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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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30 October 2011 2 Comments

Random Musings: Nightmare Inspector

I’ve really been enjoying this month’s Horror Manga Moveable Feast. Earlier this week I noticed that no one had yet mentioned Shin Mashiba’s series Nightmare Inspector: Yumekui Kenbun, which I’m quite fond of. I commented on this on Twitter and also noted that I regretted not coming up with something for the series myself. Lori Henderson, who is doing a wonderful job hosting the Feast over at Manga Xanadu, caught me and encouraged me to go ahead and write something up. And so, please allow me to take a brief moment to show a little bit of last minute love for Shin Mashiba’s Nightmare Inspector: Yumekui Kenbun.

Nightmare Inspector is set in the last few years of the Taishō era in Japan. This series is the only manga that I have read that has been set in this time period. In fact, I haven’t read very many novels that take place during this time, either. The Taishō era lasted from 1912 to 1926. The time period, while not as romanticized as feudal era Japan, is well suited for a series about nightmares and anxieties. World War I was fought between 1914 and 1918. There was an underlying turmoil in Japanese society as its mores, social structures, and political systems were shifting and changing. The increase in Westernization was a concern for many. The Emperor was weak and in poor health. And on September 1, 1923, Tokyo and the surrounding areas were devastated by the Great Kantō earthquake, an event that is important to Nightmare Inspector, as well. The Taishō era was a difficult and trying time for many in Japan.

The basic premise of Nightmare Inspector is fairly simple. Hiruko, once human, has become a baku, a supernatural creature that devours dreams and nightmares for sustenance. The bloodier and the more painful they are for the dreamers, the better tasting they are for him. Those unfortunate enough to be plagued by their nightmares come to the Silver Star Tea House seeking Hiruko’s aid to be rid of them, hoping to find some peace. Hiruko doesn’t tend to be malicious, but he’s not exactly benevolent, either. He gives his patrons exactly what they ask for, and that can be terrifying in and of itself. Their nightmares are tied very closely to their realities; affecting one has profound effects on the other. Very few of the dreamers find a happy ending and even for those that do it is very bittersweet. Hiruko, whose past is slowly revealed as the series progresses, must also face his own darkness.

The exploration of the nightmares is one of the most interesting elements in Nightmare Inspector. The creativity and imagination that Mashiba exhibits is impressive, frequently changing art styles to reflect the dreamers’ individual experiences. Some nightmares are frighteningly realistic while others are more abstract in their portrayal, but they are no less disturbing because of it. And because baku delight in the psychological suffering of others, the dreams often become worse when they become involved. Many of the individuals that come to the Silver Star Tea House are coping with some sort of trauma or painful memories that they are trying to repress. Some of the circumstances may seem a bit far-fetched, but overall the insecurities that they are dealing with will be quite familiar to readers of the series. This is one of the reasons that Nightmare Inspector is so effectively disconcerting.

The manga is consistently dark in atmosphere, but its finale is even more heartrending than anything that comes before it. There are some moments of levity, but they seem so out of place to me that I personally consider those chapters to be scenarios that could only exist in a more optimistic reality. Perhaps they, too, are dreams. Nightmare Inspector does tend to be fairly episodic for most of the series. But underlying all of the individual stories is a certain melancholy and ominousness that surrounds Hiruko. Eventually, the truth of his past is revealed and moments from earlier volumes suddenly become more significant than they may have first appeared. His story, and the complex relationships he has developed with other characters in the series, is actually what draws me most to Nightmare Inspector. It’s not without its faults, but I do love this manga and hope that others give it a try.

This post is part of the Horror Manga Moveable Feast.

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28 October 2011 4 Comments

Goth

Author: Otsuichi
Illustrator: Kendi Oiwa
U.S. publisher: Tokyopop
ISBN: 9781427810946
Released: September 2008
Original release: 2003

In Japan, Goth, Kendi Oiwa and Otsuichi’s manga adaptation of Otsuichi’s award-winning novel by the same name, was released in 2003, the year after the original Goth was initially published. Tokyopop released the English translation of Goth, both the manga and the novel, in 2008. However, in this case, the manga was published first, but only by about a month. Although I have since read the original novel, my introduction to the story was through the manga. And since October 2011’s Manga Moveable Feast was focusing on horror manga, I though it would be a good opportunity to review the manga adaptation. It’s a good, creepy manga which I don’t think many people have read. Even though it’s out of print, it doesn’t seem to be too difficult to find yet, and it’s only one volume. I should probably also mention the existence of the 2008 live-action adaptation of Goth, too. I haven’t seen it yet, but I do plan to.

Two high schoolers share an interest in death and murder, although for very different reasons. Morino is a beautiful young woman who is considered strange by her classmates and the other is a young man who is generally well liked. What most people don’t realize is that he is hiding his own aberrant behavior. His friendship with Morino is much more complicated than their classmates know. To him, she is an obsession. Morino might not realize her importance to him at first, but she does come to suspect his darker tendencies. Their relationship is intense and precariously balanced. At any moment, it feels as though he could turn on her or simply allow terrible tings to happen to her. But at the same time his is extremely possessive and protective of Morino. She may be an obsession, but she’s his obsession.

One of the best things about the manga adaptation of Goth is Oiwa’s artwork. Both subtly seductive and vaguely disconcerting, the illustrations fit the story perfectly. Oiwa does very well with the material and even more impressive is that Goth was his first professional work. Oiwa’s page layouts are varied and interesting, the attractive artwork punctuated by panels that are graphic, gruesome, and grotesque. A nice rhythm is set up where these moments aren’t necessarily surprising but everything pauses while the images sink in. The character reactions are very important in these incidents and Oiwa does a fantastic job with facial expressions, or in some cases the deliberate lack thereof. The characters’ expressions reveal a lot about them as people and what is revealed can be a very scary thing. The atmosphere that Oiwa’s art creates paired with Otsuichi’s storytelling is marvelously disconcerting.

Although the original novel is unquestionably the superior of the two, I think the manga is an excellent adaptation and manages to stand well as its own work. The manga incorporates in one way or another five of the original six stories. Changes have been made and not everything from the novel has been used, but the manga never strays from the tone of the original—it is both captivating and disturbing. Its realism and semi-believability make it very, very creepy. Even though I have read both version of Goth several times and the various twists to the plot are no longer surprising to me, they are still effective story elements, revealing just how abnormal some of the characters truly are. And while the manga doesn’t allow the reader to get into their heads to the same extent as the novel, the glimpses seen are chilling. Like the original novel, the manga adaptation of Goth is worth seeking out.

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24 October 2011 4 Comments

My Week in Manga: Ocobter 17-October 23, 2011

My News and Reviews

Not much news here, not that there ever really is, but I did post a review last week for The Journey to the West, Volume 3. I only have one more volume to go in Anthony C. Yu’s translation of this Chinese classic. However, the post that I’m particularly happy with from last week is Random Musings: 1001 Comics You Must Read Before You Die—Japan. I found an excuse to not only make a list, but a spreadsheet!

And now for fun things online: Connie of Slightly Biased Manga has a great list of Medical Manga that I would recommend checking out. Also, Yaoi-con was this weekend. Arguably the biggest news to come out of the con this year is that Viz Media is starting a boys’ love imprint called SuBLime. (Note the BL in the name.) It’s starting out as digital, but print manga is expected to launch this coming spring. The link to Anime News Network’s article on the announcement can be found here.

The Horror Manga Moveable Feast begins today! I’ve got a vampire-filled quick takes section for your enjoyment here (plus Samurai 7 because I felt like watching it). Later this week I’ll be posting an in-depth review of the manga adaptation of Otsuichi’s award-winning novel Goth. The Feast will be running through the 31st, so I’ll have another batch of horror themed quick takes ready for next week, too.

Quick Takes

Hellsing, Volumes 1-8 by Kohta Hirano. What do you get when you have fanatical groups of Catholics, Protestants, and Nazis, with vampires and werewolves thrown in for good measure, who all want to kill each other? You get the insanity that is Hellsing. There’s not really much of a plot beyond that, but none is really needed. Hirano is obviously having a lot of fun with this series and the readers are in for one hell of a ride. There’s plenty of blood, gore, and violence, but Hirano’s artwork is well suited for what is asked of it. My favorite character is easily Alucard and I wish that he would show up more in the series than he actually does. But when he does make an appearance it is extremely memorable.

Taimashin: The Red Spider Exorcist, Volume 1 written by Hideyuki Kikuchi and illustrated by Shin Yong-Gwan. I’m not really sure what’s going on yet in Taimashin, but I don’t really care because I’m so enthralled by the titular red spider exorcist. I think that is somewhat the point, though. Megumi doesn’t really know what’s going on either, but for some reason she’s being pursued by demons. She is told to seek the aid of Akamushi, an elegant Noh dancer gifted with astounding supernatural abilities. Some of the scenes are actually pretty creepy. Yong-Gwan’s art is very clean and attractive, Akamushi in particular. I’d like to see where things go with Taimashin, and I’d like to see more of Akamushi, so I’ll be picking up the next volume in the series.

Vampire Hunter D, Volume 1 by Saiko Takaki. Not having read the Vampire Hunter D novels, I don’t know how the manga adaptation compares. I can say that it does make me want to give the original a try, though. D is certainly the most compelling character, which is understandable; he is the hero of the series, after all. He’s dark and brooding and beautiful. As a vampire hunter, he’s also a talented fighter. I like the setting of Vampire Hunter D, a post-apocalyptic far future where humanity is just barely hanging on. Vampires, known as the Nobility, who rule over the humans and hold much of the power are now in decline as well. But that doesn’t mean they are any less dangerous.

Vampire’s Portrait, Volume 1 by Hiroki Kusumoto. For as sexy as the vampire Sein is supposed to be, there is absolutely no chemistry between him and his supposed romantic interest Lou. I actually found the Vampire’s Portrait to be rather frustrating for just that reason. It’s supposed to be a boys’ love title but the characters’ development is completely lacking and their relationship is unconvincing. Don’t let the cover fool you. The best part of the volume is the showdown between Sein and his brother, particularly when Sein’s “true face” is finally revealed to Lou and the readers. The scene and his appearance is fantastically frightening. In fact, I would consider Kusumoto’s artwork to be the highlight of this manga.

Samurai 7 directed by Toshifumi Takizawa. Samurai 7 is a very interesting interpretation and adaptation of Kurosawa’s classic film Seven Samurai. I quite enjoyed it and found the anime to be very engaging. Occasionally some of the parallels seem a bit forced, but at other times they’re pulled off brilliantly. The series is at its best when it doesn’t try to adhere to strictly to the original story and is free to be itself. The animation and production values are consistently high throughout. Samurai 7 grants some new takes on the characters involved in the story, as well. The portrayal of Katsushiro as an eager young man who matures and grows drastically is particularly well done.

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12 October 2011 Leave a Comment

Love Hina, Omnibus 1

Creator: Ken Akamatsu
U.S. Publisher: Kodansha
ISBN: 9781935429470
Released: October 2011
Original release: 1999

A few years ago I read about half of Ken Akamatsu’s manga series Love Hina, but for some reason never finished it. At the time, Tokyopop had published the fourteen volumes between 2002 and 2003; Love Hina was a very successful series for the company. Love Hina was also successful in its native Japan. Serialized between 1998 and 2001, Love Hina went on to inspire anime, light novel, and even video game adaptations. In 2001, Love Hina also won the Kodansha Manga Award for the shōnen category. Love Hina was selected for the September 2011 Manga Moveable Feast, although for various reasons we held it in October, to coincide with Kodansha Comics new English release of the series. Kodansha was even kind enough to send out review copies of the new omnibus edition, collecting the first three volumes of the series, to some of the participants. I figured it was a good opportunity to give the series another try.

Keitaro Urashima is a second year rōnin. He has applied to the prestigious Tokyo University twice and failed entry both times. It’s really not that surprising though if you take a look at his atrocious test scores. Regardless, he is determined to make it in because of a promise he made to a childhood friend (a girl) who he hasn’t seen or heard from in fifteen years. Unfortunately, Keitaro’s parents are fed up with the situation and have kicked him out of the house. And so he hopes his grandmother will let him stay at her inn. What he doesn’t know is that Hinata Inn has been turned into an all-female dormitory. Finding his grandmother away and himself suddenly the manager of the property, Keitaro has a lot more to worry about than just his entrance exams. The poor guy has very little experience with women, and the residents of Hinata Inn are not going to make it easy on him.

Much of the humor in Love Hina involves Keitaro unintentionally stumbling upon the girls in various stages of dress or undress and subsequently being declared a pervert and getting pummeled by them for it. I’ll admit that I find this rather amusing, but it does get somewhat repetitive, something that even the characters notice. The resulting fanservice caused by these incidents tend to be fairly mild, more imagined than shown, although there are still plenty of panty shots and the like to be found. I’m actually not all that bothered by the fanservice in Love Hina because it serves a legitimate purpose to the story—there are narrative reasons for it to be there. But much like the repeated gags to which it is so closely tied, the fanservice, too, becomes fairly monotonous over time.

While I don’t actively dislike Love Hina, I’m not finding myself particularly engaged by it, either. I’m not really sure why, because there are parts I really like. I appreciate the fact that all the young women living at Hinata Inn have distinct personalities that are, for the most part, independent from Keitaro. It is fairly clear from their interactions with one another that the household has an established rapport and that Keitaro has simply been added to the mix. Unfortunately, once the characters have been fully introduced, there isn’t much further development in these early volumes. At this point, I also feel that the narrative flow is somewhat disjointed. Love Hina isn’t exactly an episodic series, but some of the transitions between chapters, or lack thereof, can be jarring. Still, there are some genuinely funny moments in Love Hina amongst the silliness and I’m glad that I gave the series another look.

Thank you to Kodansha for providing a copy of Love Hina, Omnibus 1 for review.

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