Fine romantic comedy presented in comics

Maison Ikokku, Vols. 1-14 (original Viz English language edition)
Story and Art: Rumiko Takahashi
Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

"Maison Ikkoku" is a romantic comedy that focuses on Godai, a young man who falls in love with the manager of his apartment building (the building is what the series is named for). The manager is Kyoko, a young widow who is still recovering from the loss of her husband, her first and (so far) only true love.


The series follows the development of Godai and Kyoko's relationship, as it is threatened by romantic rivals, the general weirdness of the other residents of Maison Ikkoku, and misunderstandings that, if featured on sit-coms, might actualy make them worth watching. The readers also get to follow the emotional growth of Godai and Kyoko, both of whom really have a lot of maturing to do when the series starts. Although the supporting cast and much of the comedic antics are pure slap-stick, Godai and Kyoko are very real characters in whom you will become emotionally invested... and for whom you may well feel yourself misting up when their story comes to an end.

"Maison Ikkoku" consists of 14 volumes. As with all of Takahashi's work, the art is pleasing to the eye, the characters are all likable, and the humour is genuinely funny. Some elements of the story grow out of Japanese culture, but the characters are developed enough that the reader can nonetheless relate to all their reactions, viewpoints, joys and heartbreaks.

A quick search tells me that this series is currently out of print in English. That's a shame, because it truly is one of the better comic books/graphic novel series to ever have been penned. (Yeah, yeah... it's not a comic book, it's manga--blah-blah-blah. It's got panels, it's got speech bubbles, it's got sound-effects drawn in... it's a comic book.)

However, I think if you go to the library, eBay.com, or Half-Priced Book for a cheap second-hand copy of Vol. 1 of the series and follow it through to the end, you'll agree with me that it's an amazing bit of work. You'll also get to watch Takahashi's style evolve. "Maison Ikkoku" was one of her first long-running series; her style clearly developes and improves as it goes along, but even those rough first volumes are far and above superior to run-of-the-mill comics both back then and today.

(Note: This review and the Nine Star-rating is based on the original Viz editions. The current printing is in the "non-flipped" mode, and the books read right to left, back to front. The more recent editions gets Five Stars for Viz's butchering of what was a fine translation of this Japanese series. For my commentary on the obnoxious, cheap way Japanese comics have been increasingly presented in English since 2005,click here.)

Uzumaki: Making spirals objects of horror

Uzumaki, Vols 1-3 (English Edition Published by Viz, Inc.)
Story and Art: Junji Ito
Rating: Ten of Ten Stars


Horror comics are virtually impossible to do well. Most are either silly monster stories or are simply tales with twist endings ala "Tales from the Crypt" or the original "House of Mystery." Few are ever actually SCARY the way a well-made horror film or a well-crafted horror novel or short story is.

This three-volume graphic novel series is an exception to that general rule. In "Uzumaki," creator Junji Ito has taken what seems on the face of it to be goofy--a town cursed by evil spirals that are driving the population insane--and turned it into a vehicle for comic books that deliver genuine chills.

An example of the masterful execution of this book is when the narrator and her boyfriend are sitting in a doctor's office with the boyfriend's mother, who has become obsessed with removing all spirals from her body--fingerprints are spirals, so they must be removed; her hair curls, so it must be removed--and they spot an anatomy chart that shows a person's inner ear... and the spiral it contains. The reader actually shares the shock and horror of the characters as they try to make sure the insane woman doesn't see the chart and then proceed to attempt to tear out her inner ear. It's an exceptionally well-done bit of graphic storytelling.

I highly recommend this book if you're a fan of horror. Heck, I even recommend it if you're the kind of person who claims to hate Japanese comics. Ito's style shows only a few of the "stereotypical" manga elements and actually put me in mind of a number of Italian and English comic book artists who specialize in romance or sci-fi comics during the Seventies and Eighties.

'Line' is an interesting thriller marred by lazy translation

Line (American edition published by ADV Manga, 2006)
Story and Art: Yua Kotegawa
Rating: 6/10

Chiko, a typical high school girl, picks up a lost cell phone. It rings, and the voice on the other end tells her of a gruesome death that only she can stop, one that will happen in just minutes. Chiko ignores the warning, but the death occurs as predicted. More calls follow and the voice on the phone tells her when and where suicides are going to occur, and that she is the only hope of stopping them. Soon, Chiko and her bookish friend Bando are on an all-night quest, rushing all throughout Tokyo to beat the clock and save lives.


"Lines" is an unusual graphic novel that takes the standard thriller premise of the mysterious voice on the phone with a threatening of ambigious message and uses it to tell a suspenseful tale that explores teen angst, the twin dangers of isolation and dehumanization in the internet age, and the risk of being swept along by a thrill-seeking adrenaline rush. It also has a nice thread about how Chiko gains more insight into her self and her life while she attempts to grasp the situation she has been thrust into and why so many kids want to kill themselves.

It's a fast-paced book that doesn't quite manage to maintain the suspense to the end, but it's entertaining enough. Kotegawa's art is crisp--if somewhat generic--art is easy on the eye and makes the story easy to follow.

My biggest complaint with the book is that it's been shoddily translated. It reads from back to front, because ADV was either too lazy or too cheap to either mirror or re-arrange the art so the book flowed according to English langauage and publishing standards. I can't fault them too much, however, because they're simply doing what has become industry standard.

A few years back, some clever executive somewhere decided to market Japanese translations without mirrored art (books that read from right to left as they do when in their original Japanese) as "authentic translations." The foolish consumer bought into it, the publishers took advantage of the cost savings, and now the majority of translations available are lazy and shoddily done.

I don't care that Japanese books are read from right to left. English books are not. The graphic novel imports should be translated properly and the consumers should have demanded that the be so. (At this point, it's too late. Only holdouts like me refuse--for the most part--to spend my good money on lazy work. No one stood up and said that the Emperor was authentically not wearing any clothes... or, if they did, no one paid attention. Marketing once again won out over quality.)

[left]But, my rant aside, if the akward presentation of "Line" doesn't bother you, I think and you enjoy Japanese comics, I think it's a book worth checking out. (It's also might be suitable for that young teen girl in your household who is into mysteries and manga.)

Picture Perfect Wednesday:Merry Christmas from Kosuke Fujishima

This drawing originally appeared as a splash page for Japanese writer/artist's classic police comedy comic book "You're Under Arrest!"

"You're Under Arrest!" remains my favorite Kosuke Fujishima creation. Sadly, a complete English translation of the series was never published, and I doubt we'll ever see one. If we do, it will be a sloppily done one, since they've long since stopped doing proper translations of Japanese comics. (And a "proper" translation involves mirroring and rearranging the art... English is NOT read from right to left and comic book fans are letting themselves be ripped off by accepting the shoddy and lazy efforts being put forth by publishers. Can't blame the publishers, though... if readers are willing to pay for crap, then that's what they deliver.)

You can read all about the main characters of "You're Under Arrest!" by clicking here. The link goes to a section of my website where I posted an adaptation of the comic book to the "Big Eyes, Small Mouth" roleplaying game system.

Collections of Rumiko Takahashi short stories both delights and dissapoints

Japanese writer/artist Rumiko Takahashi has been referred as the 'Queen of Romantic Comedy.' This is a title that works such as "Ranma 1/2" and "Maison Ikkoku" proves that she richly deserves.

I've referred to Takahashi in articles as one of the greatest living comic book creators in the world. In this post, I review two volumes of short stories where she shows her range as a story-teller, especially when it comes to telling stories that aren't usually presented in the sequential art medium.



Rumic Theatre (American Edition published by Viz Media)
By Rumiko Takahashi
Rating: Ten of Ten Stars

Rumic Theatre is a collection of six of the finest Rumiko Takahashi stories that I've read so far. As always, the characters are likable and engaging, the tender moments touching, and the comedy top-notch. All of the elements that her fans love are displayed here, but we also find that she is capable of creating far more sedate stories than usually flow from her pen.

All the tales in Rumic Theatre are more down-to-earth than Takahashi's usual output, dealing primarily with the trails and tribulations of everyday people--all of whom are characterized in a believable and three-dimensional fashion--but that typical Takahashi magic is still very clearly evident on every page. What's more, the art in this collection is among the best she's produced.

My personal favorites in this collection are 'The Tragedy of P,' (which revolves around a pet penguin in an apartment building where animals are absolutely not allowed), 'Hidden in the Pottery (where reality, perception, and the dangers of gossip are examined), and 'Extra-large Happiness' (where a young wife sees her future happiness endangered by a gremlin that only she can see). The remaining stories are also of high quality, but the characters and situations in the three mentioned above are the ones that moved me the most.

Even those who don't typically appreciate the 'standard' style of Japanese comics should consider buying this book. If you appreciate the art of comic books for more than just slam-bang superheroics, you won't be dissapointed.



One or Double (American Edition published by Viz Media)
Story and Art: Rumiko Takahashi
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

One or Double is a collection of short tales that don't fit into any of Rumiko Takahashi's ongoing series. Unlike the first volume, which contained mostly recent stories, this one seems to cover a range of years, judging from the art styles. They're not all winners, but over all this book is yet more solid evidence that Takahashi is a master of the graphic story telling medium. Whether you're a fan of "manga" or not, there's no denying that she's a skilled artist and writer who deserves the accolades and success she has enjoyed.

Most of the standout stories in the book are, sports-themed. 'Excuse Me for Being a Dog!,' (a young boxer turns into a dog whenever he gets a bloody nose) 'Winged Victory,' (the tale of a rugby team that's lost 999 games in a row and the ghost who watches over it), 'The Grandfather of All Baseball Games' (a young man plays hardball with his obnoxious grandfather), and the title story (in which a kendo instructor is put in the body of the club's pretty manager) all use sports either as the backdrop or motivation for the story and its characters. The characters in these stories are Takahashi at her most charming.

'The Diet Goddess' (about a girl who buys a dress with the intention of losing enough weight to look good in it) and 'Happy Talk' (about an adoptee who embarks on a search for her biological mother) are two slice-of-life stories ala the majority of the shorts from the first 'Rumic Theater' volume, and the 'Maison Ikkoku' series. Again, Takahashi presents us with charming characters the reader can't help but care about, in stories both funny and touching.

Dissapointments in the book include 'To Grandmother's House We Go' (about a pair of hardluck cases who try to collect the large birthright of a deceased friend for themselves) and 'Reserved Seat' (a curious tale about a rock singer who is haunted by his grandmother and Tarakazuka). The first story is simply too short and it feels rushed on every level--the ending feels particularly unsatifactory--while the second is the only Takahashi story I've read where I felt no sympathy or good will toward any of the characters present in it.

Finally, there's 'Shake Your Bhudda,' a tale that is to very early Takahashi. It's clear she was still mastering her craft when it was created, and there's very little to recommend this tale. In fact, I feel the book might have been better served if it had been left out all together.