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Making the case for Banana Fish

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One of the series I’m always trying to draw friends into is Akimi Yoshida’s classic shojo manga, Banana Fish. I first discovered this series, embarrassingly, through wikipedia, as I was trying to find shojo manga that I could really enjoy. It was this entry that piqued my interested in the series, citing a quote from Frederik L. Schodt, which described Banana Fish as “…one of the few girls’ manga a red-blooded Japanese male adult could admit to reading without blushing.” Right around the same time, mention of Banana Fish began turning up in interviews with Jason Thompson, just before the publication of his book, Manga: The Complete Guide, and though I don’t remember exactly what he said about it back then, it had the effect of spurring my interest into action, and before I knew it, I began buying the series.

I’m certainly not the only person who has tried to generate interest in Banana Fish. Shaenon Garrity made it part of her awesome Overlooked Manga Festival (one of my very favorites of that series so far), and to my mind, no further persuasion should be needed. Still, I find Banana Fish is a tough sell with friends. There’s no way to effectively preview the series, as it is difficult to find in libraries or brick and mortar bookstores. There are not even fan scanlations available to view. Anyone who wants to jump into this series pretty much has to commit to buying at least one book they may not end up liking, and I’ve found just a few who are willing to risk that. I’m going to try here to build on the case that Shaenon Garrity has already made for this series, with hope that even just one more person might choose to take that risk.

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Travel & manga: Two great tastes that taste great together

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This post is a bit of a mish-mash, which probably reflects the state of my brain after the long weekend. At the moment, I’m thinking a lot about travel. This coming weekend, I’ll be heading to Charlotte, NC to attend the Southeastern Theater Conference auditions on behalf of the children’s theater company I work for. We have quite a few actors to cast for tours starting in January, very serious business, and yet my mind is currently focused on two things:

1) What manga should I bring on the plane?
2) Where does one buy manga in Charlotte, NC?

If you know the answers to these burning questions, please do let me know. Also, I’ve finally purchased my ticket for the New York Anime Festival, so there will be quite a bit of travel for me this month. Thankfully, that is a much easier trip, which also allows me to see old friends in the city, and I certainly won’t have any trouble figuring out where to buy manga. ;)

Speaking of manga, as I’ve mentioned somewhere around here, I’ve been subsisting lately off of what can be found on my local comic shop’s used shelf. They rarely happen to have whatever volume I need next of the many series I’m collecting, so I’ve been reading the first volume in a lot of series. A couple of the series I’ve started recently because of this are Million Tears (which is only two volumes, total) and Zig Zag, both of which I’ll talk about a bit here.

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Interior Desecrations by James Lileks: B+

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From the back cover:
Warning! This book is not to be used in any way, shape, or form as a design manual. Rather, like the documentary about youth crime Scared Straight, it is meant as a caution of sorts, a warning against any lingering nostalgia we may have for the 1970s, a breathtakingly ugly period when even the rats parted their hair down the middle.

What does this have to do with furniture? Nothing. Everything. The kind of interior design you’ll see in these pages is what happens when an entire culture becomes so besotted with the New, the Hip, the With-It Styles that they cannot object to orange wallpaper—because they fear they’ll look square.

Please not that the author and publisher are not responsible for the results of viewing these pictures.

Review:
Lileks is the brains behind The Gallery of Regrettable Food and his site, The Institute of Official Cheer, hosts several other regular features that “humiliate the defenseless past.” I don’t always find his stuff funny, but sometimes it does amuse me, so when I found this book for $1.98, I knew it had to be mine.

The contents of the book are organized by type of room and follow the general format of a full-page color photo on one side and a few paragraphs of snark on the opposite page. It’s an easy read, and would probably be ideal bathroom material for those who like that sort of thing. As usual, I didn’t find everything funny. There were lots of drug references and some occasional crude humor that didn’t appeal to me. Every now and then, though, some particular turn of phrase or visual fancy would strike me in the right way and crack me up.

The designs were indeed genuinely horrible—inducing numerous headshakes, “wows,” and “holy craps”—and Lileks has a knack for picking out something one missed on first glance and finding something amusing to say about it. Probably the most insane room in the entire collection is the bathroom straight out of 2001: A Space Odyssey. It has silver lamé bolster pillows and two toilets.

There was one, though, that I quite liked. The furnishings were crap, but the architecture of the room was really neat. It was high-ceilinged and had an entertainment unit along a wall (boasting a state-of-the-art reel-to-reel player!) and then a ladder built into the adjoining wall that one could climb to access a library loft above. How cool is that?! I want one! Then again, I actually like the wall o’ walnut paneling in my living room, so perhaps my taste is suspect, too.

Love*Com 8 by Aya Nakahara: B+

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Risa and Ôtani are finally going out, but she’s uncertain about how she’s supposed to act around him now. She’s got this preconceived notion of what a girlfriend should be, and internally beats herself up each time she fails to live up to that ideal. It helps some when Ôtani sets aside his natural reticence and introduces her to people as his girlfriend, but he still hasn’t articulated exactly why he loves her, and she’s having a hard time imagining what he could see in her.

Later, Ôtani’s neighbor, Mimi, finds out he’s got a new girlfriend and is furious. The beautiful and tall middle schooler has harbored a crush on him for years, but abandoned hope because she thought he only liked tiny girls. A lot of Mimi angst follows, and while it’s creditable that Risa sympathizes with her plight, the way this new character suddenly dominates the story is rather irksome.

Eventually, though, I realized that her purpose is to solidify the main couple’s relationship. We see that she really poses no threat to them at all, that Ôtani’s feelings never waver, and that he and Risa really are made for each other, rough edges and all. Having fulfilled this destiny, may she now go quietly away.

While this particular volume didn’t focus on the leads quite as much as I would’ve liked, it still excels at depicting the insecurities and awkwardness of this period in a relationship. That’s no surprise, since Love*Com has nailed many other aspects of first love. I’m sure it will continue to do so in the volumes to come.

Review copy provided by the publisher. Review originally published at Manga Recon.

7SEEDS 5 (Japanese) by Yumi Tamura: B+

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Book description:
With the rest of Team Summer B settled nearby the shelter at Mt. Yufudake in Kyushu, Arashi and Natsu decide to journey to Kanto to see what has become of their homes and families. Joined by Semimaru, they soon encounter Team Autumn, who were released three years ago and who have built a secure village. The only problem is that a tyrannical couple treats the others like slave labor, and the team’s guide is too weak to put a stop to it. Is this the kind of desperation Team Summer B will eventually experience?

Review:
It becomes apparent in this volume that we’re not only bouncing around in time a little, but that the various teams were released at different times, as well. The story of Team Winter recounted in the last volume actually took place fifteen years ago, while Team Autumn has been working to survive for three years. Also, in the last volume Hana found a note in a stockpile that was actually left by Natsu in this volume, if that makes sense.

Anyway, there’s a lot of traveling going on in this volume. Although I was looking forward to the teams meeting up, it kind of amuses me that Arashi, Natsu, and Semimaru suddenly seem to run into every team but Hana’s on this outing. Like, in the whole of an empty and desolate Japan, they just happen to walk in the direction where Team Autumn has built their village. I suppose having common clues for where to look for the stockpiles helps a little, but still.

Team Autumn is pretty horrible, and the Summer B folk are scarred by the experience, so when they meet gentle and kind Taka from Team Winter, they end up suspecting him and slipping away in the night. Just a few days later, he runs into Hana from Team Spring, and she (who has met no one else yet) accepts him. It’s very sweet. It also shows just how close Arashi and Hana are to each other without knowing it.

Alas, not much more than this really happens in the volume. Walking, angsting, big dangerous animals, reckless puppies. That about sums it up.

7SEEDS 4 (Japanese) by Yumi Tamura: A-

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Book description:
It’s been confirmed that the desolate land is indeed Japan, though the teams still don’t know what happened or what year it is. Team Spring—having lost their guide, Yanagi—travels to Mt. Fuji to look for another of the stockpiles, only to find that the volcano has erupted and is no longer there. Just as their hope is flagging, Hana notices some manmade signs directing them to another mountain to the east. The members of Team Winter face their own hardships from the start—between equipment failures, man-eating tigers, and Hokkaido’s bitter cold, some of them will not survive.

Review:
The majority of the chapters in this volume featured Team Winter. I’m a little torn about the introduction of other teams into the story. On the one hand I want to see them and what they’re doing, and on the other, there are already tons of characters as it is. Right from the start, Team Winter’s story is a bit more grim than the others, however, as a few of their number do not survive the thawing process, and I got into it more than I thought I would.

More shocks and twists in the story follow, and since I’m not the kind to go around suspecting such things, I really enjoyed the various surprises. The main protagonist of this group is Taka, who believed himself to be weak until inspired by the example of boisterous Fubuki, another member of the group. It was good to see how Taka had progressed by the end of the story, though the appearance of a couple of precious puppies at a crucial point was a bit silly (but sniff-inducing nonetheless).

So, as it stands, each of the teams has now located a stockpile of goods and is camped out nearby. Arashi and Natsu have passed through where Hana’s team is and left a note, though Hana, of course, still has no idea that Arashi is alive. I’m eager for the teams to meet up, especially since I have no idea what to expect from the story after that happens. I have faith that it’ll be something really cool.

How I got into comics, or why there is hope for Bob Thompson

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Yesterday, Brigid Alverson linked to an article by Bob Thompson at the Washington Post, in which he discussed the recent popularity of graphic novels, and his experiences sampling them as a steadfast “prose guy.” I link to Brigid’s post here, because her reaction to the article was much like mine (and a million other manga fans across the internet, including John Jakala, whose post on the subject she also linked to, and who spoke about it in thoughtful detail), which was something like politely irritated disbelief at the fact that he seemed to pass hasty judgement on manga as a whole based on one volume of Naruto and seemingly little else. This is especially interesting, given that he does recognize late in the article that, “in the world of Japanese comics, you can do anything you want.”

Nobody needs me to reiterate the article, and pretty much everything that could be said about it already has been, and by people much more eloquent and knowledgeable than I. If I have anything to offer here, it is my own story of learning to love manga, because really, if I could fall in love with it, anyone could, even Bob Thompson.

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Love*Com 7 by Aya Nakahara: A

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From the back cover:
Risa is sick of having her emotions yanked back and forth by her feelings for Ôtani, so she decides once and for all to just be friends. But when she tells Ôtani that she’s getting over him, he freaks out and tells her not to! Has the comedy duo turned into a couple?

Review:
It’s a special book that can make me grin like a great big doofus at least twice and get all teary-eyed by the final scene. That’s just how good this series is, and in particular this volume, where things finally, finally go where everyone has been wanting them to go.

It’s a slow build up throughout the volume, with some fantastic scenes along the way. Each chapter brings the two leads closer and closer together, and though I thought the terrific moment between them at her birthday party (see above re: doofus) was the apex of awesomeness, the final chapter surpasses it. Nakahara is excellent at body language in these scenes; I particularly love how Ôtani shyly ducks his head and turns away after giving Risa a little kiss.

Also, I’ve never been a fan of the insults these two have hurled at each other in the past, so I was happy that in this volume, I could really see them trying not to do that anymore. It helped that Ôtani actually said something encouraging to Risa, so she had that to rely on when his subsequent actions might’ve previously sent her into a tizzy.

I love that, now that they’re finally a couple, it doesn’t feel like the series ought to be over. It feels like “where will it go from here?”

Boys Over Flowers 16 by Yoko Kamio: A

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From the back cover:
Tsukasa’s 18th birthday doesn’t go smoothly at all! Tsukushi is introduced to Kaede, Tsukasa’s mother, by way of falling over a table and causing a scene. Kaede tells her to get out, but Tsukasa defends her by declaring that she is precious to him. Thus begins a three-sided war between the three most headstrong people you’ve ever seen! Tsukushi and Tsukasa get away for a while and spend some time on Tsukasa’s boat, but they can’t hide from Kaede forever…

Review:
A lot of awesome stuff happens in this volume!

Firstly, Kaede is such a great antagonist. Not only does she create strife for the two leads, she also sets off the sorrow in the lives of the other rich characters around. In the previous volume, Soujirou talked about how he cannot choose his own spouse, and now it seems that Tsubaki might have a lost love of her own. I hope that gets explored in future volumes.

Secondly, so many of the supporting cast get awesome things to do. Tsubaki has now completely redeemed herself for her bizarre actions of the past and is acting as Tsukasa’s champion of sorts, helping him get away from the party and then expressing concern at what their mother has planned for him. Tsukushi’s mom is also (very briefly) cool, showing for an instant a strong resemblance to her daughter.

Lastly, I loved the scenes with Tsukushi and Tsukasa on the boat, especially the part where they’re fishing and discussing their families. She also finally gives him the homemade cookies she made as a birthday gift; the awesome thing is that he’s still proudly showing them off two chapters later.

Kaede’s plot involves accelerating plans for Tsukasa’s arranged marriage with Shigeru, a tomboyish girl who is the first serious rival for Tsukasa’s affections that Tsukushi has faced. She’s likable and also seems to be amenable to the arrangement, not letting Tsukasa off the hook so easily.

All in all, a very solid volume through and through. Alas, I’m now caught up with my original reading plan (two per month, finishing just as the final volume comes out next June) so here’s where I’ll be pausing until next month. It’s soooo tempting to just keep plowing on, as this series is seriously addictive, but I expect I’ll regret it afterwards during the long wait between volumes.

Boys Over Flowers 15 by Yoko Kamio: B+

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From the back cover:
Junpei has promised to protect Tsukushi and always be there for her. His promise comes just in time, since Tsukushi has been given another of the infamous “red slips,” the mark of someone targeted for abuse. Meanwhile, Akira and Soujirou are desperately looking for Tsukasa, who has been gone for days. It turns out that Junpei harbors a terrible grudge against Tsukasa and is using Tsukushi as bait to get him! This has shockingly violent results. Later, Tsukushi gets dressed up and attends Tsukasa’s birthday party. Little does she realize the implications that attendance has!

Review:
Um, thanks for ruining any surprise anyone might’ve had regarding Junpei’s intentions, back cover blurb!

Anyways, the most important thing to come out of Junpei and his grudge is that Tsukasa submits to a beating from several guys he could’ve handily defeated because to fight back would’ve put Tsukushi in jeopardy. I love that when he arrives, she tearfully cries, “Why did you come?!” and he advises her to keep her eyes shut so she won’t have to witness the beating.

There follows a chapter that must’ve been a lot of fun to read in its serialized form. Tsukushi has a dream that Tsukasa has died from his injuries, and the next few pages seem to support this notion, with the F4 pretending to grieve, et cetera. She’s furious at the jest, of course, but it leads into another sweet scene between the two leads. Then the other members of the F4 try to convince Tsukushi again to give him a chance as a boyfriend, but she blurts out something derogatory and flees.

The effort to flesh out Akira and Soujirou continues, as well. When Tsukushi is invited to Tsukasa’s birthday party and is freaking out about possibly being introduced to his scary mother as his fiancée, Soujirou points out that sons of rich families are never allowed to marry a girl of their own choosing, so she should just relax because there’s no chance she’d ever be able to marry Tsukasa anyway. I thought that was a neat, kind of subtle way to place a new obstacle in the path of their relationship. And then, of course, Tsukasa’s mom becomes the physical embodiment of said obstacle.

These middle volumes are showing quite a consistent level of quality. Gone are the things like basketball showdowns and I hope they never return. We’re also heading into what was the final arc of the anime, so soon I’ll be into material that I’m completely unspoiled on.

My final thought comes in the form of a favorite quote. Tsukasa has, once again, gotten himself fired up over something at the drop of a hat, and one of the other F4 (possibly Akira) quips, “I wish my water heater worked like him.” Hee. So do I.