My News and Reviews
There’s not much news from me this week, not that there ever really is, but I did announce the winner of the Omnivorous Old Boy manga giveaway. Not very many people entered this time ’round, which makes me sad, but there were some good entries. The other post from last week was my review of Royall Tyler’s translation of Murasaki Shikibu’s The Tale of Genji. Reading The Tale of Genji has been a goal of mine for a while now and I am very proud of myself for completing it. It is a project, but I’d encourage others to give The Tale of Genji a try. However, while I was very happy with Tyler’s translation, it might not be the right one for you. I found a fantastic post at Kitsune’s Thoughts that is very helpful in deciding on a translation to pursue: How to Choose English Translation of The Tale of Genji.
As for other great things online, The Manga Critic posted about The 2011 Eisner Nominees for Manga and Manhwa. I read and enjoyed Usagi Yojimbo: The Special Edition by Stan Sakai, so a recently completed four-part interview with him at The Daily Cross Hatch caught my eye: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4.
Also, coming up later this month is the Manga Moveable Feast for April 2011. Instead of focusing on a specific series, this time we’ll be focusing on a specific creator—Rumiko Takahashi. Rob McMonigal of Panel Patter will be hosting the Feast and has put out the First Call for Call for the Rumiko Takahashi Manga Moveable Feast! Also of note is Rob’s year long Takahashi spotlight: A Year of Rumiko Takahashi.
Quick Takes
The Tyrant Falls in Love, Volumes 1-2 by Hinako Takanaga. The Tyrant Falls in Love is a spin-off/continuation of Takanaga’s debut series Challengers. It is however, much more explicit than the first series. The tone, too, is much more serious, although some of the humor from the original series remains. The Tyrant Falls in Love follows two side characters from Challengers but happily Tomoe and Kurokawa have a brief guest appearance, too. Tatsumi is still an incredibly violent homophobe and Morinaga reveals just how much of a manipulative bastard he can be (sad, but true.) Morinaga’s character is further developed in volume two when we get to learn a bit more about his family and past.
Utahime: The Songstress by Aki. I don’t remember where I first heard about Utahime, but this one-shot manga was a very pleasant surprise. I wasn’t blown away by it by any means, but it is a solid fantasy that I thoroughly enjoyed. I also liked the artwork and character designs. Their personalities and interactions were also very well done. Kain’s very existence as an unheard of male songstress calls into question the validity of his country’s policies regarding the treatment of songstresses. Finally, the assumptions and traditions begin to be challenged. In addition to the main story, there is unrelated short included in the volume called “Darika” that I also quite enjoyed.
Vassalord, Volume 4 by Nanae Chrono. So, Vassalord still doesn’t make a lot of sense, although it looks like a semi-coherent plot-line might actually be developing out of the bizarrely addicting mess. A few story elements are starting to pull together, but it really feels like Chono is just making things up as she goes. Though, I guess that’s probably not too surprising for a series that was based on a pinup illustration. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, her artwork and characters make for great eye candy with some pretty heavy boys’ love and yuri-ish overtones. So, yeah, I’ll probably keep reading it if Tokyopop keeps publishing it in English. The relationships between characters are certainly fascinating.
Wish, Volumes 1-4 by CLAMP. Wish is a delightful, lesser known short series from the immensely popular creative team CLAMP. I know quite a few people who absolutely hate the translation decisions made for this series, particularly the choice of pronouns (the demons and angels are technically genderless.) I didn’t find the translation to be too bad, but the lettering is absolutely terrible. It unfortunately distracts from what is otherwise a very nice series with a lovely story, endearing characters, and great art. CLAMP throws in some interesting red herrings but when the truth is finally revealed it all makes sense. I kind of hope Dark Horse picks up this series for one their fabulous CLAMP omnibus treatments.
Chi’s Sweet Home: Chi’s New Address, Episodes 53-104 directed by Mitsuyuki Masuhara. I love the Chi’s Sweet Home manga series so it’s probably not surprising that I really enjoy the anime adaptation, too. They are both so freakin’ adorable. Although the animation is fairly simple, sticking close to the charming artwork of the original, they don’t forget to include wonderful details like the flicking of Chi’s ears. Also, the anime’s theme song is marvelously catching; I’m willing to watch the opening for every episode, and it makes me giggle every single time. Each episode is only about three minutes long (including the opening), but the bite-sized installments seem somehow appropriate for the pint-sized Chi.
Spice & Wolf: Season One directed by Takeo Takahashi. The first season of the Spice & Wolf anime covers the first two volumes of the light novel series. The anime stays true to the heart of the original but also includes some nice changes, interpretations, and twists of its own. Overall, I wasn’t particularly taken with the primary animation and character designs although I really liked the backgrounds and landscapes. I did find the economic theories and strategies easier to follow in the anime than I did in the books, but that may have been because I already knew what was going on. The near constant bantering and teasing between Holo and Lawrence is still there; I really adore those two together.