G.C's Japanese-language Manga Page 1G
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Manga Page 1G

On this page I will review general Japanese manga, mostly cute & non-violent.
Note that the quality of the images, reproduced here for bona fide review purposes, has been affected by the scanning and compression processes, so if you want to see how the originals look, you'll have to buy the books!

Reviewed:
REVIEW

KIMAGURE ORANGE ROAD by Izumi Matsumoto, 290pp,Y370, 11x18 cm.
Except for a handful of OVAs released through AnimEigo, none of the Orange Road manga or anime has ever been released in English, and there's a lot of it! (But it has appeared on European TV, I believe.)
For the uninitiated,it's the story of a love triangle comedy between a high school boy, Kyouske, with psychic powers, and two girls, the pert & pesky Hikaru and the beautiful and mysterious Madoka, neither of whom know of his secret.
KOR is something of a fan favourite among those fans who like cute stuff with interesting characters. One can easily get hooked on the soap-opera storyline! The animated episodes follow manga chapters fairly closely; 48 subtitled TV episodes are available from fan subtitlers Arctic Animation.

Kimagure Orange Road #7, p.16 (dialogue from top left)
Kyouske: Did she do something?
Hikaru: No, it's nothing. Good night.
(Madoka hangs up the phone)
Hikaru: Oh, the phone got cut off?
Hikaru: It's OK! I have to call Madoka's parents.
(tr. by HD)

REVIEW

MIYUKI by ADACHI Mitsuru (Mangakun Comics, 190pp, Y340, 12x17 cm)
This is quite an old manga, published in 1981, the year before TOUCH.
There isn't so much sport in MIYUKI, instead it seems to be more of a personal story of school life, romance, and daily life. The characters look the same as those in TOUCH and SLOWSTEP. All innocent stuff, even if one of the most vivid panels is of two girls dressing, being peeped on by a couple of boys. The artwork is OK but as with other Adachi manga no doubt the story's the thing, and it's not difficult to follow the thread even without a translation.
Not a trace of violence or the supernatural here. I don't know of any translation, but Adachi fans will want to pick up secondhand volumes anyway.

Miyuki #1,p.128 Dialogue (from top left)
Boy:
Are you Ok, Miyuki-chan?
Miyuki:
Sorry, I'm a little drunk
Boy:
A little? Seems to be fairly well drunk.
Miyuki: Um

(tr.by GC)

REVIEW

TOUCH by ADACHI Mitsuru (Mangakun Comics, 190pp, Y360, 12x17cm)
Adachi wrote TOUCH and SLOWSTEP, both of which have been animated, as well as MIYUKI. TOUCH is a school/sport story, about two brothers, the school baseball team, and their female friend who is appointed as assistant coach. It might sound rather dry but there is plenty drama, human interest, and tragedy in the story. The art is unexciting but then the story is the important part. TOUCH and other Adachi works make a refreshing change from the kind of manga and anime usually popular in the West. A manga synopsis by Hitosho Doi is available.

Touch #4,p.54 Dialogue (from top left)
Write your class & name.
Crap handwriting.
Well anyway..

Tr. by GC.

REVIEW

 TOKYO BABYLON Vol.1 (Clamp/Shinshokan), 140pp, 15x21 cm, Y580.
CLAMP are currently one of the hottest creative teams in Japan. The Osaka-based all-female collective has produced a number of shoujo-style manga including RG VEDA, "X", and Magic Knight Rayearth, most of which have been animated. Typically, this volume has a black and red cover and full colour frontispieces.
Subaru, descendant of a clan of powerful mediums, disposes of various spirits which are troubling the city of Tokyo. There's a lighter sub-plot of a love triangle involving Subaru, twin sister Hokuto, and another medium, Seishiroh.
The story( if you can follow it) is quirky and interesting, and the art is attractive. (GC).

REVIEW

VIDEO GIRL AI by Masakazu Katsura (Jump Comics), vol.2,190pp, Y390, 11x18 cm.
Though it is a fan favourite, the anime has not been released in many countries. The anime has been released in Italy (dubbed), and the manga in Italy and France. In Japan, the manga attracted complaints from PTA associations, and was cut as a result. The PTA complaints were to do with excessive nudity in suggestive scenes. Both cut and uncut editions are to be found.
(To satisfy your purient curiousity, check out Antarctic Press's MANGAZINE, #28.)
With the exception of the controversial scenes, the manga is quite mild compared with some things one could mention. The affair sheds an interesting light on Japanese mores , and illustrates that the manga industry rather than public opinon is pushing the permissive tendencies for which Japanese manga is notorious.
Youta, the socially inept young hero, lives with Ai, (her name means Love) who materialised out of his TV set when he played a special video. (Note that 'Video Girl' videos really exist in Japan!) She encourages his romantic involvement with several schoolgirls.
The art is superb, and the story is wonderful; in fact it surpasses most of the novels published for young adults in its sensitive portrayal of teenage love angst.
(Note: most if not all of Katsura's manga production [Video Girl Ai, DNA^2, Present From Lemon, ZetMan. Shadow Lady] is available in Italian.)

Video Girl AI #2, p.23 Dialogue (from top left)
Gokuraku: I don't think so. In fact,
Youta Moteuchi is in need of "Ai"

Rolex: I'll decide what to do!
Because I created "Ai".
(Tr. by KH).

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{G.Cowie,7.12.96}