Review: GA Geijutsuka Art Design Class vols. 1-2 (Manga)

Medium: Manga (3+ in Japan, 2+ in US/UK)
Author: Satoko Kiyuduki
Genre: 4koma, Comedy
Publishers: Comic Gyutto! (Now discontinued), Manga Time Kirara Carat – Hōbunsha (JPN), Yen Press (NA/UK)
Release Dates: July 2004-present (JP, includes hiatus), April 2009-present (US/UK)
Age Rating: Teen (13+)

At a recent convention, I came down with a rather peculiar illness which only manifested itself within the Dealers’ Room. The main symptom was a need to throw money at the stall staff, and even after getting the items I desired, the illness persisted. One purchase I made while in this haze of feckless consumerism was Geijutsuka Art Design Class (abbreviated as GA), which I snatched up with very little consideration. In fact, the full thought I put into these books before buying them went as follows: “Oh sweet, it's set in an art school? Maybe it'll be charming and enjoyable like Hidamari Sketch!” Only after I was safely home and the illness had subsided that I realized I had made a terrible mistake.

The main issue I have with GA is that it is very hard to determine what purpose it serves. Is it a comedy, a character-focused series, or a lighthearted instruction manual on artistic techniques? The synopsis and cover design make it appear to be a little of each. The manga is laid out in vertical 4-panel (4koma) strips, which are usually the mainstay of comedy series, but the series rarely elicits a laugh. This is simply because they are genuinely not very amusing, and in some cases hampered by a large cultural boundary that the translation, even with its impressive translation notes, does little to help you overcome. While the jokes are never gut-bustingly funny, the main problem that hampers the humor is the ham-fisted delivery and in particular the art.

While vibrant and detailed, the art is completely ruined by rampant overcrowding. Characters, and their humongous heads, fight for precious little space against speech bubbles as well as all background elements or props in panel. The end result is a very hard-to-read mess that leaves you exasperated and grasping for clarity instead of laughing. In a more whimsical moment I imagined the art bursting out of its tight square confines and using the full page instead of the 4-panel model, something I believe would have benefited the series. In the infrequent moments when this does happen, the overall flow of the manga is a lot more enjoyable.

But perhaps I have it wrong. Maybe the series is not supposed to be amusing, but instead endearing — "moé", perhaps? After all, the manga is serialized in a seinen (young adult male) anthology in Japan. The all-female cast of cute, strangely-proportioned girls are all instantly forgettable despite multiple attempts to differentiate them from one another and establish them in the mind of the reader. There are two splash pages in the first volume alone dedicated to introducing the cast and their individual traits in the most straightforward manner possible, but even these failed to make an impression on me. I can say that, without hyperbole, I would put the manga down for five minutes to make some tea and in that short time I would forget the names of the entire cast. Part of the problem is that they are all so archetypal and bland that it is hard to take them seriously or bother taking notice of them. There is the tomboy, the nervous one, the childish one, the mysterious one, and the other one so nondescript that I can't even remember what her archetype is — let alone her name. All this made it exceedingly difficult to bring myself to become invested in the characters’ antics on the page or care about the lackluster jokes they made.

Finally, there is the possibility that the series is instructional, using the characters and attempts at humor to help you learn real-life artistic techniques. Sadly this falls victim to the ham-handed art and some downright confusing dialogue, which leaves you unsure as to whether the advice is sincere or not. This is not helped by multiple author notes imploring the reader not to take the artistic advice seriously.

All these problems quickly left me baffled, uninterested in the manga, and unable to determine the actual point and audience of the series.

It is hard to find more to say about GA, despite having read both volumes multiple times to ensure I was not missing anything. The whole series feels horribly confused, unsure of what it wants to do and unable to provide any enjoyment as a result. Had I been in my right mind I probably would not have bought these volumes, but then again hindsight is always 20/20. I really can't recommend it to anyone, and it should serve as a warning to people to keep a calm head on your shoulders when you are in a convention Dealers' Room lest you too end up buying a clunker of a manga.

[Terrible]

---

This review is based on a set of Yen Press graphic novels purchased by the reviewer.

Continue reading... | Write a comment

Review: With the Light - Raising an Autistic Child vol.1

Medium: Manga
Number of Volumes: 14+
Genre(s): Drama, Slice-of-Life
Author(s): Keiko Tobe
Serialized in: For Mrs. (Akita Shoten)
Version Reviewed: Yen Press graphic novel
Release Dates: 2000 (JPN), Sept. 2007 (NA)
Rated: Unknown (appropriate for young teens and up)

With the spotlight constantly trained on shōnen action manga like Naruto and Bleach, it can be easy to forget that, in Japan, manga is a medium that spans a wide, diverse range of topics and themes. Fortunately for North American manga fans, publisher Yen Press has not abandoned the oft-sidelined jōsei (adult woman) market, as they have been publishing Keiko Tobe's wonderful slice-of-life With the Light: Raising an Autistic Child.

Tobe's manga, based loosely on true stories told by real parents of autistic children, follows a young mother named Sachiko Azuma and her autistic son Hikaru ("light" in Japanese). Soon after Hikaru is born, Sachiko and her husband Masato realize that he is not speaking or responding to speech. When they ask one doctor, he says that Hikaru is deaf, but a second opinion finds a much more serious problem: autism.

The story is essentially an attempt to educate about and bring attention to autism, a developmental disorder that often makes it difficult for those afflicted with it to understand and recreate expressions of emotion. The symptoms vary wildly from person to person, resulting in things like obsessively counting cars, demanding rigid daily schedules, or throwing fits about illogical concerns. However, despite the clearly educational tone of the series, the storytelling in the first volume is rarely diluted for the sake of relaying information. Any expositional scenes are shown through doctors or professionals explaining things to the Azumas, so the only times when it feels a little forced are when other people seem to not know what autism is. (I would assume that awareness of the disorder is pretty big in Japan, as it is in America, but then again this was originally published in 2000, so who knows?)

Seeing as I am an adult male, I am clearly not the target audience for a jōsei series, but With the Light is actually surprisingly entertaining for people who might not otherwise read manga written for women. The pace is admittedly a little slow, but the moments of emotion are tender glipses of familial togetherness, far from the flowery love scenes of shōjo (though there are quite a few flower effects). Tobe does wonders with these scenes in the context of autism. A simple moment of Hikaru first saying "Mommy" as Sachiko stands in an open, sunlit window is moving not because of the simple action that most all children go through, but because as an autistic child, reaching this point is a tremendous feat for Hikaru.

However, With the Light is Tobe's first manga, and it shows in her unpolished, wispy-looking artwork. With so many lines all over the place, finding my way around the page was harder than it should be for a seasoned manga fan like myself. Clearly this is the kind of manga that can appeal to first-time manga readers, but its confusing visual style makes jumping into it a little too difficult. As the story wears on, Tobe's cluttered pages and attractive character designs remain, but the art is a little cleaner, darker, and more refined.

As an exhibit of manga's wide variety, With the Light is a must-have on any diverse reader's bookshelf. As a manga to be judged solely on its own merits, it is certainly not a groundbreaking series in either art or storytelling. Nevertheless, what Tobe lacks in skill she makes up for tenfold in heart. With the Light's value comes not in reading a totally professional manga series, but in experiencing a heartwarming story that rings with truth, told by a first-time manga-ka with a deep love for all those afflicted with autism.

good.

Continue reading... | Write a comment

NYCC09: Del Rey / Yen Press / CMX panel reports (Yen gets Yotsuba!)

Del Rey
At the Del Rey Manga Happy FunTime Hullaballoo (yep, that's what they called it), some of the most prominent folks from Del Rey (including Ali T. Kokmen, Trisha Narwani, and the all-powerful Dallas Middaugh) sat down to list off their new releases, which I've organized in bullet-point form below:

• Nighthead Genesis (story be George Iiida, art by You Higiri) - "Two brothers with supernatural powers who can't escape their dark destiny"
• Four-Eyed Prince (Wataru Mizukami) - "Sachiko has found her dream guy, but she soon finds out that he is a cute boy in glasses by day, but a nightclub host entertaining older women by night."
• Only One Wish (by Mia Ikumi) It's about "A mysterious witch who only grants one wish to five strangers." Includes a bonus short manga from Tokyo Mew Mew (also by Ikumi).
• Genshiken: Return of the Otaku (novelization by Iida Kazutoshi) "A brand new, hilarious story with the most insane anime club ever."
• Kitchen Princess: Search for the Angel Cake (story by Miyuki Kobayashi, art by Natsumi Ando) "An old woman asks Najika to recreate an old recipe that's been lost for over 50 years."
• King of RPGs (story by manga expert Jason Thompson, art by Victor Haa) It's about "a young kid who is obsessed with "World of Warfare," and gets sucked into an insane tabletop roleplaying game

Check out the news from Yen Press and CMX after the break!

Yen Press
Yen Press President Kurt Hassler and the other folks from the manga publisher showed up at their panel room today to provide us with some sweet, sweet new licensing announcements and (as most of the packed room was hoping for) some sweet, sweet giveaways. The new licenses are listed below.

• Time and Again (by Jiun Yun) - Yen will be giving a graphic novel release to this title, already running in Yen+
• Spice and Wolf manga (story by Isuna Hasekura, art by Keito Koume) - A release date is "soon to be disclosed"
• Raiders (by JinJun Park) - Described by the folks from Yen as "early Obata, sort of," referring of course to the distinctive art style of Death Note manga artist.
• Laon (story by Hyum You, art by YoungBin Kim)
• The Crescent Moon Story (by Hyouta Fujiyama) - Releasing in September 2009
• Yotsuba&! Volume 6 (by Kiyohiko Azuma)!!!

Naturally, the talk of the room was the licensing of Yotsuba&!, which was originally owned by ADV Manga until their company went under, effectively ceasing the publication of the manga. In an epic Powerpoint mistake, the folks from Yen accidentally revealed the license of Yotsuba&! a few slides early, resulting is such a deafening roar from the crowd that Kurt's microphone shorted out. (At least I like to think that that's the reason.)

When asked about the translator selected to work on the new release of the manga, Yen told us that they selected a translator who had done some work on the ADV release, so they had some familiarity with the title. Additionally, the manga will not be published in Yen+, but Yen Press is currently looking at republishing ADV's first five volumes of the title

Finally, Kurt pulled out boxes upon boxes of Higurashi and Soul Eater manga and merchandise, which he was giving away... for free. Described by many as a "feeding frenzy" or quite simply "Animal House," the panel room was filled to bursting with gleeful fangirls (and fanboys) entering, exiting, and re-entering the line to pick up more and more manga, while the manga press corps watched in awe.

CMX Manga
DC Comics were firing on all cylinders at the new York Comic Con, with not only representation for their Western comics and DC Universe Online video game, but also a panel run by their manga division, CMX.

The panel was unfortunately nothing more than a simple list of the latest titles coming out from CMX, all of which I've listed below:

• The Name of the Flower (by Ken Saito • Jan 09
• Fire Investigator Nanase (story by Izo Hashimoto, art by Tomoshige Ichikawa • Jan 09
• Jihai (by Toshimi Ningoshi • Feb 09)
• March on Earth (by Mikase Hayashi • Mar 09
• Venus Capriccio (by Mai Nishikata • Apr 09)
• Genghis Khan: To the Ends of the Earth and Sea (art by Nakaba Higurashi, original story by Seiichi Morimura • Apr 09) - FLEX
• The King of Debris (by Yusuke Aso • May 09)
• The Lapis Lazuli Crown (by Natsuna Kawase, who worked on Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne • May 09)
• Ballad of a Shinigami (story by S-she Hasegawa, art by Asuka Izumi • June 09)
• Broken Blade (by Yunosuke Yoshinaga • Jul 09)

Regarding the CMX Mobile service's possible expansion to American cell phones, the division is "discussing a variety of options for a variety of devices." Of particular note is that they are looking at devices other than cell phones as well. (DS makes sense, since there are a lot of Japanese companies trying to pull that off.) And that's a wrap for the manga panels of NYCC09 day two!

Continue reading... | Write a comment

NYAF08: Yen Press panel report

Yen Press, creators of the popular startup manga magazine Yen+, provided a panel much in the same vein as Del Rey's panel a day before. The beginning of the panel consisted of Rich Johnson bantering with Japanator reader Chris (a.k.a. KuronoK), a pastime which would become central to the panel. As is the case with Del Rey, bloggers like me LOVE Yen Press. Their informal, exciting, and funny panel started with a quick recap of the status of the Haruhi Suzumiya manga, which releases in three weeks. The light novels will release in April, and a sneak preview of them is in the back of the manga. Of course, there were a few (some might call it a giant box of) copies of the manga that Rich had happened to bring with him, so we would be winning them as prizes for answering questions.

Soon after that, Rich and his cohorts Kurt, Juon, Tania, and Abby went right into Yen's list of new titles. I've listed them below:

• Hero Tales, written by Huang Jin Zhou and drawn by Hiromu Arakawa (FMA) - October 2009
• Spice and Wolf light novels by Isuna Hasekura - December 2009
• 13th Boy by SangUen Lee - June 2009
• Welcome to Wakaba-Soh by Chako Abeno (Sola) - June 2009
• Sugarholic by GooGoo Gong - June 2009

After that, the entire panel was composed of Rich asking questions, and giving copies of the Haruhi manga to those who got them right (or to random people who made a comment he liked). Chris had to wait more than half the panel for a copy from Rich, who took a sick (and hilarious) pleasure in depriving the boy. Eventually nearly everyone in the room who wanted one - including Chris - was given a copy, and Brad Rice even got the box that held them! Overall, the panel was a lot of fun, and the news was given in a refreshingly concise style, making it easy on bloggers like me.

Continue reading... | Write a comment