Slugline: The demon version of the game Operation.
It is hard to honestly review Tezuka's titles. His presence looms so large over the history of manga it's hard to separate the work from the creator, something that can be hard to accomplish even on less notable creators. Dororo is from Tezuka's later period, when he was transitioning to more mature works and exists at the juncture of horror and action. The main character, Hyakkimaru , is trying to recover the 48 body parts that his father gave away before his son's birth for power. Born alive, the remnants of the child kept mystically alive without the missing body parts grew up, using prosthetics and other artificial devices to appear human. But the various forms of death stalks him, and the only way he can become whole and get death off his trail is to hunt down the 48 demons, each time killing one having one of his body parts regenerating. The title of the series Dororo comes from the child thief that is following him, determine to steal Hyakkimaru's valuables (but the most valuable bits of him, his very body, has already been stolen) even though it seems to be more of an excuse for Dororo to follow Hyakkimaru's quest.
The other hard part of reviewing Tezuka is the fact that while he uses many genre conventions, that is because he is often creating those conventions. His art has not aged well, being very cartoony by modern standards. But while some of the characters seem thinly sketched, what is going on conveys a world that is terrible and cruel with people with even the best intentions inevitably being get punished. Even the main characters, Hyakkimaru and Dororo cannot afford to trust each other despite their 'friendship', because that is how this world works. I assume that this period is intended to evoke one of the civil war periods in feudal Japan, and at this time the only thing that makes sense is Hyakkimaru's search to reclaim itself. Each piece he reclaims is a gift he appreciates, which in turn reflects on the world around him. So despite the cartoony and simplistic veneer on top of the story, something deeper is going on, about how seeking oneself is more than just a selfish quest.
Dororo, vol. 1 is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.
The kids continue to slog through their unfolding disaster, and now some gaps are starting to show in the manga-ka's apocalyptic future. The biology does not really work. Some scenes are blatant info-dumps that don't make a lot of sense in the context offered. The abilities of sixth graders are pushed to their believable limits. And the third descent into Lord of the Flies mode is not quite as interesting as the first two.
Still, there are a few character moments and interesting context in this mid-70s look at a post-apocalyptic world. In a time when Americans were worrying about nuclear war, at least one manga-ka saw climate change as a global threat.
The numbers are whittled further and further down, as tends to happen in horror stories, by increasingly strange, unlikely, and a situations that might be convincing if I didn't already know that bubonic plague is transmitted by fleas, not by touch. And believe me -- if you've got fleas, you know about it. Those kids should be itching up a storm if they've got fleas. And then there was the mummy, which starts out great, even funny, and devolves into a plot device.
But despite the occasional stretching of credulity, Umezu-sensei continues to present scathingly honest reactions to outrageous situations. We take a right turn at Lord of the Flies and head into pogrom territory -- all the more grimly realistic because history is littered with purges like this.
I thought volume 6 would be the end, but there's more to come. Our narrator is safe, we know, but will anybody else be left when it's all over?
by Kosuke Fujishima Released in the U.S. by Dark Horse
Slugline: If you haven't already heard about Oh My Goddess, reading a slugline isn't going to help.
Let me you tell you a tale. Way back in the year 1994, when there was nary a single manga in ye ole bookstore, back before people had the book larnin' to read right to left, there was a small little title called Oh My Goddess...
Sorry, I just can't keep that going and I suspect what I have already written is bad enough. Oh My Goddess is one of the grand dames of US manga publication, and here it is presented in its original format. Initial print runs of the title were flipped, but this reprint brings it back to its original orientation and includes several color pages that were left out of previous versions released in the US. The basic story is almost universally well known in anime/manga fandom: the lovable loser Keiichi dials the wrong phone number and the goddess Belldandy appears to make his wish come true. For the more experienced manga readers, reading the first volume may illuminate the roots of all harem comedies (except without the full harem as of yet) -- but that feeling comes not from copying the other comedies, but instead this being one of the parents of that genre.
That being said, how is it as itself, rather than as the vanguard of the entire manga boom? I have to admit, the first volume does show its age. The art style is starting to look old-fashioned (these pages were first drawn in the late 80s) so readers expecting something something else will be disappointed. These are mostly standalone stories that don't quite link together right and you can see the seams between them. That is the downside of its age -- most people have seen the other versions of the story in anime, so they were introduced to the stories in their most finished form, while here it is still raw. So while it is put together well, it is not up to the standards that many people are expecting out of more current titles that are being licensed, which I hope explains my less than stellar rating for the title.
Umezu-san's characters react to their extreme situation in realistic ways: some freak out, some keep a cool head, some commit suicide, some act selflessly. And many are willing to follow the lead of a strong (or brutal) personality. The body count starts rising quickly and the sixth graders have to begin taking on leadership roles and dealing with some dangerous grown-ups in their midst. Some discoveries are made about what seems to have happened and exactly how dire their situation is.
And back home, our hero's mother is, understandably, losing her mind. Or is she?
Drifting Classroom vol. 2 and vol. 3 are both available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.
Slugline: An entire school full of kids is transported to an alien world. No warning, no preparation, no idea where they are.
The Drifting Classroom was created in the mid-70s, so the first thing a manga fan will notice is that the artwork isn't what they are used to. But if you like horror that does not rely on splatter to scare you, I encourage you to give this a try.
Like Battle Royale (or Lord of the Flies,) Classroom puts ordinary kids in grim survival situations and then spins out gruesomely realistic stories. The first volume of Classroom sets up the regrets of our hero and the initial freakout as the kids (and teachers) start to realize they aren't in Japan anymore. And who wouldn't freak, honestly? These are ordinary school kids, not ninja masters or supermecha pilots. Their screaming and crying (and the ones trying to bolt for home) set what is sure to be a gruesome stage with few survivors.
Kazuo Umezu has been a prolific manga creator of many horror (and science fiction, such as the adapation of Ultraman, and romance as well) titles from the 1950s straight through the 90s. If you are at all interested in what came before Sailor Moon, Voltron, or even Gatchaman, Umezu is worth looking for. I'm giving this series a preemptive "Classic" tag because of its author and his tremendous influence.
Drifting Classroom is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.
by Katsuhiro Otomo Published in the U.S. by Dark Horse Manga
Slugline: Tetsuo rides the psychic-power rollercoaster amid chaos, apocalypse, and his ex-best friend trying to kill him.
I haven't read Akira in at least ten years, and I was a bit worried it wouldn't hold up after so long in the otaku world. But it does, and I know exactly why it converted me to the fandom.
- Crystal clear action. None of those big, vague, swooshes, no wondering whose ass that weapon came out of, no fudging of geography, physics, or biology.
- Excellent application of psychic powers. It's still some of the best telekinetic combat on paper. Makes Obi-Wan look like a noob.
- Consistent, if limited, characters. Especially Kaneda, who is not only an ass, he's too clueless to realize he's clueless and is the kind who brings a knife to a gun fight. A butter knife.
- Lovingly rendered military equipment. No roses or sparkles in this one, and a couple ass-kicking ladies that I can root for.
- Mass destruction. Tokyo gets flattened, and more than once.
- Plot never loses focus, even in the chaos of a freshly ruined city. We don't get sidetracked into tangential flashbacks. Everyone's relevance to the story is quickly established and we keep moving.
All these qualities are a bit unusual for a manga, in that they are rather Western and much closer to what Hollywood et. al. have trained Americans to expect. But it's Japanese enough to stand well apart from them, too. That's what makes Akira such a good "conversion" manga (and anime) for action/scifi/apocalypse fans.
If you have a friend who's curious about manga, I'd recommend Akira unless your friend's into sensitive romances (try Utena on those friends.) And I think the bridge can work both ways: read Akira and then pick up Dark Knight Returns, V for Vendetta, Sin City or Crisis on Infinite Earths.
Akira is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.
Story by Kazuya Kudo with Art by Ryoichi Ikegami Published in the U.S. by Viz
Slugline: You really wouldn't want to get this schoolgirl angry.
Mai, the Psychic Girl was one of the first manga that was widely released in the US. Originally released in floppies in the late 80s, it was a title that showed me, regardless of what Miranda says about Akira's influence, of just how nasty and explodey-heady psychic combat could be. Mai Kuju, daughter of a line of shrine guardians, has telekinetic ability on a truly high order, and is pursued by an international conspiracy for world domination called the Wisdom Alliance. The first book of the perfect collection reads very quickly, for most of the story is either kung-fu action or extended chase sequences, as Mai and her father realize the danger that they are in. Actually, I remember that being a problem at the time that it was being released, but the 22 page issues went by so quickly that it didn't make it really worth the time to pick up individual issues, and at the time the idea of collections were still very new.
The plot is rather straightforward, and at times it seems to be relying on the power of coincidence to make things flow, but this is not a story that asks for much deep thinking, merely that one sits back and enjoys the pretty explosions, bashed bodies and the downhill ride. It does have a couple bits of unnecessary but not really exploitative nudity, and a couple of places where if you stop and think you may say "ick," but nothing too bad, at least in this first volume of the perfect collection.
by Chiho Saito, Created by Be-Papas Published in the U.S. by Viz
Slugline: Utena duels to save the prince she met years ago, save the Rose Bride and to claim "the power to revolutionize the world" (whatever that means.)
This is the manga version of the classic anime, and being condensed to five volumes suits the story quite well. With less time to wander, the story gets right down to the dueling and the slapping and the explaining what's going on.
Utena is a classic shojo manga because it goes so far above and beyond the stereotypes of the genre -- not breaking out of them, but amplifying them to blinding brilliance. Everyone's a drama queen, there are cute, strange pets, magic costume changes, vaguely defined powers that are never used, a crossdressing heroine, temper tantrums, and everyone gets slapped at least once. It's a tribute to the power of visuals, too: roses, wrought iron and long hair don't have to work as hard to carry it all as they did in the anime, but they are there.
Utena set the bar for the shojo that followed, and most of them fail to capture half the passion and obsession and melodrama of this series. This is a must-read for any serious fan. Love it or laugh at it, I guarantee you will not forget it.
p.s. Yes, it's complete in 5 volumes -- less, actually, and there are several short stories to fill out the volumes. They're fun too.
We post reviews of all kinds of manga - shojo, shonen, yaoi, manhwa (Korean), OEL (original English language), and hey, pass the Chinese too if you've got any - and we're a tough audience because we've been fans of manga and anime for over 15 years.
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