The Manga Curmudgeon

Spending too much on comics, then talking too much about them

You are here: Home / Archives for Viz

World travel Wednesday

by

I don’t know why Drawn & Quarterly’s Aya is showing up in West Virginia today when it doesn’t seem to be on Diamond’s shipping list for this week. All I know is that it was listed in the local shop’s “What’s due Wednesday” e-mail, and that this makes me very happy.

This book alone would make the week a memorable one, but there’s also the debut of Hope Larson’s Tulip Tree Press via Rebecca Kratz’s House of Sugar, a thoughtful and funny collection of strips.

Fantagraphics unveils its repackaged Love and Rockets books, Heartbreak Soup and Maggie the Mechanic. I’ll probably add them into my next Amazon order instead of picking them up at the shop, but I’m glad that the publisher has provided a clear, affordable, portable entry point for the material.

I no longer know what from Viz is arriving when in my neck of the woods. The fifth volume of Nana still hasn’t shown up, and I’m starting to twitch. I did get a review copy of The Drifting Classroom vol. 4 from the publisher. JUMP! JUMP! JUMP!

Skating by

by

Okay, the terror of freezing rain followed by sleet followed by snow has renewed my interest in this week’s comics, perhaps because weather might keep them from arriving. I’m fickle and, though it seems contradictory, a creature of habit. Sue me.

Praise from virtually all quarters has rendered the Nextwave: Agents of Hate trade paperback (Marvel) irresistible. I surrender.

The week basically belongs to Viz, though, with new volumes of The Drifting Classroom, Monster, Train Man: Densha Otoko, and the debut of Inubaka: Crazy for Dogs, for anyone who’s still riding a cute-dog buzz from Westminster. (I can’t believe there isn’t a show-dog name generator somewhere out there on the web.)

And while Del Rey doesn’t have any releases on the schedule, there’s a sprightly round of recommendations in comments on this MangaBlog entry. It was the final kick in the pants I needed to order a copy of Mushishi.

Express, rush hour and local

by

A while back, I took a look at the competing manga versions of the Densha Otoko story. Having read the final volumes of the Viz and CMX variations, I thought I would follow up.

My initial impression stands. Of the three (Del Rey released a one-volume shôjo version), Hidenori Hara’s take, published by Viz, is the clear winner. It’s the most subdued of the three, and it’s also the most sincere. Hara seems to stand back and let the charm of the characters and the sweetness of their growing rapport do most of the work. The title otaku’s confidence builds gradually but credibly, and Hara takes the time to give depth of character to the object of Train Man’s affection, the lovely “Hermess.” She’s not just pretty and kind; she seems like an actual person, one with enough layers to carry infatuation beyond the “love at first sight” point.

Wataru Watanabe, creator of the CMX version, opts for what I’ll call the “explosive nosebleed” approach to the story. Train Man is constantly on the verge of panic; he’s a garden-variety shônen spastic who just can’t believe this is happening to him. I couldn’t really believe it either, honestly, unless his Hermess is the most intuitive and tolerant of women. (I find romances that rely on excessive intuition or tolerance of one of the parties involved a little hard to swallow.)

There are two other essential problems with Watanabe’s approach, as I see it. The first is the visual aesthetic, which is aggressively cute. Train Man and Hermess both look about fourteen, which ends up undermining any emotional weight the story has. And since the story verges on saccharine to begin with, extra dollops of adorability result in an oversell. It ends up looking like a fantasy instead of a contemporary fable.

The second is Watanabe’s decision to beef up the role of the message-board denizens who help Train Man cope with his insecurities and woo Hermess. This results in a lot of superfluous subplots that distract from what should be a simple story of unlikely people coming together. The impulse to give Train Man’s cheering section layers and happy endings of their own is generous, but it clutters things up.

It’s not a story that can withstand a lot of flourishes or extra baggage. Hara keeps it streamlined, so Viz wins.

The lingering question is whether three concurrent, licensed versions of a pleasant modern romance were absolutely necessary. From an artistic standpoint, I don’t think so. It’s a sweet urban myth about people being nice to strangers, which seems portable enough in times when people are casting about to find the next permutation of “community.”

From a marketing standpoint, I think the simultaneous releases made sense, because it pre-packages a phenomenon for an audience that isn’t already sold on the story’s benign merits. It capitalizes on the story itself and its origins, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the curiosity factor didn’t drive readers who might otherwise have been relatively disinterested to sample multiple versions. It worked for me.

(Comments are based on complimentary copies provided by CMX and Viz.)

Quick comic comments: Thirds

by

After reading the third volume of Yû Watase’s Absolute Boyfriend (Viz – Shojo Beat), I think I’m done with this series. The love triangle that drives the story fails to make me care about any of the potential outcomes, mostly because Watase hasn’t convinced me that Night is an actual character. I’m not all that interested in the characters that aren’t custom-made love robots either. Even fluffy romantic comedies need some emotional suspense.

There’s also something creepy about supporting characters trying to stage the heroine’s first sexual experience for commercial purposes.

*

On the other hand, Meca Tanaka’s Omukae Desu (CMX) invests pleasant, episodic diversion with some very appealing romantic tension with its third volume. Without sacrificing any of the appeal of the ghost-of-the-chapter structure of the stories, Tanaka is gradually adding more layers to the characterizations of her core cast.

I liked the book’s quartet of afterlife travel agents to begin with, so it’s very rewarding to see more shadings emerge. It gives their interactions more purpose and weight. The extra effort is also spilling over into the guest ghosts; the unfinished business that’s keeping them tethered to their old lives is more affecting because it’s more resonant for the people trying to help them move on.

Tanaka’s illustrations are becoming progressively more polished as the series moves along as well. I liked the loose, scratchy quality of the early chapters, and there’s still some of that in evidence, but it’s used more specifically for comic effect. It creates nice visual balance.

*

And back on the subject of omake, both Tanaka and Watase cover the usual territory – overwork, side projects, and fan appreciation. The difference is that Tanaka seems to take a light, self-deprecating approach while Watase… Seriously, what’s going on with Watase? Sometimes they sound like messages from a political prisoner smuggled out of a manga sweatshop by an international aid agency.

Charts and graphs

by

Since Publishers Weekly Comics Week can’t seem to be bothered to offer commentary on their top ten comics for the month of January, I thought I’d take a stab at it.

1. Death Note, Volume 9. Tsugumi Ohba. (Viz Media, $7.99 ISBN 978-142150630-2) With so much attention paid to “the Cartoon Network Effect,” it’s a little surprising to see a manga title rise to the top of a sales chart without a concurrent anime release acting as a driver. It’s less surprising that said title is Death Note, which combines a perpetually twisting, suspenseful narrative with excellent art.

2. Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 11. Hiromu Arakawa. (Viz Media, $9.99 ISBN 978-142150838-2) But it seems that the Cartoon Network Effect isn’t entirely irrelevant, even if airings of the Fullmetal Alchemist anime are sporadic and reserved for the wee hours of the morning.

3. Vampire Knight, Volume 1. Matsuri Hino. (Viz Media, $8.99 ISBN 978-142150822-1) While Fruits Basket (Tokyopop) generally holds the title for highest sales chart shôjo placement, this new addition to Viz’s Shojo Beat line is the first series to join the serialization roster of the line’s monthly anthology since its launch in 2005.

4. One Piece: It’s All Right!, Volume 13. Eiichiro Oda. (Viz Media, $7.95 ISBN 978-142150665-4) Is it the Saturday morning cartoon? The serialization in the Shonen Jump monthly anthology? Or do kids just love pirates?

5. Black Cat, Volume 16. Kentaro Yabuki. (Viz Media, $7.99 ISBN 978-142150610-4) The second entry from Viz’s Shonen Jump line, with its $8 price point and action-rich stories.

6. Ouran High School Host Club, Volume 8. Bisco Hatori. (Viz Media, $8.99 ISBN 978-142151161-0) Another Shojo Beat offering, though not one serialized in the anthology. The higher frequency of releases in Shojo Beat’s non-serialized titles (Yû Watase’s serialized Absolute Boyfriend only recently released its third volume) doesn’t seem to be hindering sales.

7. Shaman King, Volume 11. Hiroyuki Takei. (Viz Media, $7.95 ISBN 978-142150678-4) Okay, maybe they don’t all beg for individual commentary. See comments for One Piece.

8. Punch!, Volume 2. Rie Takada. (Viz Media, $8.99 ISBN 978-142150875-7) Um… ditto. See comments on Ouran High School Host Club.

9. Inuyasha, Volume 28. Rumiko Takahashi. (Viz Media, $7.95 978-1421504681) While many women have had success in shônen manga (like Hiromu Arakawa above), Rumiko Takahashi remains one of the best examples with long-running hits like Inuyasha and the recently concluded Ranma ½.

10. W Juliet, Volume 14. Emurai. (Viz Media, $9.99 ISBN 978-142150567-1) Shôjo releases don’t need to be new (or new-ish) to enjoy strong sales, as demonstrated by this long-running series.

Comics Worth Reading and MangaBlog have also weighed in on the list.

Grab bag

by

Stop it, manga! I haven’t received my tax refund yet! And you, western comics publishers… you’re not helping! At all!

Tons of the stuff that was due out last week is actually arriving this week, along with a bunch of other stuff that I want. It’s going to be a bloodbath.

The first culprit is Dark Horse, which unleashes new volumes of Eden: It’s an Endless World!, Mail, and The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, any one of which could vie for “pick of the week” status. I’m also very curious about the first volume of Red String by Gina Biggs, the first volume of a collection of a shôjo-influenced webcomic.

I can’t remember the last time I was really excited by the prospect of a monthly from DC, but I’m really looking forward to Shazam: The Monster Society of Evil. My interest in the character probably peaked with the live-action Saturday-morning show that ran when I was about eight (and even then I preferred Isis), but it’s Jeff Smith doing a comic that doesn’t apparently require consumption of an anti-depressant to get through it. It sounds like exactly the kind of friendly-to-a-wider-audience treatment of an iconic character that some bloggers have been wanting.

And Dark Horse doesn’t own the helping-the-dead manga category this week. CMX has a new volume of Omukae Desu.

I remember reviewing the first two volumes of Category: Freaks (DrMaster) about a year ago, and the third volume is just coming out now? I’ll have to put it on the “check it out when time and disposable income permit” list.

Escape from “Special” by Miss Lasko-Gross (Fantagraphics) will also go on that list. It sounds intriguing, and who can resist exuberant, demographically sensitive solicitation text like this: “Miss Lasko-Gross, who has the sensibility of a love child of Linda Barry and David B. midwifed by Judy Blume, has created a graphic novel that should appeal not only to the growing readers of graphic novels, but to teens grappling with similar unresolved questions.” Not me, that’s for sure.

Oni releases the second issue of the very appealing Maintenance, a workplace comedy about custodians at a mad-scientist think tank.

Viz delivers the Shojo Beat titles that were initially scheduled for release last week, along with the final volume of Train Man: Densha Otoko, my favorite of the competing manga adaptations of the story.

Afterwords

by

I generally don’t evaluate manga based on the quality of the extras available, because they vary so much from publisher to publisher and book to book. Sometimes those sidebar messages from manga-ka are fun, and sometimes you get Yû Watase providing a release schedule of anime, soundtracks, art books, and other products based on her manga. (Short version: “It’s all awesome!”)

I know those sidebars aren’t really intended to be deeply informative or uniquely insightful. They’re around to fill the spaces in the tankoubon where the ads ran in the magazines, and possibly to generate a little rooting value by having the manga-ka speak directly (or “directly”) to the audience.

The content is generally pretty repetitive. They’re working really hard, and they’re sorry they’re behind on their fan mail. This volume isn’t as good as they’d have liked, but they’re trying, and reader support keeps them going. They wish they had a kitty. That sort of thing.

Sometimes the manga-ka will slide a little insight into the mix. I remember the bits from Ultra Maniac amounting to what was essentially Wataru Yoshizumi’s very polite take-down of the process of adapting the manga into an anime. (“Well, it really doesn’t bear much resemblance to the comic I’ve created, and I don’t really understand the choices you’ve made, but thanks for the extra income!”)

Ai Yazawa’s back-up strips are always a pleasure. I love her repertory-company approach in the “Junko’s Place” strips in Nana, with the cast sort of hanging out and bickering over their comparative popularity levels. The strip in Paradise Kiss where the characters break into Yazawa’s apartment and steal her clothing is a particular favorite.

I also like Minoru Toyoda’s little mini-summaries in volumes of Love Roma where he talks a bit about his creative process – what made him want to tell a particular story, or what effect he was trying to achieve with an individual chapter. And I’m crazy about the continuing struggles of the S.C.D., an alliance of one-appearance characters who are scheming for greater visibility.

But for me, the undisputed ruler of creator talkback is Emma’s Kaoru Mori. Wikipedia informs me that Mori is “famous for her unflattering self-portraits” as much as she is for her incredible storytelling, and I can believe it. While I love the serenity and emotional detail of the manga, I’m totally enamored of the fanatical enthusiasm Mori portrays in those after-chats. (Mely provides an example at Coffee and Ink.) CMX kindly sent me a galley of the third volume of Emma, and Mori’s remarks begin with the disclosure that the chief editor of Beam described her as “a ‘weird woman.’”

Well, duh. That’s the fun of it for me. While the release of watching Mori run rampant isn’t necessary to enjoy the story that precedes these bits, it’s still great fun. I could read a book that consisted of nothing but Mori’s after-chats.

Shôjoverload

by

I thought Dark Horse was supposed to be continuing its crusade to make me love them this week with new volumes of The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service and Mail, but it doesn’t look like that’s meant to be. I can wait, because the rest of the manga publishing industry is wooing me with a vengeance this week.

I’ve already read a preview of the second volume of Penguin Revolution (CMX) and found it as solidly funny and adorable as the first, so that’s a lock.

Del Rey delivers the eighth volume of Nodame Cantabile, which always manages to charm me in spite of what I realize is very little in the way of overarching narrative movement. Kitchen Princess offers the twin inducements of cute shôjo and culinary content, and I have very little resistance to either.

Didn’t Go! Comi just release the fifth volumes of their first four series? It feels like they did, but new installments of Cantarella and Tenshi Ja Nai!! are always welcome.

There’s been considerable enthusiasm over at Tokyopop for Wild Adapter, and while you’d expect a publisher to be enthusiastic about its books, this endorsement comes from Lillian Diaz-Przybyl. Books that Diaz-Przybyl really, really likes (like 12 Days and Shout Out Loud) tend to be books I really, really like.

I’m not quite up to volume 17 of Bleach (Viz) yet, so I’ll have to content myself with the fifth volume of Nana, which is more than adequate compensation.

And it’s not manga, but I found Marvel’s Defenders mini-series (by Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis and Kevin Maguire) to be really entertaining. I can’t seem to find a page on Marvel’s site for the Indefensible trade paperback, but here’s one for the first issue of the floppy version.

(Quick housekeeping question: Is it useful to throw these posts into the various publisher categories, or is it just kind of irritating to have a laundry list of categories at the top of them? I can’t decide.)

Notebooks

by

Another interesting press release, this time from Viz:

“VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, has announced that it has licensed from Nippon Television Network Corporation (NTV) the Download to Own (DTO) and Download to Rent (DTR) rights for the United States for the smash hit DEATH NOTE anime series, currently airing in Japan.”

I posted the full release over at the Flipped Forum.

Edited to note: After posting in haste, I checked with a Viz spokesperson, and the anime episodes will be subtitled for their downloadable release.

The wayback machine

by

A discussion over at MangaBlog about racial stereotypes in a recent volume of Eyeshield 21 (originally highlighted at Digital Femme) reminded me of how another publisher handled similar material. Here’s an introductory piece in the second volume of Dark Horse’s printing of Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy, published in 2002:

“Many non-Japanese, including people from Africa and Southeast Asia, appear in Osamu Tezuka’s works. Sometimes these people are depicted very differently from the way they actually are today, in a manner that exaggerates a time long past, or shows them to be from extremely undeveloped lands. Some feel that such images contribute to racial discrimination, especially against people of African descent. This was never Osamu Tezuka’s intent, but we believe that as long as there are people who feel insulted or demeaned by these depictions, we must not ignore their feelings.

“We are against discrimination, in all its forms, and intend to continue to work for its elimination. Nonetheless, we do not believe it would be proper to revise these works. Tezuka is no longer with us, and we cannot erase what he has done, and to alter his work would only violate his rights as a creator. More importantly, stopping publication or changing the content of his work would do little to solve the problems of discrimination that exist in the world.

“We are presenting Osamu Tezuka’s work as it was originally created, without any changes. We do this because we believe it is also important to promote the underlying themes in his work, such as love for mankind and the sanctity of life. We hope that when you, the reader, encounter this work, you will keep in mind the differences in attitudes, then and now, toward discrimination, and that this will contribute to an even greater awareness of such problems.

“—Tezuka Productions and Dark Horse Comics”

The cases are obviously very different. Tezuka is an undisputed manga master, and republication of his work for wider audiences has archival significance. Also, Astro Boy was originally published in the 1950s, where as Eyeshield 21 launched in 2002, like the Dark Horse reprint quoted above.

But I do admire Dark Horse’s straightforward approach to questionable material. It seems like a frank and sensible way to respect both the creator’s rights and the sensitivities of the audience.