Category: Mystery

Bat-Manga!: But I resurrected myself with the strength of righteousness!

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One part manga, one part history, and one part awesome (and often hilarious) memorabilia collection, it’s Bat-Manga! As a fan of the Caped Crusader, I try to get a look at anything I can of him, though admittedly much falls through the cracks. This “Secret History of Batman in Japan” comes from an touts manga from an era of more hilarious Batman adventures riding on the heels of Adam West’s Batman TV show popularity. Even though the manga takes up most of the page, the extras are very nice including a wonderful interview with Jiro Kuwata. This little, or rather large, book is too unique to miss out on.

Bat-Manga is a curious creation in both the history of manga and Batman comics. The Batman manga ran in the Shonen King in an effort of cross promote itself with the 60s Batman television show what had just come to Japan. While the manga was written by Jiro Kuwata the popular author of 8 Man the manga was never popular enough to be collected into tankobon and quickly became an almost completely forgotten title. But years later Chip Kidd, a devoted Batman fan, would discover this little known series and do his best to find what chapters he could. Since there are no trade paperbacks of the Batman manga he had to dig up what few volumes of Shonen King he could find. This means he mostly found a few random stories from throughout the run of the manga and several of the stories are incomplete. To round out the content Chip Kidd has added additional materials like interviews and pictures of Japanese merchandise from the time the manga was produced. All of this meshes together to give you a strange and fascinating insight into a secret chapter in the Batman mythology.

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Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva: A franchise’s leap to the big screen!

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I love, love, LOVE the Professor Layton games, at least the two that are localized and I’m eagerly awaiting the next installment to be released state side near the end of November. The characters of Luke and Layton are instantly memorable plus the quirky towns, people, and puzzles combined with a European art style there is just a lot to enjoy and makes an easy transition into anime.

hisuiconI would bet money that while playing the Professor Layton games a majority of people had the same thought pop into their heads. “This game is fun but boy I wish this was an anime.” And so OLM, Inc. and Level-5 used their special machine to break into dreams (and more specifically Narutaki’s dreams) and make this movie. The question is can a game with a few (albeit very well done) short animated cut scenes be strong enough to stand on its own as a full length movie.

hisuiconThe movie begins at the end of a case with Professor Layton foiling another dastardly caper. As Luke and Layton settle in after a hard days work they are reminded of an old case they worked on that started with a letter from a student of the professor named Jenis Quatlane. Jenis’ friend who died recently has come back to life as a small child. She believes that her friend’s resurrection and several other odd incidents in the area are all related to a mysterious theater. While Luke and Layton are attending an opera at the theater everyone in the audience in locked in a series of life of death trials to determine which one of them will receive the gift of immortality. Layton must discover how all these mysteries tie into the greater puzzle of the quest for eternity.

A major concern of mine going into this movie was not wanting to have plot points spoiled from further games that haven’t been released in the U.S. yet. I was doubly worried as I saw the film’s opening sequence with a short narration about the franchise and then the case we are thrown into took place very much in the present, though it was joyous to once again see Don Paolo. However, things take a turn when Layton and Luke listen to an old record as they are reminded of the famous young woman who sang it and a mysterious case involving her many years prior.

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Sexy Voice and Robo, The Girl and the Otaku from U.N.C.L.E.

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I actually watched the live action series of Sexy Voice and Robo, and enjoyed it immensely, thanks to it staring Matsuyama Kenichi (of L fame). I’m not sure exactly at what point I found out it was based on a manga, it must have been from Hisui. In any case, this Manga Moveable Feast deal seemed like a good as time as any finally get around to reading this work involving an amateur sleuth, a role that I have an immense fondness for, and a robot otaku.

I picked up the Sexy Voice and Robo manga a few years ago after reading several positive reviews and finding its independent comic vibe quite intriguing (plus the comic store had it 40% off). I liked it so much I threw it on my 2008 year in review but until now it went without a full discussion. When The Manga Curmudgeon proposed this project we both decided to throw in our two cents on a great franchise we had not given our full attention to on the blog.

Nico Hayashi has two amazing abilities, one is immediately obvious and the other is a little more subtle. She has the ability to change her voice with tremendous range. This ability has led to her uncanny insight into how people think and consequently which lets her read people like a book. One day an old gentlemen notices Nico’s talents and hires her to be a troubleshooter for various odd assignments. During her first mission she cons the otaku Iichiro Sudo into helping her. She soon forms an odd friendship with “Robo” as she calls him and involves him in various other assignments. All the stories in Sexy Voice and Robo involve Nico getting involved with someone and their problems. Almost all the cases revolve around one or more self-involved people with selfish problems. Although she is being paid by the old man for most of her mission it is obvious that she loves solving mysteries and figuring out how people work.

The style of both its story artwork are captivating in Sexy Voice and Robo. Take the visuals which will hit you immediately, it has got a more raw and energetic feeling than much of the manga released in English. The uncontrolled line work, the less precise flow, and the boldness of the strokes and shadows really enhance the read. It’s a comic by all means but it has a fine art quality to it at points. And at other points it made me think about American indie comics. I don’t know how much they have influenced Kuroda, but it comes off as a great hybrid style. The story then takes all that energy from the art and adds humor and a charming bittersweetness to top it off. This story simply stated is about a few happenstances meetings which lead into a whirlwind of human stories that are all little off kilter but moving.

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