Hige vs. Otaku

I have no idea whether Viz’s imprint SIGIKKI has been successful. The steady increase of titles suggests something positive, and the return from that worrying hiatus is a relief, but a braying part of me is anxious that it may fade into obscurity, forever destined to be a faint nostalgia pang of what could’ve been.

Thus, to ignite old fires, guide new eyes and generally make a bit of a fuss of what is wholly a seinen manga fan’s wet dream I have constructed this guide for your perusal. A brief overview of each available series peppered with flimsy analysis and crude opinion, all based on what’s currently available at the SIGIKKI site.

And because I’m covering all the (main) series available on the site, and that’s going to make this entry pretty monumental, here’s a handy contents list to cherry pick the book of your choice. There’s also a wee ‘back to the top’ link at the end of each entry that will bring you back here for further browsing.

Aferschool Charisma | Bob and his Funky Crew | Bokurano: Ours | Children of the Sea | Dorohedoro | House of Five Leaves | I’ll Give it My All . . . Tomorrow | Kingyo Used Books | Saturn Apartments

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Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys (because we apparently have to prefix everything he’s done with his name these days) is a worthy successor to Monster. It takes a huge ensemble cast and weaves them into a web of plot lines that would, reasonably, overwhelm lesser authors yet remains comprehensible and intriguing. Urasawa is Mr Manga Big Balls because of his ability to keep a firm handle of his immense ambition. Even two volumes in it’s obvious that Urasawa is making a point of his talents with 20th Century Boys, pushing them even further by incorporating a variety of timelines to keep us enthralled. It’s a little dizzying at first, but once the initial barrage of Mystery calms you know you’re in safe hands. Urasawa is a tender lover; he only wants to screw our minds in enticing little bits.

These first two volumes, unsurprisingly, are concerned mostly with character introduction. That’s not to say the manga’s secrets and mysteries aren’t given due attention but rather they’re alluded to through learning about a group of young boys in 1969 and their plans to save the world. Shoot forward a few decades and we’re placed in the current main timeline of 1997 and Kenji, seinen protagonist extordinairre, is fending off his disappointed ma (he sold their family liquor business to a franchise) and taking care of his AWOL sister’s baby, Kanna (permanently attached to his back via a papoose).

I’m going to tangent here a moment and exclaim that Kanna is the best character in these two volumes. All she can do is coo expressively, being two-years-old and all, but she steals the show every single time she appears. Oh, and she seems to be gifted. In the clairvoyant/supernatural sense. The smell of foreshadowing is strong with this one, but theorising aside Kanna is just a wee badass. Kenji’s undying dedication to her is perhaps his most endearing trait, too, he being something of a coasting, complacent thirty-something otherwise. In fact, the strongest moment of these two volumes is when we find out why Kenji is so committed to raising Kanna. It turns he and his erstwhile sister into pathos-rich, sympathetic characters — the kind you really need at the centre of narrative shitstorm, I’d say.

But yes, the main plot. It focuses on a shady cult who uses the same symbol devised by Kenji and his friends in ’69, only rather than being a symbol of boyish fantasy it now represents something much more sinister. Rival cult leaders die mysteriously, the police force is infiltrated and a very creepy looking machine waits in the shadows, standing by for its destructive entrance. Kenji is pulled into the mess with the supposed suicide of an old school friend called Donkey, the snot-ragged super-speedy nerd who saved him from near death as a wean. Donkey’s death just doesn’t make sense and combined with some other strange occurrences, all linked by that ubiquitous childhood symbol, he’s dragged into something big; something apocalyptic.

I’ll admit it took me a while to warm to 20th Century Boys. It’s definitely more amiable than Monster, favouring tit-gags over dry hierarchical politics or rigid senses of duty, but the sweeping, expansive chronology we’re bombarded with felt like it diluted something. The second volume does no end in remedying this, however, and we get more attention paid to grassroots characterisation. Urasawa even fits in a tangential storyline that doesn’t relate to the main cast much at all, but still serves a wider purpose in demonstrating the creeping influence of this mysterious cult and its sinister leader, ‘Friend’. The diversion manages to break your heart in the space of a single chapter and is a genuine shock to the system. Urasawa didn’t pull this kind of narrative flair until much later in Monster and it suggests the bar has been raised with its successor. Either way, after reading just these two volumes the commitment of buying twenty-four of the bastards (including the final two under the title 21th Century Boys) seems much less imposing. My wallet would like to object, but no one cares what that guy says anymore.

Naruto, I’ll always love you. I’m not ashamed to admit it. Much in the same way Dragonball Z will forever have a place in the disposable-fun-loving part of my heart, you do, and will, too. With that in mind, let’s go back a few volumes from the current scanslated efforts and consider the events leading up to the time skip, reviewing Viz’s uber speedy release/catch-up of volumes 25 – 27.

These three volumes can be summarised by The Big One, its aftermath and Kakashi. Naruto and Sasuke finally have the ruck that’s been dreamt of, almost-happened and suggested into oblivion since the last, slightly less satisfying fight from days of yore. As the manga makes explicit, there’s no Sakura to limply stand between them and no Kakashi to put an abrupt stop to the proceedings. Just one arrogant ladyboy with superpower affections and one tunnel-visioned idiot with a naive grasp on human emotion. And the fight is one of the least creative Kishimoto has ever produced. The setting is utterly fantastic; the drama is as tense and emotional as it should be . . . but ultimately it’s just an abbreviated (compared to DBZ) power-up battle between two of the manga’s protagonists. No one is going to die; I knew this even when I first read it. The fight is purely a representation of the two forking paths of Sasuke and Naruto, and so lacks all the tactical excitement and enjoyable twists of standard Naruto battles. They pull out their respective signature moves, clash a couple of times with lots of dramatic camera angles underwater etc. and that’s about it.

It’s difficult to truly criticise, however. You flick through it all in a twenty-minute sitting and have decent sense of accomplishment by the end, and most importantly it serves its purpose perfectly. The real meat of the trio comes from the latter two-thirds of volume 27, specifically Kakashi Gaiden, or Kakashi Chronicles as Viz slightly over-states in its translation. This collection of chapters represents the end of Kishimoto’s previous style by being a concentrated homage to it; everything about early Naruto is here and carried out with pitch-perfect brilliance, and all in Kishimoto’s ‘new’ art style (which I still can’t get over how much I love). Not only do we get unadulterated Kakashi, whose amiability was solely lacking in his younger years (though being no less the badass), but we also receive first-hand experience of the Fourth Hokage, learn more about Konoha’s history and get preliminary Uchiha insight. For a series of chapters that was meant simply to bridge the gap Kakashi Gaiden/Chronicles is one of the biggest highlights of the whole series. Be that due to Kakashi’s bottomless charm or Kishimoto’s perfection of his chosen formula, I don’t know, but it kind of sucks we never get the same experience again after its conclusion. 

Right around this time in any of my old skool Naruto reviews I write the obligatory lament paragraph explaining how the tardy official English release reminds us of how good Naruto once was. But that’s rubbish; bar a few housekeeping volumes in Part II Naruto has always been a compulsive, enjoyable read. Its focus just shifted from Harry Potter-like school shenanigans to the traditional Destroy The Evil Organisation Bent on Social Destruction. And these three volumes officially herald this change in direction (made official by Part II’s subsequent two and a half year time skip).

Granted, the latter incarnation has proved to be nowhere near as charming or inventive as the first, but Naruto has an undeniable sense of identity and, dare I say, uniqueness that pulls it above being a trope-ridden, by the numbers drudge. Both those elements are painfully apparent in the newer Naruto chapters; I’m not going to argue against the claims that the manga has lost a lot of the personality that made it stand out so much in the beginning and turned into a drawn-out franchise. But when has Jump manga ever been about artistic integrity? In that anthology series are chosen and syndicated based solely on their franchise potential — how much merchandise it can spawn and how well it will translate into an anime. Naruto’s dramatic change in intention is simply the act of a long-running manga realising it’s time to step-up and actively pursue the world domination ambitions it had from the very start. Sacrifices have to be made, I guess.

But still, I may well rarely feel the sense of attachment or love I once did for these characters, but never have I been bored by reading Naruto. I just wonder how the hell Viz are going to package Part II. If they add a bloody Z to the title then I will officially boycott them for life.

Well, not only do we get a spangly colour spread this week but Kishimoto has blessed us with a rather excellent chapter, as well.

I say that with mild surprise because Naruto of late has rarely been anything more than very readable. This chapter, however, had a lot of weight to it. Itachi’s scene in the rain, possibly crying over the supposed loss of Sasuke-hime, caught me unaware with how quietly emotive it was. Kishimoto’s attempts at ‘touching moments’ in recent Naruto have been pretty shallow and trite (I’m still bitter over Asuma and that god-awful Sakura emo scene), but this – while not being breathtaking by any means – was quite affective.

We’ve been presented with a couple of dramatic reveals over the past two chapters (it must be the end of a volume) and while 363′s introduction of the final two Akatsuki members Pain and his lady friend were exciting, this chapter trumps that entirely by exposing the true identity of Tobi. Say hello to Madara Uchiha, and a whole fuckload more plot potential.

This immediately makes Naruto look incredibly vulnerable. We know Sasuke can suppress the Nine Tails’ chakra, but there isn’t much motivation for him to do so – Naruto is just a minor irritation to his Quest For Vengeance – but now the infamous Madara has shown himself and the evil levels have risen to extreme badass. We get another Uchiha that can suppress Jinchūrki chakra and is, apparently, the most sinister and capable if the Nine Tails is to be believed. Hopefully now we’ll also get some definite answers about Akatsuki, their plans and desires. I shall be mightily pissed if Kishimoto turns Madara into Lord Voldemort, however. Maybe Harry Potter is still lingering in my mind, but the parallels are there . . .

So a pretty robust and entertaining chapter. I hope Kishimoto will run with the knock-on effects of what’s been suggested here, banking on the potential excitement and not drag things out needlessly. To his credit, though, this volume has had its fair share of entertainment. Roll on next week.

Volume eleven of the Evangelion manga tells the events of the first third or so of End of Evangelion, meaning the manga has decided to follow the film’s continuity rather than the controversial TV ending. Its key differences lie in the minutia rather than any catastrophic deviation from the canon. But it’s enough, as usual, to legitimise the manga next to its animated counter-part. These differences are mostly alternative methods of getting to the same point, and more often than not the manga actively neuters most of the disturbing aspects of the anime’s finale.

For example, Kaworu’s death doesn’t end with that dramatic splash of water, and Shinji doesn’t masturbate over a catatonic Asuka. In fact, in that particular scene, Asuka goes hysterical and attempts to choke Shinji (and rather bloody satisfying it is, too). But these modified moments don’t hamper the manga’s impact. Granted, they don’t systematically wear your emotional state to tatters – one of the many perverse pleasures of the film – but they fit perfectly with the approach the manga has been taking from the outset. Sadamoto has been subtly doing it his way since chapter one, and even at this pinnacle stage he honours the small but important changes he’s made.

In the manga Shinji has always been slightly stronger of will than the trembling wimp portrayed in the anime, and in these final moments his mental well-being is nowhere near the level of despondency as his film counterpart. The key reason for this, I think, is because manga Shinji’s relationship with Kaworu never developed the same intense connection (with Sadamoto implying that his Shinji thought Kaworu to be a bit of a smug twat) so his death didn’t drive Shinji to the same level of despair. This is refreshing in many ways, but it does a lot to undermine the subsequent events. Shinji’s apathy as SEELE descend on NERV for the final showdown just doesn’t have the same convincing sense of hopelessness as the film, and as a result we question why Shinji is refusing to fight when it was indisputable in EoE. The manga ends as the SEELE troops leave on their mission to assassinate the Children and I’m curious to see how Shinji reacts when they place a gun to his head. Perhaps he will beg for his life and Misato will save him earlier. I really can’t imagine it working in the same way as its source; it would undo much of the unique approach Sadamoto has been working on from the start.

This was a very readable volume and the manga remains the perfect compliment to the anime. Sadamoto’s art remains godlike and his reimagining of some key scenes holds all the dramatic poignancy of the anime while having enough personality to differentiate. My only wish now is that the manga’s conclusion depicts Instrumentality as a combination of the event of the film and the TV ending, and builds a bridge between to the two, finally laying to rest the intense schism they’ve caused in Eva fandom. I’m also very curious to see if Rebuild has any affect on the manga. I doubt it will, but Sadamoto has dragged this thing on long enough for it to be rather serendipitous. Perhaps he’ll continue it on to tell the events of the new films. How cheeky and irritating would that be?

Well, you can’t really fault the Naruto manga for not doing much. Since I last blogged the weekly chapters a whole barrage of events have happened. Needless, sympathy-baiting deaths (sniff, but also so bloody cheesy); rather exciting extended battles; tedious training sequences; the removal/death of tired arch-villains (but is he really dead, we ask); the seeming usurpation of our protagonist for some over-powered pretty boy and his mates (the manga has been officially retitled Sasuke over the past few weeks). When listed and quantified Naruto seems to be going as strong as ever.

Well, I shan’t waste much time on the mounting disillusionment most fans have been feeling in recent months. The tenacious plot is probably the only decent reason many people are holding on with Naruto, as most of the other charming aspects of the manga seem completely diminished. Reading the VIZ translation (currently up to volume 13) does nothing to help, either, reminding us of better days when Kishimoto made everything seem so effortless.

But anyway, enough listless fanboyism. Let’s look at this week’s chapter.

Which, in all fairness, is actually quite good. Definitely a transition chapter, with us breaking away from the current Sasuke-rounding-up-the-troops arc, but still interesting nonetheless. Having the Akatsuki be the key bad guy element in Part Two undermined a lot of their mystique, but luckily their personalities have compensated with enough distinctness to be interesting while maintaining the general menace that makes them appealing and this comes across quite nicely in chapter 353. 

I’ve also come to accept that these Jinchuuriki capture missions will happen in the background, albeit grudgingly.

Still, from a pragmatic perspective I’m sure Kishimoto just doesn’t have the space to give them proper attention, and equally he probably wants to keep the Akatsuki’s abilities as ambiguous as possible for more important future battles. Their reactions to Hidan and Kakuzu’s death seemed quite indifferent, which is surprising seeing as Naruto, one of their key targets, and his mates have killed three of their nine group members. Four of the ten if you count Orochimaru’s recent death/whatever at the hands of Sasuke. You’d think they’d be a little more unnerved by recent events; especially Itachi with Sasuke & chums hot on his tail, vying for cold hard revenge.

This Akatsuki reprieve was actually a welcome change from the mounting tedium of Sasuke and his recruitment spree. I like the methodical way Kishimoto is handling Sasuke’s preparation for his showdown with Itachi, but I’m not sure how interesting it is to read. The overt and cynical analogues he’s making out of Sasuke’s new comrades are also hard to swallow. It’s like Sai all over again. Though, to give the mangaka his dues, Sai turned out to be quite a decent character in the end, so maybe the same will happen again with Suigetsu et al.

It’s just hard to ignore the fact that Naruto is more about maintaining its longevity these days by allowing nothing to really change, rather than humouring all the subtle differences that made it stand out from the rest of the Shonen Jump pish out there back in the day. Naruto is basically long-running action manga by numbers now, with a whole lot of sentimental attachment and aesthetic charm to raise it above its peers. Shame, really.

Who’s a bit shit? Hige’s a bit shit! My inactivity has become so bad that I’m starting every entry with apology for never posting. University is just as intense as ever, but the blog is never far from my thoughts and I’ve finally found some time (albeit at 1:30am) to sit down and write. So, in a bid to reclaim some of my anime blogging childhood, here are some manga thoughts.

Mmm, books with pictures. . . *punches English Literature in the face*

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No summary this week because I don’t have the time. I wanted to keep doing summaries in a more abbreviated fashion but it’s too time-consuming, even when I strip them down to the fundamentals. Now that I’ve started university again I’m going to streamline most of my posts, else they just won’t happen at all. This means no more summaries for Naruto. I can’t think of many alternatives for those who rely on them to follow the storyline, but there’s countless scanslations released each week and they’re pretty easy to come by. Plus, reading the actual comic is infinitely more entertaining than reading my convoluted regurgitation. 

Anyhow, to the Thoughts. Initial thought: ~AWESOME~ (valley girl style). Shikamaru works his cognitive magic, puts everything together and scuppers Hidan’s devious plans. Granted, we sussed most of this as it happened, but having some the additional clarification helped. I’m also glad Shikamaru finally got some legitimate spotlight. The prospect of him being merely Asuma’s support felt strange, seeing as he’s always been one of the most prominent supporting cast. There certainly was no way Asuma could’ve done won without Shikamaru’s Superior Brain Techniques.

Well, won this round, anyway. Engage Shonen Jump conventions and we find, apparently, Hidan & Kakuzu plan to get serious next chapter. I wonder how many times they’ll get serious before the fuckers die or we get some kind of conclusion. Either way, it looks like the Niju
Shotai are somewhat screwed now the pair are working together. Utilising those old power rating skills we all developed from reading Dragon Ball Z forums in our youth, it’s fair to say that if either Shikamaru or Asuma get disabled in some respect that the rest are goners.

It’s inevitable that the sense of impending doom lingers over these unbalanced fights (with the good guys always pulling through, sickeningly) but this time it seems fairly certain that unless the tables turn, they stand no chance. It’s kind of refreshing to be so convinced of a negative outcome; though it could work against the storyline if Kishimoto pulls some completely outlandish crap in order for a happy ending. That isn’t his style, though, so I’m betting on a bittersweet conclusion instead.

Suggestive innuendo be damned: Asuma’s weapon ‘extension’ was damn cool. Supplemented by the fact that he used it to decapitate Hidan. Aggravatingly, it didn’t actually kill him (but presented a rather cool two page spread of it happening), so his invulnerability becomes all the more mysterious. Often, taking out the head is usually a dead cert in killing immortal type people completely. Maybe in his transformed state Hidan’s tolerance for lethal attacks is higher? He took those two knife wounds while he was normal, but perhaps a decapitation in that state would’ve killed him entirely.

This was a fun chapter; solid Naruto entertainment. There’s not much emotional involvement in this battle yet, but then the stakes haven’t really been raised to their highest. Once the life and death stuff starts to get underway, in terms of dramatic tension rather than lame costume changes, I’m sure the full potential of this fight will be realised. Hopefully not at the cost of a certain beardy idol, though . . .

Summary

Asuma and chums continue to face-off against Hidan, completely perplexed by his invulnerability. The usual good-guy mission statement occurs and Asuma enquires about the whereabouts of Hidan’s partner. Queue Kakuzu’s dramatic entrance, appearing suddenly behind Shikamaru and going in for the kill. Shikamaru evades, but consequently interrupts his Kagenui jutsu and Hidan exclaims excitedly. Asuma, shielding Shikamaru with his knives drawn, quickly orders Kotetsu and Izumo to back away and they do so, leaving the two blades still impaling a volatile Hidan. Drawing his weapon, Hidan demands that Kakuzu doesn’t interfere and proceeds to draw out a religious symbol on the floor with his blood. An anxious Asuma quickly formulates a full-on attack plan and Shikamaru warns that it’s too risky, and very much unlike Asuma. Pulling a face that unnerves Shikamaru all the more, Asuma demands that there’s no other choice. Izumo suggests a retreat in order to formulate a better strategy of attack and Asuma explains that this kind of foe wouldn’t allow such to happen without major upset. Hidan removes the two blades from his sides and, with Shikamaru at the ready, Asuma launches his attack. After some rather nifty acrobatics, avoiding the Kagenui, Hidan throws one of the blades at Asuma and he cuts it in two with his knives. This is rapidly followed by Hidan’s rope weapon, which Asuma mostly deflects except for a small cut on his right cheek. Trying a different approach, Asuma uses an explosive fire jutsu. Landing back in his religious symbol, Hidan licks the blood from his weapon causing his hand (and body) to turn black with white markings reflecting his bone structure. The fire jutsu hits with full effect and it seems only to burn away part of Hidan’s cloak, while causing serious injury to most of Asuma’s right side. Asuma is completely bewildered by how his attack was reflected in such a manner and Hidan is fully revealed with his skin having transformed into some kind of skeletal armour. He explains that his ritual will now begin and they will both share some exquisite pain together.

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Summary
Asuma and Shikamaru continue their detachedly affectionate conversation, but Asuma warns his Niju Shotai comrades that his concerns over Chiriku are more an issue of potential danger rather than sorrow over his death. Kakuzu continues his chat with the disgusting corpse man, explaining that, as much as he hates him, Hidan is the only person Kakuzu can team with. This is because Hidan is ni impossible to kill and Kakuzu is a short-tempered old fucker who tends to murder anyone who annoys him, so they serve as a good match. Naruto continues his nature manipulation training and inadvertently releases part of the Kyūbi, causing Yamato and Kakashi to drop a bollock. Yamato releases his wooden idols, they subdue Naruto and Yamato warns Kakashi of the possible damage this might be doing to Naruto. Kakashi explains their lack of options and Yamato grudgingly accepts. Asuma & co launch a surprise attack on Hidan and initially seem to succeed, but with our previous insight into Hidan’s invincibility the chapter ends on a rather ominous disdain from Hidan as he dismisses the two blades jammed in his sides.

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