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Reviewed by Barb Lien-Cooper My husband got a review copy of Ghost Talker's Daydream from Dark Horse recently. He read it, seemed interested in the work, but seemed uncharacteristically taciturn when I asked what it was about and whether I'd like it. Finally he said, "Uh, I think you'd like it…but you really should read it for yourself." I read it, seemed interested (and stayed interested) in the work, but had the same sort of reaction as he did, "Yeah, I think adults would like it, but they'd really have to check it out for themselves." We sort of hemmed and hawed about who'd do the review/article about it, but I decided that I'd do the honors because Park has about five reviews he needs to do and I only have one. Still, what do you say about a mature title manga about an albino (!) female psychic who just can't seem to make a decent living as a medium so she has to work part-time as a dom? I've joked to my husband that Ghost Talker's Daydream is for those who liked Dark Horse's Mail manga but thought to themselves, "The only thing missing from it was that there just wasn't enough BDSM." Yet that's also the honest truth. If you did like a smartly written manga like Mail but it didn't quite appeal to the mature reader part of your psyche, Ghost Talker's Daydream may be just what the love doctor ordered. The title is erotic, skirting the thin line between overt and explicit by just enough, as well as having smart enough stories, to make one feel that one hasn't just picked up an excuse for soft-core porn. There are real stories here, honestly folks. The author's skillful ability to weave the sexual part of main character Saiki Misaki's career with the spiritual medium part of her career is what takes this manga out of the exploitive pile and puts it into the "wow, this is kind of different…and kind of cool" category. Minor complaints: I don't like seeing a child drawn in even a slightly sexually suggestive way, and the cover, while rather innocent by some mature manga standards, just didn't appeal to me because I could see a bit more of a young (as in a child's) rear end than made me comfortable... Someone's skirt is a'blowin' in the wind. Of course, Japan has different community standards than we do (there's a tough but fascinating Comic Book Legal Defense Fund controversy about that very subject) and I'm all for freedom of expression in a free society. But I'd prefer not to see…well, you get the picture. I also felt that a scene played for humor in a transsexual bar wasn't funny…or necessary to the story. And the rape subject matter in the second story (although not exploitive or over the top) could have had a touch more sympathy for the ghosts of the victims. But, as I say, minor complaints. When a book takes the time to have a parental advisory on it, says that it's a mature title with overt sexual content, and takes the time to actually integrate the sex with the stories, as well as takes the time to make the lead character interesting and pretty likeable/sympathetic, I can't really call it exploitive per se. I also can't be against a book that has so honestly proclaimed that it's for mature readers and treats those readers as if they're intelligent adults---and not just hairy-palmed pervs. There has to be a place in this world for erotic works that treat their audience with respect, right? I've also said to my husband that the standard one should use concerning whether to read this book or not is what I call the "Savage Love" test. If you find the sex advice column "Savage Love" in the satiric newspaper The Onion to be interesting, entertaining, and sometimes educational, then you will probably think the same thing about Ghost Talker's Daydream. If you find any frank discussion of sexual matters in fairly mainstream media to be against your belief systems or if it's just too rich for your blood, then maybe this isn't the manga for you. I'm in the former category, so I'll be interested in what happens in the next volume. Interested in writing for MangaLife? We're always looking for talented reviewers and columnists, so drop us a line! Charles Webb Editor-in-Chief, MangaLife.com |
1 September 2010
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