It’s been a minute since I posted my thoughts on manga titles that I have read recently so I thought that I would re-format the manner in which I share my reflections on what I have recently read. I have read 160 manga titles (so far) this year. Rather than post my thoughts about everything, I’m going to share my thoughts about a few titles which I have been introduced to (and one old favourite that I am revisiting).
Without further ado, let’s begin.
I have never seen the anime Yu Yu Hakusho by Yoshihiro Togashi. I have in fact seen Hunter X Hunter, his arguably more famous title, which seems to be on many people’s lips in the Greatest of All Time discussion. I have recently started my first read through of his legendary fighting manga Yu Yu Hakusho. I became familiar with the character’s through the Yu Yu Hakusho: Dark Tournament video game for the PlayStation 2. I had a great deal of fun with this game, even if it really didn’t manage to get me to watch the show. Of course, it was the mid-2000’s at the time, I probably couldn’t have gotten my hands on the anime even if I wanted to. I managed to acquire some knowledge about the plot through ads for Toonami, which I watched at my grandparents house 4-5 times annually.
Yu Yu Hakusho is the story of a young middle schooler named Yusuke Urameshi, a teenage delinquent always getting in trouble at school and getting into fights with his main rival, Kazuma Kuwabara. After pushing a little boy out of the way of a speeding car, Yusuke loses his life instead. However, saving the boy’s life attracts the interest of Botan, guide to the Sanzu River, and wins him the opportunity to become a Spirit Detective and a chance at resurrection.
While the first volume is not yet the fully realized fighting manga that the story will become in later volumes, this is a marvelous introduction to a series. Yusuke Urameshi, on pure aesthetic terms, is a marvellously designed character. Not only is he a great shonen protagonist in the traditional sense, brave to a fault, loyal, righteous, tough as nails; he looks the part as well. I must admit that I have a major fondness for the aesthetics of 90’s manga. I love the machismo of Urameshi and Kuwabara, their slicked up hairstyles and their old-school high school uniforms. Yoshihiro Togashi’s art doesn’t get that much love but man, is it really something!
As per usual with these older classics, there are some dated elements. It never fails to surprise me the occasional (or more than occasional) sexual humour that finds its way into a comic that is ostensibly for children. Yu Yu Hakusho is hardly the worst offender in this regard, but it isn’t innocent in this regard.
The first volume mainly has Yusuke (in this a literal spirit detective) take cases where he helps people as a sort of friendly poltergeist. At one point he has to help a tanuki, which I found delightful because I love Japanese tanuki folklore.
All in all, this is a delightful start to the series. With a winning combination of likable characters, charm, and underrated art, this is an excellent manga that I can heartily recommend to fans of fantasy, adventure and martial arts.
WILL I CONTINUE THE SERIES AFTER VOLUME 1?: Absolutely! This is an easy yes from me!
This is another title from the 90’s, one less well known than Yu Yu Hakusho. Hoshin Engi, by Ryu Fujisaki, tells the story of a young doshin (a mystic from Mount Kunlun) who is on a quest to capture a series of evil spirits on the Hoshin List in order to save the world from their malign influence, particularly the danger posed by Daji, a fox spirit who has corrupted the ruler of the Yin Dynasty.
Where to begin with this one? This is an adaptation of the Investiture of the Gods, one of the 4 Classic Novels of Chinese Literature. The plot is complex, and not easy to follow. Taikobo, who is a human studying to become a Sennin (who are immortal sages who live on Mount Kunlun) wields a magic instrument called a paope, which have unique special powers according to their user. Taikobo is accompanied by a reiju (Sacred Beast) which I have to admit I am not a fan of its design.
I happened to find this at the library, and having recently read an interesting primer on Chinese folklore, this felt like an auspicious find. The story is also very similar to a film I saw recently called Creation of the Gods: Kingdom of Storms, a Chinese fantasy epic with a convoluted plot and lots of magic, monsters, and dynastic instability. Being somewhat familiar made this at least somewhat digestible, but I have to admit, this is tricky to follow even at the best of times.
As I mentioned in my earlier entry, I really like the 90’s art style. I will give Yoshihiro Togashi the definite edge over Ryu Fujisaki as an artist. The character design in Yu Yu Hakusho is superior, in my humble opinion, and his artwork has a greater clarity to it.
WILL I CONTINUE THE SERIES AFTER VOLUME 1?: This is a maybe. I liked the story well enough and I could see it improving. Taikobo is perfectly fine as a protagonist (but unfortunately, nothing in terms of unique character traits really stick out). The flying animal sidekick(?) is odd, and the story is fine. Maybe the bar is low for me, but I could find myself continuing, if for no other reason than my interest in Chinese mythology.
The Elusive Samurai by Yusei Matsui is a period piece (I am a big fan of jidaigeki!) wherein the young heir to the Kamakura Shogunate is overthrown, his family murdered, and he finds himself relying on his almost supernatural ability to run and hide, in order to survive the machinations of the relentless Ashikage Takauji. Hojo Tokiyuki is apparently the center of many legends and much folklore surrounds him, which I was completely unaware of.
Yusei Matsui is probably best known for the series Assassination Classroom, which I have not read. This is my introduction to the author’s work. I love samurai drama’s, a good chanbara film will never fail to entertain in my book, and I found it intriguing that this is labeled as “Historical Fantasy”, whatever than means. Admittedly, all the “fantasy” elements that we have encountered are the lead’s semi-fantastical ability to run away, and a shrine priest’s possible divinity.
Given that this is a jidaigeki, a genre I am quite familiar with, I have much higher standards. Inevitably, I will compare to the embarassment of riches that is the chanbara film genre, as well as stalwart samurai manga staples like Vagabond and Lone Wolf & Cub. Unfortunately, The Elusive Samurai, at this stage, doesn’t appear to be a match for those same titles. It’s clear that the author’s style is a bit more cartoony, and I’m not sure that the story hooks me that deeply.
WILL I CONTINUE THE SERIES AFTER VOLUME 1?: Possibly. This was not remotely terrible in the way that it would have to be to permanently close that door. I am a white man and this has samurai in it after all. I don’t think it is that likely that I shall read Volume 2 anytime soon but we shall see.
Gokurakugai by Yuto Sano is a new fantasy adventure manga. Alma and Ms. Tao are freelancers in the Gokurakugai district of town. Mysterious creatures known as Disaster Beasts are killing and eating people and it is up to our heroes to put a stop to these shenanigans. Alma is a human/demon hybrid and Ms. Tao uses a handgun that fires artisanal bullets crafted from Alma’s body.
This is very well drawn but admittedly this feels a bit too much like Chainsaw Man for me to feel too excited about it. I was hoping to enjoy the series more than I did but this feels like a very competently made manga that is fairly derivative in terms of storytelling. Another unfortunate storytelling tic is that the Disaster Beasts are also called Maga, which may be fitting but it’s also oddly distracting.
WILL I CONTINUE THE SERIES AFTER VOLUME 1?: There is a small chance that I might give Volume 2 a try but after that, this might be a miss. While I have a tendency to value execution over originality, the story doesn’t grab me in the way that it needs to in order to really act as a hook.
Ushijima the Loan Shark (otherwise known as Yamikin Ushijima) is one of the stranger titles I have read. It details the story of the eponymous loan shark, which is definitely a break from much of the shonen manga that I have been reading as of late. Ushijima loans money to perilously unwise and misinformed customers that he dupes into accepting usurious interest rates. He goes to extreme lengths to recoup his loans, which tend to include ruining his client’s lives. This is a critically acclaimed manga. It won the Shogakukan Award for Manga in 2011.
At one point, after tricking a woman into debt slavery, he dupes her into sex work, and has a “friend” of hers trick her into getting hooked on amphetamines. This manga is not for the faint of heart. It’s really interesting how it is almost didactic in the way that some manga are, but in this case it explores the ins and outs of loan sharking as a profession.
The series does seem to have something of an anti-capitalist temperament, depicting loan sharking as an unveiled, depraved form of capitalism in which Ushijima himself is actually something of a small fry, being on the hook himself to even bigger and more serious loan sharks who front him the capital he needs to operate.
WILL I CONTINUE THE SERIES AFTER VOLUME 1?: I don’t know if this says anything positive about me but yes. Perhaps this is not surprising given my predilection for gangster sagas, and gonzo Yakuza cinema but this is very much something that I will continue for at least a few more volumes, provided it isn’t too repetitive. Remarkably, there are three film adaptations in addition to two manga spinoffs? I am compelled to carry on.
Tower Dungeon is the latest title by Tsutomu Nihei. Earlier this year I read Kaina of the Great Snow Sea which is a collaboration with Nihei and artist Itoe Takemoto, which I thought was excellent. This is another entry by the master of mysterious architecture that I am happy to report delivers on all accounts. An extraordinary dungeon manga that has god-tier art, particularly of the monsters and of the tower itself.
The story hasn’t yet thrown too many curveballs – so far it appears to be a straightforward climb this gigantic tower, rescue the princess from this evil sorcerer but Yuva, our protagonist, seems to hint at hidden depths. He’s real strong and we don’t know why. This manga is solid proof that “execution is always superior to originality” or maybe there are still ways to distill originality from even the most over-trod story premises.
WILL I CONTINUE THE SERIES AFTER VOLUME 1?: After reading Blame!, I account myself as an admirer of Tsutomu Nihei’s work and I am really enjoying his first major foray into fantasy. I am eagerly awaiting my chance to read further.
Daemons of the Shadow Realm is the latest manga by Full Metal Alchemist creator Hiromu Arakawa. The story is, like Tower Dungeon, a story that seems very rote on paper but takes unusual twists and turns, to my joyous delight.
Twins, born on either side of the divide between day and night, share a fated destiny to save the world from oncoming supernatural threats. While the premise may not feel like anything new, I really delighted in directions the story takes in its opening chapters, which I won’t spoil for you here. Nonetheless, I can say that this is a captivating story from the first very first panel, teasing a fascinating mystery to unravel as the tale unfolds.
WILL I CONTINUE THE SERIES AFTER VOLUME 1?: Without a doubt. This has all the ingredients in a manga that I absolutely adore. Not only does it draw on traditional Japanese folklore, it contains all the parts necessary for a ripping adventure story, and loads of action to spare! Highly anticipating reading volume 2!
Dragon Ball, the only title on this list that I had in fact read before, is absolutely worth the hype, and for my money, might actually be superior to Dragon Ball Z. With god-tier artwork and character design, a story that fuses pro wrestling capers with a fun traditional martial arts tale adapted from the great classical Chinese novel Journey to the West, manga just doesn’t get better than this!
Now, there is a major caveat to all this, which is that in the first volume, there is a sexual humour that really hasn’t aged well. Goku is not versed at all in the birds and the bees, and these lead to “hilarious misunderstandings” (major boundary violations!) and Kame-sennin (Master Roshi) is a pervert that puts Jiraiya, from Naruto, to shame. And of course Oolong abducts children (and is a child himself!?!?) to be his child brides and makes numerous attemps to steal Bulma’s underwear. (Notably, Bulma’s name literally means bloomers, or underwear.)
WILL I CONTINUE THE SERIES AFTER VOLUME 1?: Yes. Let’s hope that the bizarre sexual hi-jinks of the first volume don’t really continue, as my recollection of the series would suggest.
Commonplace Curiosities 