Showing posts with label Japanese comics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Japanese comics. Show all posts
Thursday, June 20, 2013
They found some unpublished Osamu Tezuka art and stories...
This is a pretty big deal. Osamu Tezuka is probably the single most influential comic book creator bar none. In comic book terms, finding unpublished works by the "God of Manga" is the equivalent of finding a Leonardo DaVinci notebook. Some of the pages remain unfinished, but it's still charming, vigorous work. If you follow the link to the Asahi Shimbun main site you can read about the find in detail, but they limit how many articles you can read each month without paying for a subscription. In lieu of that just check out the pics on the page I've linked you to and marvel at just how good this guy was in his very early twenties-- a heck of a lot better than I am now at more than twice that age!
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Comics shopping in Tokyo: April 2013
Monster was a very cool shop to hang out in even if the comic book selection was pretty slender. It's easy to find, only a minute or so from Ebisu station-- right on the Yamanote Line, so there's no chance of getting lost-- and the store is absolutely jam-packed with superhero and movie toys. They seem to specialize in Star Wars but they had a lot of DC and Marvel action figures and statues, plus all kinds of other neat little items. This stuff isn't cheap, but Monster is worth a stop if you're jonesing for little Luke Skywalkers (or that mega-expensive two-figure 1/6th scale Bespin Luke from Hot Toys; he was in stock), die cast metal Batmobiles or plastic figures of Wonder Woman in her new costume. Or if you just like looking at such things. I was hoping they might have the new Dani Moonstar action figure, and while they did have others from that series (with her picture on the back of the package), she was nowhere to be found. Heartbreaking!
The customers were nice, a mixed crowd of young men and women, some parents and their little kids browsing and having pop culture fun. I also found the staff very pleasant. Big smiles and arigato gozaimashitas to seal the deal. I had a great time there, and I can't say I was disappointed not to find a massive selection of new and old comics. I didn't have much expectation of that in the first place. Still, I'll be making regular visits to Monster when I go to Tokyo. It beats hauling my butt all the way to Akihabara to see the same things, plus there are a lot of intriguing restaurants on the same street.
With Blister closed for the weekend, my only other choice was to find Manga No Mori in Ikebukuro. This proved an exercise in frustration. I finally located its former location, which is now a K-Books Men's. They sell those plastic statues and artwork of cutie-pie nearly-nekkid anime/manga girls. Kind of ironic, when one of the draws of Manga No Mori was its reputation for catering to female customers. I didn't expect to find any Cass there-- another shot in the dark-- but I had hoped to find the store at least. Since I'm not into the kind of stuff they sell, I didn't linger at K-Books Men's.
Speaking of catering to female comic customers, visiting the huge Animate in Ikebukuro was a highlight. First of all, just look at it!
That is one mammoth slab of comic book fun. Are there comic book shops this large in the United States? I tend to doubt it, and I doubt if there were they'd be as crowded as Ikebukuro's Animate shop. Just the line for the elevator made it seem like an amusement park attraction. I opted for the steps.
I didn't take any photos inside because I thought it would be rude, but there were plenty of people inside who had no qualms about snapping away. Now I'm thinking it was a missed opportunity. I mean, this place was just bustling and the lines for the cash registers on each floor made looking at merchandise difficult, like trying to watch a baseball game through a wooden fence.
And yes, most of the customers-- but not all-- were women and girls. A very bright, cheerful environment and as many comics about boys kissing boys as you could read in a lifetime. All in Japanese, of course. There is a floor for guy comics, too. And a section with manga-making supplies like paper, pencils, all kinds of ink pens, comic-making computer programs, color markers and more.
I'd read many times about Otome Road, the girly version of Akihabara. Having experienced the dude side in Akiba a few times, I was curious to see how the other half lives. Well, I must be an idiot because I couldn't find it. Others who are smarter than I am have had better luck and you can read about their happier experiences elsewhere. I'm more than a little disappointed I didn't get to visit any cosplay shops there, but if you look at my last photo you can see a brown van parked just in front of the main entrance of Animate. That's for buying food and the young women running it might have been cosplayers. I saw some startlingly white hair. Just down the street was a small park with its own festival in progress.
There I definitely saw some cosplayers. They were having a photo session. I strolled by just to check them out. So I suppose my story has a happy ending after all.
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
On the mechanics of anime illustration - The Japan Times
On the mechanics of anime illustration - The Japan Times
Japan has to be the top comic/animation loving nation in the world. I have no statistics to back this up. For all I know, it may actually be China or South Korea or even France. But I do know comics and animation are mainstreamed here in Japan in ways denied by audiences in my native US, despite the media's discovery every three or four years that "BAM! POW! Comics aren't just for kids anymore!" and libraries stocking graphic novels.
Publishers of super grown-up type books like Penguin Group (USA) occasionally take initiatives to broaden the appeal of comics. And so do publishers like Scholastic for younger readers. They offer comic books through their ingeniously titled graphic novel divisions or imprints. And remember DC's late, lamented Minx line? They advertised in teen fashion catalogs, which probably seemed like a great idea at the time. Graphic novels and comics-- especially the monthly ones-- still tend to be a niche product, with a shelf or two of the most obvious titles at what few brick-and-mortar bookstores that remain in your malls and shopping centers. People will watch uneven TV shows and go by the millions to craptacular movies based on them, but publishers have to push the idea that comics can be about anything and read by anyone. They make huge noise whenever they do, and their best intentions still don't always pan out.
While here in Japan, almost every bookstore you go to has huge comic book sections with a wide range of genre titles available.
Anyway, this rant comes inspired by the Japan Times, which ran the story linked way up top there about a museum exhibition of the works of Kunio Okawara, who designed giant robots for Mobile Suit Gundam and created a phenomenon. While I don't know a whole lot about his career, even a cursory glance at Japan reveals his pervasive influence. The news article catalogs some of it briefly, and it's breath-taking. I'd say a lot of what we Americans think about Japanese pop culture is a result of Okawara's work even if we've never actually laid eyes on a Gundam model kit. If you've ever watched that South Park where they satirize Pokemon or that one The Simpsons where they watch Battling Seizure Robots or the other one where they go to the Totally Sick, Twisted, F***ed-Up Animation Festival, then you've been exposed to Okawara in some small way.
What does any of this have to do with graphic novel imprints? Eh, probably nothing. I just wanted to show you how what in the US is considered entertainment for a specific audience is mass entertainment in Japan. Not that everyone here sits around building Gundam models-- although a character SMAP star Shingo Katori plays on a recent TV drama does in his free time, when he's not talking to his beautiful ghost roommate (and even when he is)-- or reading comics, but in Japan, you're just much more likely to see a train load of teen girls into comics US publishers find so elusive, or run into the middle aged dude who spends a lot of money on plastic toys and isn't considered a weirdo. It's still not cool to achieve the status of otaku, but you can indulge your geek-tooth without having to explain to people this stuff is for grown-ups, too.
And that suits me just fine.
Japan has to be the top comic/animation loving nation in the world. I have no statistics to back this up. For all I know, it may actually be China or South Korea or even France. But I do know comics and animation are mainstreamed here in Japan in ways denied by audiences in my native US, despite the media's discovery every three or four years that "BAM! POW! Comics aren't just for kids anymore!" and libraries stocking graphic novels.
Publishers of super grown-up type books like Penguin Group (USA) occasionally take initiatives to broaden the appeal of comics. And so do publishers like Scholastic for younger readers. They offer comic books through their ingeniously titled graphic novel divisions or imprints. And remember DC's late, lamented Minx line? They advertised in teen fashion catalogs, which probably seemed like a great idea at the time. Graphic novels and comics-- especially the monthly ones-- still tend to be a niche product, with a shelf or two of the most obvious titles at what few brick-and-mortar bookstores that remain in your malls and shopping centers. People will watch uneven TV shows and go by the millions to craptacular movies based on them, but publishers have to push the idea that comics can be about anything and read by anyone. They make huge noise whenever they do, and their best intentions still don't always pan out.
While here in Japan, almost every bookstore you go to has huge comic book sections with a wide range of genre titles available.
Anyway, this rant comes inspired by the Japan Times, which ran the story linked way up top there about a museum exhibition of the works of Kunio Okawara, who designed giant robots for Mobile Suit Gundam and created a phenomenon. While I don't know a whole lot about his career, even a cursory glance at Japan reveals his pervasive influence. The news article catalogs some of it briefly, and it's breath-taking. I'd say a lot of what we Americans think about Japanese pop culture is a result of Okawara's work even if we've never actually laid eyes on a Gundam model kit. If you've ever watched that South Park where they satirize Pokemon or that one The Simpsons where they watch Battling Seizure Robots or the other one where they go to the Totally Sick, Twisted, F***ed-Up Animation Festival, then you've been exposed to Okawara in some small way.
What does any of this have to do with graphic novel imprints? Eh, probably nothing. I just wanted to show you how what in the US is considered entertainment for a specific audience is mass entertainment in Japan. Not that everyone here sits around building Gundam models-- although a character SMAP star Shingo Katori plays on a recent TV drama does in his free time, when he's not talking to his beautiful ghost roommate (and even when he is)-- or reading comics, but in Japan, you're just much more likely to see a train load of teen girls into comics US publishers find so elusive, or run into the middle aged dude who spends a lot of money on plastic toys and isn't considered a weirdo. It's still not cool to achieve the status of otaku, but you can indulge your geek-tooth without having to explain to people this stuff is for grown-ups, too.
And that suits me just fine.
Friday, February 1, 2013
Ai Yazawa draws two pages...
A few years ago, a friend of mine visited Kyoto and brought me the first two volumes of Ai Yazawa's manga series Nana as a souvenir. I read them and became instantly addicted. I understand now the attraction of soap operas for their fans. You obsess over the characters and all the twists and turns and tragedies.
Unfortunately, Ms. Yazawa experienced mysterious health problems severe enough to require hospitalization and the abrupt ending of Nana. The last episode features a cliff-hanger, which makes fans even more anxious to see what happens next. Producing a comic is taxing work, mentally, emotionally and physically, so it's easy to understand why Ms. Yazawa hasn't resumed work. While the cliff-hanger is frustrating from a fan's perspective, my biggest concern has been for the mangaka's well-being. Even if she never produces another installment of Nana, I wish Ms. Yazawa a return to complete health and happiness.
She's been out of the game for more than three years now, but she's never been forgotten. And this past week the manga/anime world was abuzz with the sudden appearance of two pages written and drawn by Ai Yazawa! What a nice surprise! They're not Nana story pages; they're simply a short visit to "Junko's Room," the charming "bonus" feature found by American readers at the back of each Nana volume.
I can't read Japanese, and only a smattering of French, but the translation into the latter language seems to show Ms. Yazawa at her self-deprecating best, that fun, self-snarking voice very much intact after all this time.
As excited as I should be for even the merest prospect of new Nana, what this represents is a hopeful baby step towards Ms. Yazawa's re-emergence from a long period of medical uncertainty. I take it as-- and hope it truly is-- a sign she's very much improved. It's probably dumb to offer advice to a stranger who no doubt has doctors giving her much better prescriptions (and who will never read this), but I want her to be careful and not over-tax herself. She's given fans a fantastic story to love and treasure even if it's incomplete and she certainly doesn't owe us anything. But she owes herself a long and happy life.
So thank you for these two pages, Ms. Yazawa! All the best to you!
Unfortunately, Ms. Yazawa experienced mysterious health problems severe enough to require hospitalization and the abrupt ending of Nana. The last episode features a cliff-hanger, which makes fans even more anxious to see what happens next. Producing a comic is taxing work, mentally, emotionally and physically, so it's easy to understand why Ms. Yazawa hasn't resumed work. While the cliff-hanger is frustrating from a fan's perspective, my biggest concern has been for the mangaka's well-being. Even if she never produces another installment of Nana, I wish Ms. Yazawa a return to complete health and happiness.
She's been out of the game for more than three years now, but she's never been forgotten. And this past week the manga/anime world was abuzz with the sudden appearance of two pages written and drawn by Ai Yazawa! What a nice surprise! They're not Nana story pages; they're simply a short visit to "Junko's Room," the charming "bonus" feature found by American readers at the back of each Nana volume.
I can't read Japanese, and only a smattering of French, but the translation into the latter language seems to show Ms. Yazawa at her self-deprecating best, that fun, self-snarking voice very much intact after all this time.
As excited as I should be for even the merest prospect of new Nana, what this represents is a hopeful baby step towards Ms. Yazawa's re-emergence from a long period of medical uncertainty. I take it as-- and hope it truly is-- a sign she's very much improved. It's probably dumb to offer advice to a stranger who no doubt has doctors giving her much better prescriptions (and who will never read this), but I want her to be careful and not over-tax herself. She's given fans a fantastic story to love and treasure even if it's incomplete and she certainly doesn't owe us anything. But she owes herself a long and happy life.
So thank you for these two pages, Ms. Yazawa! All the best to you!
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Manga convention hopes to get a crowd of fans jumping with joy | The Japan Times Online
Manga convention hopes to get a crowd of fans jumping with joy | The Japan Times Online
Unfortunately, I'm going to miss this by about a day. It's Jump Festa 2013, a manga festival celebrating the famous comic magazine Shukan Shonen Jump. It takes place in Chiba December 22-23 and we won't be in Tokyo until December 24. Chiba's an easy train trip from Tokyo, so too bad for those of us who love comics and didn't plan our schedules in advance.
Shukan Shonen Jump and I were born the same year, but I'm older by three months. Perennial top seller One Piece runs in this very popular book. Oh, and a couple of little titles you may have heard of called Naruto and Bleach. That's roughly the equivalent of Uncanny X-Men, Batman and Justice League of America all running in a single weekly volume. Imagine that. No wonder this baby sells almost 3 million at a time.
Unfortunately, I'm going to miss this by about a day. It's Jump Festa 2013, a manga festival celebrating the famous comic magazine Shukan Shonen Jump. It takes place in Chiba December 22-23 and we won't be in Tokyo until December 24. Chiba's an easy train trip from Tokyo, so too bad for those of us who love comics and didn't plan our schedules in advance.
Shukan Shonen Jump and I were born the same year, but I'm older by three months. Perennial top seller One Piece runs in this very popular book. Oh, and a couple of little titles you may have heard of called Naruto and Bleach. That's roughly the equivalent of Uncanny X-Men, Batman and Justice League of America all running in a single weekly volume. Imagine that. No wonder this baby sells almost 3 million at a time.
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