Category: Drama

Manga of the Month: Master Keaton

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Master Keaton (MASTERキートン)
by Naoki Urasawa, Hokusei Katsushika, and Takashi Nagasaki

hisui_icon_4040 Master Keaton definitely has an interesting history in the United States. I’m sure there were fans of Naoki Urasawa before 2003 but Yawara! A Fashionable Judo Girl never had anywhere near the success of its sister anime Ranma ½ in the English-speaking fandom and all the fans of Pineapple Army could probably fit in one room. So when the Master Keaton anime was released by Geneon on June 10, 2003 it hardly had any name cache. The series was a critical darling but a financial flop. Despite that the anime garnered itself a small but devoted following. Then jump ahead to February 21, 2006 when the Monster manga is released. That was the title that made Naoki Urasawa a name in otaku circles. 20th Century Boys and Pluto only solidified his reputation. So that small fandom for Master Keaton finally had hope that maybe the manga that spawned the series they loved might be released in English. But that was not meant to be.

Apparently the title was tied up in a legal battle between Naoki Urasawa and Hokusei Katsushika’s estate. The battle was fierce enough that not only could the title not be licensed in the US but they could not even reprint the series in Japan. So it seemed like a series that would always just be out of reach. Then in March of 2012 Naoki Urasawa started Master Keaton Remaster, a sequel to the original series, as sort of capstone to the end of the legal battle that had engulfed Master Keaton. It seemed that there was hope again and on March 04, 2014 Viz licensed Master Keaton. So after that long journey December 16, 2014 marked the day fans could finally buy Master Keaton. I have talked about the series several times on the blog but now I can official endorse it as a series that you can just order on-line and buy.

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Manga of the Month: Space Brothers

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Space Brothers (宇宙兄弟) by Chuya Koyam

hisui_icon_4040 I was just listening to the All Geeks Considered podcast and Vinnie’s regular co-host could not record that week so he decided to do an impromptu episode about what he and some friends from Twitter had been watching in both the realm of animated and live action fare. One of the guests on the podcast was Ed Sizemore who had taken a break from podcasting and watching anime in general. Since he was out of the anime game for a while the first show they started talking about was Space Brothers and how it ended at 99 episodes as it had caught up with the manga. There was a movie that came out August 9, 2014 but other than that there are no new episodes on the horizon. But the solution to that problem also came up on the podcast.

Just read the manga. Usually with long running seinen manga you don’t have that option unless you want to use the “methods network” but with Space Brothers you can actually read the whole thing via Crunchyroll manga. Wisely most of the series on the site are your more popular shonen series but they do have a few titles to mix things up and Space Brothers is one of the best. That inspired me to talk about the series here this month to remind people that this series is on the site and needs to be read.

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Manga of the Month: Memoirs of an Amorous Gentleman

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Memoirs of an Amorous Gentleman
(鼻下長紳士回顧録) by Moyoco Anno

narutaki_icon_4040 Following in the footsteps of many of Moyoco Anno’s other works, Memoirs of an Amorous Gentlemen centers around a brothel and its employees and patrons in early 20th century Paris. I supposed you could call it a “slice-of-life” series but obviously the setting gives it a much more colorful angle, much like Ms. Anno’s Sakuran.

The story is told by Colette, a young working girl, with a way of observing those around her with calm despite the many odd, emotional, and dramatic happenings.

You may at first find yourself wondering why it is called Memoirs of an Amorous Gentleman if our narrator is Colette. And considering the state of her relationship with her boyfriend Leon, you’d hardly consider him the “amorous gentleman” of the title either. But it just so happens that Colette is writing down her thoughts in a borrowed book from one of her clients who encouraged her to write.

“I just knew I had to try to write these feelings down . . .
or the pain would never leave me.”

Moyoco Anno discusses some harsh realities of the girls while also portraying their friendships and loves. Many moments of levity come from the bizarre patrons of the brothel. Ms. Anno perfectly moves between these many moments and to deftly create the feeling of life’s many ups and downs.

~ kate