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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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22 July 2011 Leave a Comment

Goth

Author: Otsuichi
Translator: Andrew Cunningham
U.S. publisher: Tokyopop
ISBN: 9781427811370
Released: October 2008
Original release: 2002
Awards: Honkaku Mystery Grand Prize

So far, Otsuichi, who is best known for his horror short stories, has had four of his major works translated into English. Although currently out of print, Goth was the second of his books to be made available. First published in Japan in 2002, Goth has been adapted into a manga and a live action film. Somewhat unexpectedly since it is a light novel and light novels generally aren’t taken very seriously, Goth won the 2003 Honkaku Mystery Grand Prize for Best Novel. I actually first read Kendi Oiwa’s manga adaptation of Goth but I liked it so well that I went to the effort to track down a copy of the source material to read. Andrew Cunningham’s translation of the novel was published by Tokyopop in 2008 as part of their largely, and unfortunately, unsuccessful fiction line. Tokyopop also published Otsuichi’s Calling You while Haikasoru has released Zoo and Summer, Fireworks, and My Corpse.

Although attractive, most of Morino’s high school classmates find her to be rather odd and avoid her. She mostly keeps to herself with one exception—another classmate that shares her fascination with death. The difference is that his interest isn’t limited to curiosity, he would actually like to act on his desires to kill someone. He hides it well though and no one really suspects him except for maybe Morino. To him, she is less of a friend and more of an obsession. Together they closely watch the news for information on murders, kidnappings, and other tragedies. Even more exciting is when these events happen close by or even in their own neighborhood. Occasionally, they even do some investigating on their own, not because they want justice but merely because they want to know what happened and feel an affinity with those involved.

Although Goth is generally referred to as a novel, the six individual chapters largely stand on their own and could be read separately. Granted, they do make small reference to one another and the final chapter would lose much of its effectiveness if it wasn’t read last. What ties the stories together is Morino, her classmate, and their dark obsessions. They are somewhat difficult to call the protagonists, though. Often the two barely make an appearance and are mostly side characters to the main action. But, they are still very important and crucial to the stories. Each chapter is mostly told from a changing first person perspective, adding to the tension since it is frequently difficult to determine just who it is that is telling the story until close to its finish. The reader can only sit back and watch with morbid fascination and anticipation for all to be revealed since nothing can be done to change the course of the unfolding events.

Because I had previously read the manga adaptation of Goth, I was already aware of some of the major twists in the story. But even though I was vaguely aware of what would happen, Goth was still a very dark and disconcerting novel. Since it is told directly from the perspective of the characters, the reader is privy to exactly what is going through their heads. And seeing as many of them are serial killers, that is a very creepy place to be. Particularly disturbing is Morino’s classmate, unnamed until close to the end of the book, who keeps getting mixed up in these incidents and who harbors his own aberrant behaviors and tendencies. While he hasn’t done anything seriously wrong yet at the beginning of Goth, he becomes less and less of an observer as the novel progresses. The tension continues to build as we wait for him to finally lose it. Goth may be disturbing, but it is also very good. I certainly want to read more of Otsuichi’s works now.

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24 June 2011 2 Comments

Wild Adapter, Volume 1

Creator: Kazuya Minekura
U.S. publisher: Tokyopop
ISBN: 9781598169782
Released: February 2007
Original release: 2001

I initially came across Kazuya Minekura’s manga series Wild Adapter while looking for manga with references to mahjong. Later on I learned that the series has some pretty heavy shōnen-ai overtones to it as well, which I was just fine with. So I picked up Wild Adapter, read it, and fell in love with the series. That was also when I belatedly realized that Minekura was also the creator of the popular Saiyuki and Saiyuki Reload manga. I was pretty happy when the Wild Adapter series was selected for the June 2011 Manga Moveable Feast. Wild Adapter is currently six volumes long, all of which have been published in English by Tokyopop, plus a few chapters that have been serialized in Japan for the seventh book. However, due to Minekura’s rather serious health concerns, Wild Adapter and many of her other ongoing series are currently on hiatus. The first volume of Wild Adapter was released in Japan in 2001 while the English edition was published in 2007.

Seventeen-year-old Makoto Kubota is a highly skilled mahjong player and a natural leader, catching the eye of the Izumo syndicate who recruit him to head their youths. The Tojou organization, a rival yakuza group, encroach even more than they have been on Izumo’s territory, trying to take advantage of the newcomer’s inexperience. But Kubota proves to be a dangerous and deadly adversary. When a mysterious new drug known as W.A. hits the streets, both the Izumo and Tojou groups are interested in gaining control of it and its distribution. The police, too, are investigating since a string of bizarre corpses seems to be connected to the drug. For Kubota, the search for W.A. and for more information about it becomes a personal vendetta when he is forced to confront the risks involved head on.

There are several interesting things about Minekura’s artwork in Wild Adapter. Although occasionally seen, very little tone and shading is used, instead black and white starkly contrast with each other. The pages themselves are also black instead of the usual white. This aesthetic decision lends itself to the darker aspects of the story and also emphasises the loneliness and disconnectedness of the characters as the panels are visually separated as well. Minekura is not afraid of silence, either. The technique is used to capture the passage of time but also helps to focus the reader on important dialogue and distinct moments in the individual panels. Minekura’s balance and pacing between dialogue and artwork is excellent. Her character designs, while similar to those in some of her other series, are easily distinguished from one another in Wild Adapter. Close attention is paid to accurate body structures. Although realistic, occasionally the figure work can be vaguely disconcerting.

The first volume of Wild Adapter serves as a prologue to the series as a whole. Tokito, one of the main characters, only makes a brief appearance. Instead, the first volume focuses on and introduces Kubota, the other protagonist, primarily as seen through the eyes of his second-in-command in the Izumo Youths, Komiya. Komiya doesn’t even like Kubota to begin with and is reluctant to serve under a rookie outsider but he comes to admire and even fear Kubota, developing a tremendous sense of devotion. This intimate camaraderie is extremely important to Kubota who keeps everyone at a distance. Even though the first volume of Wild Adapter focuses on Kubota, he still remains much of an enigma. Extraordinarily difficult to read, he is a mess of contradictions; at times he is almost innocent, sweet, and kind but in a moment he can become cruel, brutal, and vicious. As one character describes him, “He’s an odd boy, but an absolute pleasure.” Love him or hate him, Kubota’s intensity and charisma are critical to Wild Adapter.

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10 June 2011 3 Comments

The Twelve Kingdoms, Volume 1: Sea of Shadow

Author: Fuyumi Ono
Illustrator: Akihiro Yamada
Translator: Alexander O. Smith and Elye J. Alexander
U.S. Publisher: Tokyopop
ISBN: 9781427802576
Released: February 2008
Original release: 1992

I don’t remember exactly where I first heard about Fuyumi Ono’s fantasy light novel series The Twelve Kingdoms, illustrated by Akihiro Yamada, but over time I’ve gained the impression that the books are quite good. And so when I came across the first volume Sea of Shadow, which is long out of print and somewhat hard to find, at a used book store I nabbed it. The English translation was executed by Alexander O. Smith and Elye J. Alexander. Tokyopop first published Sea of Shadow in hardcover in 2007 before releasing a paperback edition in 2008. The first volume of the English edition of The Twelve Kingdoms actually collects the first two volumes of the series as released in Japan, published in June and July of 1992. The full title of the two part novel translates into English as Shadow of the Moon, Sea of Shadow. The Twelve Kingdoms ran for eleven volumes in Japan. The first seven books were released by Tokyopop collected as four volumes in the English edition.

Yoko Nakajima is a fairly normal high school student who wants to be liked and accepted by her peers. She tries to appease everyone and acts as the perfect good girl, good student, and good daughter. But when a strange man comes looking for her at school and she is whisked away to another world she can lo longer be any of those things. Soon separated from the man who swore his protection and allegiance to her, Yoko finds herself alone with no idea where she is or what is going on. Pursued nightly by demons, she is painfully aware that her very life is in danger if she doesn’t figure out something soon. All she wants to do is go home, but with no one to help her she must learn to depend on herself.

While I enjoyed the first part of Sea of Shadow, it wasn’t until I was about halfway through the book that I knew for certain that I wanted to read the rest of The Twelve Kingdoms. It is at that point that Yoko has sunk to her lowest as a person. She is aware of the changes in herself, but she can no longer bring herself to care after being repeatedly betrayed. Yoko’s character development in Sea of Shadow is by far the most complete. She significantly matures over the course of the book and for very good reasons. It is chilling and almost scary to see how she adapts to her circumstances even if it is understandable considering how she must struggle to survive on her own. Her experiences are harsh and emotionally, spiritually, mentally, and physically draining. It is no surprise that Yoko is a very different person at the end of Sea of Shadow than she is at the beginning. Ono captures her development magnificently.

Ono’s world building in Sea of Shadow, heavily influenced by Chinese mythology, is solid. Occasionally the narrative falls prey to infodumping, mostly because the reader is limited to what Yoko knows about her environment. If she hasn’t learned something yet, the reader is also left in the dark. But as the novel progresses and Yoko finds people she believes she can trust, more and more about the world in which she is now living is revealed and explained. And it is absolutely fascinating. The political structure is particularly interesting and the system of checks and balances establishes very real and often dire consequences for rulers and for their kingdoms. Even with divine aid, people will continue to be people with all of their faults and thirst for power intact; nothing is perfect. I definitely want to learn more about the world Ono has created in The Twelve Kingdoms and look forward to continuing the series with Sea of Wind.

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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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