backlogged manga reviews
Dec. 15th, 2009 02:45 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wingblossomHere, have a backlog of manga reviews. Wrote this about a month ago, meant to add more, and then never did, which means that this post is very, very outdated. XD Figured I should post it anyway, just for the sake of organizing all my natter.
I picked this one up because of the art by Takeshi Obata, whose illustration style never fails to inspire. Going into it, I also knew that this series was about two kids who wanted to become mangaka, and that when it was released, there was a big noise about its sexism.
I didn't know:
1. that the writer was Ooba Tsugumi, the same guy who wrote Death Note
2. just how sexist it was. (though upon learning fact one, I should have assumed the latter.)
Obata, why do you illustrate series that have such terrible writing for female characters? The best so far has been your collaboration with Hotta Yumi, and even that's not saying much! (I have no idea how much say Obata has re: input when working on manga, but he nearly always chooses to draw series that have awful gender politics.)
Anyway, the two main characters of this series are a couple of high school students named Mashiro and Takagi. Mashiro is an aimless kid who plans to pass his entrance exams and become an office worker with a decent paycheck. He has an uncle who used to be a famous mangaka, but Mysteriously Passed Away (ie: killed himself) because of declining success with his work. So, he doesn't want to get involved in manga, despite being a rather good artist. The other guy, Takagi, is a high-scoring student who notices Mashiro's art one day. As a manga geek, he asks him to collaborate on a manga where he writes the story and Mashiro illustrates it. Mashiro eventually agrees, and the story proceeds from there.
Chapter one is engaging. There's a neat meta aspect to the story, and the characters are initially likable enough. This takes a strict dovetail in chapter two, and only gets worse from there. There's one main female character in the series -- the love interest, of course -- and her defining characterization is her agreement to marry Mashiro when he becomes a successful mangaka, despite the fact that they've never spoken before. (Takagi thinks this is ~so romantic~, which underlines my problem with this series in general.)
Another key moment: in one conversation, Takagi tells Mashiro that his love interest is clever because she doesn't put much effort into studying, and that being too intelligent is unattractive for a girl. He then compares her to a girl whom he describes as stupid for being proud of her grades. I quote: "You don't like stupid girls, no matter how cute they are, right? Well, Iwase's the opposite. She's good looking, but you just can't like her, right? She's got the best grades of all the girls in our class, and the fact that she's proud of it is repulsive. I think she's stupid." Besides the obvious logic loop there, the outright sexism makes me wonder if Ooba is actively trying to make girls avoid this series.
There's also another scene, later, where Mashiro goes to his mother for permission to be a mangaka. She refuses, and then relents when Mashiro's father gives him the okay, because "men have dreams that women can't understand." What?
I was expecting Bakuman to be about on the same level as other WJ manga. In actuality, it's much worse. Or at least more cheerfully blatant. I also love how, in Ooba Tsugumi's stories, the men are all brilliant and/or creative geniuses, while the women merely exist to fall all over them for it. There's also some teeth-gratingly bad dialogue that reeks of classism.
The art is lovely. It's just a shame about the plot. And everything else.
I love this manga so much! And it's all Ari's fault. At first, I thought the anime was a better introduction to the series, since the direction is more streamlined and dynamic at the start. And as far as the manga goes, the first few chapters of Nabari are somewhat rough, if not a bit misleading.
It's a shame that this throws people off, since this series is a lot more than what it appears to be on the surface. Since it's a shounen manga that focuses on ninja (or MODERN DAY NINJA!!111, to be exact), the automatic conclusion that most people draw is that Nabari no Ou is like Naruto. Which it isn't, once you get over the superficialities. In a reversal of usual tropes, the protagonist of this series, Miharu, is rail-thin and apathetic. Rather than worry about developing his powers, he's more concerned about keeping himself intact. This isn't a bad strategy, since he's the container for the Shinrabanshou, a secret art said to hold all of the world's knowledge, which means that factions from the Kairoushuu are out to get him and possess it. It also means that Miharu is told that he has to become the "king" of Nabari in order to protect himself, which doesn't mean a lot initially, because he's decided that he's not going to give a damn.
I can't recall if I've ever seen a shounen protagonist like Miharu. However, Kamatani's deconstruction doesn't stop with his character. In Nabari no Ou, the emphasis is on character interaction, rather than fighting. There aren't any tournament arcs or power-ups to be found in sight. There are action scenes (good ones, at that), but they aren't the focus of this series, making for an atypical shounen manga.
Although the characters of Nabari no Ou may be more competent than the average individual, they are still ordinary people. They bleed, they get hurt; sometimes, they die. Moreover, the two "main" sides featured in the series -- Banten and Kairoushuu -- both have fleshed-out, sympathetic characterization. While Kairoushuu is introduced as the antagonistic side, this impression is broken down piece by piece, leaving the reader wondering at the motivations of each character.
In fact, the world of Nabari is a place where the outcasts of the outer world congregate. For all intents and purposes, this is true of nearly every main character. Either they use a cover to blend into the outer world as ordinary citizens, or they keep themselves emotionally distanced from everyone. Sometimes they do both. In the case of one character, they are barely capable of human interaction because they have not been able to form any semblance of an identity. As these characters interact with one another, though, they end up forming bonds that change their expectations, both for themselves and others. And as they do, these are what become turning points in the manga.
In short, this manga is about struggle, deep-seated fears and emotions, and relationships of all sorts. It's not devoid of humor, though; in fact, there's a good mix between drama and more light-hearted material that shows up when you least expect it.
Nabari no Ou also has a great buildup throughout its 62 chapters (keeping in mind that the series has not yet concluded). Not all of the arcs are equal in terms of writing quality, but the pacing and story development is always consistent. More than that, Kamatani Yuuki knows how to provoke immense empathy for all of her characters. It's one of the few manga I've read where I thought I could have cried if I were so inclined, and chapter 50's Spoilery Event convinced me that this is a mangaka who knows what she's doing. Very much worth a read.
P.S. The hoyay is there, if this is relevant to your interests. Considering my flist, I'm pretty sure it is.
Where do I start with this series? This is actually the second series I've read by Mizushiro Setona; the first was X-Day, which had lackluster writing despite moments of emotive art. I never came back to her work after that, but in the past year or so, I've heard a lot of praise about her, so I've been willing to read her series again.
Mizushiro Setona claims that she stuffed all the things she loves about manga into this series, and it really shows. There are creepy things and genderfuck, cracked beads, keys, and a black moon. There are all sorts of disturbing power dynamics, and a dream world where students take on a different form than they have in reality. One girl has a hole where her head (and heart) should be, someone else appears as a long distended arm. Yet another character appears as a black suit of armor.
I still have to piece together all of my thoughts on this series, but it's worth saying that after I finished it, I immediately sought out every single other manga of hers I could find. Right now, I'm in the middle of reading through them all. I may review The Cornered Mouse Dreams of Cheese and The Carp on the Chopping Block Jumps Twice (yes, those are the actual titles) next.
Also, the ending. Oh, the ending.
Further thoughts on the series (spoilery):
Sou was obviously not the Black Knight. I tore through the series without much thought, and I saw that twist coming by the end of volume two. Mashiro is convinced of Sou's identity throughout the series, but it's just one of the many, many things that Mashiro has no clue about. Mashiro's lack of perception when it comes to Sou echoes his own really fucked up notions of gender.
I love that Kureha called him on that, though. Actually, Kureha in general was wonderful. I loved her character development, and that while both Sou and Mashiro floundered, she actually began to get over her childhood trauma and become a stronger person instead. In the wrong hands, her character could have been so grating. Instead, she wound up being one of the best parts of the manga instead.
I was surprised that Sou turned out to be the teddy bear! I was not expecting that. Mizushiro foreshadowed his relationship with Ai pretty well, but I was still taken aback at the reveal that she was basically a figment of his imagination. Except, you know, not.
I'm up to chapter 52 right now, on behest of my friend Alex. I've heard that the second half of the manga is much better than the first, so....please tell me it gets better? At the moment, I feel like I'm reading the chapters just to get through them. Not because it's a gag manga right now, but because it's a gag manga that isn't even particularly funny, at that. Maybe my opinion will change if I read more, but it's hard to muster up the enthusiasm when there are other series I'd rather read first.
On the other hand, the art is pretty stylish, so that is one plus point in its favor.
I picked this one up because of the art by Takeshi Obata, whose illustration style never fails to inspire. Going into it, I also knew that this series was about two kids who wanted to become mangaka, and that when it was released, there was a big noise about its sexism.
I didn't know:
1. that the writer was Ooba Tsugumi, the same guy who wrote Death Note
2. just how sexist it was. (though upon learning fact one, I should have assumed the latter.)
Obata, why do you illustrate series that have such terrible writing for female characters? The best so far has been your collaboration with Hotta Yumi, and even that's not saying much! (I have no idea how much say Obata has re: input when working on manga, but he nearly always chooses to draw series that have awful gender politics.)
Anyway, the two main characters of this series are a couple of high school students named Mashiro and Takagi. Mashiro is an aimless kid who plans to pass his entrance exams and become an office worker with a decent paycheck. He has an uncle who used to be a famous mangaka, but Mysteriously Passed Away (ie: killed himself) because of declining success with his work. So, he doesn't want to get involved in manga, despite being a rather good artist. The other guy, Takagi, is a high-scoring student who notices Mashiro's art one day. As a manga geek, he asks him to collaborate on a manga where he writes the story and Mashiro illustrates it. Mashiro eventually agrees, and the story proceeds from there.
Chapter one is engaging. There's a neat meta aspect to the story, and the characters are initially likable enough. This takes a strict dovetail in chapter two, and only gets worse from there. There's one main female character in the series -- the love interest, of course -- and her defining characterization is her agreement to marry Mashiro when he becomes a successful mangaka, despite the fact that they've never spoken before. (Takagi thinks this is ~so romantic~, which underlines my problem with this series in general.)
Another key moment: in one conversation, Takagi tells Mashiro that his love interest is clever because she doesn't put much effort into studying, and that being too intelligent is unattractive for a girl. He then compares her to a girl whom he describes as stupid for being proud of her grades. I quote: "You don't like stupid girls, no matter how cute they are, right? Well, Iwase's the opposite. She's good looking, but you just can't like her, right? She's got the best grades of all the girls in our class, and the fact that she's proud of it is repulsive. I think she's stupid." Besides the obvious logic loop there, the outright sexism makes me wonder if Ooba is actively trying to make girls avoid this series.
There's also another scene, later, where Mashiro goes to his mother for permission to be a mangaka. She refuses, and then relents when Mashiro's father gives him the okay, because "men have dreams that women can't understand." What?
I was expecting Bakuman to be about on the same level as other WJ manga. In actuality, it's much worse. Or at least more cheerfully blatant. I also love how, in Ooba Tsugumi's stories, the men are all brilliant and/or creative geniuses, while the women merely exist to fall all over them for it. There's also some teeth-gratingly bad dialogue that reeks of classism.
The art is lovely. It's just a shame about the plot. And everything else.
I love this manga so much! And it's all Ari's fault. At first, I thought the anime was a better introduction to the series, since the direction is more streamlined and dynamic at the start. And as far as the manga goes, the first few chapters of Nabari are somewhat rough, if not a bit misleading.
It's a shame that this throws people off, since this series is a lot more than what it appears to be on the surface. Since it's a shounen manga that focuses on ninja (or MODERN DAY NINJA!!111, to be exact), the automatic conclusion that most people draw is that Nabari no Ou is like Naruto. Which it isn't, once you get over the superficialities. In a reversal of usual tropes, the protagonist of this series, Miharu, is rail-thin and apathetic. Rather than worry about developing his powers, he's more concerned about keeping himself intact. This isn't a bad strategy, since he's the container for the Shinrabanshou, a secret art said to hold all of the world's knowledge, which means that factions from the Kairoushuu are out to get him and possess it. It also means that Miharu is told that he has to become the "king" of Nabari in order to protect himself, which doesn't mean a lot initially, because he's decided that he's not going to give a damn.
I can't recall if I've ever seen a shounen protagonist like Miharu. However, Kamatani's deconstruction doesn't stop with his character. In Nabari no Ou, the emphasis is on character interaction, rather than fighting. There aren't any tournament arcs or power-ups to be found in sight. There are action scenes (good ones, at that), but they aren't the focus of this series, making for an atypical shounen manga.
Although the characters of Nabari no Ou may be more competent than the average individual, they are still ordinary people. They bleed, they get hurt; sometimes, they die. Moreover, the two "main" sides featured in the series -- Banten and Kairoushuu -- both have fleshed-out, sympathetic characterization. While Kairoushuu is introduced as the antagonistic side, this impression is broken down piece by piece, leaving the reader wondering at the motivations of each character.
In fact, the world of Nabari is a place where the outcasts of the outer world congregate. For all intents and purposes, this is true of nearly every main character. Either they use a cover to blend into the outer world as ordinary citizens, or they keep themselves emotionally distanced from everyone. Sometimes they do both. In the case of one character, they are barely capable of human interaction because they have not been able to form any semblance of an identity. As these characters interact with one another, though, they end up forming bonds that change their expectations, both for themselves and others. And as they do, these are what become turning points in the manga.
In short, this manga is about struggle, deep-seated fears and emotions, and relationships of all sorts. It's not devoid of humor, though; in fact, there's a good mix between drama and more light-hearted material that shows up when you least expect it.
Nabari no Ou also has a great buildup throughout its 62 chapters (keeping in mind that the series has not yet concluded). Not all of the arcs are equal in terms of writing quality, but the pacing and story development is always consistent. More than that, Kamatani Yuuki knows how to provoke immense empathy for all of her characters. It's one of the few manga I've read where I thought I could have cried if I were so inclined, and chapter 50's Spoilery Event convinced me that this is a mangaka who knows what she's doing. Very much worth a read.
P.S. The hoyay is there, if this is relevant to your interests. Considering my flist, I'm pretty sure it is.
Where do I start with this series? This is actually the second series I've read by Mizushiro Setona; the first was X-Day, which had lackluster writing despite moments of emotive art. I never came back to her work after that, but in the past year or so, I've heard a lot of praise about her, so I've been willing to read her series again.
Mizushiro Setona claims that she stuffed all the things she loves about manga into this series, and it really shows. There are creepy things and genderfuck, cracked beads, keys, and a black moon. There are all sorts of disturbing power dynamics, and a dream world where students take on a different form than they have in reality. One girl has a hole where her head (and heart) should be, someone else appears as a long distended arm. Yet another character appears as a black suit of armor.
I still have to piece together all of my thoughts on this series, but it's worth saying that after I finished it, I immediately sought out every single other manga of hers I could find. Right now, I'm in the middle of reading through them all. I may review The Cornered Mouse Dreams of Cheese and The Carp on the Chopping Block Jumps Twice (yes, those are the actual titles) next.
Also, the ending. Oh, the ending.
Further thoughts on the series (spoilery):
Sou was obviously not the Black Knight. I tore through the series without much thought, and I saw that twist coming by the end of volume two. Mashiro is convinced of Sou's identity throughout the series, but it's just one of the many, many things that Mashiro has no clue about. Mashiro's lack of perception when it comes to Sou echoes his own really fucked up notions of gender.
I love that Kureha called him on that, though. Actually, Kureha in general was wonderful. I loved her character development, and that while both Sou and Mashiro floundered, she actually began to get over her childhood trauma and become a stronger person instead. In the wrong hands, her character could have been so grating. Instead, she wound up being one of the best parts of the manga instead.
I was surprised that Sou turned out to be the teddy bear! I was not expecting that. Mizushiro foreshadowed his relationship with Ai pretty well, but I was still taken aback at the reveal that she was basically a figment of his imagination. Except, you know, not.
I'm up to chapter 52 right now, on behest of my friend Alex. I've heard that the second half of the manga is much better than the first, so....please tell me it gets better? At the moment, I feel like I'm reading the chapters just to get through them. Not because it's a gag manga right now, but because it's a gag manga that isn't even particularly funny, at that. Maybe my opinion will change if I read more, but it's hard to muster up the enthusiasm when there are other series I'd rather read first.
On the other hand, the art is pretty stylish, so that is one plus point in its favor.
no subject
on 2009-12-16 02:11 am (UTC)As for Nabari, I'm impressed! XD I'm pretty sure when I recommend it to people, I'm usually just like, "It's cool! There are ninjas? But not like Naruto! They're like... modern day ninjas! AND THEY'RE PRETTY SEE? *pic spam*" Yours probably is much better. (Also, I like your point about how both sides are developed and sympathetic - it's probably one of my favorite parts of the series, as well as the way the characters grow and how they stick together, even when they "change sides." So!)
Third sounds really interesting, and now I want to go read it. XD I am making note! You had me at "genderfuck," actually. XD
I'm so predictable.And as for KHR, I'm glad I'm not the only person who started reading and wasn't impressed? I actually didn't get very far at all - I can't believe you made it through 52 chapters and you don't really like it much! :O I would be making excuses and begging off reading more at that point, for sure. (
Okay, that's a lie, because I routinely swear to one of my friends that no, it's fine, I do like it, I'm just easily distracted, sorry.So maybe I wouldn't!)Anyway, I approve of you writing manga reviews. =D You should keep doing so. They're interesting to read! And they remind me that I should think when I read instead of just zoning. XD
I also still have to watch that anime you recced me. I WILL DO SO... when I desperately need a break from the essay I STILL HAVEN'T WRITTEN. What am I doing here? D= =P yeah, idek.no subject
on 2009-12-16 02:13 am (UTC)no subject
on 2009-12-16 02:14 am (UTC)no subject
on 2010-01-01 07:25 pm (UTC)And more people should read Nabari no Ou! Not just because I think there needs to be more good fic for the series, although that's definitely a part of it. XD There was one fic written for Yuletide this year that I liked; I'll have to dig it up and link to it along with all the other Yuletide fics I read recently. It would help if chapters came out at a slightly less glacial pace, though, scanlations notwithstanding.
Also, picspam is never a bad way to rec something! I was this close to adding manga panels to this entry, actually, before I decided that would require more time than I wanted to spend on this entry. *g*
You should read After School Nightmare! It's definitely an interesting series, with bonus amounts of creepy and WTF moments, especially at the very end. It's also very difficult to talk about without spoiling the whole plot, so you should just go ahead and check it out for yourself. (And then tell me what you think of it. XD)
I guess I can see the appeal of KHR, but it doesn't do much for me. I just don't see why it should take six or seven volumes for a decent plot to kick in -- or that failing, why it should change tone so drastically in the middle of the series. I kind of wanted to like it when I started reading, since my friend who recced it to me is a big fan of the series, but there's only so far I can go with that. I might skip ahead and see if my opinion improves later, though.
I'm glad you like the reviews. XD I'll have to keep it up! Because it is fun to track my thoughts as I go through a series, instead of just writing about it at the very end.