As our contribution to this week’s Manga Moveable Feast, Ed and I were joined for the Manga Out Loud podcast by Faith Erin Hicks (Friends With Boys) and Daniel Briscoe to discuss the works of the extraordinarily talented Naoki Urasawa. We were supposed to talk mostly about 20th Century Boys, but we wound up enthusing a lot over how much we all enjoyed Monster first.

I also appreciate Daniel and Faith giving me new perspective on 20CB. I wound up playing devil’s advocate a bit more than I wanted, but they showed me new elements to discover in the series. We also compare it to the TV show Lost.

This was a long conversation, almost two hours total, but that includes a half-hour of Ed and I first. In that section, we talk about some license announcements and what we’ve read over the last month, including my re-read of Oishinbo. (Note: I tell Ed I’m not going to spoil the last volume for him, and then my next sentence does just that, so yay for inconsistency.) We also briefly mention the new Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service and the news of Bakuman’s planned ending, plus we discuss A Bride’s Story Book 3 and what JManga Ed had read.

It’s time for the Manga Moveable Feast again! This month, the topic is manga published by the Viz Signature line, hosted by Kate Dacey at The Manga Critic (and bless her for doing it, since she just served as host in February for the Osamu Tezuka MMF). There are a huge number of possible titles to cover, as Kate has listed them in her call for participation. Kate has also posted an insightful history of the imprint.

Here are some of the titles we’ve previously reviewed here at MangaWorthReading.com:

• Afterschool Charisma
• All My Darling Daughters
• Bokurano: Ours
• Children of the Sea
  • Book 1
  • Book 2
  • Book 4
• Detroit Metal City
  • Book 1
  • Book 2
  • Book 3
  • Books 4-6
• Dogs
• Dorohedoro
• House of Five Leaves
• I’ll Give It My All… Tomorrow
• Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit
• Jormungand
• Kingyo Used Books
  • Book 1
  • Book 2
  • Book 3
  • Book 4
• Maison Ikkoku
• Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys
  • Book 1
  • Book 2
  • Book 3
  • Book 4
  • Book 5
  • Book 6
  • Book 7
  • Books 8-11
  • Books 12-13
  • Book 14
  • Book 15
  • Book 16
  • Book 17
  • Book 18
  • Book 19
  • Book 20
• Naoki Urasawa’s Monster
  • Book 1
  • Book 18
• Oishinbo: A La Carte
  • Book 1: Japanese Cuisine
  • Book 2: Sake
  • Book 3: Ramen & Gyoza
  • Book 4: Fish, Sushi & Sashimi
  • Book 5: Vegetables
  • Book 6: Rice
  • Book 7: Izakaya: Pub Food
• Ooku: The Inner Chambers
  • Books 1-2
  • Book 6
• Phoenix
  • Book 1: Dawn
  • Book 2: Future
  • Book 3: Yamato
  • Book 3: Space
• Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka
  • Book 1
  • Book 2
  • Book 3
  • Book 4
  • Book 5
  • Book 6
  • Book 7
  • Book 8
• Ristorante Paradiso
• Saturn Apartments
  • Book 1
  • Book 2
  • Book 4
• solanin
• Tesoro
• What a Wonderful World!

We’re either four or six (depending on how you count the two-volume 21st Century Boys, or whether Viz intends to include it as part of this series) books out from the finale of the now-longest manga series I’ve stuck with, and I’m feeling new excitement catching up on events.

20th Century Boys Book 19

The brief opening sequence reminds us of just how mindlessly lethal the Friend is, as well as establishing uncertainty about his identity (again!) and reminding us of the directness of Kanna’s mission to kill the world leader. It’s all conversation, among old men (and a girl) in boring business rooms, but somehow it’s strikingly dramatic. That’s what keeps me coming back to Naoki Urasawa’s work: his artistic skill. Even when I’m crazy ready for events to reveal themselves and frustrated with the length of the story, his detail and character expression are masterful and worth studying.

His digressions are often striking in themselves. For example, an old man, who might be Kenji, and the cop Chono are fishing. I’m not sure why, or how exactly this connects up with the main story, but it’s a great excuse for a conversation that encompasses the value of family memory and the need for vacation and how much more kindly we think of people after they pass.

This volume provides a number of short scenes catching up with characters from various points in the series. Usasawa is assembling his pieces across the board, ready for the final sweep. Except a board game isn’t the right metaphor, since that assumes a known set of rules and a certain mechanical progression. That’s far from what we get with Urasawa. Just when you think you know what’s coming, he’ll digress into bowling or the nature of reproduction in creating art or a new character introduction. I’m never sure who’s truly new and whom I’ve just forgotten about, but in this case, there are at least two: a shady cowboy-looking border smuggler and a tin-pot tiny dictator who fancies himself evil.

The major plot thread contained in this volume involves Chono and his companion trying to get back into Tokyo, which involves obtaining a transit permit in some fashion in a criminal-infested border town. (I just recently rewatched Casablanca, with its story involving missing letters of transit to eventually get the bearers to America, so I couldn’t help but notice the similarities. There’s also an aspect to the scary border fortress that reminded me of Labyrinth, but to say more would spoil a secret.) This segment is another example of how Urasawa takes an aspect of life under wartime occupation (or perhaps more accurate to say life under a tyrant) and spins it out into a vivid portrait, making it clear to the reader what it would be like to live in such devastated circumstances.

There are also surprising connections revealed in flashback, causing me to marvel at how elegantly certain strands come together. I was reminded of the power of the group, seeing true democracy in action as various strangers rallied together with their unique abilities and, more importantly, a willingness to fight for what they wanted. I get the feeling we get Urasawa’s summary of the story late in this volume, in the midst of a thrilling showdown, when one character tells another, “It’s hard being evil. It’s a lot easier being a good guy.” (The publisher provided a review copy.)

After I discussed yesterday my dislike of his early science fiction works for the Osamu Tezuka Manga Moveable Feast, a discussion sprang up on Twitter as to which of Tezuka’s works I would like.

Pluto Book 8

Tezuka in English pointed out that I’ve mostly read his “transitional works”. Books like Swallowing the Earth get translated because they’re historically important (in that case, one of his first attempts at manga for adults), but that doesn’t mean they read well, here in a different century. A lot more Tezuka is available in French, including more adventure work not aimed at kids, which might be a better introduction to the non-scholarly U.S. reader.

I’ve realized there is one credited Tezuka work I absolutely adore: Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka. OK, it’s not “authentic” Tezuka, I guess, but by presenting his ideas in a modern context (and thus avoiding the racist and sexist stereotypes which are a huge turn-off) with a more accomplished art style (and thus not causing cognitive conflict between big ideas expressed by cutesy-pie characters, most problematic in Buddha), it’s a lot easier to read and enjoy.

(If you’d like to learn more about Pluto, my first Manga Out Loud podcast was a two-parter where Ed and I talked about how much we enjoyed the series.)

I’d like to see more projects of this type, reworking Tezuka for a modern audience. Eliminate the problems and emphasize the strengths, as Darwyn Cooke did for Will Eisner’s Spirit.

MW

As another contribution to this week’s Manga Moveable Feast, Ed and I were joined on the Manga Out Loud podcast by Ed Chavez to discuss Osamu Tekuza’s work for adults and how manga for older readers developed in Japan.

But first, host Ed and I talked briefly about what we’ve read recently. Ed told me more about his reading of Tezuka’s MW, in keeping with the MMF, and Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys Volume 19, which I’m greatly anticipating. In between, I pontificate on cultural-bound works and how hard it is to approach them fresh decades later, and we wonder into talking about Steve Ditko’s work. I also have a few thoughts on the new downloadable SuBLime yaoi.

Listening back to it, I hadn’t realized we were having so much fun and touching on so many different ideas.

by Ed Sizemore

Looking back over 2011, there were some great manga published. In particular, three significant books were translated into English: Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths, Tank Tankuro, and Wandering Son. Only Tank Tankuro by Gajo Sakamoto didn’t make my top ten list. It’s an important children’s manga from pre-World War II. However, it doesn’t age very well. Sakamoto’s unquestioning patriotism and use of stereotypes makes it hard to enjoy.

Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths

There were two Tezuka manga published this year, and I desperately wanted to include them in my top ten. However, honesty forbids me. Book of Human Insects is well-written, but I still struggle with a Tezuka story where the villain or villainess wins in the end. Princess Knight is a fun book, but it’s also deeply flawed in its storytelling.

Here are my top ten favorite manga for 2011.

1. Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths by Shigeru Mizuki. Finally, we get a manga by Mizuki in English. A powerful, semi-autobiographic tale of the hardships faced by Japanese troops during World War II, this book is also a needed reminder that not everyone wearing a Japanese uniform supported the Imperial regime. I hope this does well enough to spark interest in his other works, especially GeGeGe no Kitaro.

2. Wandering Son by Shimura Takako. Words fail me when trying to describe the beauty and artistry of this manga. The genius of this series is that Takako doesn’t focus on how ‘strange and unusual’ transgender people are, but rather how ordinary. I want to say this should be required reading for junior high students as a way to help promote understanding. However, I don’t really know if that approach works.

3. A Bride’s Story by Kaoru Mori. My review of the first volume focused too much on my own hang-ups instead of the breathtaking art, wonderful storytelling, and meticulous research. My eyes almost die from ecstasy with each new volume.

4. A Zoo in Winter by Jiro Taniguichi. I feel like Taniguichi is writing his stories for me. His sense of nostalgia, history, and character are almost identical to my own. I immediately identify with his lead characters and sympathize with what they’re going through. Maybe it’s a middle-aged man thing.

A Zoo in Winter

5. Stargazing Dog by Takashi Murakami. Everybody and their brother has praised this book and rightly so. It’s as moving as everyone says. It’s a sad story, so best to save it for when you’re ready for a good cry.

6. 7 Billion Needles by Nobuaki Tadano. This series seems to have been overlooked by most people. It deserves a much wider audience. It’s a solid sci-fi story that gets better with each volume and has a terrific ending.

7. 20th Century Boys Volumes 13-18 by Naoki Urasawa. This series has been an amazing roller coaster ride. I’m impressed that Urasawa is able to maintain real suspense over so many volumes. I can’t wait to see how it all wraps up.

8. Twin Spica Volumes 5-10 by Kou Yaginuma. Another great sci-fi series by Vertical that is getting criminally neglected. This is more of a soft sci-fi, where the focus is on the characters and their development over technology and world-building. A very moving story with lead characters you’re constantly rooting for.

9. Yotsuba Volume 10 by Kiyohiko Azuma. This series is pure joy. Yotsuba is the cure for any bad mood. Unfortunately, we have caught up with the Japanese releases, so that means only one or two volumes a year. Azuma needs to write faster.

10. Chi’s Sweet Home Volumes 5-7 by Kanata Konami. Look, it’s a cat manga, so it’s already 90% there for me. It’s well-written and adorable, so I’m totally sold. This is another manga where we’ve caught up to the Japanese release and will have long waits between volumes.

20th Century Boys Book 18

20th Century Boys Book 18

by Naoki Urasawa

Kanna’s rebel group has gone even further underground. Their planned action is known by the ruling class, but Kanna refuses to call off the mission, because dreaming of that achievement is all that keeps her group together. Superhero-ish Otcho (think a grizzled old Japanese version of Wolverine) is trying to find her, busting in doors of places they used to hang out.

I’m unsure what I can or should say about this series at this time. It’s not as though anyone’s going to start reading with the 18th book, since characters long before established are meeting in new combinations and the suspense keeps building and building and building. (Release, please!) Yet it’s a significant series and quite impressive that it’s still going in translation. It amazes me that Urasawa created and maintained it in such depth for so long.

The art is too accomplished for me to praise it sufficiently. 20th Century Boys is like reading a movie, with atmospheric settings and dramatic expressions. The linework is marvelous, and Urasawa takes full advantage of the ability to create whatever place or situation he can imagine, from a post-plague militaristic society to the transformative power of a catchy song or a crazy old man with a guitar mistaken for a space alien.

I have the impression that there are some very subtle messages about responsibility for yourself and others running through this series, but I’d have to reread a lot of the volumes to be sure. It’s referenced in the debate Kanna and Otcho have about how to proceed, and the old man’s contradictory statements about singing, contrasted with the dementedly loyal disc jockey.

I did feel very sorry and sympathetic for Kanna. She’s tired of being responsible for everyone else’s hopes. She’s past feeling, and she’s overwhelmed and cynical at such a young age. Poor thing. It’s not going to get any better for her. But maybe there’s still hope for the future.

I’ll Give It My All… Tomorrow Book 4

I’ll Give It My All… Tomorrow Book 4

by Shunju Aono

Along similar lines, this series about a middle-aged man who wants to draw manga provides the exhausted breath of a promise of a fresh start… or does Shizuo really just need to find a new way to see himself and gain attention?

When we left off with Book 3, Shizuo’s editor had quit the magazine just before Shizuo was supposed to make his manga debut. His new editor is a younger woman, and she has very different opinions about what she wants to see. He reminds her of a situation she’s not happy with in her own life, and she’s blunt in her unfavorable reactions to his work.

Shizuo starts wishing he was a kid again… until he remembers his life was miserable then, too. At some point, he should figure out that the problem is him, that wishing for things to change or magically be another age isn’t a useful coping mechanism. But he’s still got a good deal of growing up to do. I hope that his new editor pointing out how his manga is just begging for approval of his choices — a trap it’s easy for creators to fall into — will shake him up enough to get better work from him.

Aono’s art resembles the slightly primitive style of a newcomer, reflecting the story content in design. His characters are simple and flat, giving them a more universal role as a representative of their type as well as a particular incarnation.

Saturn Apartments Book 4

Saturn Apartments Book 4

by Hisae Iwaoka

After I’ll Give It My All… Tomorrow, Saturn Apartments seems so delicately drawn, with its fine lines and cluttered detail, well-suited to symbolizing the future, even if it is a down-at-heels, lower-class one. That’s what the two series have in common — the need to work hard to even have a hope of achieving your dream. Sometimes, simply surviving is enough.

Mitsu has more ambition than that, though, working with the experienced Jin to study for the technician test. Mitsu’s got a number of co-workers he learns from, either in terms of dedication to the work or specific skills to assist him in his job. A dangerous situation that puts one cleaner in the hospital reminds us that this grunt work has life-or-death consequences.

Even after the immediate danger is over, there are ramifications to clean up — bills, resentful co-workers who blame those involved, family decisions, long-term fears of what years spent working means to one’s body. How much responsibility do we have for the decisions of those close to us? It’s a difficult question that provides some depth to this slice-of-life science fiction story, combined with a generational transition that shows time passing.

Then Mitsu is given a new worker to train, so he has to take charge of someone; in spite of his unwillingness to confront someone older than he is, he’s needed to prevent the rookie cleaner from making serious mistakes. It’s another example of how he’s growing up.

(All books are priced at $12.99 US and were provided by the publisher for review.)

I wasn’t able to do a weekly post either of the last two weeks, and there won’t be one this week, either. I’m not sure it’ll be missed, given the lack of comment on my last one, but there have been a number of great reads out the last two weeks that I wanted to be sure you knew about. Short and sweet, since the changing comic world means more ways and timetables on which to get books:

* Amelia Rules! The Meaning of Life… and Other Stuff (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, $10.99) is a strong contender for my best-of-year list.

* Volume 3 is the latest Archie Archives (Dark Horse, $49.99) to arrive.

* The last Bloom County collection comes out with Volume 5 (IDW Publishing, $39.99), although Outland will follow.

* Bubbles and Gondola (NBM, $16.99) gave me a unique perspective on being an artist and loneliness.

* You don’t need me to tell you how good Kate Beaton’s Hark A Vagrant (Drawn and Quarterly, $19.95) is, since so many others have already done so.

* The latest Modern Masters volume covers Frazer Irving (TwoMorrows Publishing, $15.95).

* Of the two My Boyfriend Is a Monster books (Lerner Publishing Group, $9.95) out this week, I liked My Boyfriend Bites much more than Under His Spell.

* Pope Hats #2 (AdHouse Books, $6.95) — Don’t worry if you haven’t seen the first one, you can still appreciate Ethan Rilly’s amazing cartooning in this one.

* Stargazing Dog (NBM, $11.99) is heartbreaking, as are most good dog stories.

* The Strange Talent of Luther Strode #1 (Image Comics, $2.99) was MUCH too raw and violent for squeamish little me, but it’s very well-done. The concept — kid who loves superhero comics really gets powers — is common, but the execution here is exceptional.

* Mike Dawson’s Troop 142 (Secret Acres, $20) is a realistic portrait of a week of Boy Scout camp, with all the horrible things teenage males do to each other. Great cartooning, too, especially with the distinct characters.

* Two Generals, one of my Best of 2010, is now out in paperback (Emblem Editions, $19.99).

* It was a pleasure to see raw autobiographical cartooning from the female perspective, as seen in Jennifer Hayden’s Underwire (Top Shelf Productions, $9.95).

* Kevin Keller’s story continues in Veronica #209 (Archie Comics, $2.99), which has a variant cover choice.

* Viz Media has three great manga: Cross Game Volume 5 ($14.99), Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys Volume 17 ($12.99), and my favorite, Bakuman Volume 7 ($9.99).