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Off the Shelf: Shoujo Fantasy Catch-Up

July 13, 2013 by MJ and Michelle Smith 2 Comments

MJ: Good morning, Michelle! It’s been a while since we got together to talk about manga, but we’re certainly going to make up for it this week!

MICHELLE: Indeed we are! I’m excited that the e-publication of older shoujo titles on VIZManga gives us the opportunity to have columns like this one, in which we’re basically gonna check back in with a couple of series we previously discussed and see how they’re faring.

MJ: I second your excitement, that’s certain!

Back in March, we took at look at the beginnings of two shoujo fantasy series from the 1990s, Chie Shinohara’s Red River, and Kyoko Hikawa’s From Far Away, both currently in digital re-release. Only two volume in, I think we’d both picked a favorite, but I’m interested to see whether things have changed at all on that front, now that we’ve delved in further.

Michelle, would you like to get us started?

MICHELLE: Sure!

So, as a reminder, Red River is about a modern-day Japanese schoolgirl named Yuri who is transported to the Hittite Empire by the scheming queen, who intends to use Yuri in a curse against the other princes so that the queen’s son may ascend to the throne. Very quickly she meets Prince Kail and becomes known as his concubine.

As the story develops, Yuri is eventually hailed as the incarnation of Ishtar, goddess of war. At first, Kail just makes this up in order to have an excuse to keep Yuri with him when he rides off to war, but there are a few suggestions in the story that this might actually be true. The queen cooks up a variety of schemes designed to get rid of Kail and/or Yuri, and so our heroes spend most of their time trying to foil her plots, but have a hard time proving she was ultimately responsible for them. Meanwhile, their romantic feelings for each other grow, but Kail holds back because he believes Yuri really wants to go home, and Yuri holds back because she believes that Kail is going to have to marry a suitable queen someday and that he can never really be hers.

MJ: I will be the first to admit that, though I liked Red River from the start, I was less than enthused about its general plotting and its romantic trajectory and certainly held it in somewhat lower regard that I did From Far Away. Now, ten volumes in, things have changed dramatically, at least as far as Red River is concerned.

It’s hard to believe now that I was once dismayed by what felt like too-easy plotting and wearied by Kail’s “rake” persona, as I’ve been swept up completely by both at this point. And I think that Yuri’s characterization deserves credit for both of these things, as it’s her strength and general awesomeness that makes the whole story work for me. She’s transformed from simply “plucky” to “thoughtful and inspiring,” and she’s transformed those who remain near her, including Kail.

MICHELLE: Yuri has definitely changed a lot and become a genuine asset to Kail. Things were still a little problematic in earlier volumes—in which she becomes a sword badass pretty much instantly, or conveniently overhears enemy plotting but then blows her cover by both a) stepping on a twig in the middle of the desert and b) sneezing—and I rolled my eyes a lot, but she does eventually do awesome things, like when she has the presence of mind to prevent anyone from removing an arrow with which she’s been shot because she knows its markings will be crucial evidence. Of course, a bevy of dudes express interest in her, but it’s mostly because she’s bewitched them by doing something impressive. (She still gets on my nerves occasionally, though!)

Another aspect of the story that’s developed a lot is the political scheming. I also really like Ilbani, who is Kail’s… chief-of-staff or something. He originally counseled Kail against marrying a mere concubine, but once he saw how great Yuri would be as queen, he changed his tune, and has actually been conspiring to keep her from returning home to Japan.

MJ: I think maybe the political scheming has had a lot to do with my change of heart on the plotting as well, because it keeps the story’s very black-and-white villainess (formerly the queen, now the dowager) from becoming too one-note to be interesting. Yes, she’s only got one real objective—increasing her power by making her son king—but there are a lot of obstacles in her way, and her path isn’t simple by any means. Also, her son is a truly lovely character who, though too young to be an effective king, is at least no Joffery Baratheon. That’s a nice touch.

I have to say, though, that Yuri has never gotten “on my nerves.” I genuinely adore her, and that feeling is only increasing as the story continues. But perhaps my perspective is a little different than yours, because I admit that when you said that she’s become a genuine asset to Kail, I was thinking, “No, it’s that Kail has become a genuine asset to her!” Heh. I especially appreciate the fact that she’s adjusted to her environment enough to understand, from a cultural standpoint, how the results of her actions in this world would differ from those in her old world, and tries hard to make adjustments with that in mind. And her decisions during the Hittites’ war against the Mitanni really show her true colors. Her heart and her bravery ring true even when she’s being handed some unbelievable abilities, and that’s ultimately what’s important to me.

MICHELLE: I suppose the reason why I phrased it that way is because Kail has some clearly defined goals as to what he’s trying to accomplish long-term, and Yuri doesn’t. That said, she does take on and successfully complete various short-term projects, and having his backing is indeed an asset there. And I do assume that she will eventually develop long-term goals of her own.

One random thing I wanted to mention is… isn’t Kail supposed to be some awesome sorcerer? He’s got the capability to send Yuri home again, but we never see him work any magic! You’d think he’d be able to devise something to actually catch the queen in the act!

MJ: You know, I admit I hadn’t really thought about it! In a way, though, I’m glad he hasn’t been performing any sorcery, because I feel like that would be just another checkmark on the list of “things that are too easy in Red River,” and watching him deal with things with only the power of politics and personal strategy is much more compelling. After all this time, I think I’d just sort of assumed that he can help Yuri get back because of the magical power in the particular time and place rather than because of his awesome personal power. And maybe I’m not so far off, really. Even the queen is limited to what she can do with what’s at hand. She can create a potion with mind-controlling properties, but it’s not like she can wave her arms and make someone into her slave or turn them into a goat or something.

I think the limited magic makes the story work a whole lot better, even if it means sloppiness in other plotting areas.

MICHELLE: Perhaps we’re back to the one point where we often seem to differ: tolerance of sloppy plotting when there is character goodness at hand. I have some degree of it, but you’ve got more. :)

MJ: You speak the truth. As always.

MICHELLE: Heh. So, want to catch us up a bit on From Far Away?

MJ: Okay!

Like Red River, From Far Away sends a Japanese high school student on an epic journey, but one through space/dimension rather than time.

Noriko’s increasingly strange dreams become reality, as a seemingly random act of terror plunges her into another world in which she is identified as “The Awakening,” a supernatural being prophesied to bring forth the Sky Demon—a legendary evil that grants ultimate power to any nation that controls it. True to prophesy, Noriko’s first encounter is with a warrior named Izark, who is soon revealed to be the yet unawakened Sky Demon.

Aware of his destructive potential, Izark’s original intention is to destroy The Awakening before it can transform him into the monster he’s sure to become, but as he gets to know Norkio, he finds himself unable to do so, and decides instead to distance himself from her, in hopes that this will be enough to keep tragedy at bay. But prophecy being what it is, even this is too much to hope for, and he finds himself drawn back to Noriko despite himself.

Further in (we’ve both now read through volume 8), the two, now deeply in love, have finally become resigned to their mutual plight, and have decided to travel together, hoping against hope that they can somehow alter their fate.

MICHELLE: I have to say that From Far Away started off as my favorite of the pair and remains that way. I have a very strong compulsion to compare the series, but probably I should give FFA some praise on its own merits first.

I love the real adventure feeling of From Far Away. By this I don’t mean the various monsters the characters encounter, or the strange beasts, or the political scheming (yes, there’s a bit of that here, as well), or Izark’s supernatural powers. More, I mean the assembly of a hodge-podge group of friends who are traveling together in pursuit of a big, epic goal. In volume three, Izark leaves Noriko in the care of Gaya, someone he befriended two years ago and trusts. It’s revealed later in a bonus story that she was the one who taught Izark to use a sword, and I absolutely LOVE that a plump, unattractive, middle-aged woman gets to be such an unabashed heroic badass. Later, Noriko meets Agol and Geena, a former mercenary and his seven-year-old daughter, whilst Izark initially fights against and later recruits Barago, a hard-faced warrior who soon grows ashamed of his service to a corrupt lord and decides to make amends by aiding Izark.

There are some other supporting characters, too, but these are the ones who particularly stand out for me. In fact, I totally ship Gaya and Barago—Baragaya!—and was kinda dismayed to see on an age chart that he is supposed to be 25 (he looks 45!) and she’s 53. Still, I’m sure that those crazy kids can make it work!

Anyway, by this point in the story, Noriko and Izark have been outed and have distanced themselves from their friends in order to not bring harm upon them. But it’s not like their friends are now lost and aimless—they’re going to be working to find a lot of honorable leaders that have been ousted by corrupt ones in hopes of eventual overthrow.

I’ve got more to say about Noriko and Izark’s relationship, too, but perhaps I should pause here, as this was possibly sufficient gushing.

MJ: From Far Away is still my favorite as well, and I think what I particularly love about it (besides the things you already mentioned) is that we aren’t left long in that Twilight-esque “I love you but I can’t be with you” place. Though both Izark and Noriko must individually confront the ramifications of their relationship and they struggle with that in their own ways, they ultimately decide that they are better off together than apart, even if it creates a greater danger in their lives and in the world as a whole. Yes, Izark goes through a phase where he’s deliberately standoffish with Noriko (somehow this is always the way), but he gets over it faster than I’ve become accustomed to in the treacherous waters of YA fiction.

MICHELLE: Another thing that I really love is our degree of access to Izark’s thoughts. He may have great physical prowess, but we get to see that he’s awkward and anxious, and regards himself as not being strong at all in terms of controlling his emotions. I’m sure I can’t be the only one reminded of Kyo and Tohru here, also. The first time Noriko sees the transformed Izark, she’s not concerned with how he looks, but only sorry that she saw something he didn’t want her to see and worried that he’s going to go away again. It eventually becomes clear that harm befalling her has the capacity to awaken the Sky Demon, but, more than that, she’s the person who can heal his emotional wounds and bring him back to himself.

MJ: I had, indeed, thought of Kyo and Tohru, and thankfully that’s not a bad thing at all! This moment is expertly written, as well. Though Noriko’s reaction could so easily have played out as an unbelievable mix of selflessness and obliviousness, it truly reads like love, plain and simple. And it makes her role as The Awakening feel all the more important and grounded in emotional truth.

MICHELLE: Definitely. And there’s been such lovely buildup to that moment from Izark’s side—”Am I afraid of the day when The Awakening turns me into a real monster? Or do I fear the day when Noriko will see me as a monster and leave me?”—that the significance of what her acceptance means to him is just about palpable. It is no lie that I have geekbumps right now as I type this.

I love how he begins to change once he accepts her love, and I love their sense of partnership in this. This does bring up a comparison with Red River, where the threats are generally coming from one source (the queen) and which the audience doesn’t really believe will succeed in killing either of the two leads. In From Far Away, danger is everywhere, and it seems a lot more conceivable (though still probably unlikely) that one of the leads could be forced to do something awful because of who they are.

MJ: I am in agreement on all points! I really can’t wait to continue with this series (and Red River, too). And I’m sure we’ll take a look at more of these digital re-releases in later columns as well!

MICHELLE: I am on a personal mission to get you to read Kaze Hikaru, so yes, I’d say we will!

Soulless: The Manga Vol. 1

July 11, 2013 by Anna N

Soulless: The Manga by Gail Carriger and Rem

I generally tend to steer clear of manga adaptations of books I’ve already read. I have read the first three books of Gail Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate series, and then I stopped following it, because of plot element that I usually find extremely annoying in romance novels. I spotted this manga version recently at my local library and decided to give it a try.

Soulless the book is a witty take on the steampunk/paranormal/historical romance genre. Heroine Alexia Tarabotti is a bit of a black sheep in her own family due to her intelligence and looks taking after her father instead of her mother. She’s also a unique and rare specimen of supernatural being because she’s a preturnatural, someone born without a soul. This gives her immunity to vampires and werewolves, which comes in handy as Victorian era London is overrun by supernatural beings.

Alexia has an encounter with a rather stupid vampire after she ducks out of a party in an attempt to find something decent to eat. This doesn’t sit well with the overbearing werewolf Lord Conall Macon, who is working for the government. Alexia and Conall insult each other and stalk off, only to find themselves thrown together again as unusual things begin to happen with the local London vampires. As a heroine, Alexia is very entertaining. She doesn’t hesitate to rescue herself by staking the odd vampire, and her status as a spinster ensures that she’s going to speak her mind without much regard for social conventions. On the other hand she has a hard time believing that anyone, even a werewolf would be attracted to her, because she’s been the topic of frequent put-downs by her family.

It is difficult to adapt an almost 400 page book into a 225 page manga. A certain amount of world building and character development does get lost in the process. The book goes into much more depth with Alexia’s relationships with the foppish vampire Akeldama and Ivy, Alexia’s good friend with horrific taste in hats. Some of the details about what exactly a preturnatural is and the more steampunkish aspects of this particular London were glossed over. But the essential plot and the developing romance between Alexia and Conall was maintained, so overall I can’t really quibble with the adaptation choices.

The art by Rem is detailed and fluid, with distinct designs for each character. The occasional lapse into chibi/wolf puppy style when Conall was in the grips of werewolf emotion was funny, and overall the art was extremely appealing. The illustrations did a good job at portraying the humorous reactions the characters have to each other even while they are dealing with plenty of suspicious supernatural incidents. Overall, I thought that this adaptation was one that fans of the book would enjoy. It also reminded me of what I liked about the prose series, so I might give the fourth book a try now.

Manga the Week of 7/17

July 11, 2013 by Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, MJ and Anna N 4 Comments

SEAN: Standard ‘Diamond is sending me Yen Press a week early’ warning. I’m not quite sure why they do this, it seems to only be the the Northeast Corridor. Ironically, years ago, I used to get my manga a week later than others, again just the Northeast Corridor was affected. In any case, my list is hefty this week.

Dark Horse has the 4th volume of Gate 7, a title that has completely failed to keep me interested in any way. But there are some fans of it, particularly those of a historical bent.

MICHELLE: I feel bad that this one didn’t particularly grab me, but… it didn’t.

MJ: Gate 7 *did* grab me right away, but then the heavy concentration of unfamiliar historical references kinda bogged me down. Fortunately, I found a helpful guide to carry me through! So I’m looking forward to this new volume with only the slightest sense of bog.

SEAN: Kodansha has the 4th volume of Missions of Love. You know, when I was first promoting this title as an interesting little shoujo love triangle, I wasn’t aware that it was going to turn into the Gakuen Prince of 2013. Let’s see how saucy it will get this time.

MICHELLE: I read a couple of volumes of this, but I think I didn’t like any of the characters enough to continue.

ANNA: Knowing now that it turns into the Gakuen Prince of 2013, I’m glad I didn’t start reading this.

SEAN: Many are calling the 12th Sailor Moon volume the final one, and it’s true that the main story wraps up here. However, this re-release stripped out all the short stories that had originally been interspersed in the volumes, and has given them two separate books of their own. So fear not! Soon you will be able to learn if Rei farts.

MICHELLE: Yay?

SEAN: Viz has the 5th volume of 07-Ghost, a series I’ve fallen behind on. Anyone else?

MICHELLE: I’m behind, too. I’ll catch up one day.

MJ: Same here, and that’s really a shame.

ANNA: I’ve read through volume four, and I like this series! But I’m predisposed to enjoy any manga that involves fighting priests.

SEAN: They also have the 5th and final volume of I’ll Give It My All… Tomorrow, a SigIkki series. I found the protagonist too annoying to continue the series, but then, that was sort of the point, and I know a lot of people identified with his situations.

MJ: I can’t say that I identify with him, but I do feel like I know him, and that is enough to keep me interested in his plight.

SEAN: The rest is all Yen. We have the 14th volume of Black Butler, which I’m sure is sexy as hell, at least according to the Tumblrs I see. Or perhaps smexy.

MICHELLE: I am old, because I just had to look up what “smexy” means.

MJ: Smexy or not, I just… can’t get into it.

ANNA: I read the first volume, and that was enough for me.

SEAN: This isn’t a manga, but I don’t care. The Book Girl light novel series has hit its endgame, and Book Girl and the Scribe Who Faced God is a 2-parter it’s so big. Part 1 drops this week, and we will finally get to focus on Tohko.

The 2nd and final Doubt omnibus is out, which will no doubt kill off most of the rest of the cast. If you’re a fan, good news: its spiritual sequel Judge is coming soon.

Is This A Zombie? 5 proves that it’s not just Seven Seas’ moe titles that make me sigh and rub my forehead. Congrats to Yen, I guess?

MJ: Heh.

SEAN: K-On! had a sweet, definitive ending, but it was also wildly popular, and you know what companies think about wildly popular finished titles. So K-On! College is the first of two sequels that continue the story, this one following Yui, Mio, Ritsu and Mugi in higher education.

Nabari no Ou is the last title we have this week that is ending, showing us that you can succeed as a ninja manga and not be Naruto. Though I’m sure it would have appreciated Naruto’s sales…

MICHELLE: This title isn’t one of my favorites, but it’s been interesting enough to keep me reading, so I’m looking forward to reaching the conclusion.

MJ: This title is one of my favorites, so I’m looking forward to it!

SEAN: Madoka Magica prints money, let’s have more of it! Puella Magi Oriko Magica is another spinoff series, and I believe it’s the darker of the two that Yen is putting out.

Soul Eater 15 shows us barreling to a climax, though things have started to go badly for some of our heroes. Poor Kid!

Lastly, we have a 4th omnibus of Until Death Do Us Part, which doesn’t remind me of the way Glenn Miller played at all. (Seven Degrees of Pun Bacon there.)

MICHELLE: I would feel so proud of myself if I could get the reference.

MJ: That’s what Google is for, Michelle!

SEAN: Even Google might not help. Till Death Do Us Part -> Till Death Us Do Part -> All In The Family -> “Those Were The Days” -> “Boy, the way Glenn Miller played…” Welcome to Sean’s mind. Don’t stay long.

MJ: I guess we’ll have to wait until someone develops a search engine for Sean’s brain. It’s sure to happen. Someday.

SEAN: What manga are you beating the heat with?

Bringing the Drama: Flower Boy Next Door

July 10, 2013 by Anna N, Emily Snodgrass, Eva Volin, Michelle Smith and Nancy Thistlethwaite 8 Comments

ANNA: Flower Boy Next Door has a bit of a quirky premise for a k-drama. Go Dok-Mi (Park Shin-hye) has a severe case of agoraphobia, doing her editing work from her home, and almost never venturing outside. Her main outlet is spying on her handsome neighbor in the next building. Go Dok-Mi finds herself taken out of her familiar surroundings when she encounters Enrique Geum (Yoon Shi-yoon), a famous video game designer who spots her spying on his brother. Go Dok-Mi’s neighbor webtoon artist Oh Jin-Rak (Kim Ji-hoon) silently watches over her, and attempts to make sure her emotional equilibrium as a shut-in isn’t disturbed. Rounding out the cast are Cha Do-Hwi who is Go Dok-mi’s friend turned enemy from high school and Oh Dong-Hoon the assistant webtoon artist.

Flower Boy Next Door is available for streaming on Dramafever.

What did you think of this drama?

Flower Boy Next Door!

EMILY: I’ve really enjoyed this show. It has a very different look and feel to it than many other dramas I’ve seen. There is sort of a low key indie vibe to the production. I guess I’m used to seeing shows where there are chaebol/CEO type guys driving around in luxury cars and everyone has perfect hair and nice clothes (even the characters who are supposed to be poor). In this case, the drama feels a little more gritty. While many k-drama heroines face extreme hardship or past trauma, for the most part, they remain plucky and cute. Here we have a heroine who is actually damaged. She experienced past trauma, and it actually had an effect on her personality and how she lives. She didn’t just ‘try her best’ and keep cheerfully forging on; she shut herself in and hid from the world. Therefore, her character feels more realistic to me than other heroines. Her hair isn’t always perfect (or artfully disheveled) and she wears messy clothing. Her apartment is cluttered.

Bundling up in one’s apartment saves money!

As for the guys, while their occupations are a bit less realistic, at least they aren’t living like perfect rich guys either. Mr. Webtoon artist has a whole pile of issues of his own, and Enrique also has a failed romance. I really enjoyed watching these three interact and change after meeting each other.

MICHELLE: I love this drama with every fiber of my being. I love that it doesn’t follow the usual Guy #1 (he’s kind of a jerk but you know he’ll ultimately get the girl) and Guy #2 (he’s super nice and therefore you know he’s got no chance) formula. True, Enrique is rich, but he’s also goofy and has uncanny insight into Go Dok-Mi’s true thoughts. He challenges her, and she needs this. Jin-Rak is nice and handsome (and played by someone who’s been Guy #1 in the past) and considerate to Dok-Mi’s plight, but he puts her on a pedestal and indulges her eccentricities in a way that isn’t helping her.

I haven’t finished the series yet, but this is one love triangle that I don’t find predictable in the slightest. It’s so well-done, with more subtlety and depth than the other dramas I have seen (which admittedly is a very small sliver of the population).

ANNA: I liked the series very much but I had a more measured reaction. I thought that the innovative cinematography and storytelling were a bit front-loaded onto the earlier episodes, but I did enjoy the more realistic and gritty vibe of the show. I was genuinely uncertain for a little bit who the heroine would end up with! One storytelling element that I liked a lot was how transparent Cha Do-Hwi’s manipulations were and how quickly the men saw through some of them. Usually no one but another woman would detect the evil strategies of the female antagonist. It was pretty hilarious that after Cha Do-Hwi engineered a broken heel in proximity to Oh Jin-rak in order to have an excuse to summon his assistance, the webtoon assistant Oh Doog-Hoon immediately comments that it was interesting that all her clothes were from the current season, but her broken shoe was so last year in style.

I was also a big fan of the cranky, sleep-deprived webtoon editor.

The artists share a moment with their editor.

EVA: As usual, I went the other way. I was really turned off by the series at first (slow, plodding character, same things happening over and over, the obviousness of Cha Do-Hwi), but as I’ve gone on (I’m currently on episode 10), I’ve grown to like the characters, I care more about their issues, and I’m loving the non-K-Dramaness (that indie vibe Emily talked about). I LOVE that no one here is living in an inappropriately posh apartment or on somebody’s roof. I LOVE that Oh Jin-Rak’s webtoon editor is an overworked, exhausted crackpot. I LOVE that none of the romances are proceeding smoothly towards a finish line. And I especially love that (with the exception of Cha Do-Hwi, of course) people who say they care actually do care and try to help. It’s refreshing and lovely and I wish more tv shows (American included) were like this.

ANNA: I thought that the reliance on Enrique’s crazy fans as a plot element bogged down the middle part of the series a little bit. Also, I thought that Enrique was cute, but the romance between Go Dok-Mi and Enrique was a bit like showing what would happen if a woman fell in love with cute teddy bear. I much preferred Oh Jin-Rak, but perhaps I just find cranky men attractive.

Keeping tabs on his neighbor.

MICHELLE: Jin-Rak is, by far, the studlier of the two, but I think Enrique is healthier for her. But, that said, he could probably have as good of an influence if he were just to remain her friend. Jin-Rak seems willing to be friends, but it’s more from a place of “it will stress her out if I confess” than any real feeling of contentment with that role in her life.

NANCY: I would watch this drama just for the stressed-out webtoon editor. She was by far my favorite. I liked how this series started out, and the characters were well developed, but I did have issues as the series went on. At first this drama shows a very personal view of a woman’s struggle to rejoin society, and then towards the end we are merely watching from the outside, wondering what her motivations are. They shut us out from the shut-in!! Plus there are many gimmicks used in the last (and first) few minutes of each episode to create false cliffhangers. They have nothing to do with the main plot and actually lessen the integrity of the characters in some cases. I’m also going to show my support for Enrique–this drama would have been unbearable without him.

Everybody’s favorite webtoon editor!

EVA: Stressed-out webtoon editor is the character I’d be if I were in this series. Her bits of comic relief are some of the best laughs I’ve gotten from this show.

I’ve made it through episode twelve and, yay for man-tears and dry kisses! But, yeah. I hear what you’re saying, Nancy. Go Dok-Mi’s internal monologue and/or the narration of her journal writing gives us an entry point to how she feels about her life as a shut-in, how her expectations have contracted, and how willing to compromise her own desires she is if it means she doesn’t have to confront the world. I’ve enjoyed having that window during the last few episodes I’ve seen.

Also, for the first time in this series, I missed the ubiquitous bitch slap/coffee toss. I wanted more drama during the confrontations between Go Dok-Mi and Cha Do-Hwi. Instead we got silent tears, some fainting, and an unsatisfactory blame toss. These two have history and I wanted to see what happened. But nothing happened! Bah. I’ll keep watching, if only because I hope to see more of a closure to this relationship than we’ve been given so far.

ANNA: I liked the way stressed-out webtoon editor managed to be both hilarious and poignant at the same time. She ends up in a very nice place at the end of the drama, which was nice to see.

MICHELLE: Speaking of hilarity, there were quite a few bits on Flower Boy Next Door that made me laugh out loud, and I’m not the easiest person to make laugh. There’s that absurd moment in which Enrique catches Dok-Mi spying on his brother’s apartment… whilst clad in some weird furry panda hat/cape thing. Or the scene where a drunken Jin-Rak—who I am still used to as the humorless lawyer from Stars Falling from the Sky—decides to go to sleep amidst the building’s recyclables, at which point Dong-Hoon thoughtfully covers him with a stray piece of cardboard. I guess when I describe them, these don’t seem like the most clever jokes ever, but they certainly appealed to my sense of humor.

Enrique busts out his Detective Conan cosplay. As one does.

ANNA: I also loved the bit where the men were all pretending to be Spanish-speaking Italian mafia in order to punk Jin-Rak’s estranged family.

So, check out Flower Boy Next Door if you are interested in a k-drama with a slightly different sensibility than you might be used to. The combination of a gritty setting, camera techniques that evoke indie films, and some engaging characters in unusual situations make this a drama that is well worth watching.

It Came From the Sinosphere: The Iron-Crane Pentalogy (Part 1)

July 9, 2013 by Sara K. 1 Comment

Book cover for ‘Precious Sword, Golden Hairpin’

The Iron-Crane Pentalogy is not just one of the most influential works of wuxia ever written, it’s possibly the most well-known work of wuxia outside of the Chinese-speaking world. In fact, many Manga Bookshelf readers have already heard of it.

Before you think “Hey, I’m a Manga Bookshelf reader, and I’ve never heard of the Iron-Crane Pentalogy,” look at the titles of the five novels:

1. Crane Frightens Kunlun
2. Precious Sword, Golden Hairpin
3. Sword Force, Pearl Shine
4. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
5. Iron Rider, Silver Vase

The name “Crane-Iron” comes from the titles of the first and final novels.

If you have never heard of a single one of these stories, then okay, you’ve never heard of the Iron-Crane Pentalogy.

The Story

Book cover for ‘Crane Frightens Kunlun’

There is an old man who is the master of the world’s most awesome martial arts. He has two disciples, the older of whom is a mute (and nobody know his name), and the younger of whom is eventually known to the world as “Southern Crane.” Both the mute and Southern Crane transmit their martial arts knowledge to future generations. The Crane-Iron Pentalogy is about the marital artists who learn these awesome technqies.

The first novel, Crane Frightens Kunlun, is about the boyhood of Southern Crane, who was born as Jiang Xiaohe. Jiang Xiaohe centers his youth around getting revenge on Bao “Kunlun” for the murder of his father and forced separation from his mother. Jiang Xiaohe also wants to marry Master Bao’s granddaughter, Bao Ahluan, and it never occurs to him than she might object to him killing her grandfather. Xiaohe’s rashness and anger is an irresistable force, and Bao ‘Kunlun’s narrowmindedness and refusal to openly acknowledge the wrongs he has committed is an immovable object. Irresistable force + immovable object = tragic consequences.

In the second novel, Precious Sword, Golden Hairpin, Li Mubai, the son of two characters in Crane Frightens Kunlun, falls in love with Yu Shulien, whose beauty is only surpassed by her peerless sword-fighting skills and sense of honor. However, it turns out that Yu Shulien already has a fiance, Meng Sizhao. BUMMER! Li Mubai goes to Beijing, where, in his attempt to get over his heartbreak, he gets into a romantic relationship with a prostitute called Xie Cuiqian, who might secretly be a vigilante who rescues innocent girls. Meanwhile, Meng Sizhao’s greedy older brother has forced him to go into exile so he can have the family property all to himself, and Yu Shulien has to deal with her father’s very powerful enemies.

In the third novel, Sword Force, Pearl Light, Southern Crane tells Li Mubai to fix the mess that is his life. Later, people try to get some pearls, people are murdered, a girl gets kidnapped, Yu Shulien gets involved…

In the fourth novel, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and important sword goes missing, and it seems the thief is an expert at martial arts. Did Cai Xiangmei, an acrobat girl who has recently agreed to work as a servant for Yu Jiaolong (daughter of a very high-ranking offical) steal it? Also, we learn that the family who was murdered/kidnapped because of that set of pearls in the third novel has a secret family member, called Lo Xiaohu, who, not knowing his true family origins, is a bandit…

In the fifth novel Iron Knight, Silver Vase, Han Tiefang, who grew up in an official’s family, abandons everything he has to find his mother, who had been kidnapped long ago. Meanwhile, a young martial artist, Chun Xueping, knows almost nothing about her family…

Background

Book cover for ‘Sword Force, Pearl Shine’

The Iron-Crane Pentalogy was originally published in the 1930s and 1940s, and was one of the most popular works of Chinese fiction in that era.

The writer, Wang Dulu, had a strong interest in psychology (for example, he read many of Freud’s works). Before writing wuxia, Wang Dulu was a romance novelist, though apparently many of his ‘romance’ novels were as much about sons clashing with their fathers as they were about romance. And it really shows in the Iron-Crane Pentalogy that Wang Dulu was a romance novelist, since the martial arts are just a plot device, and much more attention is paid to the characters’ romantic feelings.

The “Northern School” and the “Southern School” are the two sets of novelists who are considered responsible for defining the wuxia genre in the 1920s, 30s, and 40s. Wang Dulu is considered one of the key writers from the ‘Northern School’.

I also must note that these novels were just after the first part of the Chinese Civil War, and during the Japanese invasion of China, in other words, China as a state was unravelling. I think this helps explain much of the bleakness and antagonism found in the novels.

Practically every major wuxia writer after 1950 was heavily influenced by Wang Dulu, and the Iron-Crane Pentalogy in particular. I will write more about that later.

Just Enough to Convey the Feeling

Book cover for ‘Iron Rider, Silver Vase’

As you can tell by reading the above attempt at a plot summary, the plot is actually rather complicated … but it feels simple when you read it. In fact, it feels so simple that it’s only after the fact that I realized how many of the subtleties I had absorbed, particularly the little ripples of the characters’ consciousness.

For example, there is a scene (I’m changing the characters’ names to avoid spoilers) where Character A is grieving over the death of Character B. A and B were lovers, and even had a child together, but B left A almost two decades ago, and A never went to find her until it was too late. A is feeling intense grief, not only because B is dead, but because he never said goodbye.

Enter Character C.

C at first is moved by A’s very sincere grief, and his first impulse is to comfort A. Then he holds himself back. C has a great deal of respect for B, and feels that A is no where close to being worthy of her. Furthermore, the fact that A and B had sex and a child out of wedlock was a great stain on B’s honor. Therefore, C decides to torment A, by essentially saying ‘you did not see her for almost twenty years, and now you’re crying because she’s gone. What kind of man are you? A real man would not be weeping over this.’

A replies “You’re right.” Then he says “I am only thinking of her so much because you remind me of her.”

What A and C do not know – but the reader knows – is that C is A and B’s biological son. That makes this little scene all the more poignant.

The novels are full of this subtle little emotional back-and-forth. Wang Dulu states just enough for the reader to understand what is happening, and no more. Unlike many dramatic stories which try to squeeze more dramatic juice than the pulp of the story can supply, Wang Dulu squeezes out just enough dramatic juice to demonstrate just how juicy the story is.

And it works because it feels true. People really do have these emotional entanglements.

If I can use the word “image” to describe something that is emotional rather than visual, then these novels have plenty of striking emotional images.

The Freedom to Define Intimate Relationships

Book cover for ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’

One consistent theme in the pentalogy is that trying to force people to make their intimate relationships fit “socially-acceptable” forms leads to a lot of suffering. For example, Southern Crane’s father was killed because he pursued sex with a woman other than his wife. Is having extramarital sex without some form of agreement from one’s spouse right? No, but adultery does not justify murder, and forcing Southern Crane’s mother to remarry and separate her from her son because it’s the socially appropriate thing to do causes Southern Crane to have an extremely unhappy childhood (also, note that Southern Crane’s mother, even with the adultery, did not want her husband to get get killed).

Another example: Han Tiefang, under pressure from his family, got married when he was only 15 years old … and his marriage is very unsatisfying. Since his wife hasn’t done anything wrong, he doesn’t want to divorce her (and thereby deprive her of economic support), so instead he leaves town forever (or at least that’s what he thinks) to look for his mother.

This happens again and again throughout the pentalogy. Intimate relationships which do not follow narrowly defined social norms (which is quite a few of the intimate relationships in the pentalogy) get heavily policed.

The pentalogy also shows quite a range of intimate relationships. Some women who are unmarried and not prostitutes choose to have sex (SHOCK). Some people love and want to marry women who are not virgins (SHOCK). Some people even love and want to marry prostitutes (SHOCK). Sometimes people in intimate relationships are not having sex with each other (SHOCK). Sometimes people in intimate relationships do not want to marry each other (SHOCK).

The stories are heteronormative, but considering they were written in 1930s/40s China, I would have been extremely surprised if they were not.

One of the more subtle points is that, for intimate relationships to be satisfying, people need time. Most of all, they need time to figure themselves out, and discover who they are and what they want, before they can build a mature intimate relationship. This is exactly why pressuring people to marry young (a pressure that most of the characters feel) can lead to disaster.

And there’s more…

The Iron-Crane Pentalogy is one of my favorite works of Chinese fiction, so of course I’m not done discussing it. Come back next week for Part II.

Sara K. loves fresh lychee fruit. She ate some right before working on this post.

World War Blue, Vol. 1

July 9, 2013 by Sean Gaffney

By Anastasia Shestakova and Crimson. Released in Japan as ‘Aoi Sekai no Chūshin de’ by Micro Magazine, serialized on a mobile service. Released in North America by Seven Seas.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect of this series going in. Its author is supposedly Russian (though that feels like a pen name), and it originally ran in Japan, as far as I can tell, as a cellphone manga. Those are a lot bigger there than they are here, and it’s gotten up to nine volumes. The gimmick, as it were, is that this is a shonen fantasy re-imagining of the console wars between Sega and Nintendo in the 1980s, with our heroes on the Sega side battling the evil Nintendo Empire. (I do admit this does not look good for our heroes, if we stick to established history…) I know a little bit about gaming, but not much. So how confusing would this title be to me?

The answer is not very. Honestly, if it weren’t for the obvious Kingdom names – “Segua” vs. “Ninteldo” – and the author’s interspersed notes giving a brief history of gaming in the 80s, I may not even have noticed the metaphor. The leads are supposed to represent a different game – Gear, the hero, is Sonic the Hedgehog; his childhood friend Nel is Phantasy Star 2; his tsundere love interest Opal is Fantasy Zone, etc. I didn’t know this until the notes told me. More importantly, these are stock shonen characters – the author even admits she created Gear to be a shonen manga role model, and that he is.

Because when it gets right down to it, this isn’t really for fans of computer games as much as it is fans of Fairy Tail. Gear is a fast fighter who wants to avenge the death of his friend. He goes to the capital city and joins the army by means of simply defeating everyone in it. Opal is even more stock character, immediately hating and challenging the young man who appears out of nowhere, but falling for him the second she is defeated. Even the perverse mentor who shows our heroes how to get stronger while constantly making suggestive remarks feels right out of Dragon Ball.

This has the feel of a Magazine title more than Jump, mostly due to the sexual overtones. There’s actually very little fanservice so far (much to my surprise), but the aforementioned perverse mentor (who’s meant to be Tetris, I think) keeps talking about plugging the gaping holes in everyone’s defenses with his rod, and also gropes the heroine to teach her a lesson after she’s magically exhausted. And the army commander, Ramses (she’s meant to be Columns, I guess?) gets sexually aroused seeing Gear fight (we see her naked, in the one piece of fanservice in the volume) and is describes as having ‘unspeakable hobbies’. But again, these types of sexualized ‘guy jokes’ would not be out of place in Magazine or Champion.

In all honesty, this is pretty generic shonen. I’m interested in seeing how Ninteldo (which is, of course, led by Mario) looks once we see them in action as more than just evil guys. That said, I am totally behind Seven Seas licensing this and putting out more of it, for one very good reason: it’s nothing like anything else they publish. Seven Seas is trying to expand a bit away from their mainstay market of ‘otaku fanboys’, as we’ve seen with the female-oriented Alice spinoffs. This is another step in that direction, showing off a series that appeals to the shonen boy in all of us; a young man vowing to fight for his country against the bad guys, using powerful moves. Let’s see how Gear can differentiate himself from Luffy or Natsu.

Pick of the Week: Omnibuses & More

July 8, 2013 by Michelle Smith, Sean Gaffney and MJ Leave a Comment

MICHELLE: This week’s manga is full of tempting omnibus editions! I think I’ll cast my vote for the series that we haven’t talked about a great deal on Manga Bookshelf lately, since it finished its initial run in late 2011, and that would be Fullmetal Alchemist. Reading the series in multi-volume chunks really is best—I actually marathoned the whole thing for an Off the Shelf column celebrating the series—and I’m delighted that new audiences might be able to discover the series and keep us talking about it!

SEAN: I agree that my favorite out of this week’s group would be FMA, but since that’s been chosen, I am left with a few “huh, that’s not too shabby” picks. I suppose I will go with Vol. 2 of Tiger & Bunny, which interested me far more than I expected when I read it last. It’s Japan’s take on Marvel-style superheroes, but it’s also very fond of biting the corporate hand that feeds it. I expect things may get a little more serious with this second volume…

MJ: There are so many books for me to get excited about this week, including Fullmetal Alchemist, Flowers of Evil, and of course the latest Loveless omnibus! But I’ll give my vote this week to the second and final omnibus edition of CLAMP’s Tokyo Babylon, out this week from Dark Horse. Everyone knows by now that this is my favorite CLAMP series, and Dark Horse’s new editions with their refreshed English adaptation and big, fancy trim size have already impressed me quite a bit. I’ve had this on pre-order for months, and I can’t wait for it to arrive. It’s this week’s must-buy for me!

What looks good to you this week?

So, what happened at AX this past weekend?

July 8, 2013 by Brigid Alverson

Here’s a quick roundup of Anime Expo news:

Item: Digital Manga announced that they are joining up with Tezuka Productions to publish all of Osamu Tezuka’s works in North America. They may do some print editions as well.

Item: Viz is bringing back Deadman Wonderland, which was originally licensed by Tokyopop; they will finish the series, which is up to 12 volumes and about to end in Japan. This is an awesome manga and deserving of a license rescue; my review of vol. 1 is here. And they had another new license, Kohske’s Gangsta, as well as an unflipped edition of Ranma 1/2, a print edition of Nisekoi, and what sounds like a very nice oversized edition of Dragon Ball Full Color.

Item: Vertical has licensed Insufficient Direction, Moyoco Anno’s gag manga about life with her husband (and collaborator on this book), Neon Genesis Evangelion director Hideaki Anno.

Item: Tokyopop, Gentosha, and RightStuf are teaming up to publish volumes 4 and 5 of Hetalia: Axis Powers this winter; after the initial print run sells out, it will go to Print on Demand. No word on digital rights.

Item: Kodansha announced that Attack on Titan will go to a volume a month, with simultaneous print and digital release, and Kodansha manga will now be available digitally on Kindle, Nook, Google Play, and iBooks.

Item: Shonen Jump will now be available outside North America, specifically in the UK, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, via the iOS app, with Android coming “soon,” according to panelists. Here’s a longer account of their panel, which was an informative history of the magazine, both in Japan and the U.S., with the editors of both editions talking about their experiences. Also, SJ has a special deal running through July 14: A one-year subscription is $19.99, down from the standard price of $25.99, with the promo code on this page.

I rounded up Friday’s anime and manga news with some commentary at MTV Geek. Sean Gaffney adds a bit of commentary on the new license announcements at his blog.

Lissa Pattillo brings us up to date on the past week’s new releases at Kuriousity, and she also files her con report on Animaritime.

Meanwhile, the Manga Bookshelf team looks ahead to this week’s new manga.

At Heart of Manga, Laura looks at the new shoujo manga due out this month, including what I believe are the final volumes of Jiu Jiu and Sailor Moon.

This month’s Manga Moveable Feast will focus on the work of Yun Kouga (Loveless) and will be hosted at Manga Bookshelf; here’s the call for entries.

In her latest Manga Dome podcast, Lori Henderson helps you sort out three manga based on Alice in Wonderland: Are You Alice?, Alice in the Country of Hearts, and Pandora Hearts.

News from Japan: Takehiko Inoue, creator of Slam Dunk, Vagabond, and Real, has donated 1 million yen worth of manga to schools in his hometown of Isa-city.

Reviews

Anna N. on vol. 1 of 7 Billion Needles (Manga Report)
Ken H. on vol. 4 of Attack on Titan (Comics should Be Good)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 19 of Bakuman (The Comic Book Bin)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 57 of Bleach (The Comic Book Bin)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 7 of Fullmetal Alchemist (Blogcritics)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 5 of Jiu Jiu (I Reads You)
Josh Begley on vol. 2 of Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix (The Fandom Post)
Connie C. on Magic Knight Rayearth, Neon Genesis Evangalion, and Bokurano: Ours (Comics Should Be Good)
Matt Cycyk on vol. 2 of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin (Matt Talks About Manga)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 2 of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Alex Hoffman on Monokuro Kinderbook (Manga Widget)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 10 of Oh My Goddess (Blogcritics)
L.B. Bryant on vol. 1 of Puella Magi Kazumi Magica: The Innocent Malice (ICv2)
TSOTE on vols. 2, 3, and 4 of Q.E.D. (Three Steps Over Japan)
Ash Brown on vol. 1 of Sankarea: Undying Love (Experiments in Manga)
Jocelyne Allen on vols. 9 and 10 of Song of the Wind and Trees (Kaze to Ki no Uta) (Brain Vs. Book)
Drew McCabe on vol. 11 of Tenjho Tenge: Full Contact Edition (Comic Attack)
Sean Gaffney on Utsubora: The Story of a Novelist (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Matt Cycyk on vol. 1 of Wolfsmund (Matt Talks About Manga)

Kaze Hikaru, Vol. 21

July 8, 2013 by Anna N

Kaze Hikaru Volume 21 by Taeko Watanabe

Kaze Hikaru is one of those titles that makes me feel happier just because it exists. The new volumes come out very slowly now, so when one appears it is always a good excuse to celebrate! This volume was particularly rewarding for any long-time reader of the series, as Sei and Soji begin to acknowledge their feelings about each other although they remain very much constrained by Sei’s disguise as a male Shinsengumi recruit and the customs of the times.

In the aftermath of Sei’s mission, it is announced that she’s going to be reassigned to Saito’s troop. Soji decides to create more distance between him and his young protegee by telling her that he requested the transfer and abruptly ordering her to leave him alone, saying “I got sick of your chasing me around like a girl.” Sei assumes that Soji thinks her feelings are burdensome and decides to run away. She leaves, fortunately during her rest period so she won’t be executed for desertion. Soji is relaxing, assuming that he’s fixed everything but he’s alarmed when Saito informs him that he’s in love with Sei.

Sei travels to a nunnery where she’s taken refuge before, learning about village healing from the head nun Suigetsuni. Sei has decided to sever the ties to her old life and join a nunnery, because it is the only way to sever her ties with her previous life. Soji becomes more and more worried as he realizes that no one knows where Sei is, and with his position in the Shinsengumi he can do nothing but sit, wait, and be forced to execute her for desertion if she doesn’t come back. The parallel stories shifting back and forth between the couple were particularly effective in this volume, as Soji’s growing concern forces him to confront his own feelings about Sei, and Sei grapples with her thoughts about healing and death as she learns more about Suigetsuni’s life story.

Watanabe is a master at spinning out a story, as 21 volumes into Kaze Hikaru, I’m in no hurry to see it wrapped up. Even though so much of this manga revolves around the characters being unable to express their emotions to each other, it is easy to see just how much Sei and Soji have changed each other through their unconventional friendship. As always, the author notes manage to distill an incredible amount of research into a few pages focusing on an element from the historical setting of the manga. This volume focuses on clothing and her reasons for depicting the Shinsengumi a certain way. If you aren’t reading this manga yet, give it a try! This is such a thoughtful, well-executed historical series that really stands out as having much more substance than most shoujo manga.

7 Billion Needles, Vol. 1

July 7, 2013 by Anna N

7 Billion Needles, Vol. 1 by Nobuaki Tadano

I was happy when I saw that Vertical was releasing some of their titles for the Kindle, but I already had print copies of the main series I was following like Twin Spica. I remember hearing interesting things about 7 Billion Needles, so I decided to give the first volume a try. Hikaru is a typical teenager, spending most of her time shutting out the world by keeping her headphones on. She’s a teenager with something other than angst churning inside her though. On a school trip she had an encounter with an extraterrestrial object that vaporized her body, leading to an alien intelligence named Ciel who reconstructed her body and establishes a symbiotic relationship with her.

Tadano does a good job establishing a slightly unsettling slice of life tone for this manga. Hikaru goes through her life someone aimlessly, and gradually more and more strange events begin to occur around her. Ciel makes contact and tells his host that he’s hunting an even worse threat – an entity called Maelstrom that might also be inhabiting a human. The title 7 Billion Needles refers to the needle in a haystack like task of hunting down an evil alien intelligence hiding somewhere in the human population. The manga is based on the Hal Clement novel Needle, and Tadano does manage to strike a good balance between the thought experiment vibe of classic science fiction and manga action as Hikaru and Ciel strike an uneasy truce and start hunting together.

The reading experience on my Kindle Paperwhite was just fine. I was intrigued by the first volume, and this is the type of digital series I can easily see myself stocking up on when I’m about to go on a trip and can’t haul around a bunch of physical copies of manga with me.