Archives for November 2010

Jyu-Oh-Sei Volumes 2 and 3

November 2, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Jyu-Oh-Sei Volumes 2 and 3 by Natsumi Itsuki

I enjoyed the first couple volumes of Itsuki’s Demon Sacred so much, it reminded me that I’ve been meaning to read the rest of Jyu-Oh-Sei, her pulpy science fiction series that Tokyopop released in omnibus format. I read the first volume some time ago, but it was easy for me to pick up the threads of the story again when revisiting the jungle planet of Kimaera.

Jyu-Oh-Sei Volume 2

Young Thor has unexpectedly survived being marooned on the inhospitable planet, and he becomes more and more important within the tribal structure of the planet’s inhabitants with every fight he wins. The third in command of the Ochre ring (conveniently named Third) is convinced that Thor should rise in the ranks to become the ruler of the planet, the Beast King. Third sets up a manipulated challenge that leaves Thor injured but he survives and is now the Ochre Ring’s Top. The story fast forwards a few years, and Thor and his girl second Tiz are all grown up and super-hot. Thor’s held on to his position of authority but everyone is shaken up when the leader of the Blanc Ring goes on a fighting rampage. It turns out that the Blanc Ring Top is an old acquaintance of Thor’s – Zagi who guided Thor when he was first dropped off on the planet.

Thor is caught between Zagi and Third. Zagi’s brutality in battle is extreme, but he tells Thor that becoming Beast King is for suckers. All the previous Beast Kings are frozen in a space station, ruling over nothing. Third urges Thor to take control by becoming Beast King in order to make the planet better. Romantic complications are introduced when Thor falls in love with Zagi’s second, a striking woman named Karim. This does not go over well with Tiz, who is still determined to bear Thor’s children even though he tends to view her as a sister. The second volumes sets up both emotional angst and the growing suspicion that the society on Kimaera might be engineered and controlled in a way that the natives don’t suspect. Many people are invested in Thor’s ability to lead, but why is he being singled out so much?

Jyu-Oh-Sei Volume 3

The first volume of Jyu-Oh-Sei felt like it was laying the foundation for Itsuki’s unique world. The planet itself was its own character, with the unique vegetation threatening human existence wherever Thor went. The second volume built more on the societal and emotional aspects of Kimaera, with Thor finally being portrayed as a grown-up instead of a lost boy. The concluding volume shifted into action movie territory, with surprising revelations about Thor’s own nature and a race against time to save the planet of the Beast King. I won’t go into the details too much to avoid spoiling the story, but after finishing this volume I had a renewed appreciation for Itsuki’s world building. Thor finds out the truth behind his adopted planet and confronts the people who had his parents murdered long ago. He then has to lead a small group of people in an attempt to save the planet from a desperate act. The structure of the final act of the story is circular, as the strange vegetation on the planet yet again plays a prominent role in the story.

I can see how this manga might not appeal to readers who don’t appreciate a healthy amount of exposition in their science fiction books. I liked seeing how Itsuki layered her story elements and carefully plotted out the details of her unique world. While I thoroughly enjoyed Jyu-Oh-Sei, it does lack the wackiness that causes me to look forward to the next volumes of Demon Sacred with so much affection. Jyu-Oh-Sei goes on a very short list of thoughtful science fiction manga that I wouldn’t hesitate to anyone looking for manga that features stories about the future of humanity. It has much more depth than the typical sci-fi manga, and I’d rank it up with Planetes as a favorite of the genre.

Viz iPad app – quick reactions

November 2, 2010 by Leave a Comment

So I assume that the big news that Viz Media was hinting about on twitter is the release of the Viz iPad App. The app lets you download some of Viz’s popular Shonen Jump titles like Bleach, Dragonball, One Piece, and Naruto. The first volume of Death Note is free for a limited time, and free sample chapters are also available.

It looks a lot like a skinned Comixology app to me, so similar that I was surprised Comixology wasn’t mentioned in the Publisher’s Weekly article. But maybe Viz just created a very similar app. I quickly downloaded Death Note. The reading experience is exactly what you’d expect if you’ve already been reading comics on the iPad. You can turn pages by swiping your finger in the direction you want to go, and it is easy to zoom in on the art.

What I’m curious about is the selection of titles that will ultimately be available. I’m probably not the main type of consumer Viz is going for, but I’d love to see some of the series in Viz’s back catalog be made available electronically. I’d totally buy some of Viz’s older shoujo series like Please Save My Earth or Kare First Love if they were made available electronically. I have so much manga in the house, having electronic copies would be one way to catch up on some of the series that I’ve missed reading before and I wouldn’t have to worry about my continually overburdened bookshelves. Also, I would likely sample some of the shonen series that I’ve dropped if some of the more recent volumes were available. $4.99 per volume seems like a decent price point. I’ll be checking out this app to see what happens when more titles are available.

Bakuman Volumes 1 and 2

November 1, 2010 by 2 Comments

Bakuman Volumes 1 and 2 by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

This is another series I’d steered clear of initially, because even though I enjoyed Death Note despite the narrative shortcomings towards the end of the series, I wasn’t sure how interesting I’d find manga about manga to be. I also read some reviews that charged the series with sexism, so I was avoid the series for that reason as well. I found the first two volumes of Bakuman entertaining, and the sexism in the series seems like an accurate reflection of the attitudes of its protagonists – aspiring manga creators and schoolboys Moritaka Mashiro and Akito Takagi.

Bakuman Volume 1

Mashiro is crushing on the coolest girl in his class, Azuki. He practices his drawing skills by sketching her portrait in his school notebook. When he leaves his notebook at school he rushes back to make sure no one will find out the secret of his drawing habit and his crush. He’s confronted by Akito Takagi, a boy who sits in the back of the classroom and prides himself on his observational powers. Takagi proposes a partnership: he’ll write stories and Mashiro will provide the drawings. They will become mangaka together. Mashiro loves drawing, but is reluctant to become a mangaka because his uncle used to be a professional who failed to build on the success of his initially popular gag series. He died broke and alone.

Takagi ends up forcing Masahiro to draw manga by dragging him to Azuki’s house and confessing their ambitions. Masahiro is so embarrassed, he randomly breaks out with a proposal of marriage, and she accepts on the condition that they marry after they’ve fulfilled their dreams. This ends up being somewhat convenient in a narrative sense, because Azuki ends up being a character that Masahiro can just use as a muse. She isn’t given much of a personality compared to her male counterparts.

I can see why people are criticizing Bakuman for being sexist, but the elements that someone would use to make that critique didn’t really bother me because they seemed to fit with the point of view of young Japanese teenage boys. Takagi makes a long speech about how clever Azuki is because she dedicates herself to being the perfect girl. Her grades aren’t too good. She has a socially acceptable goal of becoming a voice actress. She doesn’t act too stuck up, and she’s mediocre enough not to stand out so she doesn’t inspire jealousy in the other girls. Takagi attributes her behavior to careful calculation. This type of speech seems just like the type of thing a 14 year old boy with ambitions of becoming a writer would say.

Bakuman Volume 2

Seeing how Mashiro and Takagi evolve their ambitions and refine their approach to making manga was fascinating. I always knew manga polls in magazines were significant, but seeing the way the boys discuss the type of story they need to produce in order to get the poll numbers they need made me realize how much the creation of a successful series can be a numbers game. Mashiro and Takagi have a more cerebral, offbeat approach to the stories they create, while their prodigious rival Nizuma seems to be creating the straight-up action series that fans of Naurto would adore.

There were plot elements in Bakuman that seemed to make things just a little too easy. Takagi’s family has held on to his uncle’s studio and gives him access when he announces that he’s going to follow his dream. It turns out that Azuki’s mother was actually the long-lost love of Takagi’s uncle too. Azuki and Takagi agree to wait for each other while pursuing their respective dreams, freeing her up to be an objectified object of affection with the eventual couple only cheering each other on mostly through text messages. The genius fifteen year old manga creator Nizuma and the way he inspires the heros of the story to work harder seems more than a little reminiscent of the relationships between L, Mello, and Near in Death Note.

While all the details about manga creation were interesting, there was a slightly didactic or textbook-like quality to all the exposition. While I enjoyed reading Bakuman, I don’t think it would be the type of series I’d read over and over again. I put these volumes down with a renewed appreciation for Obata’s art. He makes playing Go look dynamic and filled with action, and similarly he makes the process of creating manga look gripping. I put these volumes down with an appreciation for the creative process and the business behind manga. It was interesting to see how Mashiro and Takagi started to revise their work after being taken under the wing of an editor. Seeing how difficult it is to even get a story published in the first place makes me appreciate manga creators even more. Bakuman isn’t a perfect work by any means, but I did feel like I got a lot out of reading it. I’d recommend this title for anyone who is curious about the process of manga creation.

Review copy of volume 2 provided by the publisher.

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