Hetalia Axis Powers 1-2 by Hidekaz Himaruya: B+

January 6, 2011 by Leave a Comment

I really wasn’t sure how I would fare with Hetalia. I knew that its cast featured characters based on countries and that it had a rabid fan following, but that was about it. I expected a screwball gag comedy that would probably not amuse me much, so I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Hetalia is actually far more clever than that.

Really, there isn’t a plot here, or even a linear series of events. Mostly, it’s a history lesson made entertaining, with plenty of edifying notes to explain the references being made. The country characters interact in the present day, whenever that is actually supposed to be, and also frequently reminisce (or complain) about their shared histories. Stereotypes are often employed for the sake of a joke, but never mean-spiritedly. More, the vibe is a satirical one and though Himaruya gives America lines like “By the way, nobody is allowed to disagree with me” and Italy ones like, “I’ll do anything you say, just don’t hit me!” he doesn’t spare his own native land, either, as Japan’s introduction proves:

I am Japan. My hobby is to read the atmosphere of a conversation and answer in the least offensive way possible.

At first, the jokes only had me smiling but the effect was cumulative and soon their sheer absurdity had me giggling, like when America’s alien buddy randomly arrives. His name is Tony. Hetalia is definitely one of those series where one must fight the temptation to quote all the funny bits!

The second volume introduces more characters, including a few female ones, like Liechtenstein, who is watched over by protective Switzerland, and Russia’s bizarre sisters. There’s also a running gag about how nobody ever seems to notice when Canada’s around. It’s essentially more of the same, but I did encounter a couple of surprisingly serious moments in these volumes, including a sad kappa leaving the company of humans who no longer believe in him and America’s victorious moment in the Revolutionary War.

The lack of plot doesn’t hamper Hetalia‘s ability to be entertaining, but the one thing that really bothered me about it sometimes was the art. I’m not sure exactly how to describe it, but it often looks like it was drawn by a very soft pencil and as a result has a tendency to appear dark and smudgy. It’s a shame because some of the characters are genuinely cute—Austria is my personal favorite—and Himaruya has true talent for drawing adorable fluffy animals.

I never thought I’d learn anything by reading Hetalia, but I did. As a word of warning, though, this series will totally change how one digests international news stories. As I was driving to work this morning I heard a piece on NPR about China providing economic aid to Spain and all I could think about was those two characters hanging out, eating churros and ending their words with -aru.

Hetalia Axis Powers is published in English by TOKYOPOP. Two volumes have been released so far. The manga is ongoing in Japan where three volumes are currently available.

Review copies provided by the publisher.

Filed Under: Manga Tagged With:

Tidbits: Sports Manga for the Win!

January 2, 2011 by 8 Comments

Welcome to another installment of Tidbits! This time I turn my attention to sports manga, a genre for which I nurture an inexplicable adoration. First up is Crimson Hero, a shoujo tale that attempts to balance volleyball and romance, followed by six early volumes of Eyeshield 21 and four later ones from The Prince of Tennis, in which the Seishun Academy tennis team finally makes it to the semifinals of Nationals.

Crimson Hero 14 by Mitsuba Takanashi: B
I’m not entirely sure it’s accurate to classify Crimson Hero as sports manga. Ostensibly, it’s about Nobara Sumiyoshi and the rest of the girls on the volleyball team at Crimson High as they pursue their goal of winning the Spring Tournament. In reality, there are only a dozen pages of volleyball in this volume, and only half of those feature the girls.

When last we left off, Haibuki, one of the aces on the guys’ team, had run off because he learned that Nobara was secretly going out with his teammate, Yushin. Also, some other guy named Kaz was spreading rumors about Nobara that caused her to break up with Yushin. It was really a mess, which I ranted about in more detail here.

Thankfully, Takanashi almost immediately addresses all of the things I found so annoying! Kaz abruptly apologizes and disappears. It was totally random, but whatever; I’m glad he’s gone. Yushin and Nobara discover where Haibuki is and both implore him to return. When Yushin goes to great lengths to win Haibuki back from another school that’s been attempting to recruit him, Haibuki realizes that Yushin kept his relationship with Nobara a secret only because he thought it would be best for the team and finally stops being a petulant brat. Hooray!

Though I mock some of the emotional moments in this volume, the truth is that when done well, it’s honestly very entertaining. It’s not the most original story in the world—earnest but academically challenged girl is sought after by two boys with contrasting personalities—but I like it. I still wish they would just play some volleyball already, though.

Eyeshield 21 4-9 by Riichiro Inagaki and Yusuke Murata: B
In addition to his fearsome talent for gathering information and blackmailing others to get his way, Hiruma, the demonic captain of the Deimon Devil Bats football team, also excels at motivation and promotion. It’s through his efforts that a crowd of Deimon students turns out to watch the Devil Bats defeat the Zokugaku Chameleons, which in turn leads to a record turnout at the next recruitment meeting.

A handful of new players joins the team, including the absolutely adorable Komusubi, who looks like a muppet and idolizes Kurita, and the Devil Bats proceed to a tie game against their next opponent, which earns them a spot in a televised face-off against a visiting American team. A summer training trip to America soon follows, with the all-important fall tournament season only a few weeks away.

At this point, Eyeshield 21 is following the sports manga formula pretty closely: the team gets better, important positions are filled, and everyone tries hard to get stronger as they face increasingly more formidable opponents. Just because it’s formulaic, though, doesn’t make it any less good. There’s a certain amount of satisfaction to be derived from watching someone earnestly work hard to achieve their goals, and even if much of what happens in this series is completely over-the-top, it’s still a fun read.

My favorite aspect of the story, though, is how those with less inate talent are not forgotten. This is best exemplified by what’s going on with “The Hah?! Brothers.” These three thugs were originally blackmailed into playing by Hiruma, but have gradually become genuinely invested in the team’s goals. Jumonji, their leader, was particularly upset to see his friends’ contributions belittled in an article, and works hard to help them improve themselves. I’m not sure why, but I find the idea of a former delinquent finally finding something to care about and strive for really moving. A scene in which the crowd cheers them for the first time actually made me teary-eyed!

Now if only there were fewer poop jokes…

The Prince of Tennis 36-39 by Takeshi Konomi: C+
When one is a long-time fan of The Prince of Tennis, as I am, one becomes accustomed to and can forgive a lot of the ridiculousness that goes on in the series. For example, it’s a given now that characters will be introduced who are supposed to be in junior high, even though they look thirty, and who have at their disposal an arsenal of highly improbable shots with silly names like “Super Ultra Delicious Swinging Mountain Storm.” Sets will also almost always end at 7-6, after a grueling tie-break, and characters frequently are one point away from defeat when they suddenly “evolve” and rally valiantly. It’s repetitive, but hey, how much variation can one really expect?

For the National Tournament, mangaka Takeshi Konomi kicks things up a notch with the introduction of a technique so eyeroll-inducing that even I can’t refrain from snerking. It’s called “the selfless state,” and manifests as a glowing aura that spectactors can detect instantly. “There it is!!” cries the peanut gallery, “The selfess state!!” It enables the player to instinctively recreate any opponent’s move that he’s ever seen, which results in even more shouting from the sidelines as familiar shots are recognized by the crowd. Our hero Ryoma Echizen can do it, naturally, but he’s been doing so for ten volumes or so now so it’s time to tweak it still further.

Volumes 36 through 39 of the series focus on Seishun’s semifinal match-up against a school from Osaka called Shitenhoji. After Fuji loses the first singles match, Seishun retaliates with a doubles victory followed by a singles win via forfeit. If they win the next doubles match, they’re going to the finals. Enter Seishun’s captain, Kunimitsu Tezuka, who not only can achieve the selfless state, but a special variation thereof called “the pinnacle of mastery.” Not to be outdone, Shitenhoji puts up Senri Chitose, whose ability to access “the pinnacle of brilliance” makes him go all sparkly.

Stoic Tezuka is my favorite character, so I don’t begrudge him the opportunity to be a badass, particularly since he missed most of the Kanto Tournament due to injury, but there’s only so much ridiculousness I can take. I mean, there’s one two-page spread where these guys just stand there and glow at one another! Tezuka ultimately wins, of course. After a brief interlude provided by a yakiniku eating contest, the finals begin, but Ryoma is nowhere to be found and Tezuka seems poised to reinjure himself in pursuit of victory.

These volumes make me sigh heavily. And yet… for all my complaining, I will eagerly buy the last three volumes of the series and be bummed out if the sequel isn’t licensed soon.

Review copy for volume 39 of The Prince of Tennis provided by the publisher.

Filed Under: Manga, Shoujo, Shounen, Tidbits Tagged With: , , , , ,

The Great Typo Hunt by Jeff Deck and Benjamin D. Herson: B

December 30, 2010 by Leave a Comment

From the front flap:
The world needed a hero, but how would an editor with no off-switch answer the call? For Jeff Deck, the writing was literally on the wall: NO TRESSPASSING. In that moment, his greater purpose became clear. Dark hordes of typos had descended upon civilization… and only he could wield the marker to defeat them.

Review:
After a college reunion spurs the realization that he hasn’t done anything to change the world, unlike some of his impressive former classmates, Jeff Deck decides to play to his strengths—editorial skills—and embark on a cross-country trip to correct typos. A few friends join the initiative and TEAL (Typo Eradication Advancement League) is born. With his trusty vehicular steed, Callie, and stalwart companion, Benjamin (and armed with a kit full of markers and correction fluid), Deck sets out on his quest.

The Great Typo Hunt chronicles his journey, both physically and figuratively. In simplest terms, he and Benjamin travel from town to town, spotting typos and attempting to fix them, aiming for a correction rate of 50 percent or higher. Sometimes they correct typos on the sly and sometimes request permission to do so. It’s pretty satisfying when a fix has been achieved, especially when pictoral evidence is furnished. Alas, many of the people they talk to are apathetic—one actually says “I would rather have a sign spelled incorrectly than a tacky-looking sign”—while a few are downright hostile. Happily, some also prove receptive and appreciative of TEAL’s efforts.

Meanwhile, Deck has much cause during the trip to consider the real purpose of his mission. In an early interview he states, “It’s not about making anyone feel bad or… look stupid or something, it’s just really about going after the errors themselves.” And that’s pretty much where he ends up at the end, though it takes time for his thoughts to coalesce into a mission statement that has more to do with clarity in communication than in adherence to specific rules. After a setback involving federal charges for vandalizing a historic sign in a national park, TEAL seems poised to embark on future endeavors that revolve more around education than correction.

It’s a worthy goal and one with which I can sympathize, as a some-time editor myself. Still, I will admit that reading encounter after encounter in which willful ignorance rules the day becomes extremely depressing after a while. I, too, lay the blame at an education system that has failed to provide people with the tools they need to make sense of writing in English. This shaky foundation has made people feel insecure about writing, which in turn makes them feel stupid—or like they’re being called stupid—when an error is pointed out to them, when that was never anyone’s intent. Thankfully, Deck and crew do not feel as hopeless about the situation as I do!

To conclude, I shall share a personal story of typo correction:

Back around 2002 or so, my husband and I went out for subs at a place with a sign shop for a neighbor. On their street-side sign, the sign place was advertising a “Crazzy Eddie” sale. Hubby penned a note and slipped it in the door. A few days later, I was driving by and happened to spot this. A return trip with a camera was clearly called for.

I suppose this could have been done in the spirit of fun, but to me it seems to say, “Screw you, buddy.”

Additional reviews of The Great Typo Hunt can be found here.

Filed Under: Books, Memoir, Nonfiction, Triple Take

Chi’s Sweet Home 4 by Konami Kanata: B+

December 28, 2010 by 4 Comments

From the back cover:
Welcome to the neighborhood, Chi and family! Now in her new residence, Chi will be introduced to many friends of the furry and feathery kind. With so many fresh smells to investigate, endless adventures await. So settle in, because here pets will never be chased… unless they are chasing each other.

Review:
Chi’s Sweet Home is one of those series that goes to the top of the to-read pile whenever a new volume is released. It’s always a true pleasure to read, with colorful cuteness guaranteed on every page.

This volume focuses mostly on the Yamada family’s move to a new, pet-friendly apartment complex and Chi’s reactions to her new environment. I love that so much time is devoted to her acclimation, and how familiar smells gradually embolden her enough to rub herself all over all the new stuff and proclaim it to be hers, too. She also meets a few animals at the new place, though more of her interactions so far have been with a gregarious (but well-trained) dog named David than with snooty long-haired kitty, Alice.

As usual, mangaka Konami Kanata perfectly captures several moments that ought to be familiar to cat owners: the pitiful mewling and pawing at a door that separates the kitty from its people, the inability to fathom what a scratching post is for, and the perils of claw trimming. In fact, I think this last was actually understated; I’ve had cats practically all my life and I still feel unqualified to attempt this task!

It’s not all cuteness, though. Chi’s Sweet Home has occasionally had some bittersweet moments—early volumes contrasted Chi’s cozy new home to her fading memories of her mother and siblings—and this volume is no exception. It’s sad to see how much confusion human-induced change causes to poor Chi and how baffled she is by her friend Blackie’s abrupt departure. I don’t know whether to hope and/or expect that a reunion will be forthcoming or to admire this slightly darker streak in the story.

We’re getting close to being caught up with the series in Japan. The fifth volume is due in February and then, after being spoiled on a bimonthly release schedule, we will suddenly be called upon to wait much longer for our Chi fix. I guess we could always turn to Crunchyroll for solace.

Review copy provided by the publisher.

Filed Under: Manga, Seinen Tagged With:

Kamisama Kiss 1 by Julietta Suzuki: B

December 27, 2010 by 1 Comment

From the back cover:
Nanami Momozono is alone and homeless after her dad skips town to evade his gambling debts and the debt collectors kick her out of her apartment. So when a man she’s just saved from a dog offers her his home, she jumps at the opportunity. But it turns out that his place is a shrine, and Nanami has unwittingly taken over his job as a local deity!

Nanami has all kinds of new responsibilities she doesn’t understand, dangers she’s unaware of, and a cranky ex-familiar who’s… actually pretty hot. What’s a new-fledged godling to do?

Review:
Nanami Momozono is up a creek without a paddle when her ne’er-do-well father skips town to avoid paying his gambling debts. Promptly evicted from her apartment, she has nowhere to go. It’s this that makes her accept an offer from a stranger. Saved by Nanami from a menacing (not so much) dog, a bespectacled fellow named Mikage gives Nanami a map and tells her to make use of his house, since he hasn’t been there in decades.

The map leads Nanami to a shrine and its supernatural denizens who welcome her as the next tochigami, or deity of the shrine for love and relationships. Except for Tomoe, that is. He’s Mikage’s former foxy (literally and figuratively) familiar and takes insult when Namami criticizes the state of the shrine, as he’s been doing his best to take care of it in his master’s absence. Most of the volume revolves around their contentious relationship, and though Tomoe claims that he doesn’t care if Nanami should get deceived and devoured by other creatures, he still comes to her aid when called.

It’s an intriguing setup so far, with Nanami seemingly poised to leave the human world behind (school, etc.) and devote herself to the shrine and to granting the prayers of the few remaining worshippers. She’s overwhelmed by the amount of work at first but is so grateful for room and board she’s willing to do just about anything. Although Tomoe is generally contemptuous of her, once forced into an agreement to serve as her familiar, he decides to make her into a kami whom it will not be a humiliation to serve.

This results in a few scenes of Nanami attempting to perform magic and failing, while Tomoe insults her (though she does overhear him defending her later). At one point he calls Nanami a fool for interrupting a meeting he’d told her to stay out of, and we get this voiceover from her:

Contrary to what he said, Tomoe’s hand is tenderly, firmly holding mine.

Now, obviously this is a lot less worrisome than the “I’m an asshole because I care” dynamic in another Shojo Beat series, Black Bird, but it still made me think of Black Bird, which is never a good sign. Perhaps Tomoe will stop being such a git once Nanami proves herself, but I am a little concerned.

Ultimately, I’m looking forward to see how this series develops but so far, I think I prefer Suzuki’s Karakuri Odette, which, coincidentally, is the Manga Moveable Feast pick for January! Visit Manga Report for more information.

Kamisama Kiss is published in English by VIZ. The series is ongoing in Japan and is currently up to eight volumes.

Filed Under: Manga, Shoujo, Supernatural Tagged With: ,

The Stellar Six of Gingacho 1 by Yuuki Fujimoto: B+

December 25, 2010 by Leave a Comment

From the back cover:
Mike, Kuro, Iba, Q, Sato and Mamoru star as the Stellar Six, the children of various store owners of the Galaxy Street’s shopping district. Once inseparable childhood friends, they find themselves falling out of touch. But when a store on their home turf falls victim to vandalism, the Stellar Six come together again to help out, remembering the roots they share and the bonds that keep them close. In this story of true friendship, six best friends learn the importance and power of growing up together.

Review:
Well, TOKYOPOP, you’ve done it again. I’ve lost count now how many times one of their review copies has sold me on a series I’d previously heard nothing about. Trust me, it’s been a lot.

The Stellar Six of Gingacho is the story of a group of six friends, each the child of a merchant in the Gingacho Street Market. When they were younger, they were inseparable, but when they entered middle school, the unthinkable happened: they were all in different classes. As time went on, they made new friends and drifted apart.

Although adults try telling her that’s just the way it is, Mike (pronounced Mee-kay), the second-eldest daughter of the green grocer, refuses to accept the dissolution of this friendship as inevitable. Stubborn and child-like, Mike decides that participating in a dance contest is just the thing to get everyone together again, and is upset when no one seems all that keen on the idea. When a local bar owner’s establishment is trashed by a hoodlum with a grievance, however, the kids band together, compete in the contest, and donate their cash winnings to the repair bill.

Now, I admit… this looks like your typical wacky shoujo plot. Characters are forever getting involved in thoroughly random tournaments, it seems, but this one somehow made me kind of verklempt. I think what elevates The Stellar Six of Gingacho over, say, the random beach volleyball contest in a recent volume of Maid Sama!, is that it’s genuinely nice to read about friends reconnecting after some time apart. There’s something important happening story-wise beyond just the pursuit of a particular prize.

The second chapter focuses on the especially tight bond between Mike and Kuro, the son of the fish merchant, who was born in the same hospital and has always been the same height and weight as Mike. “Kuro is more than just my best friend,” she thinks at one point. “He’s my partner.” Somewhat predictably, Kuro nurtures more serious feelings for Mike, but she is too oblivious to notice. Although this chapter rolls out the old “characters are locked in the gym storage shed” cliché, I quite liked the scenes where Mike realizes that Kuro’s hands have grown much bigger than hers and that, yes, he is a guy. Again, this is familiar territory, but it’s presented in such an amusing and comforting way that it really appeals to me.

I also appreciate the fact that families and other adults are present in the story and frequently step in to curtail the kids’ (mostly Mike’s) behavior, as needed. Additionally, one of the girls—Iba-chan, daughter of the rice store proprietor—is rather stocky, but this is never mentioned in the story at all nor is she drawn as a caricature. Her weight is not an issue and does not define her character. In fact, she’s quite awesome—the most level-headed of the bunch, she frequently serves as the voice of reason within the group. The only tiny reference to her weight is one panel during the dance competition when two of the boys strain a bit to lift her up, but they never say a word about it.

Overall, I enjoyed The Stellar Six of Gingacho quite a lot. There’s no exciting plot here, but I suspect I’ll enjoy learning more about the rest of the kids and other denizens of the market. If it’s feel-good shoujo you’re in the mood for, this should do nicely.

The Stellar Six of Gingacho is published in English by TOKYOPOP. The series is complete in Japan with ten volumes.

Review copy provided by the publisher.

Filed Under: Manga, Shoujo Tagged With:

Genkaku Picasso 1 by Usamaru Furuya: B-

December 23, 2010 by Leave a Comment

From the back cover:
Having cheated death, Hikari Hamura must save himself by using his artistic abilities to help others.

Hikari Hamura, nicknamed Picasso because of his natural artistic abilities, survived a horrible accident, but his friend Chiaki wasn’t so lucky. Suddenly, Chiaki appears in front of him and tells him in order to keep living he must help the people around him. Can Hikari save people with his sketchbook and a 2B pencil?

Review:
Moody and misanthropic Hikari Hamura doesn’t want to have anything to do with his classmates. He’d much rather practice drawing in the style of his favorite artist, Da Vinci, and dream of becoming an important artistic figure. His only friend is a girl named Chiaki, but one day, while she’s reading nearby as he’s sketching a river, they are both killed in a freak helicopter crash.

Chiaki is the only one who stays dead, however. At the moment of her death, she prayed that someone would intercede and save Hikari’s life. Her request was granted, on the condition that Hikari use his artistic skills to help people. This she explains to him when he pulls her miniature winged form out of his front pocket and starts freaking out in the middle of class.

Hikari isn’t interested in this arrangement until she points out that he’s going to start rotting away unless he complies. Over the course of the volume, Chiaki and an increasingly less reluctant Hikari help out four fellow students. Somehow, Hikari is able to see the state of their “heart” and draw a symbolism-heavy picture, which he and Chiaki can then enter and attempt to decipher what’s going on. There are aspects of this premise that I like a lot. For example, why does Chiaki suggest Hikari attempt to draw her heart before the helicopter crash? What was it that she slipped into his pocket? Is she really there at all? Is Hikari just crazy?

Frankly, I hope that’s the case, because most of these scenarios are pretty simplistic and silly (not to mention repetitive). The worst is probably the case of Akane, a classmate who is perpetually weak because of a vegetable allergy. By drawing her heart, Hikari realizes she has a childhood trauma stemming from the death of a pet rabbit and, while inside the drawing, gives Akane’s baby self a big hug while reassuring her that “vegetables aren’t scary.”

Furuya’s art is definitely one of the more impressive aspects of the manga, as he completely switches his style when drawing as Hikari and maintains that style when the characters are sucked into Hikari’s drawings. Even though the heart drawings are full of fairly ridiculous symbolism they’re quite detailed and obviously took some time to create.

In the end, Genkaku Picasso is not quite as good as I thought it would be. Still, it’s only three volumes long and I’m curious enough to see it through to the end. I hope that what I’m reading as hints about Chiaki really are meant to be so, which might mean more interesting material lies ahead.

Genkaku Picasso is published in English by VIZ. Volume one is available now and volume two is scheduled for a February 2011 release. The series is complete in three volumes.

Review copy provided by the publisher.

Filed Under: Manga, Shounen, Supernatural Tagged With: ,

A Place in the Sun by Lala Takemiya: B+

December 22, 2010 by Leave a Comment

I reviewed this collection of quirky, bittersweet tales for this week’s BL Bookrack and enjoyed it quite a bit. One story even involves a hapless guy’s romance with a garbageman!

You can find that review here.

Review copy provided by the publisher.

Filed Under: Boys' Love, Manga Tagged With: ,

The Object of My Affection by Nanao Okuda: B+

December 22, 2010 by Leave a Comment

I judged this book by its cover and was not disappointed! Wakamiya has managed to join the college basketball team his idol plays for, only to learn said idol is injured and cannot play. A very nice love story ensues, though it would have been even nicer if all the stories in the volume had been about these two.

You can find my full review at Manga Bookshelf.

Review copy provided by the publisher.

Filed Under: Boys' Love, Manga Tagged With: ,

Let’s Get Visual: Duds

December 18, 2010 by 13 Comments

MICHELLE: After a few months of this column, I feel like I’m better able to think critically about the artistic aspect of manga. I expected to be able to better appreciate good art when I see it, but hadn’t anticipated that I’d also more readily notice flaws. This month, MJ (of Manga Bookshelf) and I turn our attention to problematic pages or, as I like to call them, “duds.” (Click on images to enlarge.)

Fairy Tail, Volume 10, Page 84 (Del Rey)

MJ: Wow. I’m… a little bit stymied by that image.

MICHELLE: It is a doozy, isn’t it? Actually, that page was the inspiration for this whole column. There I was, innocently reading volume ten of Fairy Tail, then I turned the page and was brutally accosted by that monstrosity!

So, as is probably pretty obvious, the speaker is unhinged. Mangaka Hiro Mashima has opted to depict this by freezing the guy in the act of making a weird face and forcing readers to read two huge bubbles full of ranting speech before we can proceed to the final (and uninteresting) panel on the bottom of the page. Now, maybe this is a tactic to make us feel as trapped as the girl does, having to sit there and listen to this lunatic ramble on, but it doesn’t do a good job at conveying his insanity. The page feels flat and lifeless; a better choice would have been to inject more movement into the scene, break up the speech, and maybe allow the guy the opportunity to change expressions throughout his tirade.

MJ: I honestly feel accosted by the page. Its primary image is loud, but not particularly expressive in any other way than that, and the text feels overwhelming to the point where I can’t really even bring myself to try to read it all. Not only that, the page is so top-heavy, I find it difficult to even look at. That bottom image is completely wasted there, not that it’s much of a waste.

MICHELLE: Yeah, it’s weird how an amount of text that would be perfectly reasonable to read in a prose novel suddenly looks so daunting in a speech bubble, but it really does. And you’re absolutely right that it’s loud without being expressive. Everything about this page is just so glaringly bad that I knew we had to build a column around lousy art so that I’d have an excuse to talk about it with someone!

MJ: Well, feel free to talk as much as you like, because I’ve rarely seen something so pointlessly hideous. And though I hate to think that I’m reacting purely out of aesthetics, I can’t deny that it offends me greatly on that level.

MICHELLE: I think that’s pretty much the only basis on which you can be expected to react, since you haven’t read the manga in question. For me, it completely yanked me out of the story, which I find inexcusable.

And though I appreciate the offer to further vent my spleen, perhaps we should proceed on to your dud of choice.

Baseball Heaven, pages 133-134 (approx.) (BLU Manga)

MJ: Okay, then. My “dud” comes from Ellie Mamahara’s Baseball Heaven, a BL manga I expressed no great love for in our BL Bookrack column a couple of months ago. I assume I don’t need to describe what’s happening in the scene, and chances are I don’t need to tell anyone what’s wrong with it, either, but of course that’s why we’re here.

I look at this scene, and there’s simply no passion in it. None at all. Here we have a guy, supposedly in an altered state of mind, making the moves on his teammate who has rebuffed him in the past, and not only do we not get any real sense of how either of them are feeling (we wouldn’t even know the one was drunk if it wasn’t for indications in the word balloons and flushed cheeks), but there’s absolutely no sexual tension between them conveyed through the artwork. And while I can appreciate that perhaps we’re meant to believe that athletes might be stiff and awkward with each other, surely the drunk guy, at least, would have a little heat in his body language here.

The artist goes through the motions, placing them physically near each other and indicating that the one is, perhaps, touching the other’s behind, but there is just no real feeling between them at all. Even when their faces are so close together, Mamahara is unable to provide any magnetic reaction between them. I should feel that they *want* to touch each other. It should feel painful for them not to. Instead, it leaves me completely cold.

MICHELLE: I definitely see what you mean! Personally, I keep staring at that first panel on the second page. They look so stiff and awkward. It’s not that I expect the position of a character’s legs to help drive the emotional content of a scene, but when they’re as oddly placed as the blond guy’s are, it feels unnatural and, by extension, makes everything else going on in the scene feel the same way.

MJ: I think I’d go so far as to say that in a scene like *this* one, I kind of *do* expect the position of a character’s legs to help drive the emotional content of the scene. It’s just as I was saying before, there should be a sense that the characters want desperately to touch each other (this includes legs) even if they might be scared to do so. I should see that in the legs and every other part of the body, at least in the drunk guy who is initiating the contact in the first place. It’s a seduction scene with no actual seduction going on.

Also, I feel like the panels are getting in the way of us viewing the scene, which is a weird and uncomfortable feeling. And unlike in last month’s selection where this was done to elicit response from the reader, here it just feels like clumsiness on the part of the artist. She provides these little glimpses of their faces and legs in the smaller panels, but since there is no tension in those panels, they don’t add anything to the scene. They just steal space from the main action, such as it is.

Wow, I’m really ranting now, aren’t I? Please stop me.

MICHELLE: You’re quite right, but I shall stop you as requested by introducing my second dud!

Moon Boy, Volume 9, Page 3 (Yen Press)

MICHELLE: Initially, it was the affronted rooster in the lower left that caught my eye and made me pause to really take in the complete and utter randomness of this page.

You’ve got a young person of indeterminate gender, swaddled in coat and boots, flushed and exhaling a gust of wintry air, possibly due to the exertion of just having decapitated a nearby snowman. This person is surrounded by such seasonal items as a piece of pie, a cookie, a beehive (with fake bees), an inverted dog bowl, and a pair of barnyard pals.

This was enough to have me snickering, but closer inspection reveals several problems in proportion and perspective. For one, take a look at that snowman’s nose. I’m pretty sure that is supposed to be the traditional carrot, but the artist was unable to draw it from a head-on perspective so instead it looks like a giant almond. Secondly, check out the boots. The right foot is clearly much larger than the left, and I don’t think it’s just an issue of angle—the detail on the top of each foot is different! Finally, actually wearing the mitten dangling by the person’s right hand on said hand would cause the heart pattern to appear on the palm side rather the back of the hand, where such designs typically go.

This is just sloppy and, above all, weird. What do these items have to do with each other? I also found it odd that one of the designs in the border is actually a musical symbol called a mordent. The mordent belongs to a class of musical embellishments called “ornaments,” which could carry a Christmassy connotation, except that I don’t credit this artist with that much cleverness.

MJ: I’ll admit I’m not too picky about things like perspective and such, but I am somehow disturbed by the way his fingers are digging into the poor snowman’s head. What did that poor (decapitated) snowman ever do to anyone? It’s as though he’s digging right into its scalp. Which looks oddly fleshy. And now I’m feeling shuddery.

MICHELLE: I don’t think I would have noticed the perspective problems if not for the chicken, to be honest, but spotting it here did spur me to notice other problems in the rest of the volume, notably a few deformed thumbs and some confusing action scenes that I wrote about in my review of the volume. I wasn’t sure what to make of the hands, honestly. If it’s that cold, why aren’t you wearing your mittens, kid?

MJ: If he put on his mittens, he wouldn’t be able to grab that piece of pie when it comes down. 😉

MICHELLE: Well, pie is important…

And that’s it for us this month. Do you have some duds of your own you’d like to share? We’d love to hear about them!

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