MICHELLE: Welcome to the second installment of Let's Get Visual, the monthly column in which MJ (of Manga Bookshelf) and I attempt to improve our admittedly lacking skills in visual analysis! In the comments section of last month's post, it was suggested that we choose selections that would allow us to "examine movement and panel-to-panel storytelling." This notion intrigued … [Read more...] about Let’s Get Visual: Annnnnd Action!
VIZ
Banana Fish 7-8 by Akimi Yoshida: A
In these two volumes, Ash largely leaves the follow-up concerning Banana Fish to reporter Max Lobo and his colleague, Steve, and instead sets his sights on exacting bloody vengeance against Arthur, a former member of Ash's gang who betrayed him. At first, it seems like two major events are going to complicate things for Ash—namely, that he's the prime suspect in the arson at … [Read more...] about Banana Fish 7-8 by Akimi Yoshida: A
Bakuman。1 by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata: B+
Moritaka Mashiro is bored. For his fourteen years of life he’s merely gone along with the flow, a path which is destined to end with him becoming a normal white-collar worker. He doesn’t want this, but sees no alternative until Akito Takagi, the top student in class, notices Moritaka’s artistic skills and proposes that the two team up to create a manga. Moritaka is resistant at … [Read more...] about Bakuman。1 by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata: B+
Let’s Get Visual: Warm-Up Exercises
MICHELLE: Welcome to a brand-new Feature here at Soliloquy in Blue: Let's Get Visual! Each month, Manga Bookshelf's MJ and I will select a page or sequence of pages from our recent manga reads that we find intriguing and attempt to develop our visual-critiquing muscles by sharing our thoughts about it. Neither of us is particularly adept at this, but it's our hope that by a … [Read more...] about Let’s Get Visual: Warm-Up Exercises
One Piece 25-27 by Eiichiro Oda: B
I've heard a lot about the Skypiea arc of One Piece, though I actually knew zero specifics about what Luffy and his crew would encounter once they reached the legendary island in the sky. More, I seemed to absorb the general idea that this arc is really awesome and everyone loves it. Alas, I don't love it yet, but there are some things I do really like about how the story is … [Read more...] about One Piece 25-27 by Eiichiro Oda: B