Manga Hunter S: Volume 01 - Manga n00b - Manga Life, manga reviews, manga news, manga information, manga comics, manga webcomics, manga artists, Dark Horse, TokyoPop, Viz, Digital Manga Publishing, CMX, CPM, Central Park Manga, Broccoli Books, Del Rey

Manga Hunter S: Volume 01 - Manga n00b
Written by Steven G. Saunders

Greetings, intrepid reader, I’m Steve Saunders and I’ve never been a huge fan of manga or anime. For years I’ve seen this massive community spring up around the two. Though the respective categories of Asian comics and cartoons never really interested me, I have always felt that the people who loved them were interesting… fascinating, even. I mean, what drives them to go nuts over this stuff? What makes them dress up and do “cosplay” and go all nuts-o over videogames made in a similar vein? I like Japanese food and history, but that’s about it. What’s the appeal of manga? Of anime?

At first, I’d make fun of those people. They were the weirdoes that dressed up like Sailor Moon and were really into tentacle rape porn, right? What’s to like? Typical “nerd-elitism” on my part, I suppose. “Who am I to judge?” I eventually realised, “I’m into role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons and read comics about zombies and people who dress up in tights and go save the world. I also paint miniatures and play videogames that involve me saying words like ‘pwnd’ and ‘FTW!’ “. Who am I to judge, indeed?

My anime watching friends were the first to pick up on this attitude. They began to leave DVDs of various shows at my house in the hope that I would watch them. Sometimes I did, sometimes I didn’t. There’s always been some anime I enjoyed, like Cowboy Bebop and Blue Gender, but that’s about it. I had no idea that there was so much of the damned stuff out there. So, through some mild exploration, I discovered that there is quite a bit of anime to like, even for the picky, discerning viewer. I’m still not a huge fan, but I do watch it from time to time. I recognise it’s a huge genre of entertainment to get into, and that there’s literally thousands of anime movies and TV shows to watch in a variety of formats.

I also recognise now that manga is a huge genre unto itself. A lot of manga is used for the basis of many anime shows I’ve seen, and so it was only logical that I check it out. I’ve been even less than complimentary with manga in the past and know even less about it than I do anime. And that’s where this whole thing comes in! See, this is an account of my exploration into manga. I’ll talk about some anime, too, but Manga Hunter S is about manga mostly, just as the name implies. My goal is to read as much as possible, no matter what the book are about and give my impressions and thought in brief form. I’ll also go over what I have learned from the manga and anime communities, the culture, the terms and so forth. As I type this, I think I’ve only ever flipped through two or three manga books in my entire life so far, maybe. I also didn’t notice the different terms for Asian comics in general, like manhua for Chinese, manhwa for Korean, truyện tranh for Vietnamese and, of course, manga for Japanese. Let me state now that while I use the umbrella term manga, and that my focus is primarily on Japanese comics, I am also totally willing to cover other Asian comics.

So, sit back, get comfortable and relax. It’s going to be a fun ride!
(Hmmmm… I think I said something similar in my last All the Rage column.)

Upon deciding to take on the daunting task of diving into the world of manga headfirst, I took it upon myself to go forth and find the damn stuff. Many places carry manga and other Asian comics. (For the sake of expediency, I’ll just say “manga” as a catch-all until it comes down to specifics. Sorry if that bothers anyone.) Large chain bookstores, local comic book shops, online stores… just about anyone with a store that sells books or comics sells manga. My local county library also carries quite a bit of manga and then there are always my friends who are willing to pitch in and help out (thanks guys!). As a matter of fact, my friends are the most ready and immediate connection I have to the manga community outside of the internets. And the internets are filled to the brim with these “otaku” as they are called! Many have differing opinions with one another (like over, say, the term “otaku”, for instance; or whether the term “manga” is even appropriate) and I would be lying if I said they were not passionate about them. Why am I saying “they”? You are probably a manga fan if you are reading this, and if you aren’t, then you certainly have an interest in it, no? Sorry about that. Just what will I cover, title-wise? No worries, dear readers, I will do my best to give as much “screen time” to as much manga of all kinds as possible. Please, do not hesitate to email me suggestions (or even questions, if you like), for any help and comments are dearly appreciated!

Ooookay, so, I’ve tried to get as much reading in as possible. It sounds easier than it is, since I already read quite a bit of comics and books, not to mention the time it takes to get an All the Rage column over at SilverBulletComicBooks.com together. However, I am determined not to fail in this endeavour, so I will leave you with some thoughts on the initial manga I read. What you will see are brief thoughts on each book, what I think and the like. Nothing all that complicated. I would like to note that I’m having a hard time getting used to reading things from right to left… I almost wish the English print read right to left, as well, because I think it would make things easier instead of reading the panels from right-to-left but rewarding the words for left-to-right. No worries; I’ll adjust eventually, I’m sure.

(Note: For the sake of time I’m just going to give a brief-rundown on what I found appealing and non-appealing about the listed books. If you need more information on them, please follow the links given. In the future I plan to be a bit more descriptive. So, don’t expect the following to be comprehensive reviews… like, at all.)

Planetes (Volume 01): This was one of the first things people recommended I get, and I don’t blame them for recommending it. When I first heard about it, it seemed to me to a grand space-epic of some sort. After reading it, I realised it’s a great story about a guy who’s an orbital garbage-man and his co-workers and how they deal with life and such in orbital space stations. I’m happy that I selected this one to read first because it just went to show me that manga doesn’t have to be full of cliché Japanese stereotypes. I enjoy the stories, characters, background; it’s all put together very nicely. What goes on with the Toy Box’s crew in near-flung 2075 always seems interesting, compelling, or downright funny. I especially like how life in space is depicted: as a reality the characters must cope with. I don’t expect sci-fi of any sort to be overly realistic, but in certain doses reality can help quite a bit. Really, this is a real treat of a comic. Whether one is into manga or not, Planetes should appeal to anyone who digs a good story and fun science-fiction. Heck, my dad would like this. Overall, I highly recommend this title and you can be sure that you won’t be let down. If you have read it before, or do so in the future, let me know what you think.

Berserk (Volume 01): Yow! Well, I was looking for a cool fantasy title and someone suggested Berserk. Apt name, I must say. Not for children! The friend who suggested I pick this up is into some… weird stuff. Honestly, Berserk wasn’t as bad (read: nasty) as I thought it was going to be. I really like the main merc character, Guts. There’s some whacked, violent stuff, and I probably would have decided I wouldn’t like this if I had been told so before I read it. That aside, I’ll be checking out volume two as soon as I can! I find Berserk to be an extremely interesting and well-written adult fantasy set in a grim world of perilous adventure (and yes, you Warhammer fans win a cookie!). As a side note, I’d like to express my happiness that Dark Horse put this out. I suppose there’s another reason why they’re one of my favourite publishers.

Priest (Volume 01): First off, this was a refreshing break from the right-to-left thing. It seems that Priest is Korean in origin, and so it reads left-to-right. Already, I’m digging manhwa! What…? Anyway, I was already somewhat familiar with Priest because I’d blindly bought a volume for a friend as a gift a awhile back and had flipped through it before giving it to him. It got my attention then and it has my attention now. This comic is dark, gritty, moody and downright violent. It’s got everything that makes me happy in a mayhem packed supernatural infused rollercoaster: historical era jumping, fallen angels, guns, big choppy weapons, daemons. It’s damned neat. Also, the art is very cool… certainly dark and foreboding in nature, with great use of thick lines and shading. The illustrations help set the sombre, macabre mood with pinpoint precision. Seriously, I loved this and you can bet I’ll be talking about it more in the days to come.

Maison Ikkoku (Volume 01): Huh. Hmmm. This is like a Japanese Real-World in comic form or something. I had a really hard time getting in to this. Be that as it may, I’m willing to give this another shot down the road. I will say that Maison Ikkoku is NOT what I expected and seems pretty decently written and illustrated. I suppose after reading Berserk and Priest it was kind of… Oh, I’ll just stop. This one’s slated for future reading from a fresh perspective, kids.

There you have it, my first offering of this new column. Yeah, it was pretty introductory in nature, and I only glossed over 4 books. However, over the next couple of instalments I hope to cover Gundam Seed: Destiny, Cowboy Bebop: Shooting Star, Uzumaki, Initial D, Golgo 13 and Those Who Hunt Elves, as well as start to comment on what I’m learning about the fascinating world of manga and manga-like things. So far, so good! I’m really digging on what I’m ingesting. Don’t forget: I’d love it if you wrote to me with comments and reading suggestions! I hope you’ve enjoyed this modest first offering and please tune in next time for more of my semi-coherent ramblings.

Until then, dear readers…

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