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3 April 2013 Leave a Comment

Manga Giveaway: Historical Manga Winner

And the winner of the Historical Manga Giveaway is…Dawn H!

As the winner, Dawn will be receiving a new copy of Shigeru Mizuki’s award-winning, semi-autobiographical manga Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths as published by Drawn and Quarterly. The timing of this giveaway happily coincided with the Historical Manga Moveable Feast, and so I asked those entering to tell me about their favorite historical manga.

Normally, I would take this opportunity to compile a list of historical manga. But, depending on how one defines historical manga, that could end up being a very long list, indeed. So instead, I’d like to briefly ramble on a bit about the manga mentioned in the giveaway’s comments.

Blade of the Immortal by Hiroaki Samura
One of my first manga series and still one of my personal favorites, Blade of the Immortal is the current focus of my monthly review project. For all of my reviews for the series, check out the Blade of the Immortal tag or the individual links from the Review Index.

A Drifting Life by Yoshihiro Tatsumi
It’s been a while since I’ve read A Drifting Life (a bit before I began Experiments in Manga). A massive tome, Tatsumi’s memoir looks at both the creator’s personal life as well as the cultural history of  manga in Japan.

Drifters by Kohta Hirano
Most people I know prefer Hirano’s earlier series Hellsing, but personally I’m more fond of Drifters. It does take some outside knowledge of the series’ historical inspirations to fully appreciate the manga, though. Drifters is intense and doesn’t always make a whole lot of sense, but I do enjoy it.

Emma by Kaoru Mori
I unfortunately discovered Emma too late—it’s now out-of-print and hard to find in English. Fortunately my library had a complete set I could read. I really hope that the license is rescued because Emma is a wonderful series. (Yen Press, pretty please?)

The Heart of Thomas by Moto Hagio
Not only does The Heart of Thomas take place in a historical setting, it is also a historically important and significant work. I’m thrilled that it is now available in English, and Fantagraphics’ release is gorgeous. You can find my in-depth review here.

Kaze Hikaru by Taeko Watanabe
I actually haven’t read Kaze Hikaru yet, although I really have been meaning to. After all, Kate Dacey (who I admire greatly) has declared it to be her favorite shoujo manga. Plus, Shinsengumi!

Kids on the Slope by Yuki Kodama
I would love to read Kids on the Slope. Unfortunately, it’s probably unlikely that we’ll ever see the series licensed in English. But, at least we do have the anime adaptation.

Lone Wolf & Cub written by Kazuo Koike and illustrated by Goseki Kojima
I am so glad that Dark Horse is re-releasing Lone Wolf & Cub in a larger format. The smaller editions are going out of print and, while cool, were difficult for me to read because of their size. Finally, I’ll have the chance to really appreciate and enjoy this extremely influential series!

NonNonBa by Shigeru Mizuki
Another award-winning, semi-autobiographical work by Mizuki, Nonnonba is a wonderful tribute to the woman who inspired his love of yokai. You can read my in-depth review of the manga here.

Ōoku: The Inner Chambers by Fumi Yoshinaga
Yoshinaga does some really fantastic things with history in Ōoku. I love the series even though the English translation is rather awkward. I’ve only reviewed three of the volumes so far (which you can find here or linked to from the Review Index), but expect to see more reviews from me in the future.

Sakuran: Blossoms Wild by Moyoco Anno
I personally think that Sakuran is one of Anno’s strongest works available in English. As I mention in my review, it’s one of the most realistic and honest portrayals of sex work in the Edo period that I’ve come across. And Anno’s color work is phenomenal.

Thank you to everyone who shared their favorites with me!

Filed Under: Giveaways, Lists Tagged: , ,
27 March 2013 6 Comments

Manga Giveaway: Historical Manga Giveaway (Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths)

March has been a rough month for me at work and elsewhere, so I’ll be a little relieved once it’s finally over. But what’s really great about March nearing its end? The time has come for the monthly manga giveaway here at Experiments in Manga! To coincide with March’s Manga Moveable Feast, which focuses on historical manga, this month I will be giving away a new copy of Shigeru Mizuki’s semi-autobiographical, award-winning work Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths as published by Drawn and Quarterly. As always, the giveaway is open worldwide!

Because historical manga is such a broad topic, Khursten, the host for this month’s Feast, has come up with three broad categories of historical manga to help participants focus: autobiographies and biographies (which is fairly straightforward), historical retellings and reimaginings (“stories that have some historical basis”), and period pieces (stories that “try to capture the culture and the ‘spirit’ of the period they wish to portray.”) It’s probably not too surprising, but I enjoy reading manga from all of these categories. Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths, although fictionalized, is an example of the first category. As for retellings, I’m particularly fond of Takehiko Inoue’s Vagabond (which itself is based on a historical novel) and Osamu Tezuka’s Message to Adolf. I’ve previously professed a love for “samurai manga” (series like Satsuma Gishiden and so on) which often amount, at least in part, to Edo era period pieces.

So, you may be wondering, how can you win Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths?

1) In the comments below, tell me about your favorite historical manga. If you don’t have a favorite, or have never read historical manga, you can mention that.
2) For a second entry, simply name a historical manga that hasn’t been mentioned yet by me or by someone else.
3) If you’re on Twitter, you can earn a bonus entry by tweeting about the contest. Make sure to include a link to this post and @PhoenixTerran (that’s me).

It’s as easy as that! Each person can earn up to three entries for this giveaway. You have one week to submit your comments. If you have trouble leaving comments (Blogger sometimes has issues), or if you would prefer, you can e-mail me your entries at phoenixterran(at)gmail(dot)com. I will then post the comment in your name. The winner will be randomly selected and announced on April 3, 2013. Good luck to you all!

VERY IMPORTANT: Include some way that I can contact you. This can be an e-mail address, link to your website, Twitter username, or whatever. If I can’t figure out how to get a hold of you and you win, I’ll just draw another name.

Contest winner announced—Manga Giveaway: Historical Manga Winner

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25 March 2013 Leave a Comment

My Week in Manga: March 18-March 24, 2013

My News and Reviews

Last week I posted two reviews. The first was for Jeff Backhaus’ debut novel Hikikomori and the Rental Sister. It’s sort-of-kind-of like an American version of Welcome to the N.H.K., but without the humor. Overall, I found it to be an absorbing read. The second review I posted last week was for Fantagraphics’ release of The Heart of Thomas by Moto Hagio. It’s a historically influential manga, but even today it’s still a fantastic read. I loved it and am thrilled that it’s available in English.

On the topic of important and classic manga, the latest Reverse Thieves’ Speakeasy podcast features Old Fashioned, Classic Manga in English—what’s been previously published, and what they’d love to see released. If you give it a listen, do be prepared for some very fast talking. They also hope to have more manga-centric episodes in the future.

Elsewhere online: Jason Thompson posted A Quick and Dirty History of Manga in the US as part of his House of 1000 Manga column. Michael Gombos, the director of Asian licensing at Dark Horse takes a look at Blade of the Immortal at the Dark Horse blog. And over at Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai, Zack Davisson talks a bit about Mizuki Shigeru’s Showa 1926-1939: A History of Japan which he is translating for Drawn & Quarterly.

Speaking of historical manga, this week is the History Manga Moveable Feast, hosted by Khursten at Otaku Champloo! Khursten has a post to get things started. As part of my contribution to the Feast, all of the quick takes below feature historical manga of some sort or another. Later this week I’ll also be posting a review of the third omnibus of Vagabond, by Takehiko Inoue. This month’s manga giveaway will most likely feature historical manga as well.

Quick Takes

The Legend of Kamui, Issues 14-37 by Sanpei Shirato. In 1987 and 1988, Viz and Eclipse published thirty-seven issues of an edited version of Shirato’s Kamui Gaiden. The first thirteen issues were subsequently released in two trade volumes. The remaining issues, making up the “The Sword Wind” story arc, were never collected. I’m very glad that I was able to track them down. Shirato’s artwork in The Legend of Kamui is marvelous with dynamic fight sequences and beautiful landscapes. Because of how the series was edited, occasionally the story can be a bit disorienting as it jumps around. Kamui almost becomes a side character in his own series during “The Sword Wind” as much of the story follows Utsuse, one of his pursuers.

Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths by Shigeru Mizuki. Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths was the first manga by Mizuki to be released in English, earning an Eisner award in the process. The story, about a Japanese infantry unit during World War II, is semi-autobiographical in nature. The manga actually starts out rather lighthearted and humorous, but things get very real, very fast. In the end there really isn’t anything funny about the devastating consequences of war. The artwork reflects this as well. Mizuki often uses cartoonish illustrations, but when he really wants to drive a point home he can easily slip into a more realistic style. The shifts in tone and style are extremely effective in conveying Mizuki’s anti-war message.

Rurouni Kenshin, Omnibus 9 (equivalent to volumes 25-28) by Nobuhiro Watsuki. After a brief detour following Sanosuke, the ninth and final omnibus volume in Rurouni Kenshin provides a very satisfying conclusion and epilogue to the series. The omnibus begins when the characters are at their lowest, making their final rally even more compelling. Kenshin and his allies come together one last time like never before. Every fighter (except, unfortunately, for the women), gets the opportunity to show off his stuff during his own final boss battle. Watsuki mentions at one point that Enishi is the complete opposite of Shishio, the previous arc’s antagonist. Personally, I much preferred Enishi and this final arc. 

Wild Rock by Kazusa Takashima. Wild Rock was actually one of the first boys’ love manga that I ever read and I’m still rather fond of it. The story, while surprisingly sweet, is a fairly simplistic variation on the theme of star-crossed lovers from feuding families; what really sets Wild Rock apart is its prehistoric setting. Granted, it’s a very clean, pretty, and pleasant version of prehistory. But, hey, attractive guys in loincloths! The first story focuses on Yuuen and Emba. Their respective tribes are fighting over hunting ground, but the two young men end up falling in love after Emba saves Yuuen’s life. The second story is actually a flashback featuring their fathers as young men. Wild Rock may not be a particularly believable or deep manga, but it has nice art and I do enjoy it.

Filed Under: My Week in Manga Tagged: , , , , , , ,
11 July 2012 Leave a Comment

NonNonBa

Creator: Shigeru Mizuki
U.S. publisher: Drawn & Quarterly
ISBN: 9781770460720
Released: April 2012
Original release: 1992
Awards: Angoulême Prize

I was very happy when Drawn & Quarterly announced that Shigeru Mizuki’s manga NonNonBa would be released in English in 2012. Mizuki is most well known for his yokai-filled manga series GeGeGe no Kitarō and as being a specialist in yokai. NonNonBa is a semi-autobiographical work capturing Mizuki’s childhood in 1930s Japan and a grandmother figure, NonNonBa, who first inspired his love of yokai. My personal interest in yokai naturally extends into an interest in Shigeru Mizuki and his work. Mizuki first wrote the story of NonNonBa in 1977 before adapting it as a manga in 1992. In 2007, the French edition of NonNonBa surprised many people by becoming the first manga to ever win the Angoulême Prize for Best Album. Drawn & Quarterly’s English edition of NonNonBa also includes an edited version of Kimie Imura’s 1977 essay “A Japanese Yokai Expert In Search of British Fairies” which provides even more insight into the life of Shigeru Mizuki. I was looking forward to reading NonNonBa a great deal.

Growing up in rural Sakaiminato, Shigeru is befriended by an older woman in the community who everyone affectionately calls “NonNonBa.” Shigeru loves listening to her stories about ghosts, spirits, and yokai. To NonNonBa, a highly spiritual person, they are more than just superstitions but are a fact of life. As she tells Shigeru, “It’s a mistake to think that just because you can’t see them they’re not there.” The stories give Shigeru’s already active imagination a creative outlet and he is inspired to draw and write his own tales of yokai and adventure. That is, when his young mind isn’t preoccupied by other things, such as the gangs of neighborhood boys battling over their territory and fighting for their honor. His family has its own problems, too, with his father flitting from job to job and Shigeru and his brothers constantly finding ways to get into trouble. In the end though, it’s all part of growing up.

Mizuki has expertly layered the supernatural into the everyday lives of his characters. While some, like Shigeru, deliberately seek out yokai, others do anything they can to avoid them. Some people believe in yokai, some people want to believe in yokai, and some people believe yokai are only a bunch of stories and superstitions. Many don’t even realize when they are interacting with yokai. For NonNonBa, the yokai are very real. In fact, one of my favorite moments in the entire volume is when she stares down a “slippery lad,” cowing it into going back home to where it came from. (I love and adore NonNonBa as much as Shigeru loves her; she is simply marvelous.) The yokai and their stories serve several purposes in real life and in NonNonBa. They give children a good reason to behave themselves and lead moral, upstanding lives. They are the basis for tests of courage. They instill a sense of wonder, respect, and even a little fear of the natural world. But perhaps most importantly in NonNonBa, they serve as a source of comfort.

NonNonBa comes across as a very nostalgic work, as if Mizuki is sitting next to the reader saying, “Remember that one time?” He also has a delightful sense of humor. There is no singular driving plot line in NonNonBa. Instead, the manga is a collection of closely related childhood memories and reflections. In many ways the narrative is unfocused, jumping from one aspect of Shigeru’s life to another only to throw them all together in seemingly haphazard ways. It’s not unlike little kids who get so excited about telling stories that they barely finish one before staring in on another as their attention zigzags. However, no matter how ordinary or extraordinary the events being told are, they’re all important to Shigeru and his personal growth. NonNonBa is filled with life lessons; Mizuki’s remembrances are meaningful to him, but they have the potential to be meaningful to the reader as well. But most of all, the manga is a beautiful and heartfelt tribute to the wonderful woman he knew as NonNonBa.

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