Akira, Vol. 1 by Katsuhiro Otomo My rating: 3 of 5 stars The 1980s—the latest, the last golden age. The length and breadth of our politics, our pop culture, even our high culture, was laid down in that decade. Everyone now is either trying to overthrow it or recapture it or some incoherent combination of … Continue reading Katsuhiro Otomo, Akira
Tag: manga
Claudine by Riyoko Ikeda My rating: 4 of 5 stars This 2018 English translation of Riyoko Ikeda's 1978 shōjo manga about the brief life and tragic loves of the eponymous protagonist is being hailed, to quote Wikipedia, as "one of the earliest manga to feature a transgender protagonist." While I'm sure this is literally true, it … Continue reading Riyoko Ikeda, Claudine
The Heart of Thomas by Moto Hagio My rating: 4 of 5 stars Consider two articles published within the last week. In one, Marie Doezema explains the role played by the philosophers of 1968, who tutored several generations of intellectuals (including my own), in legitimizing pedophilia in late-twentieth-century France: After May 1968, French intellectuals would … Continue reading Moto Hagio, The Heart of Thomas
Pink by Kyōko Okazaki My rating: 3 of 5 stars This is the first major work of Kyoko Okazaki (I reviewed what is usually considered her masterpiece, Helter Skelter: Fashion Unfriendly, here). Created in the late 1980s, during Japan's boom economy, it tells the story of Yumi, a young office worker by day and prostitute by … Continue reading Kyōko Okazaki, Pink
In Clothes Called Fat by Moyoco Anno My rating: 3 of 5 stars Further beginner's adventures in manga. In Clothes Called Fat's creator, Moyoco Anno, was a protege of Kyoko Okazaki, author of Helter Skelter: Fashion Unfriendly, which I think is brilliant. This book, detailing the weight-loss struggle of an office worker named Noko, agreed … Continue reading Moyoco Anno, In Clothes Called Fat
Helter Skelter: Fashion Unfriendly by Kyōko Okazaki My rating: 5 of 5 stars Kyoko Okazaki's aptly titled and subtitled Helter Skelter: Fashion Unfriendly is a remarkable narrative. Set in a vaguely science-fictional world of high fashion, wherein supermodel celebrities are owned outright by corporations and constructed head-to-toe by plastic surgeons, the graphic novel details the … Continue reading Kyōko Okazaki, Helter Skelter: Fashion Unfriendly
Nijigahara Holograph by Inio Asano My rating: 5 of 5 stars I promised a fuller review of this back in July, when I was only on my second reading, and here one is after my fourth or so, and after teaching it (to a class that found it rather unsatisfying!). Asano—a younger mangaka, one sometimes … Continue reading Inio Asano, Nijigahara Holograph
Solanin by Inio Asano My rating: 3 of 5 stars Essentially a YA or NA (i.e. "new adult") story of a group of friends attempting to transition from college to adult life while holding on to their ideals and ambitions. While it is often platitudinous ("It's tough for anyone to live their life," "And as … Continue reading Inio Asano, Solanin
Buddha, Vol. 1: Kapilavastu by Osamu Tezuka My rating: 3 of 5 stars I will excuse myself from writing a lengthy review since I am insufficiently grounded in the narrative idiom and traditions of manga. I confess that I find some of the conventions personally off-putting: the cartoonishness of the figures, the shrill and totally … Continue reading Osamu Tezuka, Buddha, vol. 1: Kapilavastu
