When, just a few weeks ago, I brought to Twitter a need for a new feature for my then-empty Fridays, four great ideas were offered up, which I’ve begun rotating throughout the month. Two of these features have already debuted, Follow Friday and I Wish I Wrote That! The third came from the mind of David Welsh–a feature called “Failure Friday,” in which I could discuss bad manga. I rejected the idea at first, mainly on the premise that I love a lot of very flawed manga, at which point David pointed out that this might actually make the column more interesting.
He was right, of course, as David generally is, and when I sought out a failed manga for my very first Failure Friday, I found myself drawn to an early example of “very flawed manga” that I loved quite a lot. Not only does it have a Halloween-appropriate theme, but it was also a special challenge for me as a newbie critic. Though I’d certainly enjoyed manga of varying quality before I read this book, it was one of the first manga I was given to review formally, which put me in the position of having to analyze why I liked it despite its glaring failure. It also forced me to find words to express that, something I’ll take a second stab at today.
The manga is Heaven’s Will by Satoru Takamiya, published in English by Viz Media, a single-volume shojo manga about a girl, Mikuzu, who can see spirits (or oni). Mikuzu’s terrified of men, so it’s fortunate that when she meets our young hero, Seto, he’s all dressed up as a pretty, pretty girl. Besides cross-dressing, Seto eats cake, exorcises spirits, and hangs out with his quiet (but devoted) companion, Kagari, a vampire who can change into a wolf.
If you think this is beginning to sound cracktastic, we’ve barely even begun.
As it turns out, Seto cross-dresses in honor of his younger sister, whose death he feels responsible for–so much so, in fact, that he plans to get a sex change when he’s made enough money, after which he’ll transfer his sister’s spirit into his body, effectively killing himself in order to bring her back to life. Horrified by this revelation, Mikuzu is determined to convince Seto not to end his life, a conviction made even stronger by her own encounter with Seto’s sister (her spirit’s stuck in a fan Seto carries with him everywhere), who begs Mikuzu to save him.
So, here’s the thing. None of the above has anything to do with the failure of this manga. As over-the-top as this story’s premise and characters are, these are the things that Takamiya does well. She’s created an outrageous fantasy, sure, but within that fantasy, there’s believability in her characters and in their relationships with each other. Has anyone ever heard of a vampire who changes into a wolf? I certainly have not. But it doesn’t matter in the slightest, because that detail is so far from the point. Kagari is believable because his feelings and actions are believable, and this applies to everyone in the story.
There’s enough emotional complexity here to fuel a ten-volume series. Unfortunately, that’s where things break down. The concept is ambitious, but its execution falters the moment the story takes a turn that might allow it to effectively play out. Seto coerces Mikuzu into joining his exorcism business, which naturally would lead to a series of supernatural cases, each standing alone as its own story while moving the overarching plot along. It’s an overused construct, but proven to work. Still, Takamiya stumbles almost immediately, with a weak investigation into a haunted piano that offers little-to-no stakes for anyone involved and so easily solved, it’s difficult to imagine that there was any purpose to begin with. And at this point, the manga is abruptly ended.
As a critic, it’s impossible to ignore the artist’s obvious failure. Yet as a reader, I can’t help falling in love. I’ve said before that I tend to give points for ambition, and while that’s definitely the case here, it’s not the only thing drawing me back to this series. It’s Takamiya’s characters who have worked their way into my heart, and even now, I wish I might continue to follow them down their strange, poignant path.
My original review has been reprinted here, and re-reading both that and the book itself, I’m surprised to find that I actually look more kindly upon it now than I did then. Whether this is due to evolving tastes in shojo fantasy or simply an increased sentimentality as I’ve entered my forties is anyone’s guess. What both write-ups reveal to me, however, is a very clear sense of what I value as a reader. While, as a critic, I’m obliged to note things like outrageous melodrama and clumsy plotting, my personal satisfaction is derived from the story’s characterization and emotional content. And if those things are solid, I can forgive nearly anything else.
So, Heaven’s Will: “failure” or not? What do you think, readers?
This subject reminds me of something I once heard said about Clamp at least they have interesting fluaires sometimes it’s the deeply flawed series we end up loving the best because they are so flawed. Or we see something in them that others don’t an example I can think of for myself is the two-volume shojo romantic comedy Fall In Love Like a Comic the plot’s paper-thin and unrealistic and the characters seem more like archetypes then three dimensional fictional beings. But ultimately it’s just so sweet and heartfelt in spite of the gaping potholes and emotional underdevelopment of the characters that I still like it inspite of its glareing weaknesses. Another example that came to mind for me is Kanokon it’s an ecchi fan service harem manga and in some places that’s all it is but ultimately there is the love between the main couple Chizuru and Kouta that while often played for comedy is still shown to have a depth and purity in its quieter moments when you’re not being assaulted with fan service shots and potenale female on male rape played for laughs.
Yes, I think there can be very specific reasons why a book succeeds or fails for individual readers. Looking at my comments here, there are a couple from people who plainly did not react to this book the same way I did, even if we all agree that it “failed” from a critical standpoint. For my money, this is exactly why it’s so valuable to have multiple voices weighing in on a single title.
Failure. I totally returned this book to the store after reading it, I was that dissatisfied.
Thanks for weighing in!
I remember reading from one volume, that I felt very unsatisfied.. premises and character development seemed so rushed. >__<
Thanks for your input!
I totally agree with you, Melinda! Books like this that show so much promise and just stop are frustrating (others that come to mind are Les Bijoux, No Man’s Land, Sequence, Soul Rescue). I usually give a series at least 3 volumes to find its stride, and many of them really don’t until somewhere close to the end of volume three. That’s why when I see something that could have gone somewhere great get cut off so early, I always dream about what might have been if they’d been allowed to stretch out a bit and continue. :)
I suppose there’s no way of knowing whether the author of this manga really would have had the chops to turn things around and fulfill her own ambition for the story. I would have liked the opportunity to see, though. :)