Category: Manga

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.

Ongoing Investigations: Case #142

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I along with thousands of others rejoiced to hear that Sailor Moon would finally be rereleased in English and thankfully with a new translation to match. And if that wasn’t exciting enough, there are also lovely color pages! Rereading something with such nostalgia for so many of us can be precarious sometimes because there is always the possibility of being let down. Sailor Moon is not that type of title if you are going in with the knowledge that this is a title meant for little girls; a mighty entertaining fantasy adventure that hits all the right notes for little girls. The strength of friendship is central to the series and it really takes hold of that right away. Equal is the intrigue (totally transparent to the audience) of Tuxedo Mask. The pace is happily brisk as Usagi whisks through villains and gains new guardians. The dialogue is rather stiff at times but not sure whether to attribute that problem with translation or not. The art of course shines and doesn’t feel aged though you can see Ms. Takeuchi getting better as the story goes which is only natural. Sailor Moon is a legendary title that changed a genre so that also means that it isn’t a perfect piece. But not being perfect doesn’t prevent it from being point of delight full of naive fantasy. It is great experiencing it all over again.

Well, if Natutaki is talking about the mother of fighting magical girls shows I might as well talk about one of its most modern grandchildren. I have been enjoying Suite Precure even if I have not mentioned it since episode 12. But since episode 35 is the accumulation of a lot of reveals I think it is worth talking about again. In that time the show has had the birth of Cure Beat,  a major power-up, the many reveals around Cure Muse, and of course the unmasking of the true villain of the series. The birth of Cure Beat was in itself pretty cool but as Narutaki mentioned the transformation from Siren to Ellen was sort of lame. It is like after she officially became a Cure some one switched her from evil to good like she was Krusty doll. The reveal of Cure Muse was better of it does require some Superman/Clark Kent and Batman/Bruce Wayne levels of ignorance. Also the reveal of Mephisto not being the big villain was pretty important as he would have made far to weak a foil especially as compared to previous masterminds. Overall I am still enjoying Suite Precure but 35 episodes in it is clear it will never be as strong as Heartcatch. But I am OK with that.

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Ongoing Investigations: Case #141

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I got to read Gen Manga volumes 3 & 4 back to back. Reading both volumes in succession makes me realize that the storytelling in Gen is somewhat compressed compared to your normal mainstream manga experience. While the storytelling still has a distinctly manga feel you don’t get the impression that the stories contained within are assuming they are going to run for 20+ books. They seems to be primed to end in a book or two but could run longer. Mainstream manga seems more designed to run for a long time but could be cut short if forced to. The individual chapters still have a more manga styled decompressed flow but chapter to chapter it seems more compressed. But all the compressed vs. decompressed storytelling talk from Ogiue Maniax might be why I am noticing it more. Vs Aliens is still my favorite story in the anthology. It has a very quirky story with some unusual twists every chapter. The only problem is that is quickly coming down to the big reveal of what is actually going on. If the final reveal is lame is going to really hurt the overall story. The boxing story is Wolf is still solid but I am not sure if I really care for the added element of the hyperactive flat chested girl vs the distant chesty girl love story. My feelings on KAMEN are still up in the air as I am interested in the story but not deeply invested. There is a promise of a big fight scene in the next chapter. How well the fight is pulled off I might help me solidify my feelings. I still don’t really like Souls. Volume three ends one arc and volume four starts a new arc. Volume three ended a bit lighter than I assumed it will but this genre has just never been my cup of tea. In volume 4 there is a one shot story called Sorako. This really feels like an American indy comic. It is the story of a small town girl who feels trapped in her small life under the backdrop of looking for her dog that ran away. It is slice of life in a way that really feels like an American comic more than a Japanese style of same formula. Gen is still an interesting experiment in the U.S. It has the feel of a doujinshi anthology but will a more consistent schedule. I am curious how well it will do here.

With great elation, I started the new season of anime by watching Bakuman S2. We start the season with Ashirogi Muto waiting for their editor to come to the studio to go over their contract for serialization. It is an exciting time and they are also invited to the Shonen Jack New Year’s bash. This episode is really about them getting acclimated with their new positions, getting assistants, and meeting some new people as well as getting to know others better. It is mostly a set-up for things to come and I can’t wait for those things!

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