What is happiness?

Papillion Vol. 2-3 (Miwa Ueda, Betsufure)

This series doesn’t have the best reputation but I still like it a lot. My understanding is that people don’t like the guidance counselor, Ichijiku because he’s older than our protagonist, Ageha, which implies he has questionable motivations behind his interest in being her life coach. And also, some of the methods he employs to help her grow seem dubious. I actually agree with this but for me Ichijiku is the main the draw to this series because in theory he’s the perfect guy but not actually. However, despite his problems he still provides insight and produces results that benefit Ageha in a positive way. For instance, he explains to her why her feelings towards another guy, Ryusei, are insincere using her own self-defeatist actions. And yeah, he stages a fake event but it helps bring Ageha and her parents closer together.

As a result of Ageha’s renewed and secure relationship with her parents, she becomes confident enough to admit she no longer cares about Ryusei and for her to admit her feelings for Ichijiku, which he begrudgingly returns. Much of the rest of volume 3 charters the ups and downs that their relationship goes through as a result of Ageha’s twin sister Hana and her meddling. It’s revealing how easily Hana is able to fool and get under the skin of our leads. Their relationship really is completely superficial. Ageha spends most of her time smiling at herself and reveling in warm, fuzzy feelings of love. As soon as her comfort zone is disrupted, she starts feeling insecure, does something immature, and the cycle repeats.

The fact of the matter is that Ageha isn’t confident or mature enough to be dating a guy like Ichijiku. He’s just out of her league from an emotional growth standpoint and their intimate relationship is causing her more harm than good. It’s really a case where the relationship should have remained professional. Comically, another guidance counselor is brought into the story to help Ageha deal with her issues. He preaches about accepting oneself and others and letting love take its natural course without worrying about whether it works out or not. While Ageha does need to hear this warm message of acceptance, it’s hard to swallow because of Hana. I mean we can’t accept someone who is inexplicitly deceitful and cruel but can we accept Ageha knowing that she may be Hana in disguise?

But at the end of the day the lead couple has to resolve their differences and Ichijiku, using his attune sense of emotional understanding and ability to sweet talk, restores comfort to the relationship. While I’m sure this made casual shoujo fans swoon I’m pretty sure nothing has changed and our leads are back where they started. Ageha will continue to struggle with herself as she tries to hold onto the perfect guy. Another round of misery is around the corner and I can’t wait to see it play out.

We Were There Vol. 2 (Yuki Obata, Betsucomi)

Summer break has begun but Nanami’s days are surprisingly boring. All she does is lay around waiting for rehearsal days because on those days she gets to see Yano, or at least she assumes. It’s the slow moments like these that set this series apart from the rest, the moments in between the dramatic and romantic bits. It makes all the difference when Yano is nearby and Nanami’s inner feelings awake. True she’s conflicted by his different faces but ultimately it makes him more human and frankly, more mysterious. After they get together, Nanami becomes overwhelmed with emotions. Not just when Yano is near her but all the time. She can’t even sleep the night after he confesses. Life for Nanami is no longer dull, it is emotionally charged. Yano truly is the cure for boring summer days.

It may shock you to know that Yano has his own method of dealing with reality: sleep. We’re shown a fragmented dream sequence that reveals bits of Yano’s past like how he met and befriended Nana and some of the memorable moments they shared. Perhaps unsurprisingly, these include sexual, heroic, and even vaguely philosophical moments but there’s also the tragedy at the end of it. That is the constant reminder that these dreams are regressive because at the end of them, he is still alone. But now he has Nanami to greet him upon awakening. And hey, together they too can discuss what happiness means. Nanami even offers a new perspective: it’s something that warms your heart.

Samurai Manga

Shigurui Vol. 1-2 (Takayuki Yamaguchi, Champion Red)

I haven’t read many samurai manga but that didn’t stop me from quickly realizing that Shigurui is a very distinct entry into the genre. I’m tempted to call it realistic but not in a historically accurate way. It’s more like a realistic portrayal of super samurai that are really manga archetypes. The series is about a swordsman named Irako Seigen who enters the Kogan School of Fencing. He quickly becomes one of the school’s top pupils and one of the two candidates to marry Kogan’s daughter Mie and become the next leader. While Irako does desire this position, things are complicated by his sudden relationship with Kogan’s concubine, lady Iku.

The story and characters haven’t been what’s made this a great read for me so far. Irako and his rival Fujiki are barely distinguishable. What I really like about it are the visuals, the narrative structure, and the attention to cultural details. The customs, food, (superhuman) exercises, folklore, sexual escapades, and other everyday details are covered thoroughly. Comparably, individual characters tend to only stand out after they become disfigured or get sexually aroused, both of which are results of combat.

I actually suspect this series is really about exploring the consequences of various cultural nuances. For instance let’s consider folklore. The people of the time believe in spirits and other supernatural entities. The common villagers also believe that lady Iku is cursed and avoid her like the plague. Everyone that gets close to her “turns red”. Irako is capable of seeing through the rumors and understanding that Kogan is responsible for the murders that started the tall tales. It’s hard to describe why Irako is capable of this but I think it’s because his lifestyle is so intensely physical, driven primarily by lust, bloodlust, and power. He can’t comprehend spiritual entities being able to inflict great physical harm.

Fortunately Irako is portrayed in a complicated way. When he’s told by a fellow pupil not to pursue lady Iku any further, he suddenly imagines cutting his classmate up. After leaving the meeting, he beheads a cat to release his pent up frustration. As nasty as Irako comes across here, it’s hard not to admit he has come a long way after the narrative delves into his back story. Before becoming a samurai he lived like a violent beast. As a samurai he has become a refined swordsman with incredible technique. It’s not like the school members ever come across too well. In the scene where Mie is presented to her future husband, she’s the only one who can see that they’re the puppets of a madman.

I won’t go into how the mangaka uses another female character to briefly explore a (still bleak) alternative to Mie’s predicament but it’s definitely worth thinking about. Instead I want to talk about the structure. There are a lot of versatile thrills to be found in these volumes, between the sex and violence, and they generally aren’t undermined directly. Rather, the story unfolds in a very literary way that’s simply beyond much of the material. As I’ve suggested throughout this write up, the narrative will often drop everything and go into some aside, which wouldn’t be uncommon in a novel. In fact most of the story so far has been one flashback, but within that flashback there have been additional flashbacks. The result is the uneasy feeling that the characters are invariably drifting further back into the past.

Samurai Shodown (Yuki Miyoshi, Shonen Sunday)

You know you’ve finished reading something special when the last line is “To be continued on your NeoGeo”. Yes, this is a video game prequel manga or something though I think the business term is advertisement. Ok so obviously realism wasn’t the intent of this manga but it’s almost worth reading to just see the muscular samurai superhero portrayed in such unquestioning and heck, admiring light. Haohmaru is a dopey but enthusiastic swordsman who is always on the lookout for strong brave challengers. He teams up with princess Nakoruru to destroy the evil of the dark kingdom. Haohmaru is motivated solely by the fact that he’ll get to fight strong opponents.

The manga is largely uninteresting. There’s one scene where the good guys end up on a pirate ship but nothing happens, they just team up and go after the bad guys. When a story presents a chance to have samurai and pirates do battle, they should. There’s one unpleasant subplot about a woman who becomes a ninja and subsequently a tool of darkness. It all could have been avoided if she had followed her father’s dream of becoming a free woman like a blooming flower. Yeah I’m not going to touch on that any further. The best moments are when characters surpass their set types, like when some of the bad guys turn out to be nicer than expected.

Some day this will be a weekly blog

Honey Hunt Vol. 2 (Miki Aihara, Cheese)

Yura is an ordinary high school girl who intends to take revenge on her famous mother by becoming an even bigger star then she is. Why does she want revenge? Eh, who cares? The point is that Yura is on her way to becoming the newest acting sensation and she’s got three gorgeous men to accompany her. There’s Keiichi, Yura’s manager, and the twins, Q-ta and Naruka. The fact that this manga is part of the reverse-harem genre is clearer than ever. The series is taking on a number of different conventions and themes at once, perhaps most importantly the mangaka’s reoccurring theme of escapism.

Yura easily overcomes the obstacle that affronted her at the end of the first volume and remarkably, she does it by completely becoming the character she’s playing. This scene demonstrates a connection between acting and escapism. But it’s important to keep in mind that the whole manga works as escapism for the reader. The reader, however, is more interested in the reverse-harem aspect of the story, not seeing Yura succeed as a career woman. To accomplish this, Yura must fail as an actress. She must remain an ordinary high school girl at all times. I feel this is the manga’s core dichotomy. Normally it’s obvious that the protagonists of harem stories will never amount to much. Here it’s more of an ugly possibility. A couple key questions remain. What does it mean to succeed as a career woman? What does it mean to remain a dull school girl?

To answer the second question, you’d have to assume Yura will remain under the care of her harem. She’s already living with her manager. It must sound like a fantasy, but somewhere along the lines, things turn sour. When Keiichi says to Yura, “It’s my job to make you popular” he’s not merely describing his occupation, he’s describing his function within the reverse-harem genre. He’s willing act in way that hurts Yura if he sees it as beneficial to her career. But is it her acting career or her career as a reverse-harem manga protagonist that he cares about? There’s a funny duality on display in this scenario. The only difference between the two careers is that one relies on skill, the other not so much…

As for the first question, it presents a whole other load of issues. The real question is how can Yura possibly succeed? A lot is said about Yura’s parents and their array of successes. You might say Yura has some very sexy genes. Indeed, even one of her harem members, Q-ta, can’t see past them. He adores her father and his music more than her. As the harem master, this frustrates her greatly. Yet Q-ta also dislikes Yura because she is bland. Somehow, his passion for music allows him to exist outside of genre conventions for the most part. The irony here is that if Yura succeeds in taking revenge on her mother by becoming a bigger actress then she’ll only succeed because of the genes she inherited from her mother. Success and genetics go hand-in-hand in manga but never before has it been so confounding.

As things are now, Yura will only be able to become a popular actress because of the gorgeous men that take interest in her.

St. Dragon Girl Vol. 1 (Natsumi Matsumoto, Ribon)

Sugar Princess: Skate to Win Vol. 1 (Hisaya Nakajo, Hana to Yume)

I’m going to do everybody a favor and say as little about these books as possible. I pretty much hated them. St. Dragon Girl can be summed up as “whatever the heroine dislikes turns out to be evil so she can rightfully dispose of it”. Sugar Princess was just stupid. In one scene the rink owner agrees that if the skating team wins a competition, he won’t close down the rink. Why the heck would winning a competition suddenly make keeping a financial lose worthwhile? It got to the point where it started to seem like the mangaka was mocking her readers. I feel sorry for the unsuspecting preteen girls who pick this up expecting a good, wholesome story about skating.