira Kurosawa. Kurosawa’s film The Lower Depths is based on Maxim Gorky’s play The Lower Depths. I’m not familiar with the play, but I am familiar with Kurosawa’s films and have liked all of the ones that I have seen so far. The Lower Depths doesn’t really have much of a plot, and most of the film takes place in a single room, but it does make up for it with memorable and interesting characters—a group of tenants living together and their landlords, each with their own story to tell. They form an odd sort of family, and many of them don’t get along all that well, but the arrival of a new lodger allows all of them the opportunity to shake things up a bit.

Woman in the Dunes directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara. Woman in the Dunes is based on a novel by the same name by Kōbō Abe. Abe actually wrote the screenplay, as well, so it’s not too surprising that the adaptation sticks very close to the original material. An amateur entomologist visiting a secluded area to search for beetles finds himself held captive in a village that is slowly succumbing to the sand dunes that surround it. Left at the bottom of a sand pit with the widow who calls it home, they must shovel sand to survive. It sounds rather odd, and it is, but it’s also a fascinating story. Reading the novel and watching the film, I can only cringe thinking how terribly uncomfortable sex must be in such a sandy environment.

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