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Manga Spotlight: Satsuma Gishiden The Legend of the Satsuma Samurai Volume 2 By: Hiroshi Hirata Released by Dark Horse Manga
Satsuma Gishiden is a better fit for readers of gekiga work like Yoshihiro Tatsumi than for readers who favor works from Nobuhiro Watsuki, Hiroaki Samura or even Kazuo Koike. Hirata's work is more appreciatable for its artistic merit or for the way it distills and heightens frustration than it is for its genre adherence. Sure, it has a samurai responding to his own disembowelment by using a splinter from his ribs to stab his attacker in the skull, but a reader approaching the work looking for duels is likely to be disappointed. The bulk of the volume is made up of intensive procedure and contextual information, which may not be immediately comprehensible and which is not buoyed by regular or pronounced action Since the execution will likely distance genre fans, and the genre will likely distance other audiences, be sure to pick up the Satsuma Gishiden if it sounds interesting. The work is likely to have some difficulty finding an audience, but Hirata vissual technique and scathing outlook at quite rewarding. Satsuma Gishiden inhabits a zone of contradiction. At once it mines a samurai ideal and it paints samurai in a highly unidealized fashion. It concerns itself with the famed samurai of the Satsuma han/province. Through the history of the Edo period, the Satsuma were famed for their military endeavors. The manga spends time recounting their role in the Battle of Sekigahara, where they sided against the victorious Ieyasu Tokugawa, escaping with a legendary charge through their opponent’s main forces. It references their participation in the Seven Year War, the 1590's invasion of Korea. And history is full of the military role of the Satsuma, up through the abolition of the domain following the Meiji Restoration. Despite this robust history to pick from, The Legend of the Satsuma Samurai chronicles the han's warriors in a time of peace. The first volume focused on the lower class samurai's scrabble to feed their families in a peace time economy. The second digs into the Tokugawa effort to tame the Satsuma and their ruling Shimazu clan by pin prick economic measures and ultimately by compelling them to undertake a ruinous public works project. During the course of volume two, the Satsuma must raise the funds to construct a flood control system for the distant Owari province, and then make the long trek to build it themselves. The manga is a monument to breathing "oh fuck!" every moment of the day and stoically enduring. This volume follows the hotly contested debate among the samurai in which they argue whether their ethos dictates they give up their martial tools in favor of dedicating themselves to the flood project or keep their weapons and fail their task. This is meant to be emasculating, but in 2007 the impression is more understandable in a gender generic sense. Despite the samurai trappings it can be read into a pure concept. The raging frustration of the Satsuma can stand in for inescapable concern for a job, way of life, family's survival, ect. It maps easily to a sort of occupational dread and can stand in for the fears of anyone with a livelihood. On the brink in an all or nothing, with a seemingly impossible endeavor, it's not just bad boss or a difficult project, but a fundamentally back cracking system. This isn't the most exciting direction for a manga, but if it is something that you can relate to, the narrative is quite powerful. The vast majority of samurai works consumed by western audiences fit a certain form. On some level, political intrigue or human drama just makes for a far more ornate sword fight. Hopefully it is not too unfair a generalization to make that most samurai fans expect someone to be cut down in the course of the work. Satsuma Gishiden can be exceptionally violent. The first volume opened with a "hiemontori", an almost unimaginably chaotic sport, in which mounted, armored samurai compete, hoping to extract and retrieve the liver of the live prisoner released onto the battlefield. In the manga, violence is an accepted facet of life, but is also marks the break down of other means. As such, Satsuma Gishiden is not constructed to build up to duels and battles. The series takes a more tapestry like approach to the period material. Whether it is the equivalent of board meetings or tales the samurai tell each other and how they interpret events, there is a rich sociology to the work. This volume projects a crowd psychology and group dynamic as it tracks the support among the Satsuma for the flood project. During this process, it looks at how a cadre of swordsmen gossip about the alcoholic and mentally impaired members of a family and the brutal death of a spy's family. Hirata's pen and ink work on the series is remarkable, and stands out among manga the way a dynamically designed work like Mind Game might among anime. There is a mutable freedom to his illustration of people. They might be rigid and heroic in the manner of wood block print or loose and caricatured with the expressiveness of masterful political cartooning. His dark ink ensures that while there is a distinct difference in the shifts of design, there is a graceful continuity between the styles. The manga is not without its screentoned or cross hatched backgrounds, but these are rare in a work that is determined to give every moment a distinct visual context. Finally, following the large cast representing a complex class of individuals, Satsuma Gishiden is crowded with people. It invites the reader to stare at the complexity of each panel, and ascertain its specific micro-stories among the masses of people as they move or react to events.
Manga Spotlight: Blade Of The Immortal Volume 16: Shortcut by Hiroaki Samura Released by Dark Horse Manga
This stretch of Blade of the Immortal is so far a-field from what was compelling about the series that one has to wonder what Samura's motivations were. Was he experimenting? Was he deconstructing the genre? Was he trying to shake a franchise that was no longer holding his attention? What is evident is that Samura introduced a conscious shift in the series, almost effectively stripping it of the characters and situations readers came to expect. By no means is the latest block of Blade of the Immortal inferior manga, but it may be short of what reader would hope for in the work. The manga started with a series of duels. Manji, a ronin gifted with near immortality due to an infection of wound knitting blood worms, acted as the vengeance proxy for Rin, a young woman whose parents were slaughtered by the renegade Itto-Ryu swords school. They would square off against foes and, in theory, Rin would get to scratch a name off her target list and Manji would mark his personal register, balancing the evil deeds of his past. And that initially seemed to be the case when tracking down foes like the freakish Sabato Kuroi (Black Sabbath), a murderer, rapist and necrophiliac who sewed the heads of two dead women onto his shoulders. But, as the series progressed, the morality of the confrontations between Rin, Manji and these Itto-Ryu swordsmen, as well as their leader became murkier. The format likewise becomes less predictable and less "arc" bound. Regardless of whether the series was formatted around a single duel, a single situation, or a more free-flows cascade of events, the three tenants of Blade of the Immortal have been interesting characters, interesting confrontations, and interesting illustration techniques. The volume does spend some time with two of the newer, captivating characters; namely Doa: a diminutive woman with a facial tattoo situated next to her mouth that looks like a lobster claw holding a star (correction: it's pretty much the Ainu flag), and a personality that seems to be pathologically violent and abrasive, and Isaku, Doa's hulking Ainu companion. This pair of wild creatures is transitioned into a more domestic context, and it's more or less played for laughs. The movement is too natural and truthful to be zany or sitcom, but the tone is markedly light for Blade of the Immortal. Samura has a gift for constructing the personalities of this sort of Edo era urban drifter, but where as Samura was previously quick to establish the operating principle behind his characters, Doa and Isaku are a deliberate mystery. The time here is simply a tease. Hyakurin of the Suicide Squad style Mugai-ryu also receives attention, but again, Samura is building towards future developments rather than putting something substantial into this volume. With Manji positioned more as an object than an active force in this volume, Rin unaware of any course of action, and the Itto-Ryu outside the field of vision, the drama really focuses on tertiary characters. The characters in action for most of the volume are a pair of doctors laboring with their heads' on the shogun's chopping block to solve the mystery behind Manji's immortality. Like the other characters of Blade of the Immortal, these doctors are talented mavericks, but there are fundamental differences between experimental scientists and wandering warriors. Samura does attempt to engage the domain of these characters. He looks into the conflict caused by the introduction of Western medicine, he makes it apparent that these characters would be quicker to question the potential consequences of proposed courses of action, and he attempts to created elements of a medical thriller in the mold of Tezuka's Black Jack. However, in order to set the stage for that sort of doctor driven drama, Samura has put the operating principles of samurai fiction on hold. Scientific method, even rushed scientific method, doesn't mix with the movement and battles of wills and swords expectation from the samurai mode of period fiction. Samura admirably gives the more prominent doctor a fractured persona without turning him into a mad scientist. Yet, so many characters in Blade of the Immortal have so much charisma, that this shaky geek seems out of his depth. Blade of the Immortal features such a large cast of people who not only do interesting things with weapons, but demonstrate fascinating personal philosophies that this character seems underwhelming. Maybe it's just a case of delayed gratification, but as a reader, it seems that focusing on the doctors is an unwelcome divergence from the Rin,Doa and Isaku and Hyakurin threads. Locking the narrative into a room with the doctors is a bold, alternative direction for the series, but one that flies in the face of its three tenants. As the cover indicates, Samura is still an amazingly innovative and evocative illustrator, but his work suffers in the new context. He's forced into some really obtuse choreography in order to do something dynamic in the enclosed space he allows himself. Samura previously captured the right moments of reference in rather reality stretching circumstances to make the events look gravity bound and real. Characters jump from trees or prop themselves between building, and Samura handles it without turning the Blade into Ruruoni Kenshin. In tight quarters, a character jumping onto a table or tossing a sword in an arced trajectory doesn't look smooth or plausible. Even before the story cements its room bound environment, he runs into trouble. The volume opens with a surprise rush 'n attack in which a pair of characters leap to put knifes to each other's throats. The transformation of expressions, the murderous or frantic look in the characters' eyes, the detail in poses, how the characters hold and move their weapons, the keen direction of angles, its all vintage Samura. Yet, framed by the interior of a building, a leaping take down looks like a ridiculously unnecessary flourish, unsuited for the work.
Anime Spotlight: Basilisk Volume 4 Released by FUNimation
Even though there are four versions of ninja clan feud-to-the-death Basilisk (anime, manga, novel, live action movie), each goes for its own effect. The novel is a tight, for the genre, well reasoned ninja warfare rush that is surprisingly mobile. The manga is a viscous, blood, flesh, and death exploitation fest. The movie exerts some effort establishing the world of super-powered ninja in live action, and more effort establishing a X-Men style comic book relevance. Rather than the speed, the rationale, or the sizzle, the Basilisk anime is evidently directing its energies towards putting together tragic deaths. Basilisk has to overcome the issue that it is not obvious that one would/should care about these characters meeting their fates. These aren't characters sent to their doom at the end of a long journey, or in a shockingly abbreviated fashion. They are constructed to die in a scenario explicitly constructed to kill everyone involved. Nor are there many who belong to character types that viewers typically morn. These aren't noble knight errants, they are ninja who might smirk as they push a knife into their target's back. If there was any doubt, this volume cements the character, who, if not positioned as the villain, is at least the most reviled of the group. Yet neither of the clans and almost none of the characters are white hats. Even the few who don't embrace the chance for bloodshed get caught up in the cycle of vengeance. Yet, despite applying a degree of cynicism to Basilisk, the forceful insistence that these characters matter and that their deaths should have an impact, does, at times, become effective. Despite being forced, escapist tragedy, eventually the mournful characters dominating the screen sell their woes. The anime both inflates the moments of characters sinking into their situation, and compared to the novel and manga, adds material to expand on the emotional history behind the characters' reactions. The anime labors to earn sufficient deaths for its characters in a smaller space than what is generally afforded. It accomplishes this by being sentimental, and by indicting the circumstances. When the situation is bad enough and unfair enough, even the ruthless characters become sympathetic and pitiable. Director Fumitomo Kizaki still can't do fight scene pacing and has trouble hiding short cuts in the animation (there's an abundance of obscured, static objects moved across the screen, including one really obviously case of a thrown crate that is just positioned across the frame), but his character animation style is well suited for the needs of Basilisk. When not clogging the flow of fight scenes, Kizaki's patience to settle on a posture and expression does pay off. Eventually it starts looking natural; that the characters are really feeling rather than mugging for the viewer. This volume has a scene of characters huddled or shivering in a quiet moment, in which frighteningly capable killers become despondent, that strongly conveys the frustration and hopelessness of the situation. He has some leeway based on the highly fictional nature of the characters. They can be explicitly obvious in their actions, such as a character skulking around a corner with clenched teeth, without tipping the suspension of disbelief. Having spent a dozen episodes with the characters, they have become convincing for what they are. Not mistakable for human, but realized in their own mode of fictionalized constructs. The character design is well suited for this purpose. The large faces framed by solid hair is adaptable for dramatic effect, either to reflect light in dark scenes, or to be emphasized by shadows in daylight. Of note to Basilisk fans, this version features an invented flashback episode with the characters in peace time. It serves little purpose other than filling space, but it does afford the animators the opportunity to have some fun with the cast, and it isn't unenjoyable in and of itself. More than anything, Gonzo uses the chance to put some cuteness into the dark series, including mirco-ized versions of the leads. The episode doesn't offer much in the way of original information or insight, worst still for a very visual series, it almost completely forgoes the opportunity to try of new or varied character design. An interesting point of the original novel was that the same programs that were producing the two villages' super powered ninja had perpetuated a system of inbreeding that was dooming the two communities. This episode skips an opportunity to introduce that thread into the anime. The omission may have been a conscious decision. At least one other flashback implicitly suggests that characters abilities in the anime are not the result of genetic deformities. Feminist minded viewers may be bother, possibly seriously, by the series patterns of making female characters victims. At this point, the majority of the female characters have been made venerable. Of these, a majority have been paralyzed by overwhelming feelings of love. Characters of both sexes die badly, ignorable and/or brutally, in Basilisk. However, there's almost an implied hierarchy. While the men are made to look vulnerable and die by miscalculation, or overwhelming odds, or because they are ill suited for a situation, the women seem to die because it is hard to be a ninja, it's harder to be a woman ninja, and it's harder still to be a woman ninja in love. This is emphasized in that Oboro, the female half of the star crossed lovers, is the series' ultimate victim. This volume in particular ill-treats the character, who is basically the one innocent, and most subjected to the harsh consequences of the battle. In the series' defense, given what has been shown in anime, even televised anime, the depiction is at least marginally responsible given content. What is done at least advances the plot and the sexual aspects are relatively tastefully depicted. On its own terms, not the terms of the manga or the terms of the novel, the anime has come into its own in its latter half. From the beginning to the end of the volume, events progress, but the pace is deliberately slowed down by the accumulation of agonized death scenes. And there really isn't that much more to the anime. It hopes to elicit an emotional jolt, and having seen plenty of bad things happen to characters, and having seen the impact on the survivors, the anime does strike a nerve.
Highlander Anime Update
ComingSoon.net has posted an interview with Kevin Munroe of the live action Gatchman film, which speaks about the Highlander: Vengeance anime. The film will be produced by the studio (Madhouse) and director (Yoshiaki Kawajiri) behind Ninja Scroll. ICV2 reports that Manga Entertainment will be releasing the 80 minute feature on DVD in North America on June 5th.
Digital Meme To Release Rare Classic Anime on DVD
Digital Meme, the premier publisher of digitized classic Japanese films announced the upcoming release of a new DVD collection of vintage Japanese anime, which will included 55 silent era titles. The anime, produced between 1928 and 1936, will be presented in chronological order. The film will be digitally reproduced, and it will be not altered or edited except for the integration of music in some titles. Japanese, English, Chinese and Korean subtitles will be included. Product Format: Box set collection of 4 DVDs Total number of titles: 55 Language: Japanese Subtitles: Japanese, English, Chinese, Korean Region code: All regions Production: Digital Meme, Matsuda Film Productions Price: US$110.00 (US$40.00 per DVD when sold separately) Scheduled release date: 30 April 2007
Geneon Licenses Rozen Maiden
Anime News Network revealed (via contest) that Geneon Entertainment has licensed the anime version of Rozen Maiden. The first volume is scheduled for release in spring 2007. PEACH-PIT's original manga is released in North America by TOKYOPOP. The series follows a hikikomori shut-in who is drawn out when his life becomes tangled up with a conflict between living dolls. The press release indicates that the license includes the 12-episodes Rozen Maiden, the 12 episode follow-up Rozen Maiden : Träumend and the new Rozen Maiden -: Ouvertüre.
Studio 4°C's 'Deep Imagination' R2 Japan DVD Release
Twitch points out Studio 4°C's (AniMatrix, Mind Game) 'Deep Imagination' will be released on Japanese R2 DVD on January 25th 2007. The collection include "Dan Petory's Blues" by Hidekazu Ohara, "End Of The World" by Osamu Kobayashi, "Comedy" by Kazuto Nakazawa, "Higan" by Yasushi Muraki, "Garakuta no Machi" by Nobutaka Ito. A trailer can be seen on YouTube here
Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Returns to Cartoon Network Daily
Anime News Network reports Cartoon Network has begun airing Yu-Gi-Oh! GX season 2 at 4:30pm on Cartoon Network's Miguzi block.
New York Comic Con Announces Anime Screenings And Guests
ICV2 reports that the currently slate of anime films scheduled for the upcoming New York Comic Con include the director's cut of Afro Samurai, the premiere of Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society; a 35mm print of Shinobi; and a special two-hour the American premiere of Tsubasa. Voice actors scheduled to make an appearence include Alice Fulks, Christine Auten, Christopher Sabat, Colleen Clinkenbeard, Dan Woren, Hilary Haag, Jason Liebrecht, Jessica Boone, Laura Bailey, Luci Christian, Monica Rial, Richard Epcar, Sean Schemmel, Serena Varghese, Shelley Calene-Black, Taylor Hannah, and Vic Mignogna.
Death Note Anime Release Plans
ICV2 reports that VIZ Media's release of death note will be released with English language audio on DVD and with Japanese audio and subtles through online download distribution. Asked why the downloads were being released first, the spokesperson provided this statement: "In the case of Death Note, we recognize that there is an opportunity to satisfy the fan demand to be able to see their favorite properties faster than a traditional home video release model. We look at Download to Own as a means to satisfy fans who are at the forefront of these properties released in Japan and want to see the properties in the U.S. closer to Japan's release, and also as a means to broaden that audience by allowing viewers to try a single episode of a property before they purchase the physical product. We do not see these two distribution areas as mutually exclusive and believe that fans who want to catch the official version via download to own (subtitled version) closer to Japan's release date will also collect the home video (dubbed version) to have the physical product for their shelves and their collections."
Upcoming Terra E Anime
Ikimashou.net reports that Terra E or To Terra, the manga of which is being about to released in North America by Vertical, will be adapted into a new anime series. The anime is schedule to premiere in Japan in April 2007. Osamu Yamazaki (Gestalt) will be directing the project. The manga was previously adapted into an anime movie in 1980.
Previews for New Fist of the North Star Movie
Twitch points out that a trailer for the second movie in the latest set, entitled Fist of the North Star - The Legend of Raoh II: Fierce Fighting Arc is online at here. The site also features a poster here and a teaser for the Fist of the North Star - The Legend of Yuria OVA
Tetsujin 28 Movie Site
The site for the new theatrical anime adaptation of giant robot forerunner Tetsujin 28 is online at www.tetsujin28-movie.com. The movie will open in Japanese theatres on March 31st.
English Air Gear Site
ADV Films has opened a site to promote their release of the Air Gear anime at a href="http://www.airgeartv.com/">www.airgeartv.com
Robotech News
From The (Unofficial) Robotech Reporters Palladium Book founder Kevin Siembieda has posted the follwing about Robotech in his forums: Robotech RPG: Contract negotiations with Harmony Gold were stalled due to a perfect storm of incidents hitting H.G.’s legal department, but we seem to be back on track in nailing down the final details. This is in large part due to H.G. attorney, Libbie Chase (my new hero) agreeing to continue to work on finalizing the agreement while she is still on maternity leave. Thanks Libbie, it is greatly appreciated! Things look excellent on this front and we are excited about doing new Robotech RPG books starting this Spring (May or June). In fact, we may exhibit at Anime Expo in California to promote the new Robotech RPG to the anime crowd. Should decide in the next week or so. The CD soundtrack for Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles has been listed for pre-order. Harmony Gold's response on January 3rd was "We are ironing out the details and will make an announcement when the deal has been finalized."
Manga Updates
Comipress reports Akita Shoten's shojo magazine Mystery Bonita announced that Etsuko Ikeda and Yuuho Ashibe's Bride of Deimos will be returning to manga. The original 1975 series ran 17 tankoubons and 12 bunko-sized books. Bride of Deimos is about the story of Deimos, a former god who became a demon as a punishment of his relationship with his sister. Now he must choose between his sister, a goddess whose corpse is rotting at the bottom of the ocean, and the living human incarnation of his sister. Sirou Tunasima's mecha manga Jinki: Extend was to return to the Mag Garden's Japanese anthology Comic Blade in late 2006, after going on hiatus in September due to rescheduling and health problems. Instead, Tunasima is crediting a conflict magazine's Editor-in-Chief with what the series removal from the anthology. Tunasima said in his online journal that he hopes to bring Jinki back. The series previously moved to Mag Garden from GanGan Wing Magazine. ComiPress translates Tunasima's comments here
Anime Innovation Tokyo Project Trailer
Anime Nation reports that a trailer from the Anime Innovation Tokyo investment initiative’s Atsuya Uki pilot anime film "Cencoroll" can be seen online at here.
5th Sakura Taisen OVA
Anime News Service reports that Japan SEGA / RED announced a fifth Sakura Taisen OVA entitled "Sakura Taisen New York - Himo iku" (or "New York NY.") The alternative history steam-tech (with psychic powers) will be set in the late 1920's. 6 Episodes are scheduled across 3 volumes.
Shojo Exhibit in DC
The Japan Information and Culture Center in Washington, DC will be hosting the Shojo Manga! Girl Power! "Girls’ Comics from Japan exhibition January 29th - March 16th, 2007. See Shojo Manga Project
"Year of the Fish" to Premiere at Sundance
Indie Animated Feature "Year Of The Fish", a contemporary re-telling of Cinderella set in a Chinatown massage parlor, will premiere at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival on January 24 th, 2007. The low-budget independent feature film was shot with live actors entirely in Chinatown, New York, and then animated in post-production utilizing a rotoscoped digital painting technique. The low-budget production was created on four Apple G5. Year Of The Fish will have its world premiere on Wednesday, January 24 th, 8:30pm at the Library Center theater, followed by 3 additional screenings at other festival venues.
Noteworthy Tangentially Dark Horse Releases
Dark Horse will be releasing a number of item of Gloomy Bear merchandise starting in late March 2007. Item including the irony laden violently cute design includes four different T-shirt designs (two for men retailing at $19.99, two for women retailing at $24.99), a heat-sensitive mug (retails $14.99), a journal (retails $9.99) and stationery set (retails $4.99). Gloomy Bear feature Boy Pity, who adopts a bright pink bear, only to discover that the animal is not free of violent urges.
Dark Horse will also be releasing Oscar winning animator Will Vinton's graphic novel debut Jack Hightower, which follows the adventures of a miniaturized secret agent who becomes world’s first living action figure. Vinton, the creator of "claymation," is well known for having brought to life some of the world’s best known animated characters, including The California Raisins, the computer animated M&Ms "Red" and "Yellow", and Thurgood Stubs for the Eddie Murphy inspired television series "THE PJs." Jack Hightower is created and written by Will Vinton and Andrew Wiese, with art by Fabio Laguna. The book arrives on sale on January 17 carrying a $14.95 price tag.
Worth Checking Out...
AniPages Daily's look at the work of Hisashi Mori, perhaps best known for animating episode 7 of Samurai 7 is an absolute must read. Patrick Macias has points out that Japanese Schoolgirl Inferno - Tokyo Teen Subculture Handbook can now be pre-ordered. Alt Japan touches on gross nation cute and Tokyo as a pop culture nerve center. It might stray a bit too close to "those wacky Japanese" material, but Irresponsible Picture points out Wired Blog's post of the Roppongi English manga dating guide. esternstandard has posted an interesting "The Greatest Myths About Japanese" piece, laying out misconceptions anime/manga fans might have about the Japanese language. ComiPress translates part 3 of AnimeAnime's Japanese view on English language fan translation of anime (fansubs) here
