Review: S. S. Astro Asashio Sogo Teacher’s ROom, vol. 1

S.S Astro Asashio Sogo Teacher’s ROom: Volume #1
Written and Illustrated by Negi Banno
Yen Press, Rated OT for Older Teen, $10.99 USA, $11.99 CAN
117 pgs.

Following up on my promise from earlier this week, here’s my review of S. S. Astro, Asashio Sogo Teacher’s ROom, vol. 1. S.S. Astro is an interesting title. Like I mentioned earlier this week, it’s part of Yen Press’ yonkoma (four cell) selection of manga, meaning it strays from the “normal” style of manga writing, and is read from top to bottom, cell to cell. This format has some limitations, but it’s also has some very positive traits. I enjoyed the simplicity of the format, and it was quite easy to read, and for manga like this, where the movement is more subdued, the format isn’t an unnecessary burden like it can be for more action-oriented manga. On the downside, it seems that throughout the manga, the plot is a bit forced, because the author has to end each series of cells with a gag, joke, or insight into a character.

That being said, the most interesting part of any character-driven manga is, obviously, the characters, and it’s good to see that manga-ka Banno has developed some truly interesting characters to focus his stories around. Each of the characters has his or her (mostly her) distinct personality,  and each is well-rounded, complex, and enjoyable.

The art is beautiful, and the linework is extremely delicate. The manga-ka does a great job of showing expressions and moods throughout each strip. It’s refreshing to see this level of detail in this kind of book. There were occasions where characters blended together, and without carefully looking at clothing or costumes, it was hard to tell who was who. This, fortunately, only happened once or twice, and wasn’t enough to ruin the book for me.

The gags and humor are a large part of the story line, and although I was never rolling on the floor, the subtle wit and sometimes acerbic humor only made this a more enjoyable read.

Yen Press has added a wonderful translator’s notes in the back of the volume, explaining some of the terminology, and there are four full-color pages at the front of the book. The paper is high quality, and due to the style of the drawings, there are never any problems with text being lost in the spine of the book. In addition to all of this, there’s a preview of Suzunari! vol #1, which seems like a cute little book. I think it’s a nice idea to add a preview of other manga at the back of the volume, but I’m not sure I’d purchase Suzunari! just based on the preview.

I recommend this book to anyone that likes subtle humor and a relaxed story telling environment. I greatly enjoyed this book, and am eagerly awaiting volume #2.

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Side Note: A few others have written reviews for this manga, and I have to say that on some respects I agree with their discussion of the book in its relationship to Azumanga Daioh, although I have to say that this manga should not be judged by solely by its comparitiveness to that title. Azumanga Daioh, while a wonderful manga and anime, is not the fount from which all other slice of life manga come from. While it’s true that the presence of Azumanga Daioh and its success in the manga and anime market may increase the sales of S. S. Astro,  this manga has merit on its own. 

Yonkoma (4-Panel) Manga in the American Market

After recently finishing the first volume of S. S. Astro Asashio Sogo Teachers ROom by Negi Banno (expect a review sometime at the end of this week), and seeing a bit of talk about 4-panel manga, and some news of of Yen Press’ 4-koma binge, I think it’s somewhat appropriate to consider what yonkoma (4-panel) manga has to bring to the table in the American manga market.

Yonkoma is an interesting creature. The most popular example of yonkoma in the American manga market is Azumanga Daioh, which, by the way, S. S. Astro bears a remarkable resemblance to. It’s done very well for itself, in both its manga and anime forms. The manga, however is what I’d like to focus on in this little discussion.

For those who have not read S. S. Astro, Azumanga Daioh, or any of Yen Press’ latest 4-panel offerings, let me explain yonkoma a little further. Each “strip” is four panels long (which is where the style gets its name, yon being the romanization of the alternate word for the number 4 in Japanese, and koma meaning cell). Most of the strips in yonkoma are humorous in nature, starting with a setup frame, two frames of exposition, and a frame for conclusion. While most strips are disconnected from one another, plot events can be carried from one strip to another, allowing a series to have continuity when otherwise it wouldn’t.

While some have stated that yonkoma is an emulation of the original American comic strip found in most newspapers across the US, the form of manga is more likely an extension of a writing technique called  Kishōtenketsu. However, the similarity between a yonkoma and the traditional American comic strip can not be dismissed, and it’s this similarity that is both yonkoma’s greatest strength and weakness.

Yonkoma, because of its format, is a perfect candidate for expansion into the American newspaper market. It comes in a format that’s already accepted by most newspapers that publish everyday comics such as Zits, Garfield, and Peanuts. In fact, some comic strips even run in the top-to-bottom format that yonkoma traditionally runs in. Since each volume of, let’s say, S. S. Astro is around 120 pages, and you can fit 2 strips to a page, you can get 240 (plus or minus a few) days worth of strips from one volume.  That’s quite a high volume of work from one book, and with translators and editors releasing a new volume of the manga every 2-4 months, you are almost never going to run out of content for that strip in a calender year, and with manga running in six or more volumes, the opportunities to run a yonkoma for multiple years is realistic enough.

Now, granted, this is quite a bit of a stretch. Manga publishers would have to get the rights to publish in this format, and obviously not every yonkoma release is “newspaper quality,” meaning not every manga can be read by many people and be enjoyed. Additional work would have to be done to make deals with newspapers across the US. This can’t be a completely universal transition, but for works like Azumanga Daioh, where the theme is fairly universal, a switch from a book, or even concurrent book release along with a daily serialized version, might have possiblities for the manga industry.

The downside to the yonkoma format is that while it is far easier for non-manga readers to interact with and enjoy, it also slightly alienates current manga fans. Many manga fans do not care for the yonkoma style, and many of the reviews and comments about vol. #1 of S. S. Astro called for a switch from the yonkoma format to the “regular” format. It reminds people of American comics, and as we’ve seen from the OEL debates, manga fans in America want manga to be “manga”. Anything that reminds people of American comics can cause a loss in sales because of its lack of “Japaneseness”, even when the title is quite good.

As a manga reader, I enjoy yonkoma, but I’m not sure that it’s found its place here in the American market as of yet. Yen Press seems to be pushing it though, and I’m waiting to see if they can do the style the justice it deserves.

Review: Kiichi And The Magic Books, vol. 1

Kiichi And The Magic Books : Volume #1
Written and Illustrated by Taka Amano
CMX Manga, Rated T for Teen, $9.99 USA, $11.99 CAN
158 pgs.

Kiichi and the Magic Books is a delightful manga that seems relatively simple at first glance. At first read, it seems like a traditional coming of age story for a young boy with a shrouded past. Set in an apparently feudal era, the focus of the story is around books, their abilities, and the powers and responsibilities of librarians, wandering ascetics who rent books to villages. Books contain a power that many do not understand, and few can control, and when in the wrong hands, their use can have unintended consequences.

The story starts off with an interesting flashback scene where it is revealed that the main character, Kiichi, is part oni (demon). His mother, who has hidden his identity from the rest of their village, passes away, and he is discovered and shunned by the village who once treated him as their own.

All this changes when Mototaro the travelling librarian, and his charge, a young girl Hana bring books to Kiichi’s village. Kiichi learns about oni from the librarian, and vows to follow him so that he can learn about himself.

The main character is supernatural in origin, although it is nice to see that he is, for the most part, just slightly stronger and faster than an average child. Kiichi is a proud child with a good heart, although he is uneducated (which provides a few laughs at some other character’s expense). The difference between villagers and Kiichi is focused on a few times, and causes most of the tension throughout the novel, as well as the main character’s motivation and focus.

As Kiichi, Mototaro, and Hana all travel and lend out books, the group goes through a few extraordinary experiences, which provide most of the substance for the first volume. While there isn’t a lot of character developement, the characters are all likeable, and well written. It is for future volumes to expand on each character and their past.

The book is fairly thin, with only a two-page omake at the end. The cover and back of the book are impressively colored, and seem fairly sturdy. There are no full-color pages in the book. The paper isn’t of highest quality, but it does carry the artwork well enough. Taka Amano’s linework is fairly delicate, but in certain action scenes, it can be fairly messy. The manga-ka does a good job showing the emotions of each of the characters. Sheldon Drzka’s translation is clean and straightforward, and it conveys the story well.

All in all, I’m impressed with the book so far, and am looking forward to getting my hands on volume 2.

Welcome to Manga Widget!

Welcome to my new blog, Manga Widget. Let’s get a short introduction done and out of the way, and we’ll get to the manga (which is why you showed up here in the first place, am I right?).

I started learning about Japan and the “anime scene” as a sophomore or junior in high-school. Growing up in a rural area of the Midwest, most people I knew couldn’t tell me the difference between China and Japan. Although I am now a tide and true manga fan, the area is mostly unchanged, and you can tell by looking at the bookshelves at the local bookstore. If you can call it that.

To give credit where credit is due, I would never have stumbled upon the beautiful, shocking, and sometimes blissfully obscene world of manga were it not for this little bookstore. It was there that on a whim, I decided to purchase the first volume of Negima!: Magister Negi Magi. It was one of those “It’s only 10 dollars so let’s see what happens” moments. It was a shocker, because it wasn’t like any comic book I had ever read. But I loved it, because it wasn’t like any comic book I had ever read.

It was ridiculous. There were pantie shots. There was action, comedy, and a host of traditions that I was not aware of, scenes that required hours of research, and a story that I could really sink my teeth into. It was enough to hook me. I started reading other series at the local library, first staying with Ken Akamatsu and his wonderful Love Hina series, but then branching out to shonen titles like Full Metal Alchemist and Hikaru no Go. As I continued to read, I became more and more impressed, purchasing and reading more and more titles. The fun has never stopped.

Negi and his classroom of rowdy girls opened the path for me into the world of manga, and now I’m here to stay. I hope you enjoy my blog.