Manga Reviews: Farewell Ginko and hello Sasha!
Black Jack vols. 11 & 12
Story & Art: Osamu Tezuka
Translations: Maya Rosewood & Kate Robinson
Publisher: Vertical
Who would have thought that after 12 volumes Tezuka still keeps the stories fresh? Who would have thought that after 12 volumes I am still enjoying the adventures of a superhero/surgeon? I never imagined that a doctor would be the best protagonist and eventually you would have healed any type of wound that there ever was. But I guess shows like House MD, ER, and Grey’s Anatomy have proven me wrong. Well, damn Black Jack was wayyyy ahead of its time if that’s the case. Since I can’t talk about every story I’ll just mention a couple from the two volumes. The first is a story about a man who wants to implant his dead girlfriend’s voice in his dog. Of course this doesn’t go over well at all, but it’s such an emotional story when the dog recognizes who he was at one time. There is a touching story that takes place in Black Jack’s past when he tries to help out an old school mate laugh again. Throw in some cameos by The Professional: Golgo 13 and a kid that strongly resembles Astro Boy and you got a recipe for awesome! Those are just some of the stories you’ll find in this great series. I guess my only gripe with the series as a whole is the dialogue. It's a bit clipped and relatively simple, which I’m sure is likely due to the complexities involved in the translation from the original Japanese text to the English language. By no means are words dumb down or stories cut shorter, it just feels that there is no time for character interactions at times and they get right to the point. Just when I think that Tezuka is out of stories for our great doctor, he sideswipes me with some new material. His storytelling techniques might seem unusual to some because the man did love to throw in jokes and visual gags at inappropriate times, but I think it’s just his way to remind us that these are still just stories and not to get too intertwined in the tale. A-
Mushishi vols. 8,9, & 10 Omnibus
Story & Art: Yuki Urushibara
Translation: William Flanagan
Publisher: Del Rey
Since volume one I have always loved the covers to this series. For some reason they have an aged look to them and the paper the art is printed on really makes those water colors stand out on the covers. In many ways the story of Ginko reminds me of Black Jack. I guess because each story is a stand-alone story where he goes around on his journey to find Mushi. I guess a little background is due here. The book chronicles the journey of Ginko, a shaggy looking, chain-smoking guy who aids people afflicted by mushi. Mushi are ancient creatures that can come into contact with humans, the relationship frequently turns parasitic, with the mushi feeding off their human hosts and producing painful, even life-threatening symptoms. Ginko is part herbalist and part exorcist, who helps the afflicted exorcise themselves of the mushi and at the same time teaching the humans to respect the power and beauty of these ancient creatures. The writing is excellent even though some of the translation seems a bit odd at times. The point of the stories is to show us how we as humans can be part of nature or how we can abuse it at any time. So many of the stories deal with moral issues that appear when humanity interacts with the Mushi and get greedy or when the Mushi just want to be left alone. You are left to wonder who is more important: Humanity or the Mushi?
Now let’s talk about Urushibara’s art and what else can I say about the art? Other than its rich and detailed and certainly has been polished to perfection over the years. By the end of the series you see how strong and comfortable Urushibara is with her artwork. Although the episodic nature of the series prevents extended supporting character development, the reader does get to know Ginko and a limited cast of repeating characters quite well. Mushishi is a wonderful collage of Japanese folklore and fantasy coming together in an elegant and hauntingly beautiful title. I love how it introduces so many fascinating elements of the Japanese culture and maintains those themes with the entire series. The fantastic notes by Del Rey in the afterword really help the reader get to know some of these cultural references, so I applaud Del Rey for taking the time to make something more enjoyable. I was just a little sadden by the final story, because it really doesn’t end and I guess the story of Ginko can never really end, so it’s not that big of a complaint. It’s a series that I enjoyed and I hate to see it go, but I guess it did go out on a high note. A Must Have for any manga fan and a brilliant introduction to the genre for newcomers, I highly recommend this series, you won’t be disappointed. A-
Oh My Goddess vols. 33 & 34
Story & Art: Kosuke Fujishima
Translation: Christopher Lewis
Lettering & Touch-up: Susie Lee & Betty Dong
Publisher: Dark Horse
It always feels so weird going back and reading new OMG adventures. Last month I reviewed volumes 13 and 14 and sometimes it feels like reading a different series with an almost different artist. Chichiro is back, but she’s not the only one that has a reunion with the gang! It seems that Skuld’s old boyfriend is back too only to tell her that his family is moving away. So Skuld and Sentaro have an adorable moment together about being kids and not growing up quite yet. The stories were fun to read, I literally couldn't put these books down and read them all in one sitting and re-read them again to just awe at the beautiful artwork. Every time I read these books they always seem to take me away to a more innocent time. The Love story of Keichi and Belldandy is still touching to this day. Even though the author is beyond 34 volumes; the characters really haven’t changed that much except in the style in which they are drawn. Believe it or not this is a series I don’t mind the characters not changing, I mean it’s part of their charm to be innocent, naïve, and naughty. The aspect I have always been interested in is the borrowing of Norse mythology in this series. But who am I kidding? That’s not why I read this series, I read for the fun it brings into my day of reading dark and depressing comics! My only gripe is that the books seem to read faster than they used to. Not only that, but the pages seem to have gotten thinner, ranging from 140 to 150 or so pages. Volume 34 in particular was smaller than any other volume, but it did have that breath of fresh air that the series needed after huge battles, so I won’t complain that much. B+
The Qwaser of Stigmata volume 1
Story: Hiroyuki Yoshino
Art: Kentsu Sato
Translation: Angela Liu
Adaptation: Paul Morrissey
Publisher: Tokyopop
I guess I will have to be the one that reviews a brand new series, because everyone around here wanted to review an already established series. But in this case I really am not complaining. Some of my favorite series have wrapped up or are on hiatus in Japan so I was looking forward to reading something new. Qwaser is said to have inspired the anime and I really thought I was out of the loop because I had never heard of the anime and I think it’s because it just finished in June of this year and it hasn’t been licensed for release in America. Hey, this is a good thing because I dove into this book not knowing what to expect. The story centers around Mafuyu Oribe and her cousin Tomo Yamanobe (her cousin that she has sworn to protect). They attend St. Mihailov Academy, where they get bullied by Miyuri and Hana. However, everything in their world turns upside down when they encounter a Russian boy named Sasha and nurse him back to health. Unfortunately for them he happens to be a Qwaser from the Adepts and now their school is a battleground between Sasha and the Adepts. Sasha happens to fight with a gigantic scythe and when his powers are weakened all he needs to do is breastfeed. I have to say this is one of the most interesting and beautifully drawn books I have read all year. They even manage to throw in a little science into the mix of sex and violence when each of the Qwaser wields one chemical element. I think the only turn off for me was the editing of the vulgarity. If the book already gets a mature rating, why not go all out? This series is definitely not for kids, hence the M rating and if you are easily offended by religious aspects, then it would be wise to stay away from the series. Going into it with an open mind and not knowing what to expect I was blown away and anxiously await the next volume. A-




