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25 April 2011 5 Comments

My Week in Manga: April 18-April 24, 2011

My News and Reviews

It is time for the Rumiko Takahashi Manga Moveable Feast! The feast begins today and will end on Sunday. Rob McMonigal at Panel Patter will be hosting. Rob has also been running a spotlight on Takahashi that is worth checking out. There is also a fantastic Takahashi fansite, Rumic World, that has a ton of great information available about Takahashi and her works. As for me, I spent all last week immersing myself in Takahashi manga and anime in order to prepare for the Manga Moveable Feast. So, all of my quick takes feature Takahashi. My manga giveaway for this month (starting on Wednesday) will be the first two volumes of Ranma 1/2. And on Friday, I’ll be posting an in-depth review of the first volume of Mermaid Saga. I’ll should also mention a review that I previously posted for Ranma 1/2, Volume 1: Battle of the Sexes.

As for last week’s posts, I reviewed Eiji Yoshikawa’s epic historical novel Musashi and Isuna Hasekura’s light novel Spice & Wolf, Volume 3. I’m really enjoying the Spice & Wolf series more than I thought I would; I absolutely adore Lawrence and Holo. Musashi is the basis for numerous films as well as Takehiko Inoue’s Vagabond. I promised myself I would read the novel before starting the manga series, and now I have. It’s a very long book, but I enjoyed it quite a bit.

Quick Takes

InuYasha, Omnibus 1 (equivalent to Volumes 1-3) by Rumiko Takahashi. I’m not sure if it’s because I saw the anime before I read the manga, but I think I actually prefer the anime in this case. Granted, I’ve not read or seen enough of InuYasha to be able to know for sure. This is not to say I didn’t enjoy the manga because I did. It’s certainly not my favorite work by Takahashi, though. Although, some things do make more sense in the manga than they do in the anime. However, the manga feels like it’s rushing from battle to battle without taking time to really develop the characters or story. It reads very, very quickly which is both a good and a bad thing. The yōkai are varied and their fights are entertaining.

Mermaid Saga, Volumes 1-4 by Rumiko Takahashi. Mermaid Saga is one of Takahashi’s shortest series. It’s also dark, creepy, disconcerting, and utterly fantastic. If you couldn’t tell, I loved it. Eating the flesh of a mermaid potentially grants the gift of immortality, but those who aren’t so lucky die a painful death or are transformed into monstrous “lost souls” from the poison. But even life as an immortal may be more of a curse than a blessing. Yuta has been alive for five hundred years, dying and returning to life dozens of times, and is tired of his lonely existence. As he searches for a way to return to normal he occasionally comes across other immortals, each with their own tragic history. Messing around with life and death never ends well.

Ranma 1/2, Volumes 2-14 by Rumiko Takahashi. Oh, Ranma 1/2, how I adore you. This series is one of the first manga I fell in love with and collected in its entirety. It was also my introduction to Takahashi. Some of the humor is going to be hit and miss simply due to personal preference—I, for one, can barely stand the principal. Still, I am impressed by how long Takahashi can keep the joke going without it feeling too repetitive. Ranma 1/2 is absurd and ridiculous and a tremendous amount of fun. Even though I had previously read the series, I still found it to be amusing. Full of gender swapping, not to mention species swapping, and an abundance of crazy and insane martial arts, I can’t help but love it.

InuYasha: Season 1, Episodes 1-19 directed by Masashi Ikeda and Yasunao Aoki. Although I enjoyed the anime from the beginning, initially it felt too episodic to me. But as the series progresses an overarching plot is introduced. This is what I needed to really invest myself in the story. Although I really like the Higurashi family and appreciate when they get some screen time, I greatly prefer the episodes that take place during the Warring States period over those that take place during the modern era. Actually, I like most of the characters—their strong personalities make for some great interactions. While I might not continue reading the manga, I’ll probably be watching more of the anime.

Urusei Yatsura, Episodes 1-4 directed by Mamoru Oshii. I don’t even remember when or where I got this DVD, but fortunately the Manga Moveable Feast reminded me that I owned it. It’s really too bad that I took so long to finally watch it, because it has some very funny stuff in it. In fact, I found myself maniacally giggling out loud on several occasions. I’ve only seen these four episodes (out of one hundred ninety five) but I can safely say I would like to see more. It’s a weird and strange story about obnoxious aliens that intend to invade Earth but are stopped when they are defeated in a game of tag by a lecherous high schooler. Some of the aliens stick around and hijinks ensue.

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23 March 2011 Leave a Comment

Aqua, Volume 1

Creator: Kozue Amano
U.S. publisher: Tokyopop
ISBN: 9781427803122
Released: October 2007
Original release: 2001

Although Kozue Amano’s two volume series Aqua is generally referred to as the prequel of her longer series Aria, as far as I can tell it was really more of a title change when the original manga serialization switched magazines. But ether way, I’ve been meaning to read both Aqua and Aria for a while now. I was pleased when Aria was selected for the March 2011 Manga Moveable Feast because it gave me the last push I needed to finally get around to picking the manga up. The first volume of Aqua was originally published in Japan in 2001 and then again in 2003. The English edition was released in 2007 by Tokyopop. Tokyopop also published the second volume of Aqua and after ADV suspended the publication of Aria, Tokyopop picked up the license, so far publishing the first six volumes of the twelve volume series.

The year is 2301 A.D. During the terraforming of Mars, the ice caps melted more than originally anticipated, covering nearly ninety percent of the planet, now also known as Aqua, in water. The port town of Neo-Venezia was modeled after the city of Venice, Italy which no longer exists on Manhome. But like the original city, Neo-Venezia attracts many tourists, sightseers, and travelers. The premier tour guides are gondoliers known as undines. Akari Miuznashi has traveled from Tokyo to Neo-Venezia to study to become an undine. She is fortunate to have been accepted by the Aria Company to become the apprentice of Alicia, considered by many to be one of the best undines on Aqua. Akari has the potential to become a great undine through hard work and practice, although she’ll have to unlearn a few bad habits that she picked up as a self-taught gondolier first. But with the help of Alicia and Akari, an apprentice at the renowned Himeya Company, Akari is determined to make her dream come true and enjoy herself while she’s doing it.

What appealed to me most about the first volume of Aqua (beside the whole Mars thing) was the artwork. Amano’s landscapes, waterscapes, and cityscapes are gorgeous. And she doesn’t forget to include details like the water life or Mars’ double moons. Her use of water is lovely, a good thing since there is a lot of it. Even the spaceships feel like they’re floating through the air. The panels with Alicia are generally striking as well. The elegance and grace of her movements and her skill as an undine are clear, especially when compared to the more awkward attempts made by Aika and Akari, although they have their moments, too. Not everything is so beautiful, however. The Mars cats are very odd looking creatures but delightful in their own way and Aika’s facial expressions can be a bit peculiar from time to time.

For someone whose dream it is to become an undine, Akari seems to know surprisingly little about Aqua and Neo-Venezia. However, this does give Amano the excuse to take the readers along with Akari on a sightseeing trip of sorts as she learns more about and explores her new home. She might come across as clueless fairly frequently, but Akari is also extraordinarily earnest and enthusiastic—her romanticism and innocence are utterly endearing. Aqua is not a series that everyone will be able to appreciate. If you’re looking for an action packed science fiction adventure, you will be disappointed. But if you’re in the mood for a charming and relaxing journey, Aqua is simply perfect. It’s gentle and laid back and even the tension in the story (what little of it there is) is fairly subdued. If anything, the first volume of Aqua might be too pretty and serene. But, I did enjoy it. It’s a feel good manga and I will be reading both the second volume of Aqua and Aria as well.

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21 March 2011 Leave a Comment

My Week in Manga: March 14-March 20, 2011

My News and Reviews

I mentioned this previously (Random Musings: Anime and Manga Bloggers for Japan), but if you haven’t checked out the Anime and Manga Boggers for Japan effort, please do. I’ll be keeping the banner at the top of this blog for a while and eventually will move it to the side bar. Our initial goal was to raise $1,000 ($2,000 total) for Shelter Box USA—Japan Disaster Relief and Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders. At the time of this posting, we’ve reached $3,170, which is simply fantastic.

Other posts this week included the first in-depth manga review for March—Blade of the Immortal, Volume 5: On Silent Wings II. Blade of the Immortal is one of my favorite manga series, and there’s some really great character development for Rin going on in the On Silent Wings arc. I also posted a review of the first volume of the Book Girl light novel series Book Girl and the Suicidal Mime, which I really enjoyed. I’ll definitely be following the series.

A couple of interesting things that I’ve recently found online: The About.com Manga Readers Choice Awards have been announced as has the Graphic Novel Reporter’s Core List of Manga for Spring 2011. Also, since I read Qwan this week, I want to draw your attention to Kate Dacey’s much more coherent write up of the series at The Manga Critic—The Best Manga You’re Not Reading: Qwan.

Finally, the Aria Manga Moveable Feast has begun! I’ve included quick takes of both Aqua and Aria here, and later this week I’ll have an in-depth review of the first volume of Aqua.

Quick Takes

Aqua, Volumes 1-2 by Kozue Amano. There was no way I could pass up Amano’s manga Aqua—Mars has been turned into a water planet through terraforming. The art is probably my favorite part of the series. Pretty girls in a pretty setting. There are panels that I keep flipping back to look at again, happily absorbing myself staring at the illustrations. I love Aika’s frequent admonishments of Akari’s sappy lines. And the chapters focusing on the exploits of President Aria are always fun. I was happy to see a little more conflict introduced in the second volume, but overall the series is still has a very relaxed feeling about it. I like the characters, but they almost seem to be living separate from the society around them.

Aria, Volumes 1-6 by Kozue Amano. Aria is pretty much the same series as Aqua except for the magazine it was originally published in. It still has a calm, relaxing storyline and beautiful artwork (I would love to see some of Amano’s color prints). The manga continues to be fairly episodic but it’s nice to see the same characters showing up again and again. And there are quite a few more charming characters introduced as well. The first few volumes of Aria focus on the changing seasons. Autumn is featured in the first volume, a personal favorite of mine. It’s also interesting to see the preservation of various Manhome customs and traditions on Aqua. I still find it strange how little Akari actually knows about Aqua and Neo-Venezia.

Qwan, Volumes 1-4 by Aki Shimizu. Unfortunately, only the first four volumes of the seven volume series have been released in English. It’s unlikely that the remaining volumes will be published, but Qwan is still worth taking a look at. Shimizu’s artwork is marvelous and the characters fascinating. I’m particularly fond of the lowlife Chikei (and would really like to know what happened to him). The story is a great mix of Chinese court and political intrigue and supernatural battles. The actual action can be difficult to follow sometimes, but overall the fight sequences are great. The story, too, requires that the reader be paying attention, but I found effort needed to be satisfying.

Ze, Volumes 1-2 by Yuki Shimizu. I’ve frequently seen Ze referred to as a yaoi version of Fruits Basket, and there are certain similarities. Familial and romantic relationships and dynamics are certainly bizarre and intense. And Raizou, the primary character in the first two volumes, is extraordinarily kindhearted, self-sacrificing, and just a bit awkward. Adorably so. (I really like Raizou as a character.) I enjoyed watching him work out his relationship with Kon. The magic system used in Ze can be somewhat confusing at first if you try to think too hard about it. But, I’ve always liked the concept of words being inherently powerful, both literally and figuratively.

The Irresponsible Captain Tylor directed by Kōichi Mashimo. This series was recommended to me by a friend who was shocked that I had never even heard of it. It is so very terribly amusing. Justy Ueki Tylor joined the United Planets Space Force in search of an easy desk job, but unexpectedly finds himself promoted to a captain a destroyer after diffusing a hostage situation. The crew of the Soyokaze is made up of the worst troublemakers and misfits of the UPSF. Somehow, Tylor wins them over and they manage to survive repeat encounters against the enemy Raalgon Empire. No one can really tell if Tylor is simply a complete idiot or an absolute genius, but they can all agree that he is one lucky bastard.

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18 February 2011 Leave a Comment

Barefoot Gen, Volume 1: A Cartoon Story of Hiroshima

Creator: Keiji Nakazawa
U.S. Publisher: Last Gasp
ISBN: 9780867196023
Released: September 2004
Original release: 1975

I’ll admit, I was somewhat nervous when Keiji Nakazawa’s Barefoot Gen was selected for February 2011’s Manga Moveable Feast. I studied the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki extensively while in high school—even selecting it as the subject of my major senior project—and I have a tendency to get into heated arguments with people about it (which is really saying something for me). But ultimately, I was glad the series was selected, especially as I hadn’t actually read it myself. Nakazawa began Barefoot Gen in 1973 and it is heavily based on his own experiences as a survivor of the Hiroshima bombing. Ten volumes and over twenty-four hundred pages later, he finished the work in 1985. The first collected volume, Barefoot Gen: A Cartoon Story of Hiroshima was originally published in Japan in 1975. A partial English translation was also released in the late 1970s, making Barefoot Gen one of the first manga to be made available in English. It wasn’t until 2004 that the first complete English translation, with an introduction by Art Spiegelman, was published by Last Gasp.

Most of the first volume of Barefoot Gen follows the lives of the Nakaoka family, beginning several months before the atomic bombing of Hiroshima by the United States on August 6, 1945. Like many families living in Hiroshima at the time, their primary concern was finding enough to eat—not an easy task in wartime Japan for a household of seven. Day to day existence was enough of a struggle, but on top of the that the Nakaoka’s father was vehemently anti-war, often speaking out against it and the government. Since that viewpoint was seen as traitorous and was punishable, this mean that the family faced additional difficulties and discrimination from the authorities and their neighbors. But when the bomb dropped it didn’t matter who was for or against the war—civilians, military personnel, government officials, prisoners of war—everyone had to deal with the brutal consequences of the city’s destruction.

Nakazawa’s style of art in Barefoot Gen is very approachable, almost friendly and seemingly at odds with the story being told, but Nakazawa doesn’t shy away from showing the terrible realities of war and it can be quite emotional. Two motifs that appear repeatedly through Barefoot Gen are wheat and the sun. The meaning of the wheat is explained on the very first page of the manga, symbolizing the constant struggle to persevere over adversity. The symbolism of the sun is more ambiguous and left up to individual interpretation. It is a very prominent image—often the sun is the only visual element in a panel—and it recurs frequently. In addition to marking the passage of time, the sun acts as a impartial and uncaring observer, a reminder that we are only a small part of the universe, watching over the events and tragedies that unfold. Although there are few natural stopping points, there are no explicit chapter breaks in Barefoot Gen making it very easy to become absorbed in Nakazawa’s tale.

Because of its subject matter, Barefoot Gen is rather heavy reading and not easy to get through. War is a terrible thing and people can be incredibly cruel to one another. But there are heart-warming moments in Barefoot Gen as well when I couldn’t help but smile. Despite both internal and external conflicts, the Nakaoka family are wonderfully close and loving and there are those who appreciate their stance against the war. So, while Barefoot Gen honestly shows the suffering caused by war and nuclear weapons and has the potential of being overwhelmingly bleak, it is not without hope. Nakazawa was one of the first artist in Japan to address and speak out about what happened at Hiroshima through his work at a time when that information was being suppressed. Although Barefoot Gen is a fictionalized account, it is a true story based on his and his family’s lives. It is a very important, powerful and heartbreaking work.

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16 February 2011 Leave a Comment

Hiroshima: The Autobiography of Barefoot Gen

Author: Keiji Nakazawa
Translator: Richard H. Minear
U.S. Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 9781442207479
Released: November 2010
Original release: 1995

I first learned about Keiji Nakazawa’s autobiography Hiroshima: The Autobiography of Barefoot Gen while preparing for the February 2011 Manga Moveable Feast focusing on Nakazawa’s semi-autobiographical manga series Barefoot Gen. Although I hadn’t read the manga yet, I was already familiar with Barefoot Gen but had no idea that Nakazawa had also written an official autobiography as well. For various reasons, I decided to read it before delving into the manga. According to the introduction by the book’s editor and translator Richard H. Minear, Nakazawa actually wrote two versions of his autobiography—the first was published in 1987 which was later revised and reissued as a second edition in 1995. It is the autobiography from 1995, written fifty years after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, that forms the basis of the English edition released by Rowman & Littlefield in 2010 as part of their Asian Voices series.

On the morning of August 6, 1945, the first atomic bomb used as a weapon against a human population was detonated over the city of Hiroshima, Japan. Keiji Nakazawa was a grade-schooler at the time and survived only because he happened to be standing on the opposite side of a thick concrete wall from the blast. His father, sister, and younger brother were killed in the explosion and resulting firestorm. He fortunately found his pregnant mother alive and his two older brothers were away from the city at the time. Even long after the bombing, life was extremely difficult for the survivors. Years later, Nakazawa left for Tokyo, hoping to leave Hiroshima and its tragedy behind. But he eventually took his experiences and used them to create the manga Barefoot Gen, speaking out against nuclear weapons and war.

In addition to the translation of Nakazawa’s autobiography and the illustrations that he created for it, the English edition of the book also includes five excerpts from the Barefoot Gen manga as well as a translation of part of an interview that was conducted in 2007 between Nakazawa and the president of the Hiroshima Peace Institute, Motofumi Asai. There is also a brief index and a useful introduction by the editor. Almost all of the Japanese terms except for manga and anime have been translated, including the titles of movies and magazines. Since I’m so used to hearing and seeing it otherwise, I found it odd to see Shōnen Jump referred to as Boys’ Jump, but I do tend to agree with how Minear chose to translate the book since it makes the autobiography more accessible for readers unfamiliar with Japanese culture and language. He explains his translating and editing decisions in his introduction and also provides a detailed explanation of some of the issues involved when translating and “flipping” manga.

Hiroshima is very aptly subtitled The Autobiography of Barefoot Gen. Not only does it serve as an account of the bombing of Hiroshima as well as the autobiography of Nakazawa, who is Gen, the book also serves as an origin story of the Barefoot Gen manga and its creation. While the autobiography will be of particular interest to people who are already familiar with Nakazawa and Barefoot Gen, the book is also a very accessible and very personal survivor’s account of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Nakazawa also addresses the terrible living conditions caused by the war before and after the dropping of the bomb and the struggles and discrimination that the atomic bomb survivors and their descendants faced even decades later. Obviously, because it is such an intensely personal autobiography, there is a certain amount of bias to be expected, but for the most part I don’t think Nakazawa is unfair. Hiroshima: The Autobiography of Barefoot Gen is well worth reading.

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