Archive for the Artists Category


Hayate x Blade Manga, Volume 10

September 20th, 2009

If you have been following Hayate x Blade (はやて×ブレード) from the beginning, you are vaguely aware that there is an itch in this series that is not being scratched.

But first, as Volume 10 opens,  there’s the persistent and dangerous Ensuu and Mei to deal with. With incredible effort, and the stupidest technique ever (one used in previous volumes but no less silly this time) Ayana and Hayate *finally* bring the bad girls of Tenchi to their knees. Yay Team Us! Woo hoo!

From almost the very first volume, we know that Hayate is one of a pair of twins. In fact, her older sister Nagi was the one originally accepted into Tenchi Gakuen, but wasn’t able to attend because she was in the hospital. Only a few volumes ago, we were given a glimpse of the elusive Nagi, but that wasn’t enough! Nagi needs to be in the story, and soon, I felt.

Well, so did Hayashiya, apparently, because Nagi finally arrives to take her place among the sword-bearing student body at Tenchi Gakuen. And by doing so, she confuses the heck out of the idiots that surround her sister.

The best moment is when Jun comes face to face with Nagi, and looks her over in detail. You look the same, she says, but you’re not Hayate. (Thus proving that Jun is in fact the smartest person at Tenchi, which was a given, since she’s a lesbian.) Nagi does a little moronic song and dance, asking if that makes her look more like Hayate. I laughed because, well…it did. ^_^

Nagi is instantly not really all that likable. In a series chock full of really likable characters (with the exception on Ensuu, who is so completely crazy that you can’t dislike her, and if you do, after Volume 11 you won’t anymore. Because it’s hard to dislike someone that…so *completely* off the rails,) Nagi stands out as someone that it’s quite easy to not like. Watching Hayate frantically trying to please her older sister is a little heart wrenching. When Nagi publicly proclaims that it is her intention to take Ayana as her shinyuu, and Hayate just rolls over, it’s massively heart wrenching. Not just for us, either, as Ayana makes the point that she, and no one else has the right to choose her own shinyuu, dammit, and she’s chosen Hayate. That she makes the point with a reverse suplex does not diminish the message.

But…Hayate knows that she’s not as strong as her sister, and so she slips out of the school into the woods, where she meets, Yanagi, aka Yagyuu, a crazy-eyed, Edo-period slang speaking, ex-Tenchi swordbearer. And so, we are launched into what may well be the absolutely most strange arc in this series so far.

Will Hayate be able to survive the training at the hands of her new oyabun? Will Yanagi’s reputation come back to haunt them? Will Ayana be able to convince Hayate to return to her? Will Hitsugi take matters into her own hands to bring discipline to one of the very first graduates of the sword-bearing program at Tenchi? Or will the entire school be thrown into a crazy free-for all?

Yes, all of the above, coming in Volume 11. ;-)

Ratings:
 
Art – 8
Story – 9
Characters – 9
Yuri – 2
Service – 1
 
Overall – 9
 

 

I didn’t even mention Hayate and Nagi’s Mom. Meeting her explains *a lot*. I never get through a volume of this series without snorting at least twice. ^_^
 




Yuri Manga: Ame-iro Kouchakan Kandan, Volume 1

August 31st, 2009

At last.

In a small, friendly town, down at the end of the main street, in a spot just by the edge of the park, is a shop where you can sit and relax and have a cup of excellent tea. It’s called the Ame-iro Kouchakan, The Amber Teahouse, and the series is Ame-iro Kouchakan Kandan (飴色紅茶館歓談). This volume tells the story of this store and the people who make it so wonderful.

The store owner is Seriho, a sweet, somewhat helpless woman. Luckily for her, she is assisted in the day-to-day operations of the shop by one very intelligent young lady, Sarasa. Sarasa, it is soon apparent, has a second agenda. It is not just the tea shop she loves, but the tea shop’s owner.

This first collected volume follows Sarasa and Seriho as they wrangle with the complexities of running the tea shop and with their feelings for each other. The story of how Sarasa became an employee, originally told in the second [es] Eternal Sisters anthology is gathered here, as is the fateful story in which Sarasa and her friends forever change the destiny of the Amber Teahouse with a Tanabata special, that originally ran as a Yuri Hime extra comic.

Seriho seems to be a natural doofus, and one is never *quite* sure if she is aware of Sarasa’s feelings for her but, then, one is never *quite* sure what her feelings for Sarasa are, either. She likes her, that much is obvious. When Seriho comes right out and asks Sarasa to be by her side for 50 years, it’s really hard to know if she means it the way we think she does.

Sarasa is besotted, full stop. She changes her college plans to be by Seriho’s side for those 50 years. I think if they were to actually kiss, she might pass out. In fact, I really try hard to not think about that inevitable moment. I leave it in the future where it belongs. I did very much enjoy the part where Haru physically holds her back from using her free time on the school trip to run back to town, just to see Seriho. Also kudos to her parents for suggesting she stay out all night with her friend – Go Mom and Dad!

Sarasa’s classmates Haru, who runs the website Jinx, and Hinoka, are a not-quite couple. Hinoka seems to be sure that Haru has a thing for her, and Haru is just as sure that she does not. ;-)

The final chapter of this volume is the inevitable cross-over with Alice Quartet, so Fujieda can play dress up with his characters. A harmless little obsession of his that I forgive because he’s got good design sense.

This is quite possibly the most moe thing I like, and I chalk it up to Fujieda’s great characters because, let’s face it, the story goes like this – Seriho is cutely helpless and Sarasa helps her out. ^_^ However, the tension between them is undeniable (so much so that characters from other Fujieda series point it out all the time!) and while they are unlikely to share more than that damnable chaste kiss, I do not care one whit. (From the Anglo-Saxon wiht, for “amount.” Let it never be said that Okazu is not educational.)

Yuri in this series is a pervasive atmosphere, rather than a single event or couple. The teahouse may be called “Amber” but it is the scent of lilies that flows through the door onto the street. Despite their age difference, Sarasa and Seriho make a good couple and I look forward to seeing them getting together body, mind and soul, since they already have two out of the three covered. :-)

What was left undone in my review of these stories uncollected can now be done:

Ratings:

Art – At its nadir 5, at its zenith 8, but forever and always very moe.
Story – There is no story, but it’s an 8 anyway. ;-)
Characters – 9
Yuri – 8
Service – 2

Overall – 8 with a hope that future volumes push up to 9.

“At last” I said, and I meant it. It’s nice to have the whole story in one handful now, and not running about all over the place in pieces. ^_^





New Anime Season Summer 2009: CANAAN

August 26th, 2009

TYPE-MOON and I are not mortal enemies or anything.

It’s not like I hate their work, nor do I seek it out. I read Gunslinger Girl when I was reading Dengeki Daioh, but was never really grabbed by it. Nor was Fate/Stay Night created for me. I’m not a gamer at all and the anime was based on a visual novel I will never play/read. (And I do want to point out to the commenters who were annoyed that I called this a *game* that I did say I had NEVER played or looked at it. VNs are still pretty much considered “games” not “literature.” Until I can take a VN out at the library – it’s a game.) They aren’t staying up night worrying what I think and I’m not staying up nights thinking about them. :-)

But as you know, I *do* like hypercompetent women with guns, so when I heard about CANAAN, it immediately went onto my “to-watch” list. And I have not been disappointed at all.

In short, CANAAN is a live action series done as an anime.

War has carved a swath of destruction through multiple lives in this series. Loss of lives, of self, of their past, of their future, friends, family, whole villages have been destroyed. At the center of the battle is a virulent virus, and two women with inhuman skills that share a name… Canaan.

The linchpin of this series is a Japanese photographer, Maria, who has ties to a major pharmaceutical firm and to Canaan, the preternaturally gifted assassin whose sole goal appears to be to be a thorn in the side of the terrorist group known as the Snakes. This puts Canaan – and Maria – in the way of the Snakes’ leader, the equally dangerous woman now known as Alphard.

This series is built around the action. There are gun fights and chase scenes and explosions and that mysterious virus that causes people to mutate – always a favorite – and any old reason the writers can find for having Canaan leap off of things onto other things.

The Yuri is mostly for Yuri goggle wearers. Canaan and Maria are friends and instantly we can see where the doujinshi went with them this past summer Comiket. It’s not that much of a challenge though, so, there’s always the sexual tension between Alphard and Canaan, mostly because they are two powerful women-with-guns in the same frame. As you know, that must mean sex. Still not challenging though, so I’m betting that Liang Qi, Alphard’s incestuously inclined sister raped Maria in at least three of the best selling Canaan parody doujinshi at Natsu-Komi. Back in what passes for reality, this is a totally nioi-kei series.

I can’t really compare this to other TYPE MOON animation, I’m just not that familiar with their body of work. But, taken on it’s own, it’s a fun action anime, with a slight Yuri scent and a nice chunky government-military conspiracy. The voice actors and actresses are top notch and I’m really enjoying the heck out of it.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Yuri – 1
Service – 4

Overall – 8

It’s also refreshingly not moe, with more adults characters than I’m used to these days. I approve!





Interview with Gunjo’s Nakamura Ching

August 9th, 2009

You may or may not remember that my love affair with Gunjo began when I received a message on Mixi from a young manga artist, asking if I’d be interested in a non-moe Yuri manga.

Obviously, I was.

A few weeks ago I asked Nakamura-sensei if she didn’t mind, could she answer a few questions for us here at Okazu. Although she is very busy, she graciously took some time out to answer a few questions – I hope you will enjoy this interview as much as I did!

 

***

——————————————————-
Q1: Please Tell Us About Yourself
——————————————————-

I was born in June, 1985. I am 24 years old.
When I was 18 I drew my first manga, I made my debut at 20.
My favorite foods are Indian and Mexican. I like Japanese food, too.
My hobby is travel but, because I’m busy, I haven’t been able to go anywhere.
My favorite movies are The Namesake, KILL BILL, Roman Holiday, Bella Martha.
I love dogs, I have 2.
I have begun to study English, because it has become troublesome that I do not speak any English.
Recently, I have been corresponding with an older woman from America.
We discuss the joy of old age. And about things like dreams for the future, and living peacefully.

 

——————————————————-
Q2: How did you become a mangaka? Was it a childhood dream?
——————————————————-

I did not attend college, because I had no money to go to school.
When I was seventeen, I left school before graduation and took a part time job.
I wanted to obtain a job in a respectable company but, because I did not have the educational background (Japan is still a society where one’s educational record counts. I have had hardly any formal schooling) I thought I would look for a job where education didn’t matter, work that anyone might be able to get.
At first, I thought I might become an illustrator.
A friend said, “You should become a mangaka,” so I enrolled in a manga trade school for a year. (From the end of my 18th year into my 19th year.)
My childhood dream was to become a high school teacher, or be staff at a children’s home.

 

——————————————————-
Q3: Which artists are your role models?
——————————————————-

The artists who influence me most when I draw manga and write stories are neither mangaka, nor artists; they are those who write songs, are poets, novelists, and photographers.
Nakajima Miyuki, Yoshioka Osamu, Kumi (LOVE PSYCHEDELICO)…Song writers.
Mishima Yukio, Kajii Motojiro, Watanabe Junichi, Tendo Arata…Novelists.
Horiguchi Daigaku, Yoshiwara Sachiko, Taneda Santoka…Poets
Kuwabara Kineo, Hosoe Eiko…Photographers.

The artists that I think are really the most wonderful are my assistants who draw the backgrounds for Gunjo. I hold the pictures they draw in higher esteem than those by any painter. I am very proud to be working together with these ladies.

My favorite overseas artists are Eugene Delacroix, John William Waterhouse, Gustave Moreau.
My favorite Japanese artists are Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Nagaswa Rosetsu, Ito Jakuchu, Tsukioka Yoshitoshi.
My favorite manga artists are Ikeda Riyoko, Miuchi Suzue, Yamamoto Sumika, Yoshinaga Fumi.

 

——————————————————-
Q4: If you were not a mangaka, what kind of work would you be doing?
——————————————————-

Child welfare work or international welfare work.
Or, I wanted to become a teacher.
I think there’s nothing more important than raising a child with love (sooner or later, that child becomes an adult who bears the burden of society.)

 

——————————————————-
Q5: What were your motivations for creating Gunjo?
——————————————————-

I wanted to draw the keen loneliness of a lonely person.
I wanted to turn our kindness and cruelty (the kinds of emotions that we can’t control with our own wills) into a manga.
And also, because I am gay.
Living a life of hiding I was gay was unpleasant, so I wanted to give myself the chance to admit I was gay.

 

——————————————————-
Q6.1: Please tell us a little bit about your process.
How long does a chapter take to draw? What is the first step, what is the final step?
——————————————————-

The time it takes to draw a chapter depends on the content and the number of pages.

First of all, the script, story and any other ideas I have are written down on paper. (I use B4 size paper and a mechanical pencil to draw.)
I don’t write neatly. Whenever I think of something, I write single-mindedly.

After that, when the idea has been organized, it is called “Name” and the storyboard of the manga is drawn.
(The panel arrangement, script, people’s movements, 90% – 100% of these are decided at the “Name” step.)
Name is first drawn small on a big piece of paper, like a thumbnail.
This is revised many times and when I think “This can’t be fixed anymore,” Name is drawn neatly on a large piece of paper. (I draw on a piece of B4 copy paper folded into 2.
When Name is completely drawn on the large paper, it is sent to the Editor in charge of the Editorial department.
When this has been checked, I start work on the manuscript.
First, the paper is divided into the panels、and I draw the frames of the panels with a felt-tip pen.
From there I use a mechanical pencil to draw the rough sketch.
The rough sketch is inked, then screentone is applied and it’s done.
After that, the script is added, then it is passed to the editor. Afterwards it is printed and it becomes a book.

——————————————-

This ↑ Name
In the magazine becomes this ↓.

——————————————-

This ↑ Name
In the magazine becomes this ↓.

——————————————-

This ↑ Name
In the magazine becomes this ↓.

——————————————-

The last thing I do is check the work in the printed manga.
The kind of things that are checked are that the screentone was applied properly, or that the art is drawn well. Or any mistakes in the script.
Any inconvenient points or faults will be corrected when it is made into a tankoubon.

 

——————————————————-
Q6.2: (Please tell us a little bit about your process.)
How many assistants work with you?
——————————————————-

Currently, I have 3 main assistants.
(Up until now I had 5 people, but recently 2 retired.)
Nakayama Aya, Wakayama Yoshiko, Kumazawa Sayuri.
The Gunjo title page in the magazine will always list their names.
And from time to time, Nakazawa Tomoko comes to help.
Therefore, 3-4 people total.
They are women, ranging from 22～30 years old.
Without my main assistants (Regulars*), it would not be possible to finish up a manuscript.
When I’m very busy, I employ a number of freelance assistants to help out.

 

The number of assistants depends on the number of pages and the number of days until the deadline. A 32-page chapter and a 72-page chapter will need a different number of people to work on it.

* Assistants who always help out are called “Regulars” 「レギュラー」 in the Japanese Manga Industry. People you call only when you’re very busy are called “Help”「ヘルプ」.

 

by CHIEF ASSISTANT/ NAKAYAMA Aya (outline)

 

by WAKAYAMA Yoshiko (outline), NAKAZAWA Tomoko (screentone)

 

by KUMAZAWA Sayuri (outline and screentone)

 

I trust their skill and natures.
Therefore, I don’t give them much direction.
I rely on their sense.

That way, they can achieve the picture I want to see.

If reference material is needed, I do the research, take a picture with a camera, buy a book or search on the Internet.

This is a reference picture I took in Tokyo.
(東京浅草・吾妻橋／Asakusa, TOKYO, AZUMABASHI bridge)

This is the line drawing drawn by my assistant.

It’s completed with the addition of screentones.
(On this scene of a rainy day, after the tone was added, the rain was drawn in.)

 

——————————————————-
Q7: How has Gunjo been received by the Japanese audience? Is it popular? What kind of reactions have Japanese readers had to it?
——————————————————-

People who like Gunjo, love it, people who do not like Gunjo, hate it.

(Note from Erica: Ironically, the day before I received these responses from Nakamura-sensei, I had said the *exact* same thing to someone.)

 

——————————————————-
Q8: What was your reaction upon seeing the Gunjo cover of Morning 2 magazine? What did you feel when you saw it?
——————————————————-

Happy.
The readers thought there were pros and cons.
However, I also thought there were pros and cons.
When the cover went to print, the editorial office made a regrettable error in the spelling of the title.
When I saw that it had been spelled GUNJ”Y”O, I was surprised.
The correct version is GUNJO.

 

——————————————————-
Q9: Why don’t the protagonists have names?
——————————————————-

For the moment, the names of all the characters is a secret known only to me.
It will be revealed to the public in the final section of the tankoubon (probably.) However, this will be an omake.
Within the story of Gunjo, I didn’t feel that there was a necessity for the characters to have names; to the very end, they are not called by name.

When I am drawing the manuscript with the assistants, or meeting with the editors, them having no names is inconvenient so, we call BL “Les-san” and BN “Megane-san.” Because BL is a Lesbian and in chapters 1-7, BN wore glasses.

There are two reasons they don’t have names.
My Editor-in-chief said, “The characters names are an important element of manga.”
“If the character names stand out, or they aren’t good names, the manga will not become popular.”
I thought, how ridiculous, what a foolish idea. Therefore no names are used in this manga.

Also, BL’s feelings, BN’s feelings, are not only theirs.
Their feelings resemble the feelings of many people in the world.
BL’s or BN’s feelings might resemble the way you feel,
Gunjo is not only a story for BL and BN, but it is a story for you.
Therefore, BL and BN (and also BL’s former lover) in the manga don’t really need to be called by a specific name.
You only have to read to think that you are them.
When BN calls “Hey” looking for a reply, it’s not to BL, it’s you.
If BN uses BL’s name, then you won’t be able to respond.
When BL calls out “Hey,” the reply isn’t from BN, it’s from you.
If BL uses BN’s name, then you won’t be able to respond.

 

——————————————————-
Q10: What question do you have for overseas fans of Gunjo?
——————————————————-

When you read Japanese manga, how do you read it?
Can you read Japanese from the start? Or do you use a dictionary? Or do you just look at the pictures?

 

——————————————————-
Q11: What message do you have for overseas fans?
——————————————————-

If you have any impressions or opinions, absolutely please let me know.
Or, please tell me about yourself.
Where do you live, how old are you, where you work, what kind of person is reading my manga, I always want to know that kind of thing.
In Japanese, English, there is no problem with either.
If you want to use email, please send it using the mail form on my website. (http://ching.tv)
Handwritten letters are also welcome.
Kodansha Ltd. “MORNING 2”
(GUNJO Nakamura Ching)
2-12-21, Otowa, Bunkyo-ku,
Tokyo 112-8001 JAPAN
I will personally read the letters and emails you send myself.

 

***

Thank you so very, very much, Nakamura-sensei for taking time out of your tight schedule to answer these questions and share so much of yourself with us! We all look forward to the tankoubon of Gunjo. And thank you for all the wonderful pictures, that allow us a glimpse into your work.

I hope you, my dear readers, will all send letters to Nakamura-sensei and tell her about yourselves. :-)

(And some extra super sparkly thanks to Erin S who helped me out with a bit of the translation.)

 





Yuri Manga: Miyuki-chan in Wonderland (English)

July 10th, 2009

Wow, it’s only a few years ago, but reading Miyuki-chan in Wonderland feels like stepping back a million years into the past. To a time when Tokyopop was *the* name in manga, when they were cutting edge and hot. And CLAMP was the name on everyone’s lips all the time. From X to Chobits to…well just about a zillion series, whatever CLAMP touched turned into money.

Miyuki-chan is a collection of 6 short, service-filled stories of hapless high school girl Miyuki, as she wanders through dreamscapes loosely based on Lewis Carroll’s iconic works, games and CLAMP’s own work. All of these are filled with primarily female characters, mostly adult, and almost all focused on feeling Miyuki up or stripping her down. A psychological reading of the book could easily attribute all sorts of pent-up lesbian feelings to Miyuki but, as she’s completely fictitious, we have to just assume that CLAMP really likes drawing women in underwear. ^_^

The Yuri in this manga is really Yuri – there are no lesbians here. Just fictitious female beings groping a fictitious female character. There’s no emotion at all involved, unless you count titillation as an emotion.

Personally, the best line was when Miyuki cries out, “Oh no! I’m in some weird movie version of the X manga!” which made me laugh because, like there was a non-weird movie version of the X manga? ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 5
Story – 5
Characters – 5
Yuri – 4
Service – 7

Overall – 5

The upside of the manga is you don’t have to listen to that *horrible* music, but the downside is you don’t get the great seiyuu voices, either.

This manga volume shipped to me with no Hero’s name attached. (Boo Powell’s.com, not letting me know who my Hero is!) If you were the sponsor for today’s review, will you please step up and claim credit? Thanks so much from all of us!