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10 April 2017 4 Comments

My Week in Manga: April 3-April 9, 2017

My News and Reviews

Last week at Experiments in Manga the winner of the Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid manga giveaway was announced. The post also includes a list of some of the manga available in print in English which feature dragons. Also posted last week was a guest review by my friend Jocilyn. She was inspired to write about Canno’s Kiss & White Lily for My Dearest Girl, Volume 1, the most recent yuri manga to be released by Yen Press. As mentioned previously, I’m currently working on my own in-depth review of the first volume of The Girl from the Other Side: Siúil, A Rún by Nagabe. It looks like I should be on track to post it sometime next week.

Elsewhere online, Seven Seas has completely revamped its website, adding new features like browsing by genre, launching a newsletter, and so on. It looks great and what’s more, there will be a regular survey which provides readers an opportunity to give feedback and submit license requests. As part of the launch of the new website, Seven Seas also announced a few new licenses: Touki Yanagimi and Youhei Yasumura’s Anti-Magic Academy: The 35th Test Platoon, Shin Mashiba’s Yokai Rental Shop (I loved Mashiba’s Nightmare Inspector, so I’m really looking forward this one), and an omnibus of Fumiyo Kouno’s In This Corner of the World (Kouno is the creator of Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms which is also excellent).

In other publishing news, some of Kodansha Comics digital-only titles were recently called digital-first, so there may yet be hope for print editions of some of the manga. I missed (or maybe forgot about) the initial announcement, but Titan Comics will be releasing Ravina the Witch? by Junko Mizuno in English later this year. (Ravina the Witch? was originally released in French in 2014.) In sadder news, Bruno Gmünder recently announced its bankruptcy (again). I’m not entirely sure what this will mean for the publisher’s past and future comics releases, including the Gay Manga line, but they might not stay in print long. (I’ve featured some of Bruno Gmünder’s releases here before; I’ll be sad to see them go if the publisher folds.)

As for a few of the interesting Kickstarters that I’ve discovered lately: Emily Cheeseman is raising funds to release the print edition of Gawain and the Green Knight, a beautiful webcomic that she’s been working on since 2015. I wasn’t previously familiar with the work of Elise Schuenke, but Living Space looks like it should be another great queer-themed comic. And speaking of queer-themed comics, the initial campaign for the Tabula Idem tarot anthology wasn’t successful but the creative team has revised and relaunched the project. Finally, anyone interested in Weird Al may be curious about Kelly Phillips’ comic memoir Weird Me about her experiences as the webmaster of a Weird Al fan site in her teens. (Weird Al’s music was a major touchstone for me growing up.)

Quick Takes

Dissolving ClassroomDissolving Classroom by Junji Ito. Lately there has been a resurgence in manga by Ito being released in English. In many cases they’ve actually been re-releases, but there have been a few newly-translated manga being published as well, Dissolving Classroom from Vertical Comics being the most recent example. I love Ito’s brand of horror manga and Dissolving Classroom was originally serialized in a josei magazine, so the volume was an obvious candidate for one of my most anticipated releases of the year. As expected, I thoroughly enjoyed the manga, but Dissolving Classroom didn’t end up leaving as strong of an impression on me as some of Ito’s earlier works. The loosely connected stories in Dissolving Classroom follow the demise of the people who meet Yuuma, a young man whose constant apologizing will literally make a person’s brain melt, and his incredibly creepy little sister Chizumi. Neither of the siblings are quite what they initially seem. Yuuma in particular comes across as a troubled but largely benign individual; very few people actually realize what’s going wrong before it’s too late. Dissolving Classroom is bizarre but certainly not the strangest manga that Ito has created. The visuals aren’t as shockingly memorable as some of Ito’s other series either, but they are still successfully disconcerting.

Everyone's Getting Married, Volume 1Everyone’s Getting Married, Volume 1 by Izumi Miyazono. While josei manga have recently become more common in translation (a trend that I would love to see continue), there still aren’t all that many to be found. I’ve generally enjoyed the josei manga that I’ve read in the past and I like to show my support for new releases, so I made a point to try Everyone’s Getting Married. Asuka is well-admired for her successful career, but what she really wants in life is to get married and become a housewife. When her boyfriend of five years unexpectedly dumps her, she suddenly finds herself looking for a new long-term relationship. That proves to be more difficult than she expected and unfortunately for her most likely candidate is Ryu, a man who has made it very clear that he has no interest in marriage. I’ve growing a little weary of high school romances, so I found Everyone’s Getting Married to be a wonderfully refreshing change of pace; I enjoyed reading about adults and their lives and relationships for once. I also like Asuka a great deal. She’s independent, knows what she wants out of life, and is willing to work hard for what is important to her. I’m looking forward to reading more about her and reading more of Everyone’s Getting Married.

Ghost in the Shell, Volume 1.5: Human-Error ProcessorGhost in the Shell, Volume 1.5: Human-Error Processor by Masamune Shirow. While I had previously read the first and second volumes of Ghost in the Shell, I had never actually read the manga’s third volume, something that I didn’t realize until Kodansha Comics recently re-released the entire series in a deluxe, hardcover edition. Even though it was the third volume of Ghost in the Shell to be collected and released, the events of Human-Error Processor take place between the first and second volumes (thus being numbered 1.5). The episodic chapters focus almost entirely Section 9 and the cases that group is investigating. A few intriguing new characters are introduced, but sadly the Major only makes the occasional guest appearance. Out of the three Ghost in the Shell volumes, Human-Error Processor is the most straightforward and easy to follow. While that’s something that I would generally welcome, the volume was somehow less interesting as a result even if it was more readable. As with the previous volumes in the series, some of the most interesting parts of the world-building in Human-Error Processor are actually only found in the footnotes instead of being directly incorporated into the manga.

NightlightsNightlights by Lorena Alvarez. It was the bold, vibrant colors and gorgeous illustrations of Nightlights that initially caught my attention. Alvarez is a Columbian illustrator; Nightlights is her first comic and my introduction to her work. Nightlights is about a little girl, Sandy, whose imagination takes flight at night. She gathers together small, mysterious, glowing lights and uses them to create anything that she can dream of. Come the day, she spends her time alone drawing what she has seen. It’s an innocent enough premise, but Nightlights can actually be pretty dark and some of the comic’s themes are fairly heavy. Nightlights could be described as an all-ages comic, but some younger readers might find it scary in places. There is also a depth and nuance to the comic and its narrative that only more mature readers will likely pick up on. Although the stories are notably different, Nightlights actually reminded me a little bit of the animated film The Secret of Kells which I likewise greatly enjoyed. Each in their own way the works are fairytale-like, telling stories about imagination, creation, and the unknown. Nightlights was a beautiful comic and I sincerely hope to see more work from Alvarez in the future.

Gone: A Girl, a Violin, a Life UnstrungGone: A Girl, a Violin, a Life Unstrung by Min Kym. In 2010, Kym’s Stradivarius was stolen from her in a London cafe. The violin was an integral part of her identity, not just as a musician but as a person, and its loss was devastating. Her burgeoning career as a soloist came to a sudden halt. The violin was recovered three years later, but circumstances didn’t allow Kym to reclaim the instrument as her own. Ultimately she had to put it up for auction, losing it once again. In part, Kym’s memoir Gone was written in an attempt to process these traumatic events, rediscover who she is, and move forward with her life. Telling her side of the story she recounts growing up as a child prodigy–as the youngest daughter, her family’s devotion to her talent as a violinist was at odds with their South Korean heritage–her development as a musician, and her relationships with the Stradivarius and the people around her. Gone is an incredibly heartfelt and personal memoir but it can be somewhat discursive; Kym’s style of writing is very informal and at times even chaotic. Her voice as an author isn’t as clear as her voice as a violinist, but her passion and pain resonates throughout Gone. Complementing the release of Kym’s memoir is a companion album available from Warner Classics.

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27 March 2017 Leave a Comment

My Week in Manga: March 20-March 26, 2017

My News and Reviews

I actually managed to post another review at Experiments in Manga last week! That makes two weeks in a row, which hasn’t happened in a very long time. My goal of writing one review every month still remains, but when a month with five Wednesdays (like March this year) comes along, I’m going to try to do a second in-depth review or feature. That way, every week will have at least two posts, the usual My Week in Manga along with another feature of some sort. Anyway, as for the review that was posted last week, I took a look at Akira Himekawa’s The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Volume 1 which I enjoyed a great deal. The manga stands well on its own so someone doesn’t have to be familiar with the original video game it’s based on to enjoy it. The manga series is also notably darker than Himekawa’s previous all-ages adaptations of The Legend of Zelda video games.

Elsewhere online, I came across a few interesting interviews to read. Over at Viz Media’s blog, speculative fiction author Taiyo Fujii talks a little about Orbital Cloud, his most recent novel to be translated into English. (I previously read and reviewed Gene Mapper, Fujii’s debut work of fiction which I rather enjoyed, so I’m looking forward to reading the award-winning Orbital Cloud.) Through the Painting is in the process of translating a 2013 Tokyo Manga Lab interview with Haruko Kumota, creator of the manga series Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju. (Kodansha Comics is releasing the series in English; it’s one of my most anticipated debuts of the year.) Finally, on the occasion of Yen Press’ recent release of Canno’s Kiss and White Lily for My Dearest Girl, Brigid Alverson interviewed Erica Friedman about yuri manga for Barnes & Noble. And speaking of Yen Press, the publisher announced a few manga licenses last week: Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World, Chapter 3: Truth of Zero by Tappei Nagatsuki, Shinichirou Otsuka, Daichi Matsuse; Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?: Sword Oratoria by Fujino Omori, Takashi Yagi; Hybrid x Heart by Masamune Kuji, Riku Ayakawa; and Gabriel Dropout by Ukami.

Quick Takes

The Ghost in the Shell, Volume 2: Man-Machine InterfaceThe Ghost in the Shell, Volume 2: Man-Machine Interface by Masamune Shirow. It’s been well over a decade since I first read Masamune’s The Ghost in the Shell manga. While I had vague memories of the first volume, I remembered virtually nothing about the second. Kodansha Comics’ recent re-release of the series in a deluxe, hardcover edition provided an ideal opportunity for me to revisit the manga. (The deluxe edition presents the manga in right-to-left format with the original Japanese sound effects for the first time; it’s also supposed to have bonus content, but I’m not exactly sure what that additional material is supposed to be in second volume.) Upon rereading the second volume of The Ghost in the Shell, I think I know why I had trouble recalling anything about it–the manga seems to be more show than substance. At times I would find that I had stopped reading the seemingly nonsensical text entirely and was just turning pages and looking the artwork, much of which is in color. There is a story in there somewhere, as well as some interesting worldbuilding and philosophizing, but most of that seems to be happening in the copious footnotes rather than in the manga proper.

A Land Called TarotA Land Called Tarot by Gael Bertrand. Originally serialized in the Island comics anthology, A Land Called Tarot was recently released in a standalone hardcover collection with additional content. Except for a few sound effects, A Land Called Tarot is actually a wordless comic. There is no dialogue or narration, so readers must rely entirely on Bertrand’s artwork to interpret the characters, story, and setting. Fortunately, Bertrand is more than up to the task. The artwork in A Land Called Tarot is absolutely gorgeous. The cover design is actually somewhat misleading–the interior illustrations are marvelously detailed and beautifully colorful. The lack of words in the comic invites readers to pay even more attention to the artwork and to explore the nuances of the fantastic world that Bertrand has created. The comic follows an adventurous hero, the Knight of Swords, as he travels across the land and meeting its people, his journey taking him through both time and space. There are moments of action and battle, but there are also moments that are peaceful and serene and sometimes even little lonely. A Land Called Tarot is a wondrous delight. I unequivocally loved the comic hope to see more work by Bertrand in the future.

My Neighbor Seki, Volume 5My Neighbor Seki, Volumes 5-7 by Takuma Morishige. I’m not really sure why I’ve fallen behind reading of My Neighbor Seki because I enjoy the series a great deal. The manga remains consistently delightful and is wonderfully charming. My introduction to the series was through its anime adaptation; the chapters in these three volumes happen to be released or serialized around the same time that the anime was being produced. The author’s notes seem to imply that the manga wasn’t initially anticipated to become as long as it now has (the series is actually still ongoing, as far as I can tell) but the anime understandably revitalized interest in My Neighbor Seki. I like both versions of My Neighbor Seki, but there’s more in the manga that was never adapted. I continue to be impressed by Morishige’s inventiveness and imagination in creating new and clever scenarios for the series’ characters. Not much has changed from the beginning of My Neighbor Seki, although occasionally Seki isn’t the only one actively participating in the games he plays instead of paying attention in class. His mother has been introduced, too. I hope to see her again as one of the recurring characters.

Of the Red, the Light, and the Ayakashi, Volume 2Of the Red, the Light, and the Ayakashi, Volumes 2-3 by Nanao. While I enjoyed the first volume of Of the Red, the Light, and the Ayakashi, especially its ominous atmosphere and the sense of foreboding it inspired, it’s taken me quite a while to finally get around to reading more of the series. Now I’m regretting my delay, because the next two volumes are just as enticing as the first, if not more so, and if anything the series is getting stronger as a whole. Granted, there’s still some annoying awkwardness surrounding some of the characters’ conversations in which they seem to talk around important topics and information simply because the reader isn’t supposed to know the details about them yet. But even with this fault, Of the Red, the Light, and the Ayakashi manages to remain engaging. Part of this is due to the series’ air of mystery and the way in which Nanao is able to stretch out the story without being manipulative. For example, an important reveal in the second volume which in many other stories would have been the major plot twist is simply one in a longer string of steady developments. Several more questions are raised for every one that is answered in the series; I am incredibly curious to learn more.

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13 March 2017 Leave a Comment

My Week in Manga: March 6-March 12, 2017

My News and Reviews

Every month I post a Bookshelf Overload feature which takes a quick look at some of the manga and other media that make their way onto my shelves at home. And so last week I published February’s Bookshelf Overload. As I mentioned in that post, I’m currently working on an in-depth review of Kazuto Tatsuta’s Ichi-F: A Worker’s Graphic Memoir of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. I expect that it should be ready to post later this week (that’s my intention anyway), but I’m also incredibly busy right now getting ready to change jobs. Taiko performance season is also steadily ramping up, and the Lion Dance troupe is still getting regular performance requests, so I’ve had a bunch of extra rehearsals and less downtime in general, too. Still, the writing is slowly but surely happening!

Despite being so busy and not being online as much as usual, I did come across a few interesting reads last week. Jennifer Robertson (who I’ve actually briefly met before) recently wrote for Salon about Japan’s long history of blurred sexualities and gender-bending. Brian Hibbs takes his annual look at the BookScan numbers for comics and graphic novels for The Beat. The analysis includes a section specifically devoted to the manga being released in English. Finally, in what I think is terrific news, more of Yen Press’ digital-only titles will now be getting print editions, too! Look out later this year for Homura Kawamoto and Toru Naomura’s Kakegurui: Compulsive Gambler, Higasa Akai’s The Royal Tutor, and Sakurako Gokurakuin’s Sekirei. Finally, a Kickstarter campaign was launched to publish anime director Yasuhiro Irie’s manga Halloween Pajama in English.

Quick Takes

Ghost in the Shell, Volume 1The Ghost in the Shell, Volume 1 by Masamune Shirow. It’s been a long time since I’ve read Shirow’s The Ghost in the Shell. The series was actually among one of the first manga that I encountered. My introduction to the franchise was through Mamorou Oshii’s animated film Ghost in the Shell which probably remains my favorite interpretation of the story and characters. I actually often find the manga to be very difficult to follow. Shirow has some great, thought-provoking and intriguing ideas, but the flow of the story can be extremely disjointed at times. A live-action American Ghost in the Shell film will soon be hitting theaters, so it makes sense that Kodansha Comics would take advantage of the opportunity to re-release the original The Ghost in the Shell manga in a beautifully-produced deluxe hardcover edition. This “definitive” version is being presented in right-to-left format with Japanese sound effects for the first time. I’m fairly certain there are more color pages included, too, but the volume does lack some of the additional textual content found in previous English editions. The controversial lesbian sex scene has also been excluded at the creator’s request which does cause some slight narrative confusion.

Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun, Volume 5Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun, Volumes 5-6 by Izumi Tsubaki. I love Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun so incredibly much. This series, along with My Love Story!!, is something that I can always count on to make me happy. I find myself constantly smiling while reading Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun and on more than one occasion have even caught myself laughing out loud. At this point the manga series is far enough along that almost all of the content is new to me. (My introduction to Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun was through the anime adaptation which is likewise an absolutely wonderful series.) There are new scenarios and even new characters–Nozaki’s younger brother and his judo teammates have become more prominent as one example–but those that were previously established are never forgotten. The good-natured humor in Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun remains consistent throughout the manga. Most of the hilarity is the result of the fact that none of the characters quite manage to be on the same page as any of the others and the ridiculousness that ensues because of it. The quirky characters themselves are incredibly endearing, too, even if they’re not particularly nuanced.

Ten Count, Volume 2Ten Count, Volume 2-3 by Rihito Takarai. Well now, that escalated quickly. From the very first volume Ten Count presented itself as a dark psychological drama, but if anything its intensity only increases as the series progresses. The relationship between Shirotani and Kurose is an incredibly unhealthy one which only becomes more troubling as sexual elements are introduced to it. Kurose, whether or not he realizes it or intends to be, is abusive, manipulative, and controlling. He pushes Shirotani, often without consent or consideration, to his limits and beyond. Shirotani does have some personal breakthroughs but heartbreaking glimpses into his past and into his current emotional and mental states reveal a man who is conflicted and struggling with his own self-worth. Frankly, I find Ten Count to be disturbing and unsettling, verging on psychological horror rather than romance. At this point I can’t really envision things turning out well. (Honestly, I’d probably feel disappointed or even somewhat betrayed if Takarai manages some sort of romanticized happy ending.) To me Ten Count is still immensely engrossing, but I certainly can’t blame anyone who would want to avoid the series.

Dragnet GirlDragnet Girl by Yasujiro Ozu. I recently had the opportunity to see Ozu’s silent film Dragnet Girl in a theater narrated by a professional benshi and accompanied by music cued by a prominent local DJ. There was even a brief lecture beforehand which I wasn’t expecting but found interesting. I enjoyed the production as a whole immensely–it was one of those once-in-a-lifetime events–but I also specifically enjoyed the film itself. (I really ought to seek out more of Ozu’s work.) Dragnet Girl is a gangster film which largely follows Tokiko and her boyfriend Joji, a retired boxing champion and current small-time crime boss. Hiroshi, a promising young hoodlum, joins the boxing gym and their gang. His older sister Kazuko worries about him and so tries to convince Joji to make her brother leave. Some romantic entanglements and turmoil ensue, but eventually Tokiko and Joji decide to leave their life of crime together but only after they pull off one last heist for the sake of Kazuko. Dragnet Girl is available from Criterion, collected together with two more of Ozu’s silent crime films, Walk Cheerfully and That Night’s Wife. It won’t quite be the same as watching it “live,” but it’s wonderful that there’s a home release readily available at all.

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10 June 2013 Leave a Comment

My Week in Manga: June 3-June 9, 2013

My News and Reviews

I was traveling for work for most of last week. Despite my hectic schedule I somehow still managed  to post a few things here at Experiments in Manga. First of all, the Umineko: When They Cry manga giveaway winner was announced. The post also includes a lengthy (but certainly not comprehensive) list of video game manga that have been licensed in English. I also posted the most recent Library Love feature which consists of quick takes of manga that I’ve read from my local library. Technically, if I was strictly following Library Love’s bimonthly schedule, it should have been posted in May. But then I went to TCAF and ended up writing about that instead. (It took place at a library, so that counts, right?) Anyway, expect the next Library Love to be posted sometime in July. Finally, for the first in-depth manga review of June, I took a look at No. 6, Volume 1, the first volume in Hinoki Kino’s manga adaptation of Atsuko Asano’s series of science fiction novels. I enjoyed the anime adaptation of the novels, but was disappointed by its rushed ending. I’m looking forward to seeing where Kino will take the manga adaptation. I’d love to read the original novels, but it’s highly unlikely that they will ever be licensed in English.

Because I was traveling and doing stuff for work for most of the week, I didn’t have as much time to trawl the Internet for interesting articles. (If I’ve missed any big news, please do let me know!) However, I did come across a series of reviews and in-depth analysis of Naoki Urasawa’s manga series Pluto by Jeffrey O. Gustafson of The Comic Pusher. Also, the call for participation for the Skip Beat! Manga Moveable Feast has been posted! Laura at Heart of Manga will be hosting the Feast from June 17 to June 23. Hopefully, I should have a review of the first omnibus in the series ready to go by then.

Quick Takes

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Episode 4: ¥ €$ by Yu Kinutani. Much as the name Stand Alone Complex implies, the individual volumes of the manga largely stand alone—assuming that you have at least a vague familiarity with the Ghost in the Shell universe. This particular volume adapts the fourteenth episode of the Stand Alone Complex anime, “Automated Capitalism ¥€$.” It’s been a while since I’ve actually seen the anime, but from what I remember the manga seems to be a very straightforward adaptation. I largely enjoyed Kinutani’s artwork, although some of fanservice is not at all subtle. The Major has always had somewhat questionable attire, but a few of the clothing choices in ¥€$ are particularly absurd. 

Liberty Liberty! by Hinako Takanaga. I tend to really enjoy Takanaga’s boys’ love manga. While Liberty Liberty isn’t my favorite work of hers—it isn’t particularly compelling or groundbreaking in any sort of way—it’s still an enjoyable read and a solid story. Kouki is a cameraman for a local television station who happens upon Itaru nearly passed-out drunk in a pile of garbage. Kouki’s camera is broken in the resulting scuffle and Itaru ends up working for the station in order to pay off the debt. Despite an unfortunate beginning, he actually has some useful skills to bring to the group. The romantic elements in Liberty Liberty are fairly chaste but include an adorably awkward confession of love after Itaru develops a crush on Kouki, who has feelings for another coworker.

Thermae Romae, Omnibus 2 (equivalent to Volumes 3-4) by Mari Yamazaki. It’s been about half a year since I read the first Thermae Romae omnibus, but I do recall enjoying it quite a bit. What I don’t remember is if it made me as unabashedly happy as reading the second one did. This series honestly makes me laugh out loud. Thermae Romae has just enough of the ridiculous about it to make it very funny. And, as a bonus, I end up learning about Roman and Japanese bathing cultures. The last story in second omnibus actually turns the series into a time travel romantic comedy which has yet to reach its conclusion. Unfortunately, there’s currently no release information available for the next volume.

Moyashimon, Season 1 directed by Yūichirō Yano. Sadly, only two volumes of Masayuki Ishikawa’s manga Moyasimon were ever released in English. I was excited when Crunchyroll began streaming the anime adaptation which closely follows the manga. I quite liked the manga so I was glad to have the opportunity to spend more time learning about microbes and following the strange antics of agricultural college students. Moyashimon is an incredibly quirky series with an incredibly quirky cast. It does seem as though the series can’t quite decide what sort of story it should be. Sometimes its serious while other times its rather goofy. It can be legitimately educational, but it can also be mindless entertainment. Either way, I tend to enjoy it and find it amusing.

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25 June 2012 2 Comments

My Week in Manga: June 18-June 24, 2012

My News and Reviews

I posted two reviews last week, neither of which have anything to do with manga whatsoever. As I’ve mentioned before in passing, I study traditional Okinawan karate kobudō. Because of this I was interested in learning more about Okinawan history. George H. Kerr’s study Okinawa: The History of an Island People was exactly what I was looking for. It is the first and one of the only comprehensive histories of Okinawa available in English. My second review was for Todd Shimoda’s novel Subduction with artwork by his wife L. J. C. Shimoda. The illustrations and overall design of the book were some of my favorite parts of the novel.

Digital Manga has launched their latest Kickstarter project. The company hopes to publish Osamu Tezuka’s Unico in English and in full color. The project already has a ton of support and I’m expecting it to be successful. Plus, if the project meets it’s goal quickly, Digital Manga will announce yet another Tezuka manga to be licensed. As much as I love seeing Tezuka available in English, I hope that Digital Manga will consider other titles to fund through Kickstarter, too. Another project I’d like to draw your attention to is for Laurianne Uy’s Polterguys, Volume 1, a fun manga-inspired comic. You can learn more about Laurianne and read Polterguys at her website Laurbits.com.

This week is the Takehiko Inoue Manga Moveable Feast! Anna and Michelle, the co-hosts for this month’s Feast, have a nice kickoff post. Below, I have a quick take for the first couple of volumes of Inoue’s series Slam Dunk. I previously reviewed the first Vagabond omnibus and later this week I’ll be reviewing the second. Buried in some of my past Library Love posts, I have a couple of quick thoughts on Real, which is probably my favorite series by Inoue. Happy Feasting, everyone!

Quick Takes

Calling by Miu Otsuki. Calling was a really nice surprise. I wasn’t expecting much out of the manga, but it turned out to be an excellent boys’ love one shot. One of the best things about Calling is that Otsuki avoids many of the unfortunate and often used tropes of the genre, especially those dealing with rape. When Kazuaki tells Kira to stop, Kira stops. (Seriously, consent is hot.) The story is much better for it, too. The men’s relationship deepens and matures more naturally than it would have otherwise. The two obviously care for each other and make for a very affectionate couple. There are conflicts and misunderstandings in Calling, but it is a very sweet manga with well-developed characters.

Sanctuary, Volumes 1-4 written by Sho Fumimura (Buronson) and illustrated by Ryoichi Ikegami. Akira Hojo and Chiaki Asami are two ambitious young men who are determined to transform Japan together, Hojo working through the underground and Asami working through the political system. Their struggle to rise to power is fraught with challenges as they confront corruption and very real danger. They have literally put their lives on the line to reach their goal. Sanctuary is thrilling. Hojo and Asami advance only to be pushed back again. They just barely manage to hang on to control of the situation. One wrong move and all of their efforts will come to nothing. This series is fantastic and I’m really looking forward to reading the rest.

Slam Dunk, Volumes 1-2 by Takehiko Inoue. Slam Dunk was the first of Inoue’s manga to be translated into English. Initially published by Raijin Comics, the license was later rescued Viz Media. Slam Dunk was Inoue’s breakthrough manga. The story follows Hanamichi Sakuragi, a big guy and high school delinquent who joins the basketball team in order to win the affection of a girl. Except, he doesn’t really know much about basketball. I was pleasantly surprised to discover how funny the series is. It was also interesting to see Inoue’s earlier, more simple (but still dynamic) style of drawing. Although I don’t feel compelled to rush out to find out what happens next, I enjoyed these first two volumes and would like to read more.

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Episodes 14-26 directed by Kenji Kamiyama. It’s been a while since I’ve watched any Stand Alone Complex, but because so many of the episodes stand on their own, I found myself falling back into the series fairly easily. Unfortunately, some of those episodes can be rather tedious; although there’s some good world building, there’s a lot of talk and not much action. I would find my attention wandering, making it difficult to follow some of the political machinations that become important later on. But when the series actually gets around to kicking into gear, it’s great. The animation quality is excellent, too. And I’m never going to complain about a soundtrack by Yoko Kanno.

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