Strange news day

It’s a strange news day in the mangasphere.

First item: Artist Go Nagai does not, despite the headline on this article, come right out and say that brains are more interesting than boobs, but he is suprisingly articulate about what he draws and why he draws it that way.

“My heroines were types who would hide themselves behind the idea of masculine sexuality. That’s why I drew them as incredibly strong characters,” he says. “What I drew was not eroticism. It was all about Japan’s culture of shame. The characters want to show what they’ve got, but they’re too embarrassed to do so. It’s all about the tug of war between men and women. I wanted that embarrassment to be the eroticism of the stories.”

So: Considered social commentary. With BOOBS!! And he sees himself performing a public service in these politically correct times:

“Times have changed with society getting strict on things like sexual harassment. With men not allowed to do whatever they want anymore, I’ve made the main character, Hige Godzilla, more of a hero type,” Nagai tells Weekly Playboy. “I’d like this comic to serve as a brake for all those university professors struggling to keep control over themselves so they can read it and be satisfied instead of taking matters into their own hands. It’s not much fun if you show everything, or if you give too much information. I prefer to let loose with a little bit and let the imagination do the rest.”

I thought taking matters into their own hands was the whole point of a comic like that.

Also, check out Xavier Guilbert’s review of a truly bizarre-sounding manga, Kokumin Quiz, a 900-page tome about a game show on steroids. It doesn’t look like it’s out in English, but Google will lead you to a scanlation pretty quick.

More to follow…

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Comments

  1. You know, I don’t doubt Nagai believes this. But I also don’t doubt that he knows that boobs, blood, and giant robots sell manga.

  2. kuromitsu says

    …Rrright. Nagai’s words remind me of Masamune Shirow’s comments on one of his pictures which had a naked girl in some mecha. I don’t remember well, but IIRC t went something like this: “(…blah blah mecha-otaku talk…) Now, look at the girl. You think she’s naked, right? NO! She’s not. She’s wearing a data suit that’s so sophisticated that it’s transparent. It marks an important phase in the development of technology because… …aw, damn, I just wanted to draw a naked girl in a mecha.” :D

  3. “I thought taking matters into their own hands was the whole point of a comic like that.”

    You’re the best, Brigid.