My Week in Manga: August 17-August 23, 2015

My News and Reviews

Last week Experiments in Manga reached its fifth anniversary, so I wrote a somewhat lengthy post about what I’ve been up to online and offline over the last year. Thank you again to everyone who has shown support and encouragement for Experiments in Manga over the years. Apparently, people actually want to see another five years, so I guess I better get to work on that. With that in mind, have two more in-depth reviews! Last week I took a look at Rikao Yanagita’s surprisingly entertaining The Science of Attack on Titan, one of the two non-manga books that Kodansha Comics has released so far. (The other one was related to Attack on Titan, as well.) I also reviewed Baku Yumemakura and Jiro Taniguchi’s The Summit of the Gods, Volume 5, which is the final volume in one of my favorite series. The writing and artwork in The Summit of the Gods is superb; I’m so glad that the entire manga is now available in English.

A few other things caught my eye online last week. Mangabrog has translated an article from 2013 that provides a tour through Inio Asano’s workspace. More information has been revealed about Kodansha’s digital efforts and the publisher is aiming high: digital editions of two thousand volumes translated into English by the end of 2017. Occasionally manga makes its way to NPR (which I believe is how I actually first learned about and became interested in Death Note). Most recently, one of NPR’s contributors featured a few great romantic manga: Kaoru Mori’s Emma, Ichigo Takano’s Orange, and Ai Yazawa’s Nana. I haven’t had a chance to read Orange yet, but considering the quality of Emma and Nana, I’m now looking forward to Seven Sea’s upcoming print release of the series even more. The game of manga tag continues to make it rounds, this time Narrative Investigations’ Helen tackles the questions.

Quick Takes

Castle Mango, Volume 2Castle Mango, Volume 2 written by Narise Konohara and illustrated by Muku Ogura. While I liked the first volume of Castle Mango, I really enjoyed the second and final volume of the series. Castle Mango is an unusual boys’ love manga; most of it doesn’t have anything to do with romance. The close relationship between Yorozu and Togame begins with a terribly manipulative lie, but it eventually develops into something real for both of them. In the first volume, the two men frequently seemed to have an almost father-son sort of vibe, but by the end of the series I was slightly more convinced by their intimacy as boyfriends. It does take a little while to get there though; they spend a large portion of the second volume apart. Togame is trying to give Yorozu space, feeling that it’s in the younger man’s best interest, but he doesn’t really go about it in the best way. Unfortunately, this is happening at the same time that Yorozu is struggling to take care of his little brother and his family’s business (a love hotel) when his mother is hospitalized. Yorozu is in the process of shedding the last of his immaturity and makes some terrible decisions in the process. In many ways, Castle Mango is more about Yorozu’s growth as a person than anything else.

Give to the Heart, Volume 1Give to the Heart, Volumes 1-4 by Wann. After a long period of silence, about a year ago Netcomics quietly began publishing books in print again. Give to the Heart was the first manhwa to be released after the publisher’s hiatus. I was interested in reading the series because I wanted to support Netcomics, but also because it was created by Wann. (I had previously read and thoroughly enjoyed Wann’s collection of short manhwa 9 Faces of Love.) At first Give to the Heart seemed like it was going to largely be fantasy fiction, but as the series progresses, more and more science fictional elements are introduced. The ongoing story is about Sooyi, a young woman who became the wife of Ganok, the demon king who controls all water, but who is now attempting to escape him. Not only that, she is trying to find a way to kill him as well, or at least cause him as much pain as possible even if that means sacrificing her own life in the process. Though it is implied that Sooyi and Ganok were at one point content and happy as a pair, their current relationship obviously has its problems. Actually, considering the extreme imbalance of power between them—Ganok being a cruel god and Sooyi being a human with a strong will—that’s been true from the very beginning.

My Little Monster, Volume 9My Little Monster, Volume 9 by Robico. So, Haru and Shizuku are now officially a couple, although not much has actually changed in their relationship. But now that that has been settled, the other romantically interested parties are more or less able to move on with their lives. As a result, the plot of My Little Monster is now able to move along as well. This particular volume includes summer vacations and festivals, which is fairly standard for a high school romance, but Haru’s family drama is starting to come to the forefront of the story again. Underneath the humor of My Little Monster there seems to have been something ominous lurking waiting to be revealed. Haru’s brother Yuzan isn’t as terrifying as he once was, but there is definitely something going on between him and Haru and with Haru’s reluctance to interact with the rest of his family. Haru is trying to keep Shizuku from finding out the details, though eventually he’s really going to need to come clean with her and explain his situation. But, while Shizuku is still in the dark, at least readers get to learn a bit more. I continue to enjoy My Little Monster, especially the series’ quirky characters, and I’m happy to see the manga continue to gain some forward momentum.

My Week in Manga: July 21-July 27, 2014

My News and Reviews

It wasn’t entirely intentional, but last week Experiments in Manga ended up being full of Vertical reviews. (And by full, I mean that two reviews were posted.) The first was of Fumi Yoshinaga’s gay slice-of-life and food manga What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Volume 3. With each volume that is released, I fall in love with the series a little more. I also reviewed Yoshikazu Yasuhiko’s Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin, Volume 6: To War which continues to delve into the pasts of the characters and the war between the Earth Federation and the Principality of Zeon. The volume also features Char quite a bit. (I’ll admit, that made me happy.)

Elsewhere online, The Lobster Dance posted the seventh and final part of “Revealing and Concealing Identities: Cross-Dressing in Anime and Manga.” Kathryn Hemmann, the co-author, has a nice roundup and summary of the multi-part essay, and Leah has some final comments of her own as well. San Diego Comic Con was last week, which means the winners of the 2014 Eisner Awards were named (spoilers: Osamu Tezuka and Hayao Miyazaki were honored) and new manga licenses from Drawn & Quarterly, Kodansha Comics, and Udon Entertainment were announced. Also, the list from the Best & Worst Manga panel has been posted, with more commentary on the choices planned to be posted at a later date.

Quick Takes

9 Faces of Love9 Faces of Love by Wann. As can probably be gathered from its title, 9 Faces of Love is a collection of nine short manhwa dealing with themes of love and the meaning of love. 9 Faces of Love is the second volume in Netcomics’ Manhwa Novella Collection series which is meant to feature short works by prominent Korean creators. I hadn’t previously read any of Wann’s works, but I’d definitely be interested in reading more; I really enjoyed 9 Faces of Love. It’s an excellent collection of short manhwa selected from Wann’s work between 1998 and 2005. Most of the stories deal with romantic love, but a few of them also deal with friendship and familial love. I initially picked up the volume for the android story “Automaton,” which happily ended up being quite good. While they deal with similar themes, there is a nice variety to the stories in 9 Faces of Love. Many incorporate science fiction, fantasy, or horror elements while others are more firmly grounded in reality. Some are sweet, some are sad, and some are actually somewhat disconcerting.

All You Need Is KillAll You Need is Kill adapted by Nick Mamatas, illustrated by Lee Ferguson and Fajar Buana. A few years ago I read Hiroshi Sakurazaka’s All You Need Is Kill light novel and greatly enjoyed it. So I was rather curious when Haikasoru announced a graphic novel adaptation, the release conveniently timed to coincide with the Hollywood film adaptation Edge of Tomorrow. (Granted, I was much more interested in Takeshi Obata’s All You Need Is Kill manga which has now also been licensed.) Sadly, I was rather disappointed with the graphic novel. I’m not sure that anyone who hasn’t read the original would be able to follow the comic very easily or make sense of the importance of some of the scenes that were included. For example, I loved the umeboshi eating contest in the novel, but in the comic it’s difficult to realize that that’s what’s going on or why it matters. Romantic elements are introduced at the end more as an afterthought in an effort to neatly tie things together, but it’s a little too late by that point. For the most part the artwork was decent, but the battle suit design left something to be desired. I did like the color palette used, though. My copy of the graphic novel also had a printing error. At least I’m assuming it was an error—one of the signatures was repeated. Though, I suppose that does emphasize the plot’s time loop.

Crimson WindCrimson Wind by Duo Brand. A follow-up to White Guardian, Crimson Wind starts out as a sequel but really ends up being more of a prequel. The majority of the manga explores the backstories of General Sei and Baron Touri and their relationship with each other. Except for his attractive character design, I didn’t like Touri much at all in White Guardian and I like him even less in Crimson Wind. He’s a rapist and possessive, resorting to drugging the object of his desire when coercion and force isn’t enough to get what he wants. It’s not at all romantic even though Sei ends up falling for him. Most of the court intrigue and politics that made White Guardian interesting have been dropped in Crimson Spell; only the dubious love story remains. I would have much rather have seen the tale of how Sei became disillusioned and unhappy with the kingdom he pledged his life to protect. I may not have enjoyed the main story of Crimson Wind, however I really liked the short side story “Never Ever” which concludes the volume and features two completely different character who actually care for and respect each other.

Showa: A History of Japan, 1939-1944Showa: A History of Japan, 1939-1944 by Shigeru Mizuki. With this volume of Showa: A History of Japan the manga begins to cover history that I’m a little more familiar with—the Pacific War. While the factual recounting of the events that led up to the war and the war itself is well told, what makes the series particularly engaging is the incorporation of Mizuki’s own experiences as a student and eventually as a drafted soldier during the time period. The artwork in Showa: A History of Japan easily slips between photorealism and more stylized drawings to very good effect. Mizuki’s illustrations of naval and sea battles are particularly impressive and he uses some very interesting two-page layouts for many of them. He conveys the reality of war but doesn’t glorify it or the numerous deaths, treating the combatants of both sides of the conflict with respect. Mizuki’s Eisner-winning, semi-autobiographical Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths (also available from Drawn & Quarterly), which deals with a similar time period and story, makes an excellent companion to this volume of Showa: A History of Japan.

Terra Formars, Volume 1Terra Formars, Volume 1 written by Yu Sasuga and illustrated by Ken-ichi Tachibana. I have a peculiar love for Mars, and so when a manga has anything to do with the planet, however slight, it immediately catches my attention. I was looking forward to Terra Formars and really liked its basic premise. Efforts to terraform Mars using moss and cockroaches over hundreds of years has largely been successful, but now humans have a bit of a bug problem to deal with seeing as the cockroaches have evolved into a sentient race. Genetic experimentation has also allowed human and insect DNA to be combined, creating humans with bug-inspired superpowers. (Admittedly ridiculous, but kind of cool.) Terra Formars is an extremely violent and action-heavy manga requiring a tremendous amount of suspension of disbelief from it readers. There were parts of the manga that I loved, like the fight sequence paired with biblical verses about locusts. However, I really dislike the design of the cockroaches (inspired by Homo erectus), and not just because they’re unintentionally reminiscent of racist caricatures. They seem more mammalian than insectoid and feel out-of-place art-wise. At this point I’m torn over the series, but I’ll probably give it another volume or two to see what direction it takes.

GinTamaGin Tama, Episodes 50-74 directed by Shinji Takamatsu. It’s been a while since I’ve watched any of the Gin Tama anime, but I do like the series. I was in the mood for some absurd humor and antics, and so ended up binging on the first half of the second season. Like the manga which it more-or-less follows, the anime is mostly episodic. Occasionally there will be a set of episodes that form a larger story arc, but generally once someone is familiar with the characters and recurring jokes it doesn’t much matter in which order the anime is watched. Gin Tama is a series rife with parodies of and references to other pop culture media. (Mostly but not exclusively Japanese pop culture.) I’ve always been highly amused by Gin Tama, but the more manga that I read and the more anime that I watch the more of references I catch and appreciate. My interest in Japanese history has come in handy, too, since there are plenty of nods to historical figures and events in Gin Tama as well. For a comedy series, at times Gin Tama can also be surprisingly touching.