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Manga Giveaway: Triton of the Sea Giveaway

September 24, 2014 by Ash Brown

The end of the month is almost here which means it’s time for another manga giveaway at Experiments in Manga! For this giveaway, participants will have the chance to win a copy of the first omnibus in Osamu Tezuka’s Triton of the Sea as published by Digital Manga. (The omnibus contains the first half of the series!) And, as always, the giveaway is open worldwide.

I think it was when I finished Satoshi Kon’s Tropic of the Sea that I realized just how many manga I had read that included merfolk of one sort or another. Triton of the Sea is just one of many. Every creator seems to have a slightly different take on mermaids and mermen, which I find to be particularly fascinating. Some draw upon Eastern traditions, some are influenced by Western legends, and some freely incorporate elements from a variety of different sources, including their own personal imaginings.

So, you may be wondering, how can you win a copy of Triton of the Sea, Omnibus 1?

1) In the comments below, tell me a little about the merfolk that you’ve encountered while reading manga. (Never come across mermaids or mermen in manga before? Simply mention that.)
2) If you’re on Twitter, you can earn a bonus entry by tweeting, or retweeting, about the contest. Make sure to include a link to this post and @PhoenixTerran (that’s me).

And there it is! Each person has one week to submit comments and can earn up to two entries for this giveaway. If necessary, entries can also be sent via e-mail to phoenixterran(at)gmail(dot)com which I will then post in your name. The giveaway winner will be randomly selected and announced on October 1, 2014. Good luck!

VERY IMPORTANT: Include some way that I can contact you. This can be an e-mail address in the comment form, a link to your website, Twitter username, or whatever. If I can’t figure out how to get a hold of you and you win, I’ll just draw another name.

Contest winner announced–Manga Giveaway: Triton of the Sea Giveaway Winner

Time Killers

September 23, 2014 by Sean Gaffney

By Kazue Kato. Released in Japan by Shueisha, stories collected from various Jump one-shots. Released in North America by Viz Media.

Rabbits. There’s no helping it, that’s the one thing I take away most from this collection of short stories by the author of Blue Exorcist. There are romances, action adventures, tragic minimalist studies, and amusing comedies, but the rabbits seem to pervade the work. The author clearly likes her rabbits. Once you get past that, though, you’re left with a solid collection that nevertheless tells you what should be obvious: this is a hodgepodge of stories that together helped her write Blue Exorcist, which is better than all of them and her strongest work. This doesn’t denigrate Time Killers: in fact, you’d expect most collections of early works to be that way. Authors improve.

The first story is one of the darkest, with the rabbit suit (which in this story looks remarkably like Arthur’s moth costume from The Tick) being one of the few bits of humor. A teenage boy whose life to date has been a series of tragedies now makes his living assassinating for hire, and yet continues to try to eke out an existence as a high school student. Now he has to kill the father of one of his classmates, a raging idealist who wants to save the world. It’s a terrific debut (the first and last stories in the collection are the best), and you can easily see why it was picked up as her debut.

The middle of the collection is more patchy. One story seems to be a post-apocalyptic Western where half the cast are talking rabbits, but it never really gelled for me, possibly as the main human kept reminding me too much of Naruto. There are some excellent 5-6 page short stories that show off Kato’s art and sense of pacing, both with minimal to no dialogue. Redemption also features in a few of these, with a young man who has to care for his daughter realizing that he can’t keep running from life forever (and literally getting away with murder… the comedic tone of this story is deliberately jarring, which I quite liked). There are also a few stories that just didn’t work for me, such as the one with the “magic girl rice bowl”, and the romance among aline invasion, which needed more development and room to get the reader to care about what was going on.

As I said earlier, the highlight of the volume is the final story, The Miyama-Uguisu Mansion Incident. You can see the seeds of Blue Exorcist sprouting here, and not just because the two leads look like Rin and Shiemi. The art has come to the point where it can almost carry the story by itself, and the theme of gaining enough strength to be able to save someone important to you is one that resonates powerfully for a Jump viewer. The villain is nicely evil and over the top without quite descending into camp, and there’s an air of sweet melancholy that drapes over the whole affair. It’s a fine work.

Viz hasn’t skimped on the presentation – the paper quality is high, with many color pages throughout. Any Blue Exorcist fan should pick this up, and if casual readers get it and enjoy it, go track down Blue Exorcist. Also, it has lots of rabbits and rabbit costumes. Far more than your average Jump title.

Pick of the Week: Goong & more!

September 22, 2014 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Ash Brown, Anna N and MJ 2 Comments

SEAN: I realize that the rest of the team will be focusing on only one or two titles this week, but honestly, there’s TOO MUCH for me to choose. But since it only comes out once in a blue moon, I will push the others reluctantly aside and cast my vote for the 4th volume of dark fantasy Shoulder-a-Coffin Kuro. If I recall, the 3rd volume ended with us worrying if Kuro would survive past the fourth, so I look forward to seeing how far she makes it.

MICHELLE: I guess my reaction to the release of a new volume of Goong pretty much sums up my feelings about the series. And we’re getting rather near the end, too!

ASH: The manga I’m probably looking forward to the most (and longest) this week is A New Season of Young Leaves. It takes something special for a school-based BL to catch my attention. In this case it’s the author, Venio Tachibana, whose previous work in English I’ve enjoyed tremendously.

ANNA: Like Michelle, I have to go with Goong. This manhwa has one of the most addictive soapy storylines and the elaborate illustrations of the characters are always lovely to look at. The new volumes can’t come out fast enough for me!

MJ: I’m also interested in A New Season of Young Leaves, but I admit there’s really only one way for me to go this week, and that’s Goong. Goong, Goong, Goong. There aren’t a lot of soapy series I’m following these days, but this one will be a favorite always. And it doesn’t hurt that it is released here in hearty, omnibus-sized chunks. It’s always satisfying, and always lovely to look at. I can’t wait to read more.

What looks good to you this week?

My Week in Manga: September 15-September 21, 2014

September 22, 2014 by Ash Brown

My News and Reviews

Two manga reviews were posted at Experiments in Manga last week, both with a bit of queer bent to them. First, I took a look at Wandering Son, Volume 7 by Takako Shimura. Wandering Son is a series that means a tremendous amount to me personally, so I’m always happy when a new volume is released. (And speaking of releases–Fantagraphics assured me that the eighth volume will be published sometime next year.) My second review from last week was of Fumi Yoshinaga’s What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Volume 4, which I continue to thoroughly enjoy (even though it can sometimes make me hungry when I’m reading it).

A while back I, and a handful of other people, were interviewed by Justin Stroman about why we buy manga. He turned it into a pretty great article, so I hope you’ll check out Why It’s Worth It to Buy Manga over on Manga Bookshelf. As a followup of sorts, Justin also posted Life As a Manga Fan in the United Arab Emirates at Organization Anti-Social Geniuses which was a fascinating read. Another interesting interview from last week was Tofugu’s conversation with translator and interpreter Jocelyne Allen who has translated a ton of manga among other things. Also of note: Breakdown Press recently announced its next alternative manga publication–Masahiko Matsumoto’s “The Man Next Door.”

Quick Takes

I’ve Seen It All, Volumes 1-2 by Shoko Takaku. The featured guest of this year’s YaoiCon was Shoko Takaku. I realized that I hadn’t actually read any of her work, so I decided to pick up I’ve Seen It All. Dr. Saikawa is a specialist in men’s health, specifically addressing concerns dealing with genitals. By chance he meets and soon falls in love with Asano who is blessed with a “cock of peerless beauty.” I’ve Seen It All easily has the most references to penises that I’ve ever come across in a boys’ love manga. Saikawa is completely unfazed about it–it is his job after all–and no one else seems to be either which just makes the manga even funnier. Asano and Saikawa are adorable as a couple. It was also nice to see that they both try to make sure that the other enjoys their more intimate moments (of which there are plenty). The other characters are pretty great, too. Despite some of the more realistic elements of the series, I’ve Seen It All leans slightly more towards the silly and sweet. Happily, there is at least one more volume of I’ve Seen It All; I just hope that the rest of the series will be translated because I loved the first two volumes.

Monster Soul, Volume 2 by Hiro Mashima. I’ll admit, I did enjoy the second and final volume of Monster Soul slightly more than the first, but it’s still not a series that left much of an impression on me. Where the first volume was largely episodic, the majority of the second volume of Monster Soul focused on one story–the Black Airs’ efforts to rescue the souls of an entire kingdom of humans from the clutches of the Drei Kommandos. In the process, Mashima takes the opportunity to delve into the back stories of the individual members of the Black Airs. I personally appreciated that the characters were further developed, but the series is too short to really take advantage of it all. Although Monster Soul doesn’t stand out much, it is generally entertaining. The action sequences in particular are fairly well done. Admittedly, there are a few annoying character quirks that don’t make much sense within the context of the story as a whole, such as Mummy’s propensity for stripping for no particular reason. Overall, Monster Soul feels more like a prototype than anything else. It is very energetic, though.

Time Killers by Kazue Kato. While I largely enjoyed Kato’s manga series Blue Exorcist, I never seemed to be quite as taken with the story as so many others were. However, I’ve always been fond of Kato’s artwork. And so, I was very interested in reading Kazuo’s short story collection Time Killers. The anthology collects eleven short manga selected from over a decade’s worth of Kazuo’s work, including some of her earliest and debut stories. Many of the manga included in Time Killers simply consist of whatever elements Kazuo felt like exploring and mashing together, completely disregarding what readers might be interested in. The manga ends up being a somewhat odd conglomeration with a strong indie feel to it, but I rather enjoyed its quirkiness. The collection also includes a story that is derived from the same source material as Blue Exorcist, which was interesting to see. It’s also worth noting that Time Killers is probably the nicest release that I’ve seen from Viz Media’s Shonen Jump imprint. It has a slightly larger trim size, includes beautiful color pages, and is printed on high-quality, glossy paper, too.

Genshiken: Second Season, Vol. 5

September 21, 2014 by Sean Gaffney

By Shimoku Kio. Released in Japan by Kodansha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Afternoon. Released in North America by Kodansha Comics.

I’ve reviewed the last couple of volumes of this sequel to Genshiken in Bookshelf Briefs, and have remarked several times that it almost feels like they’re trying to aim for a new demographic with all of the new cast being of a more BL tilt, and the graduation of most of the previous players. That said, there are still characters dropping in and out throughout, and Madarame has been a constant, if smaller presence. Well, that changes here. The new volume starts with a definitive ending to the most talked about plotline of the old series, and helps to set up a new one that will also star Madarame, who has never been the viewpoint character but has always been the face of Genshiken, so to speak.

The old plotline is, of course, Madarame’s crush on Saki, and the fact that she’s been sort of aware but ignoring it. Last volume she admitted this, and the rest of the club set things up so that they could be alone and he could confess. No one – not even Madarame – seriously expects anything but a rejection. After all, Saki has been dating Kousaka since the series began, and while the majority of fans aren’t really thrilled with that, their love for each other has never been in question. (In fact, the scenes with Kousaka here are some of his best, as I finally begin to understand a character I’ve always had trouble with. As for the “confession” itself, it was very Genshiken, being both hilarious and heartwarming, and the aftermath slips to purely being the latter.

It feels like an ending, as Kio himself lampshades, but there’s still a lot of things to resolve. For one, as Saki notes, Madarame is busy obliviously gathering a harem of his own. Keiko gets a lot more face time here, and we see more of why she’s interested in someone with all the baggage that Madarame has – baggage that gets worse when he decides to quit his job, saying himself he wants to see how far he can fall. As for Hato, his crush on Madarame, if it is one, is still wrapped up in his own identity, which is in flux. This is painful for him, and it’s almost reminiscent of Wandering Son at times, except Hato is far less accepting of his own desires. Having Hato and Madarame intersect like this is a perfect plot – they’re the two most interesting characters of all of Genshiken.

Other than that, it seemed appropriate to devote a chapter to Ohno and Tanaka, who are almost the forgotten couple of the manga (partly die to Tanaka mostly being together about thin gs – even here he’s the adult.) This is also quite cute, and has a nice heartwarming scene that could be construed as a proposal – that’s certainly how the club takes it. And while there isn’t much Sue, the cliffhanger makes me think we may get more of her next time. Genshiken hasn’t forgotten about its old fans, but still has plenty for new readers. If you enjoyed the series before, this volume will not disappoint you.

What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Vol. 4

September 19, 2014 by Ash Brown

Creator: Fumi Yoshinaga
U.S. publisher: Vertical
ISBN: 9781939130792
Released: September 2014
Original release: 2010

With each new volume of Fumi Yoshinaga’s series What Did You Eat Yesterday? that is released in English, I seem to fall in love with the manga just a little more. What Did You Eat Yesterday? probably isn’t my favorite series by Yoshinaga, but I still enjoy the series immensely. Granted, What Did You Eat Yesterday? has a few things going for it that particularly appeal to me. First of all, I’m already a well-established fan of Yoshinaga’s work in general. I also happen to be a fan of food and food manga which What Did You Eat Yesterday? most definitely is. But perhaps most importantly, I appreciate the series’ realistic portrayal of a devoted gay couple and some of the issues that queer people face in contemporary Japan. Food and gay men are frequently found in Yoshinaga’s manga–often together for that matter–so it’s not a terribly surprising combination to see in What Did You Eat Yesterday?. I’m certainly not going to complain about it, though. The fourth volume of the What Did You Eat Yesterday? was published in Japan in 2010 before being released by Vertical in English in 2014.

Although he is a successful and respected lawyer, Shiro much prefers his time spent in the kitchen over his time spent at the office. Cooking has its challenges too though, like when Shiro’s boyfriend Kenji decides that they should have friends over for a dinner party rather than eating out. This solves the problem of Shiro’s constant worrying over being outed as gay while in public, but now he is left to fret over what to serve two men with very discerning palates. (Fortunately, Kenji is more than happy to eat whatever it is Shiro cooks up.) Every once in a while it’s actually Kenji who is set loose in the kitchen. Shiro is more particular when it comes to cooking and preparing meals so he’d much rather be the one in charge, but occasionally that’s just not possible. Kenji might not have the same confidence or natural flair that Shiro has for food, but he can still make a pretty good dish when he needs or wants to. From time to time even Shiro is faced with a technique that he hasn’t quite mastered yet. And so while cooking is often a way for Shiro to unwind, it can sometimes cause a bit of stress, too.

As always, food, it’s preparation, and the resulting recipes are all a major part of What Did You Eat Yesterday?. Some readers will find the minute details tedious, especially if they have no inclination or ability to actually try making any of the dishes, but those sections can easily be skimmed over or simply appreciated for Yoshinaga’s artwork. Her illustrations of food and cooking techniques are beautifully drawn and nearly photorealistic in many instances. Yoshinaga is able to convey a wide variety of textures which is especially important, and impressive, as she is working in black and white without the aid of color. But what particularly struck me about the cooking scenes in the fourth volume of What Did You Eat Yesterday? is how Yoshinaga skillfully captures the different moods pervading the kitchen through Shiro and Kenji’s body language and facial expressions: Shiro’s intense preoccupation when trying to put together the perfect meal, his gloom and frustration when something doesn’t turn out quite right, Kenji’s frenetic happiness when he gets a chance to take care of Shiro for a change, and so on.

Even though a fair amount of What Did You Eat Yesterday? is spent in the kitchen, Yoshinaga’s focus on the characters is a particularly important component of the manga. The series tends to be episodic from chapter to chapter, but growth and change can still be seen as Kenji and especially Shiro are further developed. The fourth volume of What Did You Eat Yesterday? shows Shiro struggling with his anxieties about still being partially in the closet, admiring and perhaps even envying how open, easygoing, and carefree Kenji is able to be about his sexuality. Kenji and their friends are exceptionally considerate and accommodating of Shiro’s fears, but those fears still understandably cause some tension in his relationships. Another interesting developement in this volume of the series is that both Shiro and Kenji at least temporarily become the confidants of their respective bosses who have a few family issues of their own to work out. While the food in What Did You Eat Yesterday? is appealing, it’s really these sorts of connections and moments between characters that make the series so engaging.

Manga the Week of 9/24

September 18, 2014 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Ash Brown, MJ and Anna N 4 Comments

SEAN: I’ve been joking about the large amount of manga coming out last month and this month, but a look at what’s coming in October tells me I should have held back. October is vicious. That said, next week has a far greater amount of manga than usual on 4th weeks of the month, so let’s take a look.

MICHELLE: I just really cannot be bummed about that.

SEAN: Dark Horse has a 6th Lone Wolf & Cub Omnibus, which unsurprisingly has nothing to do with Spice & Wolf at all.

ASH: That it does not.

SEAN: DMP has a trio of new BL manga releases. Apple & Honey is apparently quite heartwarming, A New Season of Young Leaves is a schoolboy romance, and Twittering Birds Never Fly seems to be the darkest and most psychological of the three.

ASH: I’m really happy to see A New Season of Young Leaves finally being released after being delayed so many times. It has the same author as Seven Days (which I loved), so I have high hopes for the manga.

MJ: Oh, I also loved Seven Days… I will have to check this out.

SEAN: Kodansha has a 3rd xxxHOLIC omnibus, which hopefully continues to show off Watanuki, one of the best male leads they’ve ever had.

MJ: Hurrah! I will always applaud xxxHolic.

SEAN: One Peace books has two volumes of a new series that could not be farther away from its previous license, Whispered Words. Raqiya: New Book of Revelation is a seinen manga from Kodansha’s Morning magazine, and deals with God returning to Earth, sort of.

ASH: It also deals with heavily armed heretical cults. And lots of things explode, too.

ANNA: Explosions and cults sound good!

MJ: Agreed!

SEAN: I enjoyed the first volume of D-Frag! more than I expected, with its focus on the weird rather than the cute. I’m hoping for more with Vol. 2.

Seven Seas has a third volume of Dance in the Vampire Bund: The Memories of Sledge Hammer, and yet I betcha he still hasn’t said “Trust me – I know what I’m doing” anywhere in it.

I enjoyed the first volume of Girls Und Panzer more than I expected, with its focus on the tanks and teamwork rather than the cute. I’m hoping for more with Vol. 2.

Series based on Alice in Wonderland are to the last two years what vampires were to the two years before that. Here’s I Am Alice: Body Swap In Wonderland, from the author of Dictatorial Grimoire. I’m hoping for some nice snark.

ASH: Oh, I had missed the Dictatorial Grimoire connection. It should have interesting character designs then, if nothing else.

SEAN: World War Blue has got to be running out of old-school video games to turn into fantasy kingdoms, given it’s up to Vol. 7.

If you enjoyed the first volume of the Accel World light novel from Yen On, perhaps you will also be entertained by its manga equivalent. I look forward to seeing if our hero’s weight is drawn purely for comedy or not.

MJ: I’m interested in this, and your question, too.

SEAN: Are You Alice Volume 6? Or are you any one of 10,000 other Alice titles?

ASH: Heh.

SEAN: I suspect Bloody Cross 4 will be the volume that finally makes me decide to continue with the series or not. Let’s hope it’s a good one.

The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan has its 6th volume of being mild, adorable, and having minimal conflict. Can it keep this up?

Each adaptation of a Durarara!! light novel seems to get its own separate manga series, so this 3rd series adapts the 3rd novel. After focusing on Mikado and Anri in the first two, Masaomi should get focus here.

I love GA Art Design Class, probably more than it deserves, and definitely more than any other bloggers out there. Don’t care. Cannot wait for Vol. 6.

And for the rest of the Manga Bookshelf team who aren’t waiting for moe slice-of life art school antics, there’s Goong 16.

MICHELLE: *Kermit flailing arms!*

ANNA: SQUEEEEEEEEEEEE!

MJ: SO MUCH SQUEE.

SEAN: And for those angry at GA for taking up all the artist’s time, there’s a 4th volume of the much darker series by the same artist, Shoulder-a-Coffin Kuro.

And speaking of dark, Soul Eater’s covers are going to be pure black before too long.

If you’ve only been following the Spice & Wolf light novels, why not check out the manga? It’s up to Vol. 9! I understand there is some spice, and perhaps even a wolf (or wolf girl).

ASH: No swordsmen or young children in carts?

SEAN: Lastly, we get a 7th omnibus of the thrilling epic action movie manga Until Death Do Us Part.

MICHELLE: I really need to get caught up with this. I liked the first volume much more than I expected to.

SEAN: That’s a lot. What’s for you?

Attack on Titan Guidebook

September 18, 2014 by Sean Gaffney

By Hajime Isayama and the editors at Kodansha. Released in Japan by Kodansha in two separate volumes, “Inside” and “Outside”. Released in North America by Kodansha Comics.

Shonen manga in Japan get quite popular, and as you’d expect, fans want to know absolutely everything about their favorite characters, things that wouldn’t necessarily come up in the manga proper. For those people, there are guidebooks like these – they consists of bios, recaps, examinations of all the little fiddly bits, character popularity polls, favorite quotes, etc. They allow the creator to reveal some information that would likely fit awkwardly if it had to be inserted into the story proper, and let fans understand the characters and story better – OMG, Jean is an Aries! Just like me!

For those familiar with these sorts of guides, the style is unsurprising, but if you aren’t, be prepared for lots of superlatives. At times it reads like a gossip magazine, with lots of punchy headlines and exclamation marks as it tells the story of the 104th training squad. These are two books released separately in Japan joined together, and sometimes you’re able to see that – the book has spoilers through Vol. 11 of the series, but much of the first half seems to have spoilers only through Vol. 9. It can also be somewhat inconsistent – the book takes pains not to discuss Reiner and Bertholt’s secrets in their bio, but has no issues revealing Ymir’s.

There’s a long interview with Isayama where he discusses the major influences on the series – many may be surprised to here one of the biggest was Muv Luv Alternative, though those who have read the visual novel itself may be less surprised – it’s darker than Higurashi. I was less surprised to hear about the influence of Saving Private Ryan in regards to the emotional reactions of the soldiers. The workings of the manga industry are briefly shown, as Isayama discusses how he was asked to move to a more expensive apartment so that he could fit his assistants in it – but then had to make the series a success or he couldn’t afford the apartment!

Where the guidebook excels is in giving a name and backstory to the minor characters like “girl who dies in Volume 2” or “that one guy whose name I can never remember”. Isayama’s art is terrible, especially at the start, and this guide is a boon for those who can’t really tell apart the 5-6 different soldiers with short blond hair. There’s also a lot of discussion of the mechanics of titans and how the vertical gear works, and to show it’s not all grim darkness there’s also some cute fake interviews with the cast, and Isayama drew some AU art based on reader suggestions, such as Sasha, Connie and Reiner forming a band.

Obviously this is not something that you want to pick up if you’re new to the series and wish to see what it’s about. Read the actual manga instead. For those who are fans of the manga, though, this gives you lots of facts and figures, reminds you of your favorite moments, and is a good go-to reference guide. Also, I think the original must call Sasha a boke about 80,000 times. “Airhead” is the translation here.

Wandering Son, Vol. 7

September 17, 2014 by Ash Brown

Creator: Takako Shimura
U.S. publisher: Fantagraphics Books
ISBN: 9781606997505
Released: August 2014
Original release: 2007

The wait between the release of each new volume of the English-language edition of Takako Shimura’s manga series Wandering Son can seem torturous, but without fail I’m exceptionally glad when the next installment is finally available. Wandering Son is a manga that is personally very meaningful to me, so I’m always a little worried that Fantagraphics won’t be able to complete the series, which would be a shame. Fantagraphics’ edition of Wandering Son is beautiful, complete with color pages and hardcover binding. Wandering Son, Volume 7 was originally published in Japan in 2007 while Fantagraphics’ English translation by Matt Thorn was released in 2014. The series concluded in Japan with the fifteenth volume, which means that the English-language release has just about reached the midway point of Wandering Son. I sincerely hope the rest of the series will be able to be published, too.

The seventh graders’ production of a gender-swapped Romeo & Juliet for their school’s cultural festival is over, but there doesn’t seem to be any end in sight for the drama unfolding in the classroom. Although a few of the students were dissatisfied with their own parts and performances, the play was generally well received, resulting in the theater club attempting to scout some of the best talent. This does cause some tension as the members of the various school clubs shift around to follow their personal interests, leaving friends behind in the process. Some friendships are being severely tested while other, more antagonistic, relationships appear to be on the mend. As Shuichi, Takatsuki, and the others grow and mature, their connections to one another change and evolve, too. Puberty continues to progress as well, bringing with it unwanted changes, anxieties over developing bodies, and concerns over physical appearances. What to wear, what not to wear, acne, and skin problems are all legitimate worries, providing opportunities for both teasing and bonding.

Wandering Son is told in a somewhat non-linear, almost fragmented sort of way. Shimura takes individual moments and memories, often from different points in the characters’ lives, and then layers them together, drawing connections between the separate pieces that would not necessarily have been obvious otherwise. This makes it easier for readers to see that the characters, though they all have their own unique perspectives and individual experiences, are dealing with some very similar issues. Their approaches to those issues and how they deal them are often quite different, though. This layering and revealing of parallels, as well as the other narrative and storytelling techniques that Shimura uses, are very effective in building on some of the themes that Wandering Son explores–namely personal identity–by exhibiting the depth and nuance of the series’ sensitive portrayal of the characters as individuals. The realism and authenticity of the characterization in Wandering Son is one of the manga’s greatest strengths.

Another related aspect of the manga that is handled particularly well is the natural changes in the characters’ relationships with one another. Wandering Son has a large cast of both primary and important secondary characters and it’s a close-knit group. When something happens between two of the members, the social dynamics of the entire circle is influenced. Major developments occur when Shuichi and Anna begin dating, helping to trigger some unexpected changes in Chiba and Takatsuki’s relationship which were particularly interesting to see. Chiba is incredibly self-centered and at times exceptionally unlikeable, but she’s also perceptive and seems to be very sure of herself and who she is. Takatsuki, on the other hand, is still working all of that out but is fiercely determined in other ways. It’s because of Takatsuki’s persistence, despite Chiba’s prickliness, that their friendship has a chance of improving–something that everyone would be happy about. It won’t be an easy process, though, and will take some time. Wandering Son excels in capturing the real-life messiness of relationships.

Why It’s Worth It To Buy Manga

September 16, 2014 by Justin Stroman 8 Comments

Why is it worth it to buy manga?

Living in New York City, where there’s Barnes & Nobles everywhere and a Kinokuniya on 41st and 6th, most manga available range from $10-13 dollars (Think Shonen Jump, Seven Seas, Shojo Beat, Kodansha, DMP for the most part), $14-20 dollars (think some Vertical titles, Viz Signature stuff), or you’ll find that rare manga title that’s $20-29 dollars (I think of Fantagraphics). Even if you order online, chances are buying food might be more important, cheaper, and satisfying than shelling out $8-9 bucks for a manga volume that has the issue of:

It’s a volume out of who knows how many volumes of one series.
The average reader can spend 30-45 minutes, depending on the material, on that one volume.
Even if that one volume is perfect, what about the other volumes that come out that might not be so perfect because the storylines change?

And that’s just knowing the basics! If you’re a regular manga reader, then you’ll find other issues that pop up:

Most manga in the states are well behind the Japanese editions. Only a certain few — Attack on Titan, One Piece — are popular enough to not be completely behind the JP editions, and in the history of manga publication in the states, only a few have been simultaneously published — Rin-Ne, Neon Genesis Evangelion are some I can think of — meaning we’re always gonna be behind in every facet unless we read it digitally.
Space, space, space! Just like books, manga requires bookshelves, boxes, and space in your room to keep your manga. In the past, it was mostly ok, but with digital, reading manga physically is a thing of the past!

But ok, reading manga in your hands isn’t convenient for you. But that’s why we can read it online! There’s digital alternatives!…Oh, but there are issues there too:

There’s manga services (Viz Media, Crunchyroll, Renta!) that don’t allow you to download manga since they’re flash based! So what happens if the service goes away? Won’t the manga go away? Didn’t we learn our lesson from JManga?
(Note: if you have a phone/tablet, you can download and keep any Viz Media titles forever)
And the ones that can allow us to keep pages (eManga, Manga Reborn) have some major site issues that limit potential — Paying $7.95 seems weird eManga! What’s with the design of the site Manga Reborn? I can’t tell what’s really new and cool to read!

All in all, there are logical, physical, and cost reasons regarding the purchase of manga that make me ask:

…Why is it worth it to buy manga again?

When I wrote a post wondering why people who read manga illegally end up informing publishers in multiple ways that they’re reading a manga the publishers licensed illegally, the answers were concise and straightforward. So, in a way, the response regarding price, digital alternatives, etc, reinforced something I’ve become more inclined to believe in since I’ve delved further into the manga industry (and in small ways manga fandom):

Manga is just not valuable.

I’ll say this though: it’s certainly valuable to go buy a $3.99 comic book issue or so that’s only 32 colored pages or a graphic novel that’s around $15-20 dollars, but not really cool to pay $10-20 dollars of 200 or so pages for a manga volume. It’s well worth it to shell out $60 dollars for a physical video game and have that sort of collection, but not as worth it to do so for manga since you’ll more than likely get more entertainment value out of the video game.

Now, as mentioned, there are legitimate reasons for concern about getting manga…moreso for those outside of the US. There’s digital alternatives that exist but are marked by harrowing issues (Manga Anime Guardians is Exhibit A), are region locked (though not as much as anime is), and are flash based, which apparently is more of an issue than I thought. There’s a lack of publishers, or no publishers, to publish manga outside of places like the US or France, and there are shipping issues that make a manga that’s $10 bucks cost more than it probably should if you’re ordering overseas in certain countries. There’s definite concerns that are worth complaining about, and you should complain about it if it’s something that can help publishers get better.

But you know, the other industries I mentioned, while they suffer from their issues, get criticized, and are for a different market, still sell pretty well. Manga on the other hand…not so much aside from the mainstream stuff.

Is this just a case of years and years of the manga market being inflexible, unflinching, with their model that doesn’t always show itself to be efficient? Past mistakes that are so unforgivable that it’s best to forget the creators actually exist and screw the publishers? Or just the notion that reading is a chore, you don’t want to fill your room with tons of manga that, for some, have no end in sight, etc? Or is this just a case of where you stand personally?

I graduated from school two years ago. At the time of graduation, I had no job, only money that I got from parents and family from graduating, and no real idea of what my future was. Needless to say, I ran out of money thanks to time, and that meant buying manga was unrealistic. The problem? Buying much of anything aside from a brand new Metrocard so I can get to job interviews and job fairs was unrealistic, so for most of 2013 and 2014, the only solace I had was that I could choose to read manga online, in an illegal fashion.

Of course I chose to do that!

…Not in the way you think though. For the most part, I only read stuff that no publisher would really care about. Like this interesting manhwa title called The Breaker: New Waves, or that extremely silly Mangaka-San to Assistant-San (better known somehow here as Comic Artist and his Assistants) by Doujin Work creator Hiroyuki. For anything that would get licensed, unless I liked it a lot, I’d pretty much drop reading it.

Well, I only ended up following two titles like that — Assassination Classroom, which I haven’t read since early in the year, for a few reasons, but once it got licensed, I stopped feeling the drive to read it, and Shokugeki no Soma, better known as Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma here. I did not drop Shokugeki no Soma once it got licensed. More on Soma in a bit. In any case, I followed what I could, and most importantly, any new title that showed up from publishers I didn’t read…in any capacity. After all, I can’t — or don’t want to — read everything in existence.

I finally got a job. I started a few months ago. That means I have money to spend! But…I can’t just spend it on everything, as my paycheck isn’t even that much right now. I’m pretty much drowning in school debt, which I can thankfully delay for one more year. So I’m also in the process of saving money too. What does that mean? That means spending judiciously, targeting continuing stuff I’ll like, and waiting to buy everything.

That means finally buying a physical copy of Food Wars.

nomnomnom

And I’ll be waiting to buy a copy of Assassination Classroom. Maybe the first few chapters will read better than when I read it online.

The point is, you want to read manga online, fine. I do it too. If there was a efficient way to get copies of something you like, a game or a novel or whatever without having to pay in any fashion, that’s your prerogative, and in the case of manga, especially when legitimate publications that most mainstream people read (coughcoughNew York Timescough) can’t get it right either, how can I blame you? After all, it’s not like it’s being stopped right now.

But is manga really so worthless that you can’t even set a modest limit to buy some manga during the year?

That’s unfortunate, because I find manga to be something of great worth. I find it worth buying, and especially for a certain few, I find it worth having in my hands.

I’m not alone in thinking manga is worth buying.

———-

Sarah Hayes lives in Missouri, and has been collecting manga for 14 years. How did she even know about manga? Well, it started with Pokemon, Toonami, and her nearby comic shop. “When I realized there was a comic version of Gundam Wing–” Sarah emphasizes she was really into the series — “I picked it up. And then I saw comics for Sailor Moon, Cardcaptor Sakura, Oh! My Goddess, and at point, I was hooked.”

Tony Yao lives where I live: New York City! He got interested in manga back in 1998, while still in high school, and, well, back when AOL dominated and most websites looked old and aged. “I learned about what manga was when reading about Ghost in the Shell in an issue of Wizard Magazine back in 1995,” he said. “But in 98’, I discovered that Dragon Ball Z was a manga. I read old-fashioned text summaries of DBZ volumes on a Geocites DBZ fan site and that’s how it started!” He started collecting manga in 2003.

Erica Friedman, who lives in New Jersey, has been into manga since the 1990’s, “with the advent of Sailor Moon,” she said. Of course, she’s also been a part of the manga industry, starting her yuri publishing company ALC Publishing, which exclusively published Yuri content; starting Yuricon, a convention geared towards yuri related manga and anime content; and was part of the creation of MangaNEXT, an exclusive manga only related convention. So she’s been in the manga industry and fandom side of it for a long time.

Unfortunately, with issues with the fandom and the differences between JP and US relations proving to be too much, ALC Publishing effectively is no longer publishing anything new. Has that closed the book on her interest in manga? Nope, as she still buys the Japanese editions.

Ash Brown (I think you know who he is around these parts!) was Ohio bred and born, but then he ended up moving to Michigan when he got older. He works as a librarian — “sadly, my job has nothing to do with manga,” he bemoans — and on the side, he’s a musician, and a martial artist. He is the neophyte when it comes to manga collecting: he started collecting manga in 2009 (same for me) when he got employed and had a decent income, though it did take reading Urasawa’s Pluto and manga criticism from Jason Thompson for him to dive head first into manga.

“I have been collecting manga since 2004,” says Noura, a manga fan in Florida…or was in Florida, until in 2000, she moved back to her home. Her home is in the United Arab Emirates. Yep, the UAE is in the eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula. She’s Emirati. There’s only the Kinokuniya in Dubai that actually sells manga, and even so, due to Islamic culture, there are manga that are banned from even getting published, especially Boys Love. How strict are the restrictions over there? “They were about to ban Attack on Titan Vol 8 because of the cover,” she said. The Kinokuniya staff did negotiate and convince regulators and parents (who she mentioned are conservative on these things) that they could sell it. But certain volumes of Dance in The Vampire Bund were banned. From The New World was in stock, but, whether it was due to sales or the content in the volume, they were slowly removed from the bookstore.

It hasn’t really stopped Noura from continuing to go back to that Kinokuniya, or just ordering the manga online. Considering the restrictions in place, it does make you wonder — why buy manga when you have to go through so many hoops to get it?

“Buying manga is like any other hobby,” said Noura, “so I do not understand why people refrain from spending money on it. If you love something, it feels better when you pay for it and have it, right? Video game fans buy games and I do not think they find it a waste of money, so I do not get why a lot of people feel that buying manga is not worth it.” She also mentioned that for titles she’s not sure of or not interested in owning the books of, she buys it digitally.

Erica reinforces this thought. “The simplest reason to buy manga is that actually putting your money where your interest is, is the easiest and best way to say ‘thank you’ to the manga artist you enjoy, the editors, the translators, the layout, the touchup, and letterers who all worked hard to bring you that book.”

Tony’s view on why it’s worth it to buy manga is the same, though it starts with a personal reason: details. “It’s easier to re-read things from a print book than from reading online. Reading online doesn’t allow for a better recall of details.”

…I actually agree with that statement. But that’s merely a personal reason, and people are different. That’s why Tony’s second reason comes down to simply supporting mangaka. “You ensure someone else who has a dream about making it big as a mangaka can come true. If the industry grows, the money goes back to developing and nurturing future talent.” Tony references Hajime Isayama, and of course, with the big success of Attack on Titan not only in Japan but also in the West, he will be a name to be recognized after his current series ends. “A kid may be inspired to make manga because of him,” he continued. “He/she grows up and decides to pursue that dream and makes it happen. This situation has happened in the case of Akira Toriyama and the countless mangaka he’s inspired because of Dragon Ball. Your indirect support helps everyone.”

Even he acknowledges, however, that it’s not gonna be easy. With books in general, outside of a few best-sellers, they may be available everywhere but it’s not like they sell that much anyways, so why would manga sell the same when there’s not the same output? And scanlations have changed the game and forced publishers to actually pay attention to them, he said. None of that’s gonna change in the near future. But we can do something about that.

Sarah’s view on manga is the same and yet slightly different. Well, she does like having ownership of series she likes. “I love knowing that I can read and re-read and casually flip through my collection and not have to rely on someone else to keep them up on a server somewhere or a scanlation group that could very well shut down the very next day.” But, as a writer, her view of manga continues to change. “I’ve come to really value buying manga over any other course of action because as a writer, I understand how important it is to financially support our artists and writers and manga-ka everywhere. If shelling out so many dollars for a book of manga means keeping my favorite authors and the like in their homes, puts food on their tables, and keeps them from stressing out and focused on their work, then that’s cool by me.”

For Ash, who got into the collecting manga game late compared to everybody else, his reasons for thinking why buying manga is worth it are not complex, but not also simple, since he works as a librarian. Well, specifically, he works with digital content and materials, “so I am all too aware of the many challenges associated with them,” he says. It ends up starting physically, where you might as well spend your money on something that will last and can be shared with others. Then it’s mere exploration. “Personally, I take great enjoyment in the actual act of selecting and gathering material into a collection. I like finding and discovering manga to read and pulling it all together in one place.” He also ends up donating some of his collection — he told me his current collection’s close enough to 2,000 individual volumes of manga — to libraries, since that was how he originally was reading his manga: by borrowing it from them. “Libraries were what made it possible for me to pursue my interest in manga and other comics in the first place. It makes me extremely happy to know that even after leaving my collection, the manga that I bought will go on to be read by many other people.”

Overall though, the reason to actually buy manga is just like everyone else, for Ash: “I love manga and am appreciative of the creators and their work. I want to support them. There are easy ways to do that: I can purchase manga which have been licensed in English. I can purchase the original Japanese editions. I can borrow manga from a library. I can also encourage other people to do the same. By buying or borrowing legal copies of their work I am able to help support them and the industry financially so they can make a living and continue to create.

“In the end,” he added, “that’s what really matters to me. That’s why I buy manga. Because I love it and the people who make it.”

———-

As I briefly mentioned, I started collecting manga back in 2009 for a few reasons, one of which I eventually drifted away from as I lost my passion for art, or for making comics. Despite that, manga was always around for me to get, so I still continued buying. And yes, even despite Borders going away, it didn’t really change that much — I just now order online. Though my collection is extremely modest compared to mostly everyone, I think it’s cool to buy manga. Think of some of the examples given with what you can do with manga! You can re-read it anytime, hold it in your hand, buy it digitally, lend it to a friend or two, or donate it to your library. You could also do what I did and donate to your local anime/manga club (which I did do for some manga a few years ago). There’s a lot of things you can do with manga that I bet you wouldn’t want to do with your video game!…well, except sell it. Well, you can do that with manga too if you wish! Just, it depends how much you’re selling!

But whatever the case, sure, there are complaints that can be had about publisher practices, the current model, etc, and it is well within your right to complain about it, especially if you have a perfect example of a series that has been translated horribly, why should you accept a poor product, or an example of a manga that’s been poorly marketed (According to Twitter Noragami was apparently a victim of this for what it’s worth). And ok, sure, you can go ahead and choose to read some obscure or big time manga for free, since there’s hundreds of places to go do so, and not nearly enough legal services that you may feel that serves your needs — especially so for those who live outside the US. And paying for manga that you might not even want to keep three, four years from now? What kind of concept is that?

But there will always be issues with almost everything we choose to engage ourselves in — is manga thought about so little that we can’t even find a way to buy manga in English? In another language? In Japanese? Then that’s all manga is to you: of little value.

Fine, that’s ok. But I think manga has value. And that it is worth buying. Whether you buy a lot in a month, or choose to buy two manga in a month, or just once in two months, or however you do it, it adds up somehow. It will benefit someone. Whoever that person is! But contributions help. Even just going to your nearby library can help. In the end, it’s up to you really if you want to stuff your small room with manga or choose to buy manga digitally from a system that’s crippled from the get-go.

I’ll just state that I like manga a lot and I’ll continue to buy what looks to good to me…until I feel like manga is no longer an interest to me. Whenever that is!

Justin is the founder of Organization Anti-Social Geniuses, an anime/manga blog. He continues to fight his laziness, even though its inevitable he can’t defeat it. You can bug him on Twitter (@Kami_nomi)