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For every war that is probably fought, there are untold horrors for survivors of an atrocity. One example of such a period, was how Japan was defeated in World War II, with the the Atomic Bomb. The bombings completely destroyed two cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and this is the first time that nuclear warfare is used in the history of mankind. Now even up to this day, Hiroshima has become a City of Peace, with a continued advocacy to abolish all nuclear weapons.

Keiji Nakazawa, himself a Hibakusha or a victim of the atomic bomb, writes a harrowing tale of bomb survival in his graphic novel: Barefoot Gen. Nakazawa himself as a survivor is also suffering affects of the bomb, with cancer. This is a story that is told in ten volumes, and published in English by Last Gasp.

Barefoot Gen reveals a story of struggle, and survival. Being that this is a graphic novel, mostly everything is revealed in stark and bleak terms. From the first volume, Gen survives with his family in tatters. His character grows, as the country completely falls apart, right after the bombing, as people died left and right. It is a very gruesome reality to imagine, and the manga aptly depicts the minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years after the bomb struck.

Some of the more gruesome depictions I read in the first two volumes is of bones consumption, massive burial sites, skins melting off, sudden death from radiation.

Another theme that the manga accurately depicts is the level of crime, and discrimination, that people will not be proud to have committed, but it does happen. With the lack of awareness and callousness, there are countless victims, and characters depicted in Barefoot Gen displays cruelty that is associated with a post apocalyptic type setting.

Last year was the 65th Anniversary of the Hiroshima Bombing, and this event invited international participation in the form of postcards to be used at an exhibit. Examples of postcards sent can be seen at the Japanese version of the website. Still for what it is worth, this is also a article of last year’s anniversary. That is the reality side of the Atomic Bomb, and how it is remembered.

For a more graphical depiction, that can’t be experienced with watching movies, documentaries, or books, there is Barefoot Gen. This  is not reading material suitable for children, I would recommend this for older teens and adult. A similar read alike is Maus from Art Spiegelman for the similar time prospective of Holocaust Germany. The very message that both stories bring is that war can be a very destructive for both sides. There really is no victimless war.

Check out the archive for this month’s MMF of Barefoot Gen here.

Whenever there is a chance in Manga Movable Feast to talk abut a title that tugged my interest, then you would see a prospective from me. This feast’s pick is Karakuri Odette by Julietta Suzuki, and other blogger responses to this MMF will be hosted by Anna of Manga Report here.

Reading about androids is nothing new in my experience. I didn’t initially think much of Karakuri Odette, since the art really wasn’t that great to look at, but the plot draws people in slowly, and appeal in the discovery department. People can on a superficial level can compare Karakuri Odette to Chobits, but I find myself staring at another works as being something more similar.

Arale as part of a bag, photographed by me.

Dr. Slump.

There is large difference in the appearance, and plot happenings, however there are some similarities to be made between Odette and Arale.

• Both have creators  deceiving a large part of the world on their non-living creation.
• Both have an inherent desire to be a part of the world that they are living in.
• Both do change other people in their life.
• There is the appearance of another robot, that may or may not like the female robot (Chris, and Obotchanman/Carmelman#4)

There are also plot parts that are similar such as the mention of food/cooking, in volume 2, and the part when the professor placed a camera on their robot in volume 1. Both are of different time, so reading is your choice. Dr. Slump deviates from slice of life into talking about other aspects, and ends in 18 volumes, while Karakuri Odette ends with six volumes.

Wooooh! Finally just about one of my favorite current titles, on the block of Manga Movable Feast…and yay what a giant this is. This month’s MMF is once again hosted by David Welsh of The Manga Curmudegeon. He also writes a post that links up to past MMF’s which I had participated in four of seven.. and now five of eight.. Happy readings for manga lovers, and interested readers!

One Piece that is by Eichiro Oda, hits the record of outselling Harry Potter in Japan, and the anime/series is probably slated to go on for years. Some comparisons to Dragon Ball were made, down to cross over products, and films. As a fan, though, there are consistent observations, in just how much product and goods there are concerning this series…so what else can I say than to go and make a project of getting into this series, or continuing to be a fan? Going into 55 English volumes, 60 Japanese volumes, and around 400+ episodes, One Piece is such an epic title/journey, that I seriously would encourage any and all to tackle on this series.

I have seen hygiene products, food products, magazine covers, stationary goods, toys, automobile accessories, fashion accessories, and electronic accessories. One Piece covers all types of products.. and from my own collection of manga, art books, shitajikas, figures, DVD’s, CD’s, jigsaw puzzles, electronic accessories, kitchen accessories, I don’t really regret any of it. Even when this blog initially started from around four years ago, it began a small devotion to recapping episodes and purchases made. I even put together a Twitter background recently to push my feelings along.

Background

I am on currently hiatus on watching the anime, and the manga I decided to go on a path of reading two arcs: Waters 7 to Thriller Bark (vol 33-50). I decided to do this for several reasons.

1. It covers characters that I like a lot…namely Robin, Franky, and Brooks. There is also a significant growth to the character of Ussop that definitely raised my impression of him.
2. There are sufficient themes covered, that makes it a well though out process. Up to this point, there was just the journeying/adventuring, but Waters 7 and Thriller Bark has sufficient plot points.
3. Lots of other reviewers in this MMF will be covering other various parts of this long series, I wanted to read a part that made a distinct impression with me.

Just for a bit of a warning, my experience with One Piece is from the anime initially, so reading the manga has definitely made me noticed some details. I am really really glad that Viz did a series acceleration, catching up to the Japanese release, so at this point, the United States is only five books behind Japan. Another warning, this is going to be a post on the assumption that people at least have some knowledge of the series. I don’t believe that I will spoil that much parts of what I have read, but I will probably jump from parts of the series, and all around in general.

Media impressions

Since my initial foray into this series was from the anime, I can definitely say that I have had my eye on the print side of things. During my college years when Shonen Jump began to be sold in the United States, one of the earliest series I read was One Piece, at that time there wasn’t a series acceleration, so reading the manga in English felt way more slower than watching the anime. Still I digress, both mediums have its advantages and disadvantages.

Watching the anime, with a visual action in sight, and the acting talents of the seiyuus. Many people may very well prefer the anime over the manga, but with the manga there are some advantages as well and these are some what I feel are advantages of the anime.

• The manga is the source of what the anime is, so with how visually stimulating the anime is, the manga will always be faster, and so for readers this is an advantage to take in.
• There is an SBS column, where Oda has a question and answer columns, giving insights into the series from his creative or comedic perspective. Comparing this to the columns of Hideaki Sorachi of Gintama, there is definitely more of an organized outline, with the feelings of the mangaka revealed to the world.
• With every chapter title page, there is a mini story within the bigger picture of the manga. In the anime, many characters who’s arcs are finished viewers never really see them again, but Oda definitely is fantastic for building character bases and a clear result of what eventually happens to these characters that gets dropped in the anime. Comparing this with why I dropped Bleach, One Piece has way more developed characters/villians/supporting.

Where to begin?

Walsh has an entry that talks about opinions on where to begin reading. There was a comment that Davy Fights Back might be a good place to start reading this series, yet I disagree with that. I feel that the richness of the adventuring and comradeship is not as really understood if a reader starts from Davy Fights Back, it is already 33 books into the series. So it is my opinion that readers if they want to skip the beginning, start from when the Mugiwara Kaizoku Dan (Strawhat Pirates) leaves East Blue, from Louge Town onward.

Impressions

Waters 7 includes the ending of the Skypiea arc, to the manga filler of Davy Fights Back. Compared to the anime, there were some parts definitely fleshed out, and other parts muted. It was great to see Zolo/Sanji fight in Davy Fights Back, since I was quite reminded with the opening of the anime. I was debating on whether or not I can put the actions of Waters 7 and Thriller Bark into suitable imagery, and decided that it might be more reflected in the openings from this period in the anime.

Davy Fights Back – I am quite glad that the manga is way more shorter than how the anime dragged on. Even if this filler arc was considered to be comedic, I really didn’t care for Foxy, but compared to other villains.. he’s more of a moron. Now as far as the island is, I felt the island was slightly on the ridiculous side of things. Edo in SBS column definitely mentions the toilet possibility of how a character is stuck on stilts for seven years.

Waters 7 – Entering into the island with a goal of repairing Going Merry, exploring a new island is always a fun aspect in my opinion, mainly because reading of the character’s various interactions with the location, and the locals that they meet. I liked how this island is designed with canals and such. There is an actual emphasis on placement and organization in an urban structure. Personally I am am a fan of urban structures and forms of transportation, so with how Drum Island, Alabasta, and Little Garden were, Waters 7 is definitely a city I want to visit. I am continually reminded of the manga series Aria, since both works/places are inspired by the Italian city of Venice. Since Water 7 sets up for Enies Lobby, the duplicity and treachery of villains get reveals later.

Enies Lobby -I am continually on the mindset that Enies Lobby should have been a separate arc. Putting it all into under the category of Waters 7 Arc pushed the arc count up to around 13 books. It is a collector’s quest, so I can only say that the library is the best friend a person can ask for in terms of going on a binge to read this. So if you skip reading the first couple of books, with Davy Fights Back, that would have lessen the amount of reading.

Enies Lobby was also part where I had a tissue box near my hand continually. The pacing was tight, and the action was just right. So I was either wiping away tears or wringing the tissue, (sighs). I really felt that my heart was on my sleeve for the most part during this arc. I am going on a limb to say either this arc or Alabaster that had me believing firmly that Oda is such a great mangaka.

Also up until this point, Luffy had battled foe after foe, testing his abilities with his devil fruits power. This arc sets the stage of moving Luffy’s strengths into the realm of probable disbelief, if he continues to go on his own ability, Oda writes Luffy with the devil’s luck.

Now for the villains in this one, I really really disliked CP9, of course with the consistent idea that the World Government is there for the regular people, makes the world more gray than black and white, very similar to reality. I am not a big fan of hypocrisy, but with Spanda being introduced, I was so totally cheering at the end of Enies Lobby for what happened to him.

Thriller Bark-With Waters 7, Enis Lobby, and post-Enis Lobby out of the way, the growing crew gets onto a detour from traveling onward at the Florian Triangle that reminds me of the Bermuda Triangle, but ends up running in another potential member as well as another battle to overcome. Up to this point Thriller Bark is another arc I simply faced as another location, it is a ship though that is quite big enough to maybe be mistaken for an island, since there is a castle, forest and grave yard on it. Many location in One Piece reminds me of how small humans really are, and overall, the villains in this one are quite detestable. I wasn’t as fond of Perona and it really gave me a huge laugh to see that she gets defeated by Ussop. At points of the crew’s battle with Oz, there are some funny moments. In the end, Gekko Moriah is set to be a making an appearance again in latter chapters.

Volumes to be read, some missing - but later read.

Thus this ends my reading quest for the manga at the moment. One reason why I am on hiatus for the anime, is mostly because of a bad worry at Impel Down. I am lucky that most people I know won’t tell me what happened.But with the American release catching up to the manga in Japan. I am getting into the mindset of reading the manga before watching the anime. Also in December, 2010, Oda will be releasing his latest Color Walk, which is the manga artbook series of this series… which I absolutely am drooling to purchase.

This month’s Manga Movable Feast centers on After School Nightmare published in the U.S. under Go! Comi, which is a manga company that is clearly disappearing. This is one of the few titles I have read from this publisher, and it was Eisner nominated.

Mashiro Ichijo is a student at a school, where you have to go through a trial to graduate. He is definitely a character with secrets, that is unlike Asuka from Otomen. He is actually a she or is she a he? Mashiro is the one of the few characters I have read or seen outside of hentai titles that is actually mentioned as a hermaphrodite, so by the top he is a male, but on the bottom he is a girl. I have not seen the artist draw an artistic representation of his bottom, so what to say other than from what the other characters mention, and the real self that he/she portrays in the nightmare world. If they ever show him naked, he would be totally like a Ken doll  – assexual as I seen on Snow Sakura and Japanese censorship laws placated.

There are self-gender identity questions raised in this series. Is he going to be a manly man with a cute girlfriend, or would he be a female, and give into Sou- a darker classmate of his. I just see this as a continual love triangle between the three, as it is exemplify on the book covers of this series.

My personal preference is to see Mashiro end up with Sou. After a couple of weeks of reading a lot of shoujo titles, I really really am quite happy to see the “bl” scenes that Mashiro has. Can you call them bl scenes? I just see two guys going at at, and to me, my heart started to sigh.. and I can only say “yay!” But then mentally “boo” while Mashiro refuses Sou’s affections.

Warning this title also has incest issues, so please don’t read if you don’t like that. The series makes for a good suspenseful, mystery read though. Probably other read alike would be Future Diary or Deadman Wonderland. There are relationship issues, secrets, betrayals. I cannot truly confirm if this is a gender bender type series, since it is not the lead character either concealing her gender or cross dressing. Yet the self-questioning identity crisis and  gender disassociation type manga title read a-likes would probably be for some readers some comparison to MW or Revolutionary Girl Utena.

Since I skipped last month’s MMF with Paradise Kiss – coming back with August MMF. This time the book chosen is on Yotsuba&! from Yen Press, and other related blog posts will be hosted here.  I will be talking about a bit of Yotsuba and then going onto another title for general manga reading.

Yotsuba&! by Kiyohiko Azuma is a slice of life story about a little girl who move into a new house – and this is about her discovery, as with her interactions with her single father and three next door neighbors. This is a manga that is aimed for people of all ages… and has had a history of being translated in the United States by two publishers, the now defunct ADV Press and then picked up by Yen Press.

As a frequent patron of the New York Public Library, they have two different copies of volume 1 of this title.  It is a popular title as it should – since it was created by the mangaka for Azumanga Daioh and with its interesting release history in the United States. Yotsuba&! has won awards, so it is a very good title to recommend for young readers.

So far, I have only read volume 1 and decided to stop and drop this title. Manga reading is always dependent on taste, and Yotsuba&! is a title I didn’t want to pursue, based on a personal reason of taste. For the more plot driven adult readers there’s Bunny Drop that is a better title, which is also carried by Yen Press.

But that is not the aim of this MMF at all so with aspect of mentioning – Yotsuba&! and another child-friendly title. I will bring my pick and love for what is an all about general age graphic novel for kids young and old.

Chi’s Sweet Home, by Konami Kanata released in the United States by Vertical Press.

There are currently seven volumes out in Japan, and currently at the time of this post written – two books in English. There’s two anime seasons, I believe, maybe one or two seasons that is available on Crunchy Roll.

Did I have to mention that as a feverent feline lover – that Chi’s protagonist is a kitten? The manga is about Chi’s adventures with Yohei, her young owner – and her discovery of the world from a growing cat’s perspective. She enjoys life, gets into trouble – but is a fantastic discover of the world around her. Very natural!

This is a fantastic series that is adult friendly as well. I love this series, since I am a cat owner and can find relevance with how my cat grew up as well. Plus Chi is all about cute as can be! Kids can find relevance with Yohei… so as with all manga reading – it is an enjoyable read! The other day I read a comic strip, about Yohei and Chi facing Kuro Neko, that I though was very impressive and cute. Used it on my mom to only have her, only to have her snap back – that’s she’s not an animal, and should kick the heck out of me…cues my sister break out in laughter.

The Japanese manga is easy reading for Japanese learners – as it is a manga with nothing but hirigana, for the cat sounds that Chi makes, but in the fact that things happen to her, so this little kitty is thinking. When I say there are seven manga so far in Japanese, that’s how much I collected of the Japanese one.

This is my 100% choice for kids to know, read and fall in love with, so definitely read Chi’s Sweet Home – no matter what!

June’s MMF is on The Colors Trilogy – a Korean Manhwa trilogy by Kim Dong Hwa that has currently been nominated for the Esiner Comic Award for Best U.S. Edition of International Material-Asia, with a list of the other fabulous titles, I wonder which title would win? The Colors has the distinction of being the only Korean Manhwa title in a category that is filled with Japanese Manga. The award is going to be announced next month at the San Diego Comic Con.

Prior to reading this series, I have looked at Manhwa titles with skepticism. So when I received these books to be read, courtesy of @funnypages, it took me some time to get through The Color of Earth, since it was a beginning that I was unused to following, but reading the following books The Color Of Water and The Color of Heaven, I realized that I couldn’t put the books down as easily as I had with the first book. The following two books do remind me of the dramas that my mom has watched, of an agricultural based society that is in a transition period with the rest of the world.

It has been pretty interesting to reading about Ehwa’s development, back when woman were just defined by their marriage, and what exactly is their worth or thoughts in the process. There is parts of feeling as Ehwa has the same fears and worries that every developing girl would have. Historically in order to conceal what is sex, it is often regulated to see what the insects and birds would. Then in describing sex there are flowers and other symbols to be seen. Even when Ehwa had her marriage bed, with the bell.

I found myself thinking about The Joy Luck Club or other dramas I have seen where arrange marriage is conducted, especially with the fate of Chungja. Certainly the actions with Master Cho is not the least bit unfamiliar with me. This is a good series to be read to be exposed to a different world and different time period. I have noticed other reviewers mentioning this as a great mothers/daughters read and am saying that this is a great book to be shared, or with any adolescent female.

At the end of each book there is a book discussion section with some questions and a list of further recommendation, that would make this trilogy a useful book in a book club or academic class.I believe than just seeing the fact that there is a great deal of nature in this story, The Walking Man was recommended.

My review on Jiro Taniguchi’s The Walking Man can be found here.

Other MMF posts would be located here.

As Manga Moveble Feast is underway with this month’s selection, To Terra. Anyone can check for links to the other participants here. It is a feeling of mixed bag of nuts and bolts as I revisit the world of the Mu and the Terran. On one aspect, it has all the conflicts and rage of a serious human confrontation as one can see on X-Men or Matrix, or it can be as simple as a school yard conflict with two opposing sides. I would say a song of “Kumbaya” is probably going to be regarded with a huge wave of distaste, so I can only move on, as I try to probe into this work that is To Terra.

This manga is considered to be a classic title, and for that reason, there are fans, and appreciators. My personal feeling is one of appreciation and befuddlement. Appreciation for the nuances that the series is, and befuddlement for why couldn’t the characters in this book be resolving their issues? That is pretty similar to nearly every conflict that has ended with groups wrecking genocide on the other or vice versa. There were so much extremes in this series, that it felt quite gloomy for the most part. I can see for desperate times calls for desperate measures for some people.

Art, I do agree with other MMF’s that the drawings were an art of its times, and that I grew up thinking To Terra’s art seriously looked like the read along fairy tales that I grew up in the 80′s seeing at the Chinese bookstore.

I was very surprised that this work was written by a female. That’s probably a whack to the head, but for the most part, and my lack of knowledge that I write this, since there just isn’t enough graphic novels of this scope to be translated as of yet into English or what I have read to really justify this series as being strong in my list. Volume 2 was definitely not something I really liked, I have considered moments of dropping this series, but for the sake that I read this book before this MMF, I can say that it was a one time read, that would make it justifiable.

Some character thoughts, I was annoyed with Physis’s character, from when she released Keith in the second volume, to the ending when the Terrans mentioned on letting them hold her strange hand. I was thinking whoa… hypocrisy and iconography. I can only mention that times should change from when this book was written.

One of the relatively few scenes that stood out for me int his book, was this scene.

The concept of the earth as a marble/plaything of a higher being is pretty significant. Men in Black or The Hitchker’s Guide to the Galaxy are two movie examples. I find that the series in spit of all its mostly down point, this gave a final hope, that there should be a paradox, that what is viewed as a world, maybe someone’s play thing.