G.C's Japanese-language Manga Page 5G
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Manga Page 5G

On this page I will review more translated Japanese manga.
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
ADOLF-Days of Infamy by Osamu TEZUKA (Cadence Books Graphic Novel), 254pp, $16.95, 14x22cm.
This is one of the ADOLF series, which all explore the intertwined destinies of three men named Adolf: one the notorious dictator, the second a young Nazi fanatic , and the third a German Jew. The story itself is a powerful one, set both in Germany and among the German community in Japan, and is a strong warning against hatred and prejudice. The volumes contain some uncompromising material, as when the young Nazi, Adolf Kaufmann, finishes off some prisoners during a death march. This is a significant manga that should be read by all serious collectors and Japan buffs.

I would like to say to younger readers who are in danger of being seduced by the siren voices of the "Holocaust denial" that the Jewish holocaust DID take place, that at least six million Jews WERE murdered, and that their names, the dates of their arrest, the times of the trains taking them to the death camps, and their ultimate fates, are in many cases recorded in German documents that still exist by the roomful and have been distilled into innumerable books and documentaries. There were a lot of Jews in Europe before the War, now there aren't... I speak as a traveller who has seen the now-empty ghettoes of Prague and Cracow, and stood where the Warsaw ghetto used to be. The Nazi aim was, quite simply, to murder every Jew in the countries the German armies controlled, and to a large extent they accomplished this horrible deed. Only the defeat of the German armies prevented the extermination from being carried out to the last Jew.
(GC).

1945 & All That Remains, p.224 (Tr. by Yuji Oniki)
In addition to the Jews, the Germans murdered millions of other nationalities, perhaps five million in addition to the deaths caused by military action. Meanwhile, the Japanese killed several million Chinese, but were responsible for the deaths of only about 40,000 white British and other prisoners. Which makes one wonder how much the anti- Japanese feeling among older Britons is not simply a form of racism. [GC]

To Index

REVIEW
APPLESEED by Masamune SHIROW (Studio Proteus[US], Manga Publishing [UK] ), vol.1,184pp, £7.99, 15x21 cm., ISBN 1 900097 01 X (UK edn)
This is a very well-known manga, set in the near future after a chaotic and disastrous world war. Civilisation is being re-established around a new Utopia, Olympus City, but many survivors still live in the badlands. Combat-trained Deunan and her cyborg companion Briareous-H are brought to Olympus City. Here they discover that things are not as perfect as they are supposed to be, and that some humans are planning an uprising. The story is complicated and the plotting confusing, just like real life. (GC).

Appleseed #1, p.42 (Tr.by David Lewis & Toren Smith)
The manga contains some battle scenes, with powered body armours, and also some lively human interactions.


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REVIEW
 BAREFOOT GEN-The Day After by Keiji NAKAZAWA (Penguin), 178pp, £7.99, 15x21 cm.
One of the Gen series, a classic anti-war manga written and drawn by a Hiroshima survivor. If it doesn't make Americans, and anyone else in favour of using nuclear weapons, feel uneasy, then it certainly ought to. In fact the author places most of the blame on Japanese militarism, but nobody should feel exonerated. It powerfully makes the point that in war it is usually the innocent civilians who suffer the most.
Some scenes are rather gruesome, but this is inevitable given the subject matter of the story. A "Gen" volume should form part of any serious fan's collection. (GC).

Barefoot Gen, The Day After, p.153 Tr. by Dadokai & Project Gen
The style may take a little getting used to; Nakazawa's art is plain and effective rather than stylish, and the young hero is frequently shown singing and leaping about, but this is a way of conveying his uncrushable spirit.

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REVIEW
 MAISON IKKOKU by Rumiko TAKAHASHI (Viz Graphic Novel), vol.9,232pp, $16.95, 14x21 cm.
A very well-known manga (and anime) series, here collected into a series of graphic novels. Hopeless student Yusaku Godai, who keeps failing his exams, is looking for a room when he calls on the run-down boarding house Maison Ikkoku, situated somewhere in Tokyo. The other inhabitants include fat party animal Mrs Ichinose, mysterious food-scrounging Mr Yotsuya, and half-dressed Akemi, the nightclub hostess, but Godai decides to stay as soon as he sets eyes on the new caretaker, Kyoko Otonashi, who is gorgeous (though you can't really tell that from the artwork). Godai, hopelessly in love with Kyoko, who also likes him, but too poor to think of proposing, is constantly teased by the other occupants, who hold parties in his room, and is so ineffectual that he can't even avoid getting involved with other girls.
(GC).

MI #9: Learning Curves, p.176 (Tr. by Mari Morimoto.)
The characters are very well depicted, and the whole thing is very funny. It's particularly popular with adults, and is enjoyed even by Westerners who are not "manga fans".

Show Cover

REVIEW
 WHAT'S MICHAEL by Makoto Kobayashi (Dark Horse Comics), vol.4, 88pp, $5.95, 15x23 cm. ISBN 1-56971-250-6
A manga about a cat - or is it a whole series of cats? - and their humans. It consists of episodes a few pages long, each illustrating some piece of cat behaviour, or cat/human interaction.
To quote an episode taken at random, the Boss drops in at a couple's home, and has to be entertained with the traditional Japanese hospitality, not helped by the cat acting up, and cat hairs getting in the boss's drink. Then the cat hides itself in the boss's bag, provoking his unwelcome return just as his hosts are saying how exhausting the visit was.
It's very well observed and very funny. The settings are typically Japanese, and the artwork is in a quite distinctive style, with the wide-eyed look of some of the characters being particularly hilarious. I highly recommend this - unless you hate cats of course. (GC).

What's Michael #4 (unnum.) (Tr. by D.L,J.S,T.S.)
Even if it's this much trouble, a cat is too proud to nap on the ground.

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[G. Cowie, 28.2.98]