Anime & Manga of the Month: November

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Anime of the Month
Magic User’s Club OVA by Triangle Staff & Bandai Visual

When aliens invade the Earth and vaporize all of the advanced technology that could beat them, who would you rely on? If you said a weird group of high schoolers that belong to a club that practices magic you get a gold star. Magic Users Club is wacky and youthful through and through. It is simply there to be enjoyed. Sae is our main character and she is eager to learn magic but has a klutzy nature that tends to get in her way. However, she has a lot of power if she could only harness it. With a little help from the club president (also her intense crush) and her faithful, but cynical, friend Nanka she may just save the world. While Sae is at the forefront, everyone in the cast adds to the pot which keeps the humor high. The prez is a lecherous pervert; Aburatsubo is the handsome good at everything guy; Nanaka doesn’t even believe in magic; and Akane just about never shows up. Like with most shows like this, some real romance is sprinkled in. The president doesn’t just have Sae after him but also Aburatsubo who by the way Nanaka is completely crazy about. Can we say this club is dysfunctional? Magic Users Club is a simple treat with a lot of humor and a little romance. And with just six episodes it continually delivers fun every step of the way.

Manga of the Month
March Comes in Like a Lion by Chika Umino

Often just by hearing a plot you can take a good guess at who has written a manga. Sometimes an author goes in an unexpected direction when they release a new work and you would never guess that the same manga-ka had written both works. March Comes in Like a Lion is somewhere in between these styles. It is a distinctly different work but not a totally unfamiliar one for Umino.

I first became a fan of Chika Umino through her major debt work Honey and Clover. A popular josei drama set around the lives of students at an art college. March Comes in Like a Lion is the story of an orphaned, professional Shogi player in a seinen magazine. While in a different magazine with a different setting Chika Umino’s josei style is still unmistakable especially considering that Young Animal is the magazine that runs Berserk. It has a seinen story structure while still having the humor and character depth that you would expect from Chika Umino.

Rei Kiriyama supports himself by playing shogi professionally. He is a quiet isolated young man whose only human contact outside of shogi is a young woman named Akari. She and her two sisters, Momo and Hinata lost their parents and live with their grandfather. We slowly see Rei’s world expand as he interacts with these three sisters. The only group working on this manga have only scanlated up to chapter 6 so I am hoping that they can start up again soon.

On an amusing note Chika Umino recently did a limited edition cover for the 33rd volume of Berserk and Kentarou Miura is doing an alternative cover for March Comes in Like a Lion in return. So far it has been Chika Umino’s cover has been very tongue in cheek so I expect nothing less in return.

Ongoing Investigations: Case #017

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Ai Morinaga saw a clearly untapped niche in the manga market and capitalized on it. Japan did not have (and needed) a manga about abusive homosexual human/frog relationships. The Gorgeous Life of Strawberry Chan fills this void as only it can. It has the standard Ai Morinaga fascination with mean-spirited comedy told with jerk-faced characters. For some reason she does it in a way that I enjoy. I think a good litmus test of your enjoyment of Strawberry Chan is the fact that Strawberry Chan’s owner sticks a straw up his butt and inflates him like a balloon to blow off stress. If you find this funny then try Strawberry Chan. If that makes you feel anything else you might want to go elsewhere.

I mentioned last week that I have been reading a lot of anthologies and a stand out one was X2. This series of shorts is done by the manga-ka of Monkey High! which I recently gave a glowing review of the first book. It captures the sweet and funny moments of new love. It was fun and hopeful and it gave the characters enough of a life that I could understand their feelings in a such a short amount of time. I also ready SOS which had a good range within its pages. We move from happy but dark underneath, to sweet and sad, to hopeful. But one deals with first love in its own way. I particularly enjoyed the last story involving a shooting star, but I am just a sucker for such things.

Maria-sama ga Miteru shows that your lesbian Catholic school fantasy is most probably not as interesting as you would think. I bought the first boxset due to Nozomi Entertainment getting some oddball shows which I encourage with my wallet. Also I have seen that it’s one of those super love it or totally hate it shows. I did periodically crack up with the thought of a roving band of bad girls that go through the school and jump girls to improperly tie their ties and get them in serious trouble. They would never physically hurt them. Heavens no! The disgrace of an off center tie would be worse than any physical pain. Other than that it always seems like it wants to be an over the top drama fest but never dares break the carefully constructed placid world. Slow and subtle are the watchwords for this show.

Man, this show. I grant it that the second episode was mildly better than the first but still it struck me as rather boring. Everyone is proper and quite and it made me crazy! I just wanted to leap through the TV and cause a ruckus! Even the most outspoken and wild girl is still whispering her wildness. It doesn’t move into comedy and it isn’t outlandish enough to be a over the top drama. I am kinda of curious to watch a little more just to see if they can actual get me to feel any sexual tension in this show which there wasn’t in the first two episodes.

Pani Poni Dash! is the exact opposite of Maria-sama ga Miteru. The show has no time to smell the roses because it has the next joke to get to. Pani Poni Dash can be subtle at times. In fact, it’s easy to miss the subtle humor because of the in your face kind going on. There is constant blackboard comedy in the background which is often non-sequitur but sometimes sets up jokes. All the various characters are rather amusing but I can’t say that I really have a strong love for anyone. The ADV pop up liner notes are really well done but are best watched after you have seen the episode once through without them on.

Kaichou wa Maid-sama is everything it should be. A ridiculous, over the top, shojo romance comedy. Misaki is the first female student body president of a recently made co-ed high school. She is an insane hard-ass who is trying to reform the guys. At the same time she is desperate for cash because of her family situation so she has a job at a Maid Cafe. Obviously she wants to keep this a secret but one day her biggest rival Usui happens to see her in uniform. Let the games begin! In only 8 chapters this is what I have learned about Usui, our male lead, he is of course really hot; he is the best student in school; he is also the most bad-ass fighter in the school and probably elsewhere; he is a master chess player; he can cook like an Iron Chef; he can jump off the roof of the school and only have scratches; and he can show up anywhere at anytime (they actual reference and make fun of this fact). I love that it doesn’t just go half way to insane, it is full-throttle!

One Piece came out with it’s newest popularity poll. Nami is back to were she belongs. She will never overtake the popularity monster that is Chopper or the immovable three but at least she is not the least popular of the Straw-Hat crew. I guess they had to remind everyone that she has nice tits and they all come back. Traitors! Your Nami love should be about more than that! I found it interesting that Brook has become popular so quickly but when you are a talking skeleton with an Afro then the only surprise involved was that I was surprised. I was also amused that Vivi was so high on the list because as far as I can tell many American fans still hate Vivi with an unfounded passion.

I wrote up a little blurb on 4chan for the Chunnel. I tried to stay about as neutral on 4chan as possible. I tried to mention both the good and the bad. I know there was so much more I could say but 4chan is big enough and strange enough that you could write a series on scholarly papers on it.

NYAF 2008 Ryu Moto Interview

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Not only was the NYAF the first convention your lovely gumshoes attended as press, it was also the place where we did our first interview. From the point of view of my mind-numbing, I-can’t-eat-or-I-will-lose-it, state before the interview I felt it came out okay.

Ryo Moto is probably best know for his character designs for Petite-Evangelion. Petite-Evangelion is a franchise in which all the Evangelion characters and some of the mecha have SD forms that all go to the same school. It has countless pieces of merchandise based on it including a calendars, figures, and a DS game. He has done other collaborative projects with GAINAX including a Gurren Lagann doujinshi anthology. Ryu Moto has not just limited himself to the Japanese market as he recently worked with Image Comics in the U.S. and is looking to do more work abroad as well as in Japan.

I first encountered Petite EVA through toy shopping with some friends in NYC. As many an anime fan can tell you, the Evangelion franchise has a staggering amount of merchandise, but these stuck out as something new and exciting. Ryu Moto’s work is both stylistically appealing and incorporates a lot of humor. He likes to play around with licensed characters and his own creations to make it fun for the audience. If you don’t know him yet you are surely missing out on his vibrate, sharp imagery. You can see much of his work on his deviantART account.

Ryu Moto was very accommodating and delightfully charming. He even gave us free singed copies of his latest sketchbook after the interview. I then bought an older sketchbook as well. We totally forgot to take a peek at his latest sketchbook. I really wanted to see if he drew Hisui. I hope he comes back to the U.S. so I can buy the sketchbook he did while at NYAF.

Reverse Thieves: Could you tell us a little about yourself?

Ryo Moto: I am Ryo Moto. I’m from Japan. I’m [a] manga artist. I am working mainly in Japan but I have also started working overseas and am looking for other opportunities in the work field outside Japan.

RT: We read you got your start in doujinishi and were then asked to do Petite EVA is that right?

RM: Actually I was a professional in college, while in school I did illustration and manga work for publishers in Japan. And while I kept doing work I was then asked to do character designs for Petite EVA. Actually I started my doujinshi work after I became a pro. More for self-promotion.

RT: Wow, that seems rare.

RM: I’d say so. [laughs]

RT: Continuing along the line of doujinshi, since many Americans don’t know a lot about it. . . . Have you sold stuff at Comic Market (Comiket)?

RM: Yes. Some of the books I brought for New York Anime Festival are ones I have sold at Comic Market.

RT: Can you tell us what Comic Market is like? Do you like winter or summer Comiket better?

RM: It’s about ten times the people as the San Diego con in three days. It is really crowded all over. I prefer the winter . . .it’s not hot. I hate hot. Many people come to Comiket in summer time and it is so hot. Because there so many people in the summer their sweat vaporizes and makes a cloud inside!

[laughs]

RM: Well, it is foggy!

RT: Have you noticed any major trends emerging in the modern doujinshi scene?

RM: I think it is basically right after a new anime comes out it will be at Comiket. It doesn’t keep going and going. There is not a phenomenon like Sailor Moon or Haruhi. It is always changing now. [There are] not as many big shows that stay. Probably for next Comiket it will be Gundam 00, Code Geass, Macross Frontier, oh and maybe Hatsune Miku. Have you heard of that? It is a computer program, a vocal program, with a girl’s voice, she has long green hair. It is not the software but the illustration on the package, in a way a virtual idol. The image of the girl has lots of merchandise.

RT: Do you have a favorite circle?

RM: Right now I’m not doing doujinshi. But I really liked Chocolate Shop, he is the designer of Xenosaga. His mecha designs are very good. His doujin quality is very high with glossy paper and high design. I also liked Mine Yoshizaki’s [Manga-ka of Sgt. Frog] circle. He has quit for about three years but he used to do a lot.

RT: You mentioned how you got started with Petite EVA but how is it working with GAINAX? EVA is such a huge franchise, what kind of creative freedom do you have with it?

RM: So far I have felt pretty comfortable working with GAINAX. The reason is, there aren’t many limits from GAINAX at this point. But when I’m working with Petite EVA I try not to be too off from the original characters. I respect the characters first, then I do Petite EVA.

RT: Having worked in both the amateur and professional markets, what are the biggest differences?

RM: There are no editors! The editors don’t yell at you. [laughs]

RT: So how influential are editors?

RM: Well, from what I have [seen], editors are individuals. So even if they are in the same company there are editors that like me or some that yell a lot. But it depends on the editor. From the people I have worked with, of course there have been ones that didn’t go well, but basically I have worked with editors who like my artwork and like me as an individual.

RT: So you’ve mentioned starting working abroad, and I know from your blog you like American comics a lot. Anyone in American comics you would really like to work with?

RM: Mike Mignola [creator of Hellboy]. He has been an inspiration. I have always admired him.

RT: How much professional training have you had?

RM: I was going to art school but I was learning design so I actually haven’t had any training in drawing.

RT: What was your first work as a professional artist?

RM: I think my first word as a pro was an illustration for a novel. It was published in 2002 through Tokuma Duel Bunko (Tokuma Shoten). The author was Sara Yajima and the title was Kero Kero Midori no Chikai. My first manga as a pro was published in 2004 titled Gyu-Nabe Damussu. It was an original title by myself. I drew a manga for my web-site using one of the character that appears in the afore mentioned manga. It was done in 2006.

RT: Can you tell us about your original works?

RM: One of my comic books that has come out is called White Chaos. It is about a girl whose former life was very pure, she didn’t do anything bad. So in this life the devil comes and makes her a devil, then asks her to do something bad. It is mostly comedy. This is one of my favorite works so far.

RT: Has any of your work been animated?

RM: Petite EVA is coming out on DVD in the spring. It is a 3D CGI production. I have samples at my booth. You can search it on YouTube. [laughs]

RT: So how much were you involved when they animated it?

RM: Basically I just do the character designs. But once they finished I do package illustrations and publicity art as well.

RT: Can you tell us about the work you have done overseas?

RM: My first official work overseas is COMPASS published through Image Comics last year. But before that I did an art piece for a book called Comic Artists Asia. Which was sold in English speaking territories. The book focused on introducing Asian artists [to overseas audiences] and I was asked to do a piece in Japan. I was surprised to know that many people at overseas cons knew about this book. Of course I was happy about that!

RT: Having been to New York Comic-Con and New York Anime Festival, have you notices any differences between American fans and Japanese fans?

RM: I don’t see a big difference, but what I like about American fans is that they speak out about what they like. Japanese fans are more shy.

RT: Are there any anime or manga you think Americans should know about?

RM: One of the titles is called Noramimi it is based on a manga but I recommend the anime. It is very Japanese oriented, Japanese cultural things. I would like to see what Americans would think of it. It is like a sitcom. Like Doraemon. For manga, I would say Yotsuba. I think it is one of the manga Japan can be proud of. It is for everybody.

RT: How was New York Anime Festival?

RM: It was fantastic! I have participated in other overseas conventions in the past, but it was my first anime con and was actually a bit nervous. But I was able to meet a lot of people and had fun.

RT: Is there anything fans should take away from your work?

RM: In my work I always do exactly what I want to do. So if I do that the fans will follow. You don’t have to do what is a trend. You should do what you think is good and your fans will come with you. When I just started in the industry, the editors scolded me and told me my art wasn’t very good. They told me to imitate other popular artists, but I never listened to that. I always tried to do what I wanted. When I found my own way in art, then the work came, too.

*Special thanks to Akihide Yanagi for helping us by translating.