Category: Manga of the Month

Manga of the Month: Twin Spica

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Twin Spica (ふたつのスピカ) by Kou Yaginuma

UCHUU KITAAAAA (It’s space time)! While that is the catch phrase for Kamen Rider Fourze it could also double as the motto for Twin Spica. In a time when older anime and manga fans longingly pine for the days when every other anime title seemed to be science fiction related it is nice to see a series that deals with space exploration and science. But it is not a dry examination of the politics and mechanics of space travel but those topics come it. It is a very personal story of one girl’s wish to travel among the stars and the trials and tribulations she must go through to realize her dream.

The flight of the Lion was supposed to be a triumph for the Japanese space program as they launched their first manned space flight. But an accident causes the Lion to crash into a city causing countless casualties that creates an unimaginable stigma on space travel.  Years later Asumi Kamogawa wishes to become an astronaut despite the many ways that the Lion disaster has effected her life. She is guided by a mysterious ghost named Mr. Lion who is obviously connected to the crash years ago. But Asumi Kamogawa’s goal is not a simple one. She is not the most ideal candidate physically plus there are many other students who want a place on the next spaceflight but there are only a handful of seats available. On top of that there are many people who just don’t want to see any more time, money, and commitment placed into space travel and will do anything to make sure further flights do not take place. Can Asumi become an astronaut with the deck stacked against her at the same time that all her friends are also her rivals?

The true power of Twin Spica is the fact that it is a soft series that hits as hard as a manly series. The story has a laid back pace that drifts back and forth between the present and the past as the characters must deal with obstacles in both the present and the past to get closer to their dreams at a slow but deliberate pace. But when climaxes come they hit with a powerful punch of majesty and emotional intensity. The series carefully avoids doing into the realm of melodrama that would make it cheesy but retains a sense of optimistic hopefulness balanced with wistful melancholy. All of Asumi friends have their motivations, secrets, and fears that simultaneously bring them closer together and yet keep them apart. It makes for a some complex and mature relationships for the characters. I know some of the supernatural elements of Mr. Lion turn off those who need pure hard sci-fi pumped into their veins but anyone who wants a good story and is not a science fiction purist will see the wonderful story underneath.  Twin Spica is a touching story that embraces the dreams of exploration, the joys of scientific discovery, and beauty of personal triumph over adversity. To me that is what some of the best sci-fi does and this is a wonderful example of that.

Manga of the Month: Saint Young Men

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Saint Young Men (聖☆おにいさん) by Hikaru Nakamura

Sometimes comedy that has gone completely off the map is the best comedy of all. Saint Young Men follows the misadventures of Jesus and Buddha who have come to Japan and have taken an apartment to get away from their boring lives. If that doesn’t sound like a bizarre one-shot webcomic the internet would make up, then you aren’t well versed enough.

Saint Young Men is absurdist at full-throtle though when looking at manga-ka Hikaru Nakamura’s work on Arakawa Under the Bridge, one knows she’s had a lot of practice. Jesus and Buddha are experiencing the modern world in a new way and they are both kind of spazes for obvious reasons. They also have an odd couple relationship that gets them angry with each other and living together. Exploring the outside world is just as entertaining like when Buddha melodramatically laments that everyone is obsessed with his “fat period” when seeing all the statues about or the fact that when Jesus gets upset his stigmata acts up. This story pushes the limits of comedy combined with religion and the insignificance that worship can play in modern society.

So now I’ve got two wishes, 1) for this to be licensed of course and 2) for it to be turned into a delightful anime.

Manga of the Month: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure

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Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure (ジョジョの奇妙な冒険) by Hirohiko Araki

Lets just get this out-of-the-way. Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure goes from a pretty ugly manga to a better drawn but very oddly stylized manga. If art and character designs are a high priority to you then you are not going to make it through more than a few chapters before you give up in disgust. But everyone else is going to get hooked by one of the best shonen fighting manga ever.

When you first get into shonen fighting manga you are usually wowed by the crazy characters, unique powers, and dramatic fights. But usually after a half a dozen series most people being to see that while a few shonen fighting shows stay fresh most seem to blend together in mediocrity. But even more the One Piece there is a manga that consistently stays fresh and absolutely insane even after 100+ volumes. That manga is Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure.

It starts off with a “simple” story. A young man in Victorian England must learn sunlight based kung fu to avenge the death of his father at the hands of an evil vampire. But after a few volumes that young man completes his quest and then subsequently dies. At that point we learn that Jojo’s is actually a generational tale that follows the exploits of the Joestar family. Every few volumes a piece of the grand narrative will come to a close and the story jumps to another member of the Joestar family and their equally strange adventures. There is everything from mob stories to cross continental horse back races.

There are just a laundry list of reason to love Jojo’s. While the manga uses many of the standard parts of the shonen fighting formula it wisely knows that the secret to using that blueprint it to keep the ingredients you use in every iteration fresh.  By constantly changing the cast, powers, and setting at regular intervals the story may have the same vibe but no individual piece stays around long enough to wear out its welcome. Also Hirohiko Araki has a totally eccentric style so the manga is made up of honorable cyborg nazi’s, super powered dogs, invisible babies, and the most powerful and holy magical zombie of all time. Also most of the characters and powers are musical references which give the manga a catchy feel. You really just have to read Jojo’s to understand. Only the third part is commercially available but it is a great introduction to the madness.