Category: Ongoing Investigations

Ongoing Investigations: Case #049

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Quest for the Missing Girl is a mature manga. Not in the sense that it has cursing, violence, or graphic sex; Missing Girl deals with topics such as missed chances in life, settling down and moving on, relationships between parents and children, and compensation dating. Even compensation dating which could easily be used for a gratuitous sex scene is discussed as a subject of serious weight and importance but is never shown. The story begins when the mountaineer Takeshi Shiga is informed that Megumi, the daughter of one of his old friends, has gone missing. Shiga soon finds himself playing the part of detective in Shibuya, which is just as unfamiliar to him as the mountains would be to most other people. As the story goes on we learn about what lead up to Megumi’s disappearance and how it relates to the lives and decisions of all the other characters involved. Except for the climax there is not much action. In fact, the climax is mostly Shiga VS inanimate object. The draw to this book is as a fascinating character study and tightly plotted one book story. It’s never going to have a huge fan base in the manga community. The story is excellent but it won’t pop for younger manga fans. It is not mature due to excess. It is mature because it’s a well told story which deals with matters that only those with life experience will care about.

I was really glad I had a chance to read Quest for the Missing Girl which is nominated for an Eisner this year. The plot of Megumi missing actually brings to the surface many underlying mysteries in the lives of the characters. The strained relationships also make for thoughtful scenes. This really gives the book a hefty amount of weight that is woven in and out of this not so complicated missing person’s case. All culminating in a daring rescue attempt that is very “a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do”-esque. There is something very passionate about Shiga who literally comes down from the mountains to find this girl. He isn’t a super over the top seinen hero but Shiga is definitely a manly dude who does some manly things. Jiro’s artwork is far from simple but it isn’t very stylized which compliments the story perfectly. So while on the whole it doesn’t come off as gritty it still seems gaunt at times especially with his way of shading. This book begs to be picked up and read in one swift sitting. Quest for the Missing Girl was my first encounter with manga-ka Jiro Taniguchi and it was an overwhelmingly positive experience. So much so that I ordered up a few more of his books immediately.

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Ongoing Investigations: Case #048

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I picked up a copy of No Girls Allowed from the MoCCA Arts Fest. After hearing a bit about it online, I was pleasantly surprised to see the artist there selling copies along with some of her other work. The price was less than the intended amount and how could I resist an anthology of real cross-dressing women throughout the ages. I had also not heard of many of them which is certainly a tip of the hat to the book. Eventhough all the stories are written by the same author and then drawn by the same artist, some are much better than others. The story of James Barry a female doctor was by far the most developed and Esther Brandeau was also good while Ellen Craft seemed to have the least fleshing out leaving you wanting. The stories are made for a young audience and I think that is important to know going in. Overall, I learned a bit and was also entertained so my 8 bucks was well spent.

Disappearance Diary is an autobiographical manga by Hideo Azuma, the man often considered the the father of lolicon. He tells stories from four very different times in his life. We see him when he was homeless, when he worked as a pipe-fitter, when he worked as a mangaka, and when he was in a rehab clinic. Hideo gives us a sneak peek into his life during many times in which he was at his lowest. He mentions right off the bat that he is going to focus of the humorous and interesting parts of the bad times. It helps keep what would otherwise be a bleak and depressing manga enjoyable and lighthearted. Overall the aim of the manga is to entertain you while showing why he had to run away from being a mangaka and what the results of the decisions he made were. The art is simple and cartoony which has a distinctly retro feel. Disappearance Diary shows you that you can tell a powerful story (and a true story) while still being fun and light. This is an amazing manga that everyone should read. As a side note, the more I learn about manga the more I have to tip my hat to any mangaka. The lifestyle seems amazingly harsh. Even if I had the skill and opportunity to be one I’m not sure I would have the strength. I recently found out there is a sequel called the Depression Dairy. I am curious to pick that up as well.

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Ongoing Investigations: Case #047

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At first it seemed like Cross Game was more of the same from Mitsuru Adachi. Its initial similarities to Touch are quite easy to notice. They are both about boys who start with little interest in baseball and have a change of heart after the death of a loved one. After reading seeing a good deal of Cross Game they are very different shows. Tatsuya and Minami from Touch have a very different dynamic than Ko and Aoba on top of being very different characters overall. Cross Game shows that Adachi has not lost any magic as a manga-ka who blends dramatic romance with sports manga action. His characters are fun and play off each other well and he knows how to stage a scene for dramatic impact. So far we have not really seen anyone play a full game of baseball. Adachi is setting up the characters so that we care about Ko and his team winning before they play their first game. I like how Ko has become the secondary teams secret weapon. It leads to a good mixture of comedy and suspense as they try to keep his amazing pitching skill a secret. So far Cross Game is still on track as a good show to keep your eye on especially if you like shonen romance.

Vertical had mentioned the Shinjuku Shark books a couple of times at conventions and piqued my interest. After all, a detective story is what we have an affinity for around here! So the self-titled first book finally got a look see by both of us. The Shinjuku Shark strikes fear in all that know him and in many that don’t. He is somewhat of a rogue cop who the brass can’t stand. He has no partner to speak of as he prowls the streets of Shinjuku with little fear of the Yakuza and other gang types. While Samejima (The Shark) certainly has a hard-boiled feel, he is humanized through his relationships and by him actually having moments of fear when going up against the villains in these stories. Also after learning a little of his past in the force as well as the reason he has been permanently relegated to the Shinjuku streets he quickly becomes a character you want to follow. Some other notable people are Yabu the weapons expert on staff and Samejima’s boss Momoi who is nicknamed The Cadaver because of his stellar personality. Both of these guys help Samejima out once and a while, so you know not everyone is against him. They make a great team and certainly made me want to see them appear more. One of the things that struck me was some of the coincidences in this book. We aren’t looking at a small pool of suspects, we are talking about an entire city, but it is relatively obvious who is behind things about half way through. Also the final intended victim was rather convenient. However, if I accept these things the story has some well-paced and suspenseful moments.

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