MangaBlog

Some quick links and good reads:

Pata has some questions about Viz’s announcement of its new soccer manga. Hey, I thought they didn’t do OEL. Ed at Mangacast has some thoughts too.

Comipress has an interview with Japanese manga-ka Leiji Matsumoto about the impact of the internet—and specifically, internet piracy—on comics.

AICN looks at Zombie Power (formerly Zombie Powder), by Bleach manga-ka Tite Kubo. This was one of his earlier efforts and was cancelled mid-story.

So, in Zombie Power, you’re investing in an incomplete story, but it’s one that has a hero with a chain saw sword fighting a weird androgynous kid with rocket propelled blade, not to mention the manga version of John Steed.

Sure, sign me up!

Del Rey announces its first graphic novel, which seems to fall squarely in that house’s sci fi/fantasy tradition.

At Precocious Curmudgeon, David Welsh sees this as a sign of increased attention to the YA market.

The Independent doesn’t care for the Initial D movie.

Manga-ka Mimei Sakamoto, creator of Nippon no Mimei, has a few choice words for so-called otakus: loser, pervert, pedophile.

Japan has the Korean wave, Korea has the Japanese wave.

Over in Hayward, California, kids are flocking to the library to take out manga, and this has attracted the attention of the local paper. I like this kid’s comment:

Marshall, who lives near Hayward’s Weekes Branch Library, said he was 10 when his interest in anime was sparked by the popular Pokemon cartoon phenomenon.
“I wanted to know who made this, where did it come from?” Marshall said. “I got more intensely interested in Japanese culture.”
That childhood interest grew into a full-blown obsession and inspired him to begin learning Japanese.
He also dresses up as one of the characters of the Cowboy Bebop anime series for Bay Area anime conventions.

It seems in a lot of these articles that Pokemon is the gateway drug, and Cowboy Bebop cosplay is definitely the hard stuff.

Boogiepop doesn’t laugh
Story by Kouhei Kadono
Art by Kouji Ogata
Seven Seas $10.99

Boogiepop doesn’t laugh is manga for grownups. Based on a phenomenally popular novel, it is more literary, less linear, and more demanding of the reader than your typical manga. Basically a horror story, it unfolds as slices of everyday life, tales told by different narrators, intercut with a few startling but not particularly grisly horror scenes. It’s up to the reader to solve the puzzle and fit the scenes together into a coherent story.

The first half of the book is mostly about a young man, Takaeda, and his friendship with Boogiepop, a mysterious figure who claims to be watching out for danger at his school—but also seems to be some sort of alter ego of Takaeda’s girlfriend. Later, different narrators pick up the story. Each section makes sense by itself, but the stories often conflict, like a manga version of Rashomon. When the narrator changes, time shifts as well, so it’s worthwhile to pay attention to the time cues at the beginning of each chapter.

The plot still isn’t clear by the end of the book. Characters mention in passing that a few girls haven’t shown up to school, and we see some sort of a creature in the form of a naked woman devouring dead schoolgirls. But most of the time people are musing about relationships and school and the meaning of life, and occasionally referring to a serial killer who seems to have committed suicide five years before. And Boogiepop is either a savior or a demon, depending on who is talking.

Writer Kouhei Kadono paces the book well, so that by the end, I was hooked and wanted more. The series is only two volumes; it would be hard to maintain this structure for much longer without totally losing the reader. But for a short series, it’s very effective.

Visually, Boogiepop is moody, with lots of grays and flat areas. One thing that rings false is Boogiepop’s getup; he looks like an escapee from Willie Wonka. But otherwise the book rings true. Artist Kouji Ogata arranges and composes his panels beautifully, and when he needs to, he can set a scene: a teenager’s cluttered bedroom, early morning sun filtering into an empty classroom, turnstiles and cracked pavers at the entrance to a concrete high school. The book suffers from the usual manga problem of the main characters all having almost the same face, but Ogata is much freer with the minor characters.

Seven Seas has done a nice job with production. The book is square, a clear signal that this is not your ordinary manga. The book begins with an eight-page color section with the Japanese table of contents page. Sound effects are translated and often the original Japanese is left in the panel. Extras include a sketchbook, explanation of honorifics, author and illustrator information, and a guide to the Boogiepop phenomenon in Japan.

I found Boogiepop challenging to read, and I often did some time-shifting myself, going back and re-reading sections to piece things together. As a mystery fan, I like puzzling it out myself; the only problem is, with volume 2 not out until July, I can’t peek ahead to the end.

(Based on a review copy provided by Seven Seas.)

Volume 5 of the highly addictive Death Note made its debut at number 126 on this week’s USA Today top 150 list. Volume 4 of the series made it onto the list in March, spending one week at number 118.

Asahi.com reports on the rediscovery of five works by the godfather of manga, Osamu Tezuka. And they weren’t even in Japan:

Takeshi Tanikawa, an associate professor on cinema history at Waseda University, said he found the short pieces in the Gordon W. Prange Collection at the University of Maryland.

Ironically, the pieces, which were published in 1947 and 1948, were preserved because they were collected by censors during the postwar occupation of Japan and subsequently wound up in the Prange collection.

Judging from Tanikawa’s description of the works, things haven’t changed too much:

They include a six-frame strip titled “Tameshi-giri” (trial sword-cutting), in which a subordinate uses his wits to fend off his lord’s violence.

A four-frame strip titled “Tarikiremasen” (I can’t take it) features a mannequin that gets embarrassed when someone peeks up her skirt.

A 16-page short manga, called “Hans to Kin no Kaminoke” (Hans and golden hair), was also found in the collection.

The title had been known to some, but its contents had remained a mystery because there were no copies.

The manga is drawn in a Disney-like style and deals with a story similar to something out of “Grimm’s Fairy Tales.”

Swords, fan service, and some serious hair—sounds like all the ingredients were there from the very beginning.

PW Comics Week asks yaoi manga-ka Youka Nitta, creator of Embracing Love, a question that has occasionally occurred to me: What do her parents think of her work?

YN: Once I started writing it, I would often leave it lying around, to see what they would say. They avoided the entire subject.

PWCW: What do they think now?

YN: In the last few years, with the success of Embracing Love, they realize that I’m working hard and that my work is recognized by fans.

And for those who would disapprove in this country, she has this to say:

Even in Japan, reading boys’ love isn’t something that parents encourage. One fan (in Japan) told me that her parents found her boys’ love books and gave her a lecture. Later, her parents apologized because they had read [her books] and found there was a real story and actual romance. If young people like to read boys’ love, maybe more parents should read it. I don’t feel that there’s something wrong or bad about boys’ love. I want to communicate to parents that I’m not trying to write erotic stories, but stories that show human love and emotion.

PW Comics Week gets David Taylor to emerge from seclusion and talk to about how he started Love Manga, why he stopped (apparently David has some sort of life outside the blogosphere), and, best of all, what he plans to do in the future:

This isn’t permanent. I enjoyed myself far too much to give this up now. I’ve met so many new people and groups that I would have never come in contact with just as a pure reader. This is a little break, and once I think I can achieve a balance it will be back into full swing again.

I’m happy to note that David has a new URL (it’s www.lovemanga.co.uk) and seems to be making plans:

No reviews still, there are just far too many better people reviewing manga—though anyone is welcome to ask my opinion on what I like. Rather, the site will take on a more reference feel. I want to try and make the site more useful for those seeking relevant information about manga, be it where to buy, what’s coming out or purely links to good reviews. I am also looking at trying to push the U.K. scene more—that is something I take particular pride in. All very exciting.

David’s vast knowledge and keen analysis made Love Manga the water cooler of the mangaworld; everyone stopped by to chat. I’m looking forward to his return, so the party can start again.