The Manga Biography of Kenji Miyazawa

Bit of an obscure one this.

As the title indicates, this is a manga biography of Kenji Miyazawa, famous Japanese author and poet.  It’s not really a book made for entertainment purposes, but more an accessible visual description of the more significant instances of Miyazawa’s life.   In all honesty I don’t feel qualified to talk much about this one as I’ve never read any of the author’s works, but as no one else has really written much about this book either it seems a shame to ignore entirely.

Basically all I’m saying is that this book exists, and that I approve of publishers taking on titles from off the beaten track.  It’s obviously recommended for Miyazawa completists who don’t mind the simple yet charming depictions of early 20^th century life, but even they may balk at the poor artwork reproduction (the only proper black you’ll see here is from the translated dialogue, the rest is a bit murky).

Other than that I’m not sure who else would fancy reading it. (unless they’re foolhardy like me)  So um… yeah.

This book did however inspire a little further research into Miyazawa’s works, and that kind of reaction is no bad thing.  Related things to consider checking out:

Gauche the Cellist – Isao Takahata directed an anime of this before his Ghibli days.

Spring & Chaos – Animated biography of Miyazawa – they’re all cats in it.

Night of the Milky Way Railway – Various adaptations, possibly the most known of which is the anime known as Night on the Galactic Railway, which in turn also inspired a manga that was printed in blue ink!

So I Need to Lose 15 Pounds

Disclaimer: I know that everyone who’s reading this is already a perfectly formed and svelte individual. As such don’t be offended if I recommend this book to you as there’s more to enjoy on top of the weight-loss angle.

This manga almost passed me by completely, and only on one of my aimless journeys of online book browsing did I randomly fall upon it and decided to give it a chance. The title describes the content of the book exactly: ‘So I Need to Lose 15 Pounds’ is a comic-diary where the artist attempts to lose weight over a period of 5 months. From her first encounter with her editor to the final weigh-in, we get to read the artist’s experiences of various techniques. Different diets are applied alongside working out and health plans while suffering both to positive and negative outcomes of each treatment. A pretty rigorous scheme gets out initially reluctant artist through 27 such methods from jogging to hypnosis via way of saunas and colon cleansers. There’s a constant stream of new things to try (with varying results) and we get a monthly update as the mission continues throughout the book.

Those considering this as a fool-proof manga guide for weight loss should be warned that this is predominantly a work of entertainment. There’s very little science involved in any of the techniques - some could even be argued as being detrimental to your health (I’m certainly no expert to judge that however). There are a couple of tables and graphs at the back of the book with starred recommendations for each of the methods which give the impression of a proper health guide, but this book is more about trying to keep up with pensioners while jogging or avoiding the family when they’ve bought home a massive cake. This is one person’s unique experience of losing weight – not a valid health guide in the slightest.

The charming and light-hearted art is drawn in a simple style that reflects our sometimes flaky heroine quite accurately. The everyday sense of fun is really appealing and while I doubt it I’ll be applying any of the book’s contents to myself I’m very glad to have found it.

Monster Men Bureiko Lullaby

Some manga you might want to hide from your parents, but this one you might want to keep safely buried away from everyone you’ve ever met. Quite what kind of possessed creature you’d have to be to produce a manga like this, I have no idea. That it was even considered for translation, let alone actually released over here, is something worthy of my respect. Everyone involved in this book has major cojones, or simply don’t care. And that also applies to anyone who attempts to read this.

Consider this a warning then that this is a pretty obscene and depraved manga. Comparisons to Robert Crumb are absolutely justified…

Containing a series of short stories, the first of which depicts a penis that doesn’t want to be used for rape any more, and so knocks its owner out, flips the main body upside down and takes control as the main head (look at the front cover – he’s walking on his hands, see?). This is just for starters…

Serialized originally in Garo magazine, this is underground manga with humour about as dark as it gets. Sane people will be repulsed as they read a later story about a mutant sperm that becomes sentient from being ejaculated in the middle of a nuclear explosion, and goes on the depict his life as he grows up. It’s probably not wise describe further what else goes on in the book, but needless to say it involves a lot of penises, masturbation, most/all orifices, necrophilia, sex from inside the womb (you read that right), and pretty much any combination of all the above.

Certainly not for prudes or the judgemental. This is truly dangerous waters and if you’ve read it don’t be offended if I then have nothing to do with you.

Genkaku Picasso

For more cynical and world weary manga readers it’s somewhat easy to skip out on any manga sporting the Shonen Jump logo on it. Expectations are low with a near-guarantee of juvenile action stories (I can say it because I love them). But while the heavy hitters such as One Piece and Naruto duke it out at the top of the sales charts, Viz somehow decided to sneak in this bizarre little curio when no one was looking.

Usamaru Furuya may be familiar to more experimental readers from Lychee Light Club which was recently published by Vertical, and Short Cuts from Viz’s own retired PULP line. Both books are aimed at older audiences and depict strong violence, bizarre subject matter and a quirky sense of humour. Even Furuya voices surprise at being published in such a mainstream manner, but despite the change of target audience the artists is still sticking to his creative roots.

Hikari Hamura loves to draw, to the obsessive extent that his classmates nickname him Picasso. He is introverted and hates being distracted from his passion, but due to ‘certain circumstances’ (insert spoiler here) he ends up with the power to be able to sense and draw out the hearts of those around him. He is forced to interact with them more frequently, much to his annoyance, but by entering the world of the drawing he can help people overcome their deep-seated issues and gradually get to know his new found friends.

It’s a strange concept, but one that works safely in Furuya’s technically able arms. His artwork is very strong and switches to a penciled look when Picasso enters one of his drawings, creating a distinct look to both worlds. The surreal figments found within Picasso’s drawings are extremely weird and are gradually interpreted and understood as the chapters evolve. It’s a bit of a psychology session, but moreover it’s about learning to accept oneself and others without getting all emo. In fact its oddball nature and self aware sense of humour makes this a lot of fun. It’s pretty short at 3 chunky volumes so is definitely worth a shot.

Tokyo Zombie

We’re told never to judge a book by its cover, but it’s probably fair to say if you don’t like the artwork on show here there’s little reason to dig deeper. Promoting a style described as ‘Heta Uma’ (bad, but good), Tokyo Zombie’s artwork is deliberately simplistic and causes much turning up of noses of readers browsing the manga aisles. Diversity in your manga reading is one thing, but for many this is a step too far.

Originally serialized in the underground AX magazine, Tokyo Zombie is about two amateur wrestling fans who find themselves in the middle of a zombie outbreak. The plot ambles on in its own peculiar way as our heroes munch their snacks while driving through crowds of zombies. Some stuff happens in between including zombie blowjobs and pig surfing, and culminates in a human/zombie showdown at an underground fighting arena amidst a social revolution. It’s as bizarre as it is stupid, and will have more people wondering what the point is rather than accumulating fans.

The manga was popular (or should that be ‘obscure’?) enough to warrant the making of a live-action film which came out on DVD in English a couple of years ago. To be honest I found its understated humour to be a little on the dull side, and it works a lot better in comic form. It’s undeniably stupid, and yes the artwork is quite, quite bad, but then who said that zombies were neat and tidy? As a final note the main character has an afro - some things I just can’t say no to…

Travel

Picturebox is a specialist publisher that deals in cutting edge graphic works. They have a quite an interest in the more avant-guard art methods, and are involved with quite a few Japanese artists. Sadly access to them is mostly via limited runs of posters artbooks, so for them to publish a book like this is positively mainstream!

Despite its heightened availability, Travel is still a pretty unusual manga. There is no dialogue, no sound effects and to describe it as having a story or narrative would be a stretch. Travel depicts the sensation of moving on a train from one destination to another, and that's pretty much it. Going through the ticket barrier, finding your seat, watching the buildings and scenery go by, staring at other passangers, watching the rain run down the window - all the little things that add up to make the complete experience.

There's no much else to say really. Yokoyama's backgrounds are extremely angular, with his humans being stoic throughout. The commentary at the back of the book detracts from the experience and is best avoided so you can absorb the book and make what you will of it. It's not exactly a manga you can describe as having enjoyed, but if you want 200-odd pages of something out of the ordinary (high-brow even) then this neglected curio might tickle your fancy.