Manga in Germany, Kind Of (I)

Monster Vol. 10 (Naoki Urusawa, Big Comic Original)

This volume takes a step away from the principle cast (Tenma, Nina, Johan, ect) to focus on two new characters, Mr. Grimmer, a journalist investigating the shady history of 511 Kinderheim and Detective Suk, a man investigating a murder case that Mr. Grimmer is a prime suspect in. I should admit that the principle cast members aren’t entirely absent but they are reduced to cameo roles. Tenma is still playing the guilt ridden fugitive. Here he narrowly escapes capture thanks to Mr. Gimmer who remarkably knows that he’s innocent. It’s unclear if the interaction has any lasting impact on either men. Nina becomes a regular at a bar that Suk frequents. Although Suk expresses his frustrations to her, she remains a fairly detached character, who prefers dropping mysterious clues than becoming an active participant in the narrative. Additionally, there’s the most eye-catching cameo of all: the poison candy.

Mr. Grimmer suspects a scientist who worked there still has the results of his experiments hidden some where. Initially he playfully prods the scientist into blurting out information but later notices that the man is looking after several young children. This leads him to believe that the experiment is going to be redone but this turns out to be wrong. Unexpectedly, the scientist had learned the shortcomings of such work and now had nobler intentions. I suppose a “surfaces are misleading” theme isn’t interesting but what happens to him later gives the idea more depth. After finding out the location of the experiment results, Mr. Grimmer is captured and tortured relentlessly by thugs but refuses to give in to their demands. His source of endurance stems from memories of an old cartoon hero. While that is pretty incredible, the downside is that after he’s saved, he assumes he was the one who was responsible as if his perception of reality had been simultaneously simplified and warped.

Detective Suk’s story follows a similar pattern to Mr. Grimmer’s but instead of finding out someone he suspected of doing evil was really doing good, he finds out that his mentor, who was murdered, had been taking bribes. I suppose instead of giving into a false reality, he tries to escape into Nina’s, although the author doesn’t seem interested in giving that angle any real attention. That’s probably fittingly, at least when you consider how the reader is shown further corrupt cops getting stomped out while Suk sits around feeling sorry for himself.

Suk and Mr. Grimmer only meet once in this volume, towards the end, when the key to the 511 Kinderheim experiment results is passed from one to the other. This connection comes as a double edged sword because while it fuels the possibilities of where the story will go, it’s impossible not to consider that this has been planned long in advance and is all part of a larger plan.

Adolf Vol. 3 (Osamu Tezuka, Shukan Bunshen)

I’m beginning to realize that this series’ narrative is thriving on the tension between the necessity of telling a historically accurate story and the presence of an alternative history that is unfolding between the big iconic moments of the past. Despite this tension, there’s still a sense of inevitability about how things must work out the way history dictates. The frustration caused by the resulting lack of control over one’s own future is reflected throughout this volume, and even grows into defeatism.

The first part of this volume is a continuation of the thriller plot revolving around Toge and his goal of obtaining the much sought after documents and keeping them away from the Nazis and their subordinates. Initially the thriller aspects are way out in the open. Toge barely makes it back to the town alive and is offered shelter by a lovely young widow. Then there are scenes where he’s nearly discovered by the police, nearly strangled to death by his arc nemesis, ect. Then we’re reminded that there’s another young woman who is interested in him.

However, from here, a couple of noteworthy things happen. Rather then let readers revel in the love triangle subplot, the widow simply gives up before revealing how she feels and opts to return to her dreams of her husband returning. Our hero decides to return to Tokyo and stay with the other woman where it’s quite apparent that he could sit back and lead a normal life. Normally the reader would assume this isn’t acceptable in terms of series’ larger storyline and unfortunately Toge isn’t used in this volume after this point but I’m curious if the confidence blow of being rejected by the army will be enough to pull him back into the story.

The central focus of this volume is on Kaufmann and some of his experiences as a Hitler Youth. The most prominent parts revolving around him falling in love with a Jewish girl named Elisa and endangering himself to save her and her family. For those who are wondering, it does seem a lot like an extended version of the World War II story from Apollo’s Song but I don’t want to get in to comparing them. The thing that stands out the most about this whole episode is how despite how easy it would be for the author to position love as the cure to all prejudice, but the reality is that Kaufmann is attracted to Elisa because they are both part Asian. And so prejudice still exists, regardless of whether or not one thinks Kaufmann’s feelings are beneficial overall.

The episode ends in two parts and neither is joyous. The first is on the day when Elisa’s family is to be rounded up and sent to a concentration camp. Now Kaufmann has already played the hero and helped them flee the country. So when he enters their home and finds them in the living room, well, it’s nothing short of jaw dropping. However, Elisa does make it to Japan so Kaufmann’s efforts were not wasted. The second part ends with Kaufmann being invited to meet Hitler in person after catching a foreign spy. The look of enthusiasm on Kaufmann’s face, knowing that all the emotional turmoil he was recently experiencing has vanished because of his superficial leader worship, is disturbing, though it almost comes across as comical.

The last section of this volume entails Elisa’s arrival in Japan and part of her stay with Kamil. The bulk of this section isn’t too interesting. Kamil is misled into suspecting Elisa of working for the Nazis but her authentic religious practice eliminates his doubt. You can probably guess what happens next. What I really want to mention here is how the sentimentality that is often a part of World War II stories is tied to the political ramifications related to Palestine. While the reason for this narrative choice is unclear it should be noted that the man who believed Jews would always be able to find a safe place to live has since been killed. On the other hand, the events of the previous volume, amply entitled “An Exile in Japan”, paint a different picture of life in a unified nation.

Shonen Manga Surprise

The Law of Ueki Vol. 8-9 (Tsubasa Fukuchi, Shonen Sunday)

I’m steadily becoming more certain with each volume that this series is nothing but a riff on Death Note. What I mean is it’s the anti-Death Note but shares enough in common with it that they can still be compared. The more extreme differences are pretty obvious. The artwork in Ueki is sparse and scratchy, the narrative is that of a standard tournament manga with endless one-on-one battles, and the fact that the main reason I continue to read this is because of how random everything is. Sure, the manga’s world has several “rules” but they tend to come across as being beside the point. However what I’m beginning to notice is that the battle participants now have clearer, definable abilities. It now feels like the battles are about one person trying to outwit the other by taking into account the strengths and limitations of one another’s abilities. The result is much more enjoyable and I don’t think it’s now being done this way by mistake.

As for the more direct similarities, well that stems from the various views of justice held by the two principle characters. In volume 9 we get Robert’s back story and it reveals his sharply realistic view of justice. It’s kind of funny how from this point on, Ueki’s view on the matter comes across as sentimental and almost entirely emotion driven. There are a few choice moments when this occurs, like those large, grotesque panels of Ueki getting emotional or when he has knee-jerk violent reaction towards people who do wrong. I wish the mangaka had done a better job of emphasizing the difference between the scenes where Ueki attacks combatants and non-combatants even though I understand how in Ueki’s mind they’re the same but the loss of his talents thing is better than nothing.

I’d like to discuss Robert’s power, which is finally revealed here, because it adds another dimension to the battle fantasy world. His power is self-described as “turning ideals into reality”. For example, he can make a knife sharp enough to cut through anything or a gun that never misses its target. The reason I found this interesting is because it’s the reverse of how the other powers have worked. The other powers were fueled by everyday substances from the real world and were used to create fantastic weapons. Robert’s power takes the fantastic and pushes it back into the real world. It’s fitting that his ideal of the world is its destruction, as if the two concepts go hand-in-hand. So while both Robert and Ueki come across as extreme and unpleasant, Ueki’s sentimental approach is shown to be able to widen Robert’s perspective a bit, which is really enough to open a whole other set of problems…

Hikaru no Go Vol. 13-14 (Takeshi Obata, Weekly Shonen Jump)

This is one of those rare shonen titles that get better with each volume and these are my two favorite volumes so far. Though I’ve been enjoying the series a lot since it started feeling like a behind the scenes look at the world of professional go. The premise is fairly straightforward. Hikaru gets a forfeit win against Akira due to his dad collapsing. Hikaru is later able to give Sai a chance to play a game against Akira’s father after finding out that he’s playing go over the internet while recovering.

The joy of reading these two volumes stems from the almost ritualistic gathering between numerous characters, major, minor and unknown, as they come to watch the game between Akira’s father and the mysterious Sai. Though rather then let the go players simply enjoy their fun in isolation, there’s suddenly a heightened focus on the domestic lives of the characters. I’m thinking primarily of how Waya is pestered by his mom as he tries to watch the game, the scene where Ogata coldly leaves his girlfriend’s place, and the way Akira’s father shuts himself off from his family to play the game. However, the event revitalizes Akira’s father’s interest in go and in life and as a result, he feels he’s able to free himself of the professional go world. And yet there’s apart of me that sees this story of a community connecting and evolving as being merely supplementary to the larger story of Sai’s ongoing identity crisis.

We Were There plus Prequel

We Were There Vol. 1 (Yuuki Obata, Betsucomi)

I have no shortage of things to say about this volume so I’m going to focus on the two chapters that revolve around school events; the walkathon and the school festival. The contrast between the two is especially important.

I want to emphasize how unglamorous the scenes where several of the classmates are together really are. In fact the whole walkathon chapter can be described as being very low key and drained of the life and energy one would expect to find in a friendly school outing that took place in a manga. The narrative can be described as something along the lines of the following: the class goes on a long walk. One of the girls gets sick on the way and has to stop. Yano uses his secret cell phone to alert the teachers of what has happened. Yano and Nanami finish the walk together.

While Nanami’s feelings for Yano continue to grow, none of the preceding can really be called romantic. If anything, it exposes how Nanami’s feelings are growing out of boredom more than anything. Only at the end of the chapter does something relevant emerge out of this plotting narrative, and it turns out to be a shojo cliché. Yano has a tragic past that he hasn’t gotten over. This relates back to the scene where Yano revealed his cell phone. There, when his secret cell phone was revealed, it was a mundane affair. It was arguably appealing to rule breakers, but ultimately beneficial for all. Now his secret past is supposed to drive the rest of the series as the main romantic fuel/roadblock.

After more of the details of Yano’s past are revealed, we come to the preparation for the school festival chapter. Suddenly the manga’s universe starts resembling that of a standard shojo manga but with an added sense of self-awareness. This is suggested mostly through the photo-realistic images but there’s also the fact that Nanami is now in charge of the play that her class will be performing. The author seems to poke fun at herself for making Yano the romantic interest when Nanami puts Yano in the lead role, as if the play’s success depends on it. It’s also funny how Nanami finds it troubling that the play they choose to perform must have a role for every one in the class, since as the reader knows, they really just get in the way of central romance.

By the end of the chapter the truth that Nanami’s control is merely an illusion is revealed when the class’ festival room is mis-assigned and only Yano is able to fix the situation. She’s been fitted into the role of the obedient cutesy girl who will warm the heart of the cold but protective guy. While Nanami questions her role, Yano makes the case that she’s in a stronger position than him. I guess the real questions now are, is Yano lying and if he is, can Nanami change the narrative of her own life.

Socrates in Love (Kazumi Kazui, Petit Comic)

Now for context’s sake, here’s an example of a manga about a close couple that ends in tragedy. It’s probably one of the most famous of its kind and was probably taken in to account when We Were There was written, as it could almost act as a prequel. There isn’t a lot to say about this. It has distinctive artwork and is told from the male’s perspective. The narrative simply sets up one of the most likable couples around and then tears them down, one physically, and the other emotionally. Only the protagonist’s belief in the afterlife, where he will reunite with his first love, allows him to move on.

Now that’s just a high level overview of what happens. If you look deeper you can see a story of two people are obsessed with what’s right in front of them (the light) and repelled by the darkness (sex followed by disease) until what’s right in front of them becomes corrupted by darkness and there’s no escape. I want to emphasize this no escape part because at one point the couple literally tries to escape the hospital room and take off to Australia but it turns out to be a dead end.

Well I didn’t say looking at it from a deeper perspective made it any better.