Ongoing Investigations: Case #103

1 Comment

hisuiconSince it seems that no one is interested in licensing Michiko to Hatchin I decided to finally check it out especially after Sean Ryan mentioned it would have made a great addition to the fallen fans guide. It is a road trip movie in which the journey is far more important than the destination. In fact if anything my major complaint about the series is that the destination seems extremely anti-climatic after everything than comes before it. I feel in many ways this was hinted that it was going to be like this but it did not make it any less disappointing. That said they journey before then is filled with some grim parables, touching vignettes, and great action scenes. We see Michiko and Hatchin grow from interacting with each other and fundamentally shift how they look at the world. It is a touching and compelling journey that should be watched for the experiences you get along the way more than the prize at the end. The audience in a way experience exactly what the characters in the show do for better and for worse. But overall I think you will be glad you went on the trip.

There was no down time for Ichigo as Yumeiro Patissiere Professional started just a week or so after the original Yumeiro Patissiere finished its TV run. This is a couple of years in the future as Ichigo returns to Japan from studying abroad in France. We know very little about her time there beyond her learning more skills, but not losing her charming naiveté, and that something happened between her and Kashino. Things at the end of the first season were a little over the top in Henri’s plans but things just get crazier with this new series. Henri now seems to be some sort of eccentric, semi-diabolical pastry chef that pits the students in a competition of opening their own pastry shop in this playland of sweets he has created. After 4 episodes I can firmly say it is still plenty amusing and cute. So far we have seen the dispersion of Team Ichigo with the exception of Kashino, and the return of Lemon plus the new addition of incredible caricature, American Johnny. The competition is also a lot different from what was seen in the original as this goes into business and customers as well as creating that perfect dessert. As this series is slated to be much shorter than the original I’m curious where it will end up.

Continue reading →

November’s Final Denouement: A Tale of Master and Student – Kenjiro Hata and Koji Kumeta

Leave a comment

hisuiconAt first Hayate the Combat Butler by Kenjiro Hata and Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei by Koji Kumeta might not seem like manga with a common ancestry. The sense of humor and storytelling is quite different in both manga. Hayate has a very traditional design for a comedy manga in Shonen Sunday where as Zetsubou-Sensei is very stylized. But when we realize that Kenjiro Hata used to be an assistant to Koji Kumeta we begin to see greater similarities in their styles. When we look at, Katte ni Kaizo, a manga they both worked on together we can see how Hata was influenced by Kumeta. Hata’s work on Heroes of the Sea Lifesavers is clearly influenced by his mentor. Hata would go on to develop his own style in Hayate while Kumeta would further continue to refine his own style in Zetsubou-Sensei. I have compiled some samples from each manga to help illustrate this evolution.

Continue reading →

MangaNEXT 2010: Panels

3 Comments

One of the best parts of smaller cons is having so many fan run events and lectures. This was ever the case at MangaNEXT as almost my entire day was taken up attending panels on many different subjects. The panel and workshop rooms were a good size, never seeming to need to turn away attendees but also not so big that you felt like it was half empty. The equipment was a little all over the place as we learned when checking in for our own panel, however things seemed to work out in the end and everyone got what they needed.

hisuiconWhen Narutaki and I were sitting in the hotel lobby we just did a little people watching before we attended our first panel. We saw a bunch of very strange teenagers high on the free Halloween candy that was all over the convention (at least I hope that is what they were high on.) The one thing they were all looking forward to was the rave that night as each of them mentioned it at least twice while we were around. It reminded me once again that there is the convention fan that is there for the social aspect and the convention fan that is there to learn something and never the two shall meet. So as an old fart I will talk about the panels I attended and what I learned because no one would want to hear of my misadventures had I attended the rave.

Continue reading →