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Me talking about Tezuka’s Buddha manga on Sunday Night Safran

newgeekphilosopher — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 07:06:50 +0000

Listen in to me chatting to Safran and Father Bob about Tezuka’s Buddha on the podcast I’m about to link you.

Here is where I talked to John Safran and Father Bob about Osamu Tezuka’s Buddha manga on their show Sunday Night Safran. It took months to organise this interview and because of that I felt really nervous when I finally got on the show, so if you hear some heavy breathing occasionally when I talk (by the way I’m Jacob Martin on the show) it’s because I was really trying to fit as much as I could in the time. You can fast forward to me at 36:53 mins on the Quicktime player of the podcast to hear me speak.

Manga Review: Solanin

newgeekphilosopher — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 07:16:54 +0000

A Manga that reads like a contemporary Leonard Cohen song.

I heard people raving about this one on the IRC channels at dasaku and AnimeBlogger, so when I saw this in Kinokuniya I decided to give this one a try. I expected a reasonable romp through the life of an office lady and her boyfriend, but what I got was this formula:

Seinen manga + J-Pop meets Leonard Cohen + Catcher In The Rye + characters who actually look Japanese = Solanin

I really haven’t read a manga like this before, mostly because I haven’t read a lot of manga that wasn’t written by Osamu Tezuka. The commentary through the Solanin manga notes that the year is 200X (like in a lot of old manga and anime, this means postapocalyptic futures) but here the narrators state that the only thing people want now is a quieter future free from terrorist attacks and natural disasters, not the wastelands of sci-fi manga and anime.

Solanin is about Meiko and her journey through life, and what a journey it is. This volume is two volumes collected into one, it’s a short series but boy is it satisfying, I haven’t been this emotionally affected by the end of a manga since Read or Die’s conclusion (and not to spoil anything, but Yomiko shares a similar fate to that of Meiko, dealing with the events of her life as she continues to get older, and a bit lonelier, but she manages).

There’s not much I can say about it without spoiling anything, as you really need to read it yourself to fully appreciate what you get with this manga. As I have said, it reads like a Leonard Cohen song, melancholic, but somewhat cheerful and accepting about it. It’s not as cheerful as Yotsuba&!, even though it has some really funny moments like at the Zoo with Tanada and the other guy who’s his friend, but it’s nowhere near as depressing as say, Neon Genesis Evangelion. The Leonard Cohen analogy stands because like listening to one of his songs, you feel your heart twinge for the characters as you read Solanin but you come out of it knowing the world a bit better, from the experiences of a licentious poet songwriter, or in this case, a mangaka who is getting older and decided to document in this manga the experiences of his generation.

Reading this reminds me of Catcher in the Rye in that it’s certainly got some subversive elements to it about a reaction to Japanese society and salaryman syndrome (career focus instead of following one’s dreams and hopes). All the characters in the band who helped create the song Solanin, a song of leaving behind the boy Meiko’s boyfriend once was, feel a sense of hopelessness in their careers, clinging onto their employment hoping nothing worse will happen to them. There’s no annoying Holden Caulfield like brat to destroy the integrity of what really is a heartfelt look at the feelings of a generation of young Japanese people, so I can’t say I felt irritated by this manga.

I got a good two to three hours of being immersed in the story of Solanin, and not once did I put it down except when I was expected to talk to my parents about how my exam today went. The art style is amazing, and for once nobody can point the finger of Westernisation in manga and anime at this particular manga work, you can tell straight away these people are actually Japanese and not just funny looking blue haired and pink haired people because of the seinen art style which is more realistic than most shonen or shojo works. The dream sequences remind me a bit of Simone Legno’s tokidoki graphic designs and designer toy works, really it’s quite inventive but at the same time raising a bit of a question to the reader about how in touch with reality young people in Japanese culture are.

All in all I highly recommend this to people who might be looking for something different from the sugary loli moe hegemony or maybe if you’ve got a friend who’s a manga fan but feels a little lonely, something in this manga will remind them to hope again and learn to accept that even though it gets lonely sometimes in life, just sitting around waiting for something to happen is a lot worse than enjoying life and living it.

Double Arts Cancelled: You Don’t Really Think I’ll Do A Write Up For The Final Chapters, Do You?

Omisyth — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 18:12:31 +0000

My reaction to that absurd decision.

So if you didn’t know (and if you were a fan of the series, you should’ve) DA got cancelled by Shounen Jump a few weeks ago. I’m still kind of irritated, but nowhere near as much as I was before, and I really can’t be bothered to dredge up all that anger to complain about this idiocy. So, courtesy of my own blo g, you get a mini-rant!

For a bit more of an objective look at the series, take a look at FFVIIKnight’s final impressions.

The fucking end.

SERIOUSLY?!

Yeah, so Double Arts just ends at Chapter 23 apparently, just as the story was starting to get a bit deeper and more interesting with the backstory of the Gazelle and whatever happened to Andie Frau and all that. Too bad we may never get to see a continuation of a great series, I’ll just have to hope the mangaka can go to another magazine other than Shounen Jump YOU SONS OF BITCHES. Apparently it was the lowest rated manga in the magazine, which is a shame, as there are worse series out there at the moment (I’m looking at you Naruto). It doesn’t even feel like the story got a chance to develop and the action and art was great on a whole and the whole thing was just brimming with potential. And there also needed to be more Sui action.

So hopefully we’ll see some sign of DA in the future but other than that all I can say is:

Fuck you, Weekly Shounen Jump.

Birdy The Mighty: DECODE 6 – It’s Party Time!

Omisyth — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 14:37:32 +0000

Too bad the party sucks.There isn’t a chance in hell I’m doing a longer summary for this episode.
Short Summary:
While Birdy and Senkawa investigate the scene of Senkawa’s death for clues about a marionette robot, his classmates enjoy Nakasugi’s party. Shyamalan talks with yet another blond-haired man with glasses about the Riunka and “raising” it, Sanada meets with Muroto to discuss Shyamalan’s powerful hold on her companies’ members, the old maid Yoshio believes Nakasugi’s acting odd and Senkawa shows up and has a touching time with Nakasugi where they both understand each other as they both “died” somewhat, blah blah blah Nakasugi completely loses it and tries to kill the cyberbird which belongs to the mysterious woman (and can also speak telepathically, it seems).

Next Time:

The shit hits the fan.
Nakasugi starts killing people.
Something vital to the main plot actually happens.

Thoughts:

God, this was boring. Nothing happens at all that hasn’t already occured until the last 30 seconds. To our surprise it turns out that ZOMG NAKASUGI IS THE RIUNKA!!! And then we had an extremely cute and emotional stupid and pointless talk about death and how they’d both died and empathy and how they want to have hawt secks. The whole thing was just emo interweaved with “Days in the Life Of Senkawa’s Friends: Extended Edition”. They are completely useless, until the show’s climax anyway, when they’ll probably all band together for a fight against the, at the moment, nonexistent big bad boss.When Shyamalan and Sanada showed up I thought things would get interesting, maybe a few revelations but instead they each said respectively “I know what I’m doing” and “People are scared of Shyamalan’s power”. Yay for covering new ground -_-.

The animation took a huge dip as well. We’ve gone from awesome fight scenes full of explosions and high speed action to weird character designs for everyone but the two main characters. Hayamiya’s face looked like it was going to collapse in on itself at one point.

Fortunately next week looks mildly interesting, with Nakasugi’s late night trips as a werewolf killing people. I may be sound obsessed with her killing people but that’s because I want someone to die in this show so the characters can do something other than have one of the most distinguished crappiest parties I’ve ever seen.

These characters are some of the most deeply developed and useful I’ve seen in any show.

Don’t you see it?

Swimming is a metaphor for facing and conquering your fears.

Bet you never thought of that, did you?

Deadman Wonderland – 15: Loli Kick Butt!

blissmo — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 21:53:23 +0000

Does Shiro mean betrayal?

Yet again, I find myself speechless after another chapter of Deadman Wonderland. Twisted and clever, I think this series deserves more than people are giving it credit for – therefore, don’t let its premise stop you from reading beyond the first chapter! Hibana is just incredibly frightening, nicknamed ‘punishment’ because ‘‘mama told her that bad people should die. This belief instantly reminded me of Light from Death Note, but Hibana definitely has a better and more violent mind. She’s adorable, but also insane – that’s why I love her. When Shiro threw the data chip away, I was actually more concerned about what Ganta was going to do next than the fact that she actually has a brain.

Unfortunately, another good cliff-hanger saved until another month or so; the wait for the release of each chapter is agonizing! Nagi was getting beaten by Hibana so badly that I thought he was going to die. Good thing he only lost an arm and had to endure a few scratches. I was also glad that he managed to open the elevator for the others. On the other hand, the Undertakers are extremely powerful and the level of difference between Ganta’s gang and Tamaki’s underlings is too big. Nevertheless, I’m sure that Ganta and company will pull through somehow – isn’t that how all manga/anime flow? Then again, this is Deadman Wonderland. Nothing is predictable.

Double Arts 20: First It Was So You Think You Can Dance, Now It’s Project Runway

Omisyth — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 08:22:05 +0000

Hell yeah, design competition tiem.

Summary:

Farran explains to Kiri and Elle that the name of their fighting style, “Double Arts”, suits them since they’re using a hand-to-hand combat style, akin to that of “Martial Arts”. That ends the day’s lesson, and they’ll continue tomorrow when Farran is going to run them ragged dancing for the whole day. While dancing the next day, Farran notices just how much the two have improved; Elle mentions that she has taken some dance lessons herself and she’s glad to see that there’s finally something that Kiri isn’t ZOMG AMAZING at that she can do. This sparks a little competitiveness in Kiri and he swears to become better han her by the end of the day. Farran continues to muse on the fact that they’re improving faster than he anticipated while they practice. Elle’s getting hot in her Sister uniform so Kiri says that he’ll buy or make something else for her from scratch. Farran overhears this and he decides they should buy some new material and design the outfits themselves; its less about fashion and more about the fact they need to have as much exposed skin as possible to maintain contact, as well as be mobile. Unfortunately, Sui’s taking part as well and to her exposed skin means…

COVER THE CHILDREN’S EYES!

Of course, Elle objects to this, due to the fact it’s just plain stupid. Kiri’s desgin isn’t much better though.

P.I.M.P

They fight for a while, but settle on Elle’s design which pwns both Kiri and Sui’s. At first she’s embarrassed about wearing it, but then Sui reminds her of the… alternatives… and she’s golden. After some choking of Kiri by Sui, the next day the two emerge in their new uniforms…

Awesome.

Though Kiri hasn’t really changed his own as it’s already suitable for fighting and his mom made it for him (ahhh motherly love). Kiri finally asks Farran a question that’s been bothering him; why does he not fight to protect anyone? Farran’s reluctant to answer at all, but Kiri’s persistence manages to get a small piece of information. He made a promise to someone…

He believes he should never break that rule no matter what. Kiri asks him what would happen if he does so, and Farran says he would pay for it in more ways than one. Meanwhile, outside the city…

Thoughts:

Trading plot advancement for lulz and a little character developement is fine too. Nothing much really happened this time around, but that’s to be expected really. I do think that Elle looks great in the new uniform now, it just screams “Battle-Ready”. The details of Farran’s vow never to fight to protect someone (or rather, lack of details) makes me think that there’s probably an actual curse/misfortune that’ll occur if he breaks it, rather than him just being stubborn, and it’ll be nice to find out a little bit more about that.

I’m thinking the grave might be that of someone with the Flare ability, most likely a former member of the Gazelle. This is pure theorisation at this point though, plus the fact most organisations tend to lean towards having twelve head members for some reason (at least in my opinion) and the Gazelles only have eleven.

OH GOD, EMBARRASSED ELLE IS CUUUUUUUTE!

Double Arts 19: LOLTraining Time

Omisyth — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 06:07:35 +0000

I said, you must win So You Think You Can Dance!

Summary:

Making sure that Kiri and Elle understand that they’re going up against the people who crushed the strongest warriors of the Sisters, he decides to accept Kiri’s request. Elle reacts less enthusiastically, having heard nothing about this before, and Sui says that she’s already taught Kiri how to fight, though Kiri says that’s impossible since she can’t teach anybody anything (probably true). Elle reluctantly agrees that she’ll do her best, but before they go any further, Fallan lays some ground rules. He pretty much says they’re completely under his control for the time they’re training, and that they also…

There you have it. The best way to get cash is to train for years, become a master martial artist and demand students hand over their money. For “training purposes”.

He orders them out of the room to get ready, while Theressa teases him about the meaningless conditions and the fact that he must like the kids. The two get ready (along with Sui) and make their way to a forest within the town. They meet Fallan, who tells Kiri to never call him “Sensei” again, which he proceeds to do, says that questions he asked them previously (though I have no idea when) led him to gauge their abilities and create a basic plan for them.

They each come up with good answers (experience, knowledge, power, weaponry, heck, even Sui chips in with “keeping calm”) but Fallan says that though that’s important, it’s not what’s most important; they need to be in perfect synchronization and move as one as that’ll be the lifeline of their technique. And so, he sets them the most effective teaching method for this.

EPIC!!!

Well, of course all Kiri and Elle can say is “Wha?” and Sui just laughs her ass off. So, we move on to seeing them dance like crap, and the two of them get sick of it quickly. Fallan just tells them that it’s the best method to get them to move together smoothly. Kiri’s still skeptical, so Fallan explains that he’s gone all over the world, learning and mastering multiple martial arts, and has even taught others before; so it’s up to Kiri what he wants to believe about the method. He also tells Elle that she has the talent to become strong too (and Kiri has to stop Sui from doing anything rash). Meanwhile, Fallan wonders about the nature of Kiri’s “Flare” power, which is essentially an inexhaustible, risk-free strength that’s equivalent to “trumping the laws of creation”. He realises that any bad person with even a little bit of imagination could endanger the world with that strength.

He talks to Kiri and Elle, saying that the task of this whole endeavour is to create a martial art only they two can use, which will be known as:

Thoughts:

First off, apologies for the late post (as relatives + 3 hour drive = tired and will not blog) and I must concede to FFVIIKnight, manga blogger extordinaire, who I’ve secretly been trying to beat to the punch for this series ^_^.

I’m not much of a fan of training arcs, but this manga is so hilarious it glazes over most of my problems with them. I knew that it was going to be something stupid, but also made complete sense (like the whole “painting fences and washing cars teaches you martial arts” shtick) but it was still entertaining to watch. Fallan’s thoughts on Kiri’s powers make me think that something bad will eventually show up concerning Kiri; it’s impossible to have such hax a power without some sort of disadvantage and also previously, when fighting Kiri and Elle, Zezu mentioned something about recognizing his power. Fallan seems to have finally given up on that “will not help, only protect self” thing and decided to just help the two as he LOVES has taken a liking to them. And is there any time where Theressa isn’t wasted?

Anyway, if we can blitz through the training, then we may get to more awesome fighting (and I think that at least part of the training will be them two against Sui, which could be fun to watch).

Obligatory Sui end.

Double Arts 18: What’s the Wretched Egg doing here?

Omisyth — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 11:07:40 +0000

Meh, Shiro’s much scarier than Zezu. And a lot crazier.Summary:

A girl named Andie Frau struggles through a forest, remembering the last words her captain said to her before she left. She was sent to get into contact with Kiri, while her companions remain behind. They are the Falzen Sisters who were sent to escort Kiri and Elle back to headquarters, but unfortunately they’ve come into contact with Zezu and 2 mysterious hooded figures. Zezu mocks the strongest warriors the Sisters have as they were aparently nothing at all to him. Zezu asks one of the hooded people if Kiri and Elle are really still alive, even after he sent the Avro after them. Somehow, the figure knows that Farran assisted them, and notices that Zezu’s happy to know that Kiri’s survived. The hooded figure says that they should hurry up as they’ve got a meeting to get to, and while the Falzen hope that Andie Frau got away safely, Zezu decides to attack…

Back in the city, we learn that Andie is a friend of Elle’s. Also, guess who’s back…

Sui, and not in the happiest state of mind. It seems that she hasn’t gotten over her loss to Farran yet ^_^.

Sister Martha calls them, and before Elle can report on what happened concerning Heine, she interrupts with the grim news about the Falzen, who were completely obliterated. Everyone is stunned (except Sui, who’s just confused), and Elle asks about what happened to Andie. All Martha can say is that she managed to get into contact with them to deliver the message; the fate of the remaining members and her are unknown. Martha tells them to hide in the city while they gather reinforcements, but Kiri has a big problem with that.

Martha realises this, but what else can they do? Kiri asks her to hold off as he’s got a plan that he would like to implement. They return to Teressa’s house in the meantime, where she attempts to get them drunk gives them tea and Farran asks Kiri if he really has a plan. Before he actually tells Farran, he looks to Elle, who seems depressed. But she is, in fact, optimistic.

Kiri sees through this, realising she’s just acting tough, but says nothing. They take out a map and start planning their route to Naginzeria, the location of the Sister’s headquarters. Kiri says that they’ll head to headquarters on their own as they don’t wish to get anyone else tangled up in this. Sui complains, but she’ll just follow them anyway, as she’s so battle-hungry. Kiri says that he has a request of Farran. Farran thinks that it’s to be their bodyguard and says the same thing about only protecting himslef, but Kiri says he’s completely wrong.

New Technique, Get!

Thoughts:

Well, though I realised that the Falzen may not be able to do much against the Gazelle, I didn’t expect them to be completely obliterated so quickly. Martha did mention that the Gazelle would be waiting outside the city, but I thought the Falzen would at least have gotten into contact with Kiri and Elle. It makes Kiri seem a bit less righteous and a bit more practical in thinking that he doesn’t want people to get hurt for their sake; it really seems that Zezu and his group are just too strong and the Sister’s don’t have anything stronger than the Falzen so sending reinforcements would be pretty useless.

Any Sui is good Sui. Her anger/killing intent was fun to watch, but she didn’t get enough screen panel time in this chapter. I’m still waiting for her to bust out teh hax on another opponent or meet someone of equal strength. Though the fights aren’t the series’ main focus, they’re really exciting when they do occur, so hopefully Kiri and Elle will learn their new style and then we’ll have a battle of some sort.

Not sure what to make of those hooded people, but they’ll probably be the people who the group fight as, at the moment, Zezu’s just a sadistic, insanely strong, psychopath (though that may be a good thing). And apparently on the 18th of August there’ll be a double chapter of Sui action, which I’ll definitely look forward to.

It’s great to have you back, you violent, crazy girl.

You Predicted Someone’s Death; It Came True. Then You Saw Your Own.

blissmo — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 01:48:05 +0000

Now what?

If you were told that death would take you at the age of twenty, would you give away all your possession and aim to change this prediction, or would you carry on with life as if it was any other ordinary day, or would you try to live to the fullest until the time comes for your last breath? Ann Cassandra is a manga by Hifumishi Gorou and illustrated by Amashi Gumi, a series which started this year and has so far only released four chapters (three of which have been scanlated by Boredom and dkk). It is a beautiful and fun-loving tale of two youngsters who join hands in order to ‘break down predictions.’ Bekku Nanaki is the female protagonist who has the ability to see the calamities of the future by staring into her reflection, while Banjou Kizaki analyzes several photographs from a notebook and figures things out from there.

Unfortunately, Kizaki knows that by twenty he will definitely fall to death, so by destroying predictions and saving countless lives, he hopes that these skills he develops will be enough power to eventually change his own fate. However, by changing what the future has already decided, in return other people get hurt and injured, and sacrifices are made. Although there is no introduction of the main plot as of yet, besides a hidden figure identifying Kizaki and Bekku as enemies because they think they can change people’s fate, the story of destroying predictions alone is interesting enough to consider checking the manga out.

Although the beginning doesn’t grip you entirely, nor the ending leave you hanging, everything moves at such a rapid pace that it feels almost as if the mangaka is leaving some parts out, or that there is not enough time for you to feel or think anything until the chapter has ended. In any case, the artwork is superb and the characters are lovable, and their belief that the future is decided by yourself is inspiring. Ranka from Macross Frontier mentioned in one of the latest episodes that it is better to do things if you know you will regret doing nothing. Bekku is in the same place, trying to break down predictions in order to not feel guilt and to repent for the loss of her friend, whose death she saw but whose life she couldn’t save. Meanwhile, Kizaki is in a different situation where he’s determined to break all predictions and save his own life.

I’m really enjoying this series right now because it’s not that hard to understand, and everything is great besides the fact that it moves way to fast. I think the main plot is beginning to show itself at the end of chapter three, and each chapter is 40MB, so that’s also another down-side. The chapters are quite long (no doubt), but it’s really fun and enjoyable, and has a nice sense of humour.

Deadman Wonderland – 14: It’s a Branch of Sin if you haven’t read this yet

blissmo — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 20:32:32 +0000

Fighting for love is also a reason.

This chapter didn’t leave me hanging or shocked like usual, but I really enjoyed it nevertheless. Surprisingly, I was really hoping that Karako wouldn’t get killed by that annoying machine despite the enjoyment I get out of seeing the “good” characters perish. If the hints weren’t so obvious from the start, I was certainly not amazed after learning that she held feelings for Senji, and that was also her true purpose of teaming up with him to start The Chain. Her ability also works as a shield, which is also no astonishing either. It was nice to see Senji’s Branch of Sin as well, also known as Owl’s Eyeball, and Shiro was also cute as always at the start.

The third squad leader of the Undertakers, Daida Hibana, is another addition to the mentally-challenged characters of Deadman Wonderland. I think it’s pretty hilarious since she’s only a second grader and yet she can wield a sword that’s twice her size. I have no idea what the outcome of the match will be, or whether or not the elevator would be activated so that Ganta and the others would be able to get the chip out to the public. The thing with DW is, there’s no point in trying to make predictions because it’s all so unpredictable, and when you start assuming things, it turns out to be the complete opposite. I was going to make a Macross Frontier post for the fifteenth episode, but decided otherwise since all I could really mention was the love triangle. Besides that, everything else was pretty much boring.

Little chicks with no muscles are strong

Senji is awesome, ain’t he?