Archive for category reviews
Wandering Son Volume 2
Wandering Son Vol.1 was an eye-opening read for me, full of opinions and options I had never considered before, and that I’ve already watched the series means nothing to how much I’ve enjoyed the manga. The first volume serves as a reintroduction to Nitori and Takatsuki, the young boy and girl who wish they were the other’s gender, and for those who’ve never seen the series, will not confused or disheartened. Looking at volume 2, we are presented with a new dilemma: now that I know how I’d like be, there’s the world to deal with. If Vol.1 was a masterclass in people not wanting to accept the status quo within their own minds, Vol.2 shows the uncertainty of the waiting world. The way that Nitori and Takatsuki fumble forward with no plan is painful and endearing. They know the two of them are better together but there’s the problem of dealing with classmates, family and teachers. It’s not easy and well done to Takako for not short-circuiting the process. It’s not easy writing characters in distress but it’s wonderful to read it. If you can recognise the character’s pain and sympathise despite your differences, it proves you’re human and so is the author.
Jiro Taniguchi MMF: The Walking Man
Jiro Taniguchi is a wonder to behold. You could read one of his books, marvel at the artwork and not even have to read the dialogue. I’m not saying you will follow every window but you could get by without them. The man is a modern wonder. He hasn’t written a magnus opus (well, I think he has but I’m not everyone) but there’s a world in all of his books. I’ve written before about this effect in his books where you try and peer around buildings and people because you want to see more. I am happy to read and write about Taniguchi for as long as I can keep reading his stuff. With that, I commend to you, The Walking Man.
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Kingyo Used Books 1 – 4 Overview
Finding time to read a book these days is something that I didn’t give much thought to when I was younger. I mean, bookshops had been around forever? They weren’t going anywhere. Then the Internet arrived. Bookshops shrugged. It’s the Internet, where people posted images on Geocities and browsed Usenets. Then the iPad arrived. Bookshops shuddered and when the Kindle arrived, things have never been the same since. So in the English speaking world, the power the big book chain shops had acquired was demolished, literally, brick by brick. Today I can find, maybe, five or ten bookshops in my city. Of them, I would trust three of them for recommendations. But in Japan, it’s different. The book publishing industry seems to be, er, booming? OK, that’s a lie. Japanese publishers are also feeling the pinch from eBooks and online reading services. But the used book shops do well. People always want to read the books they read when they were young. Or find that classic book they had put off but now want to read. Or even, the books that people have never heard of and that wait in the patient hope someone will read them. There must be people to read those books and they must have stories of their own, right?
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Leiji Matsumoto’s OZMA first review plus quick impressions of the VIKI service
Posted by eeeper in anime, old school, reviews, sci-fi on Saturday, March 17, 2012
OK, so I’ve just seen Matsumoto’s new show OZMA on @viki. It’s pretty good.
It’s the future, the earth has dried up, people will in the outcroppings of rock in the desert. Our plucky hero, Sam Coyne (great Irish name) rescues the whisp-ish girl, Maya, from a Theseian (I think it’s spelled
that way) patrol who seem to know her. Just as they chase her down in their huge sand destroyers, she and they are thrown into a micro-sandstorms (because you know they can be very dangerous) by a Dune sandworm called an Ozma, allowing Sam in his sand flyer to snatch Maya out of the bad guys clutches. He takes her back to his home, a town built into a huge rock plateau where the ship he serves on is docked.
So, our adventure begins. I love Matsumoto and everything he does. The character designs never change, the ideas are all similar but still I’m glad he’s around. If anything, this first episode reminds me that he can make the best kinds of stories. When he announces a new show I get excited for watching a show or movie that I’ve seen replayed dozens of times before. Normally, I’d say this is not a good thing but he’s different. He’s always like that. The cast talks about Natura’s, quantum resonance, Ozma’s and so on but it’s not really that important. Matsumoto’s not that pushed to give you explanations. He’s got a hero, a beautiful girl, old Tochiro, Queen Esmeraldas without the scar, Harlock being the debut episode’s bad guy, the Man to fight and that’s all you need to know. A little bit of this, a little bit of that and you have your setup and your reason for watching. The blurb on the Viki page says this series will “tackle the ultimate question of life and its existence”. If that’s true, I’m all for it.
Trying out Viki on Android, the subtitles are clear, if literal, and the font they use is huge and crisp. You will not be able to NOT read this stuff. The people at Viki can only subtitle this stuff with community help. I know it’s on Crunchyroll as well but this is a new service and they are a worldwide outfit straight out of the box. That, in and of itself, deserves our praise. So, head over to Viki.com and check out their other shows.
Kingyo Used Books with Ed Sizemore
Today we’re talking with Ed Sizemore about Seimu Yoshizaki’s Kingyo Used Books. Released by VIZ under their SigIKKI line, and also part of their Signature line as well, I really enjoyed this series and wish more people read it. Ostensibly about the goings on in a used manga shop, it’s more about the people who come and go and also gives a crash course in famous and obscure manga.
Comics Worth Reading (Johanna Draper Carlson’s site and an excellent resource for manga)
Ed’s entries on Comics Worth Reading (Ed used to have a regular column there and still writes for it)
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Please buy Kingyo Used Books through our Amazon links. It helps maintain the podcast.
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Side note: I’m now writing almost all the time now for Otaku News with news and review pieces. Check it out and look for my handle in the headers and see else I’ve screwed up on. I’m also writing a monthly column for MangaBookShelf called Shoujo I’m Scared Of.
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