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Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

20th century boys

My Week in Manga: April 1-April 7, 2013

April 8, 2013 by Ash Brown

My News and Reviews

Last week was one of the slower weeks at Experiments in Manga. I announced the winner of the historical manga giveaway and took the opportunity to ramble on a bit about historical manga as well. I also posted the Bookshelf Overload for March, if you’re interested in seeing the embarrassing amounts of manga and such that I managed to acquire over the month. The honor of the first in-depth manga review for April goes to Baku Yumemakura and Jiro Taniguchi’s The Summit of the Gods, Volume 2. It’s a fantastic series with stunning artwork. It looks like the fourth and penultimate volume might be released in English this year; I’m really looking forward to it.

I believe I’ve mentioned in the past my love for Jen Lee Quick’s Off*Beat. The first two volumes were originally published by Tokyopop and the series was sadly never completed. Happily, the newly established Chromatic Press is bringing Off*Beat back into print and fans will finally see the third and final volume published. A pre-order Kickstarter has been launched for the new Chromatic Press editions, which include bonus material. Any extra funds raised will be going towards the launch of Sparkler Monthly, Chromatic Press’ digital anthology, and Jen Lee Quick will get a nice bonus, too.

I’m starting to really take notice of PictureBox and its planned manga releases. For starters, The Passion of Gengoroh Tagame is one of my most anticipated English manga releases of the year (it should be out later this month.) The publisher also recently confirmed that in addition to its new “Ten-Cent Manga” line, it will also start a “Masters of Alternative Manga” series. I’m very interested in seeing how PictureBox’s manga plans continue to develop.

As for other good stuff online: The newest of Jason Thompson’s House of 1000 Manga columns, which is always worth a read, features Shin Mashiba’s Nightmare Inspector: Yumekui Kenbun. (I quite like the series and wrote a little about it myself a while back–Random Musings: Nightmare Inspector.) The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund has a short documentary that’s well worth watching–Defending Manga: The Ryan Matheson Story. Over at Good E-Reader, Brigid Alverson posted an insightful interview with Ed Chavez on Vertical’s Digital Manga Strategy. And finally, the call for participation for April’s Manga Moveable Feast has been posted! The Feast, held from April 20 through 26, will feature Kaori Yuki and her work. The Beautiful World will be hosting for the first time.

Quick Takes

20th Century Boys, Volumes 17-19 by Naoki Urasawa. The series is nearing it’s conclusion, but that’s okay: 20th Century Boys is starting to feel rather drawn out. I’ll admit that I am still enjoying it, though. Urasawa employs a really interesting narrative technique in 20th Century Boys that I haven’t seen used very often. The manga has its cast of main characters, but the series frequently follows their story indirectly by following the secondary characters instead. The plot is often seen from their perspective. This can be a little messy at times though since it introduces even more characters that readers need to keep track of and 20th Century Boys is fairly complicated to begin with.

Boy Princess, Volumes 1-5 by Seyoung Kim. When the princess elopes with a stable boy two days before a crucial arranged marriage between two kingdoms the youngest prince is disguised and sent in her place. Not surprisingly, it doesn’t take long for the switch to be discovered. Boy Princess starts out as a comedy but at the point where I stopped reading it seems to be veering off towards something more tragic. Personally, I think the series works best when it’s being a little silly. Boy Princess has a nice fantasy setting with a good if often confusing attempt at court intrigue. Kim’s artwork is unfortunately uneven, but improves immensely as the series progresses. Some panels are frankly gorgeous and the costume designs are consistently lovely.

Genshiken, Omnibus 3 (equivalent to Volumes 7-9) by Shimoku Kio. When I wasn’t paying close attention, Genshiken naturally developed into a full-fledged otaku love story. And it’s absolutely wonderful. Much of this third and final omnibus is devoted to Ogiue, her backstory and self-hatred, and her changing relationships with the other members of the Genshiken. There are plenty of serious and touching moments, but the humor and goofiness of the series are still there, too. I’ll admit, I’ve grown rather fond of the characters in Genshiken and all of their quirkiness; I think we’d probably get along pretty well in real life. I’ve really enjoyed this series and look forward to continuing it with Genshiken: Second Season.

I Kill Giants written by Joe Kelly and illustrated by J. M. Ken Niimura. Last year, I Kill Giants became the first comic from the United States to win the International Manga Award. With bullies at school and problems at home, Barbara is going through some very difficult times. A bit of misfit and an outsider, her fantasies give her a way to escape some very harsh realities. It’s easier to hunt and kill giants than it is to face the truth, but some things in life simply can’t be stopped or ignored. Niimura’s art and Kelly’s writing are great and mix Barbara’s fantasies together with her reality in very effective ways. Her confrontation and showdown with the Titan in particular is phenomenal. At times dark and disconcerting, I Kill Giants is a very powerful and personal work.

Blue Submarine No. 6 directed by Mahiro Maeda. Discotek announced earlier this year that it had rescued the license for Blue Submarine No. 6 (originally released by Bandai), so I was curious. The four-episode OVA adapts a manga by Satoru Ozawa from 1967. The series is a bit confusing and rushed in places, and almost none of the characters were as well developed as I wanted them to be, but it pulls itself together pretty nicely in the end. I particularly liked the series’ post-apocalyptic ocean setting. Despite the occasionally awkward computer graphics, there were still some very nice visuals and great character designs. I enjoyed Blue Submarine No. 6 well enough, but it’s not a series that I’ll need to own.

Shigurui: Death Frenzy directed by Hiroshi Hamasaki. Based on a manga by Takayuki Yamaguchi, which in turn adapts a novel by Norio Nanjō, Shigurui is an extremely brutal, graphic, and violent series. Nearly all of the characters are detestable and their actions are appalling. The series definitely isn’t for everyone and will offend many. To say it’s intense is to put it mildly. After the first episode, most of the anime is a long flashback; unfortunately, the bloody tale of power and revenge never quite comes full circle. Visually, the series is very distinctive in its style with creepy motifs and merciless fight scenes. I found Shigurui to be incredibly absorbing and even compelling. It’s been a while since an anime has left such a profound impression on me.

Filed Under: My Week in Manga Tagged With: 20th century boys, anime, Blue Submarine No. 6, Boy Princess, comics, Genshiken, J. M. Ken Niimura, Joe Kelly, manga, manhwa, Naoki Urasawa, Seyoung Kim, Shigurui, Shimoku Kio

Pick of the Week: Short Stack

August 15, 2011 by Sean Gaffney, MJ, David Welsh, Katherine Dacey and Michelle Smith 9 Comments

With only five new manga releases shipping to Midown Comics this week, what will our bloggers pick? See below to find out!


SEAN: It’s a smaller week this time around, but even if there were tons of titles, my pick would likely be the same. I found the first volume of Q Hayashida’s Dorohedoro to be my favorite out of all the SigIkki titles, and subsequent volumes have only added to my enjoyment. Its grim and unforgiving fantasy dystopia is lovingly detailed (you can pore through the backgrounds for hours), and its plot straight out of anyone’s nightmares (ever wake up with your head replaced with a giant lizard’s?). The reason that I can deal with its sordid underbelly is the wicked (and equally violent) sense of humor it has, with its main cast never seeming to let the bad things that happen to them crush their spirits. In fact, Ciaman and Nikaido, and their ‘evil’ counterparts Shin and Noi, can be quite jovial! Give this quirky series a try (if you don’t mind blood, it’s quite violent.) Plus, female creator!

MJ: This is a tricky pick for me, with nothing I’m really excited about shipping into Midtown Comics this week. With that in mind, I’m going to go completely off the list and get into the spirit of this week’s Manga Moveable Feast by recommending that everyone pick up something by Fumi Yoshinaga. My rereads this week include favorite older series Flower of Life and Antique Bakery, but there is plenty of newer or current Yoshinaga to check out if those are hard to find. Both Yen Press (Not Love But Delicious Foods Make Me So Happy) and Viz Media (Ooku, All My Darling Daughters) have served up recent helpings of Yoshinaga that should be relatively easy to acquire. I recommend keeping some snacks handy. Reading Yoshinaga always makes me hungry.

DAVID: It might have escaped your notice, but our long, national nightmare is finally over, and the Eisner Awards have finally given a prize to Naoki Urasawa. After an enormous number of nominations, he won a 2011 Eisner for 20th Century Boys. Conveniently enough, the 16th volume of this series arrives this Wednesday. Equally convenient is the fact that this is my favorite Urasawa title to be released in English, so I have no problem recommending it. One of my few complaints with Urasawa’s work is his inclination toward over-seriousness, so the generally wry tone of this series is especially welcome. It’s a great thriller that doesn’t neglect humor as it spins its various yarns. (Oh, and if you happen to have the Viz app on one of your various devices, you can now read Oishinbo in that format. This is something that bears repeating.)

KATE: After reading Bluewater’s unauthorized bio-comic of Lady Gaga, I’m morbidly curious about Fame: 50 Cent. The Lady Gaga comic was almost impossible to describe: it featured a middle-aged rock journalist who reluctantly agrees to write an article about Gaga, only to have a surreal experience when he listens to “Bad Romance.” (He actually imagines that he’s Lady Gaga; the sight of a balding, hairy man in one of Gaga’s most outre costumes was worth the cover price alone.) I don’t know that the 50 Cent story lends itself to such an avant-garde presentation, but given the sheer weirdness of Bluewater’s other Fame comics, I can’t imagine it will be boring.

MICHELLE Sometimes I feel like the only person who likes Bokurano: Ours. Indeed, it is very grim—there are quite a few similarities with Ikigami, actually—and somewhat repetitive, as members of a group of children sit quietly in the background until it is their turn to sacrifice their life piloting a giant robot that is ostensibly defending Earth. As you might expect, this is very depressing, but some creepy circumstances surrounding the arrival of the aliens makes me question is any of this even real? In addition to being cruel and horrible, is all of this just futile? Just a game? It’s this underlying mystery that keeps me coming back despite the need for a fluffy shoujo transfusion I typically feel afterwards.



Readers, what looks good to you this week?

Filed Under: PICK OF THE WEEK Tagged With: 20th century boys, bokurano: ours, dorohedoro, fame: 50 cent, fumi yoshinaga

Manga Bookshelf 2011 Eisner Roundtable

April 14, 2011 by Katherine Dacey 18 Comments

KATE: The 2011 Eisner nominees were announced last week, and the results were genuinely surprising. Not only did Eisner mainstays like Naoki Urasawa and Osamu Tezuka get nods, but the judges also recognized an unusual number of female artists, including pioneering shoujo manga-ka Moto Hagio. The diversity of styles and subject-matters was noteworthy as well; this is the first time in several years that the judges have nominated shojo and josei titles, which often get less critical respect than seinen manga.

So my question to everyone participating in the roundtable is this: which titles are you most excited about seeing on the list? And do you think they have a shot at winning? Why or why not?

DAVID: In terms of being genuinely surprised, I’d have to pick Yumi Unita’s Bunny Drop (Yen Press) as the most pleasantly eye-opening inclusion. It’s a wonderful, wonderful series that doesn’t have any of those particular gravitas selling points, like a legendary creator or an out-there concept. Unita just tells a warm story about recognizable characters, and she tells it very, very well. It’s like the crowd-pleasing indie film that nobody expects to get a best picture nomination.

MJ: I’ll have to agree with David on the candidate for “most surprising,” for exactly the reasons he stated. In terms of pure excitement, though, I have to mention Natsume Ono’s House of Five Leaves. This thoughtful, languorous manga is one of my current favorites. And though its period setting and unique art style probably contribute to its Eisner-likeliness, I was still surprised to see it nominated.

KATE: Though I’d agree that Bunny Drop was the most surprising nomination, I’m most excited about A Drunken Dream and Other Stories. I’ve been a big Moto Hagio fan since I first read “They Were Eleven” four years ago, and have been frustrated by American publishers’ reluctance to license her work. (I know, I know: old-school shojo doesn’t sell very well, as Swan and From Eroica With Love‘s poor sales records attest.) Hagio’s Eisner nomination fills me with hope that Fantagraphics will take a chance on one of her longer stories — say, The Poe Family or Otherworld Barbara — allowing American readers to really get to know her work.

There’s another reason I want Drunken Dream to win: stories written by and for female audiences don’t often win major awards. Looking over the complete list of Eisner nominees, for example, I see only a sprinkling of female artists and writers singled out for recognition. The titles that did make the cut — Julia Wertz’s Drinking at the Movies, Raina Telgemeier’s Smile — are excellent, but I can’t help but wonder why female creators weren’t nominated in more categories, given how many smart, talented, and imaginative women are working in the field today. A win in the Best U.S. Edition of International Material–Asia category is a small but important step towards correcting that kind of oversight.

So what about you: which titles are you hoping will win? Which title would you bet on, if you were the gambling sort?

DAVID: Before I start odds-making, I definitely wanted to concur with your enthusiasm for the inclusion of women creators in the manga category. It’s been a while since they’ve been represented, I think since the 2007 and 2008 slates. And these women creators — Unita, Ono, Hagio — are extraordinary. I’m delighted to see all of them recognized.

Of course, I’m cynic enough to doubt that any of them will win. I think Eisner voters have an understandable fondness and admiration for Osamu Tezuka, so I would probably put my money on Ayako, even though I don’t think it’s his best work by any means. In fact, I’d rather have seen just about any of Vertical’s other books fill that fifth slot — Twin Spica or Peepo Choo in particular. But Ayako is a big, serious drama by a (male) legend, and that’s some serious voter bait right there.

MJ: I’m thrilled about the nomination of Drunken Dream, and out of the female-created manga on the list, I think it has the best chance to win. It’s “classic” and comes to us from a publisher that is better-respected in the western comics world than most of those that primarily (or exclusively) publish manga. I’ll join David in his cynicism, however, and agree that I think a classic from a beloved male creator (and Tezuka in particular) is much more likely to win. And while I’m not especially keen on an Ayako win (I, too, would have preferred to see nearly any of Vertical’s other recent releases nominated instead), in my heart of hearts, I admit I’d most like to see a longer series take the prize, above Ayako *or* Drunken Dream.

This will probably be an unpopular opinion, but long-form storytelling is one of the things I most highly value in comics from Japan, and though I’d like to see Hagio get the attention she deserves, I’d rather see her get it for one of her longer series. Like Kate, I hope the nomination inspires Fantagraphics to consider publishing some of those here. I’d be very excited to see one of them on the Eisner list in a couple of years.

All that said, I’d quite possibly die of joy if any of this year’s nominated female mangaka actually did win, Hagio included.

KATE: That’s a great point, MJ: multi-volume series have certainly won Eisners — Buddha and Old Boy are past winners — but it’s very difficult to compare a complete story such as Ayako with an ongoing one such as Bunny Drop or House of Five Leaves. Sustaining a complicated narrative over many volumes is a very different skill than telling a story in a single volume; it seems patently unfair to compare something which is still in an early stage of development with something where one can actually judge the effectiveness of the ending.

And speaking of long-form stories, do you think 2011 will be the year that Naoki Urasawa finally wins an award, or is he doomed to be the Susan Lucci of the Eisners?

DAVID: I think the best way I can answer this is to suggest that Urasawa is an excellent Eisner nominee but not necessarily an ideal Eisner winner. And, speaking as someone who watched All My Children for many of the years that Lucci was nominated for her performance and lost, I think the comparison is apt beyond the nominations-to-losses ratio.

The thing about Lucci, and I say this as an admirer of her work, is that she rarely had those moments of transcendence that could be found in the performances of the actresses who actually won. She’s adept at both comedy and drama, and she certainly has charisma in the role, but I think her great failing was that she made her work look effortless. She was reliably entertaining rather than transporting, and I think you can say something similar about Urasawa.

He makes terrific genre comics that are among the most reliably entertaining you’re likely to find on the shelf. But when I compare his work to that of Tezuka, Hagio, or even Ono to a lesser extent, I see Urasawa possessing great skill as an entertainer rather than singular vision as an artist, and I think that puts him at a disadvantage in the best manga category.

When you compare him to the competition in the best writer/artist category, I think he could theoretically enjoy better odds, but then you have to factor in the tastes of the general population of voters. What percentage of that pool reads comics from Japan? And what percentage of that percentage reads Urasawa’s work?

MJ: David, thank you for clarifying your point so beautifully. That makes a lot of sense to me, and I think it’s helped me understand my own feelings about Urasawa as well. I like 20th Century Boys and all the other work of his I’ve read, and I’d describe them as wonderful comics and great reads. Yet when someone asks me for a list of my favorite mangaka, his name never even comes to mind. Because even though I thoroughly enjoy his work, my “favorites” will be writers who really speak to me in some specific way that is unique to them, and aside from traumatizing me forever with the death of a robotic dog, that’s never been Urasawa.

KATE: Your comments about Urasawa, David, make me wonder if Nabuaki Tadano’s 7 Billion Needles has a chance at winning its category (Best Adaptation from Another Work). Tadano’s work is solid but not showy; unless the judges have read Hal Clement’s original novel, it would be hard for them to appreciate what Tadano did to make the storyline more appropriate for a sequential art treatment. (Clement’s book, for readers unfamiliar with it, takes place largely inside the human host’s body, and consists of many lengthy conversations between host and alien. It’s a good read, but not something that would translate directly into a graphic novel.)

DAVID: That’s hard for me to answer, since I haven’t read Clement’s book. I do think the outcome of that category will depend on whether or not voters are considering how the source material was adapted or the stand-alone quality of the work. I’ve really enjoyed the first three volumes of 7 Billion Needles, so I was just happy to see it get a nomination and, hopefully, more readers from that.

MJ: I was actually surprised to see it nominated there, not because it isn’t a great series (it is), but because from what I understood, it wasn’t a direct adaptation they way we tend to think of them. I do think 7 Billion Needles is the kind of manga that appeals easily to non-manga readers, so at least that might work in its favor. I’m always pleased to see manga nominated outside of the Asian-specific category, so this nomination was one of my special favorites this year.

KATE: I’m hoping that the judges understand that Needle would have been difficult to adapt as is; Tadano did a great job of taking Clement’s ideas and making them work in a visual format, which required some pretty fundamental changes to the script.

And since we’re on the subject of Asian comics nominated for categories besides Best U.S. Edition of International Material–Asia, what did you think of Korea As Viewed By 12 Creators: did it deserve a nomination?

DAVID: I think it did, yes. It’s not the stunner that Japan as Viewed by 17 Creators was, but it does what an anthology is supposed to do: present a variety of styles and introduce the reader to some talented creators while featuring a very respectable percentage of good stories and some great contributions.

I have to say that I was kind of surprised not to see Top Shelf’s Ax anthology nominated. I’m not saying I liked it better than Korea, but when you consider the ambition and breadth of the project, it seemed like such obvious Eisner bait.

MJ: I was a little disappointed in Korea As Viewed By 12 Creators, but I’ll admit that my expectations may have been inappropriately high. I am certainly happy to see it nominated, if only for the visibility it might bring to its Korean creators. Anything that might help to bring a greater variety of Korean comics our way is a win in my book.

I would have liked to see something like Twin Spica break into the non-Asian-specific categories, but I can’t be surprised that it didn’t.

KATE: I’d have been more inclined to nominate Herve Tanquerelle’s “A Rat in the Country of Yong” for Best Short Story than to nominate the entire Korea anthology. “Rat” is a perfect example of how to do wordless comics: it’s got a clear, simple narrative that anyone can follow, but all of the fine details — the character’s mode of transport, the view from his hotel window — add nuance to the “stranger in a strange land” concept. Furthermore, by using animals as stand-ins for people, Tanquerelle avoided one of the problems that plagued other stories in the collection: cultural condescension. I know I’m in the minority for disliking Catel’s contribution, but I found a lot of her observations patronizing and superficial; it’s as if someone based their entire impression of New York City on one trip to Barney’s, you know?

As for titles that I feel were neglected, I have to agree with both of you: Twin Spica would have been a natural choice for the Best Publication for Teens, as would Cross Game. Both series have the rhythm and feeling of a good YA novel — more so, I’d argue, than some of the nominated titles in the teen category, which seem a little young for real adolescents.

Are there any other titles that you feel were unjustly neglected?

DAVID: I do generally find myself wondering why there’s no room for manga in the Best Publication for Teens category, especially for the titles you mentioned, but that might be more of a function of me not having read enough of the nominees that are there. And given that he has three excellent series currently in publication, I would love to see Takehiko Inoue nominated in the Best Writer/Artist category at some point.

MJ: I could definitely get behind that. I’d also love to see Real in the Best Continuing Series category.


See The Manga Critic for a full rundown of 2011’s nominated manga and manhwa titles. A complete listing of this year’s nominees in all categories can be found at Comic-Con.org.

Filed Under: FEATURES Tagged With: 2011 Eisner, 20th century boys, 7 billion needles, a drunken dream and other stories, bunny drop, Eisner Awards, house of five leaves, korea as viewed by 12 creators

A few links on a sick day

January 22, 2009 by MJ 11 Comments

I’m battling illness and stabbing blindly at a difficult review, so just a little link-blogging from me today!

First of all, I keep re-reading Ed Sizemore’s review of Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys and find myself desperately wanting to read the manga. This has shot straight to the top of my to-buy list. Ed’s reviews are always very much from the heart, and it’s obvious how much he enjoyed this manga. Example number 100,000,347 of How Reviews Sell Manga.

Speaking of reviews selling manga, check out Michelle’s recent review of classic shojo manga A,A’. Made me want to buy that too!

At Manga Recon’s recent roundtable, the bunch of us talked about our hopes and fears for film adaptations of manga. I piped up in favor of adapting shorter, less-popular series that could grab someone other than the usual action flick crowd. Not that I expect that will ever, ever happen.

So, has everyone been following the conversation about manga at Hooded Utilitarian? I’ve avoided dwelling on it too much, because I keep getting angry, but one point rings true. I haven’t ever been able to get deep into western comics, and one of the reasons, I think, is that I find them visually overwhelming. So aside from the inaccurate (and insulting) aspect of the argument that simple = simplistic, I think there is something to the fact that I am a manga reader at least in part because the art is easier for me to follow. That is not the only reason by far, nor is it the biggest reason (which is actually that I find the stories being told in manga much more to my taste), but it is definitely a factor.

ETA: Of course I realize now that most of what I just said there has already been said much more eloquently and with less vitriol by Brigid Alverson.

Okay, gotta go. Be sure to check out Deanna’s post from earlier today!

Filed Under: FEATURES Tagged With: 20th century boys, a a', manga

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