Comics Should Be Good! @ Comic Book Resources » Tokidoki Daylight http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com Comic Book Resources Presents... Comics Should Be Good! Sun, 22 Nov 2009 20:08:49 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 Tokidoki Daylight - After School Nightmare, Volume 1 http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2009/07/25/tokidoki-daylight-after-school-nightmare-volume-1/ http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2009/07/25/tokidoki-daylight-after-school-nightmare-volume-1/#comments Sat, 25 Jul 2009 16:31:18 +0000 Melinda Beasi http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/?p=26686 After School Nightmare, Volume 1
By Setona Mizushiro
Published by Go!Comi

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Everybody has some kind of secret, though Ichijo Mashiro's is bigger than most: he was born with a male upper body and a female lower body, something he has successfully kept from his peers for his entire life. Unfortunately, this secrecy can't last once his school enrolls him in a special after-hours "class" in which he is placed into a shared nightmare with other students. In the nightmare, the students are reduced to their "true forms," revealing their worst fears and deepest wounds to each other. One student, for instance, appears in the dreams with gaping holes in place of her face and chest, while another appears in a full suit of armor. Yet another appears as a pair of endless, disembodied arms. Unlike the others, Ichijo's true form looks exactly like himself, only dressed in a girl's school uniform.

In order to graduate from the class, the students must obtain a mysterious "key" which any of them might carry, and in order to do so, the students consistently try to destroy each other within the dream. The students' individual class sessions are limited by a cord with three beads on it that appears around their necks. When a student's heart sustains damage (such as through extreme shock or pain) the beads break one by one. Three broken beads indicate failure, at which point the student wakes from the dream and is dismissed until the next class. It is clear that in order to graduate from the class, there is something each student must overcome, but no direction is given to them regarding how to do that or even exactly what it is.

Ichijo's gender conflict is obviously the center of his own fear and it is fascinating to watch that explored in this volume. As the story begins, he experiences his first menstruation cycle which shakes his long-time identification as male and seems to be the catalyst for his initiation into the after school class. His loathing of his own body is paramount. "You're not distorted at all, Mashiro-kun," another student says to him after his first class, "even from the bottom of your heart." "She's wrong," Ichijo says to himself. "This body I walk around in is the most distorted thing of all. That's why I didn't turn into anything else in that dream. Because this body is uglier than anything I know." His personal struggle is complicated further by romantic attention from two of his fellow students--Kureha, a girl who was sexually molested as a child and now fears men (except for Ichijo, whom she now sees as "safe," thanks to his female sexual organs) and Sou, a boy with a reputation as a womanizer in his class who has secretly harbored feelings for Ichijo all along, believing him to be male.

The issues of gender identification and sexuality addressed in the series are really compelling overall, though it's hard to tell at this point just what the author is trying to say about them. It is clear that Ichijo associates being male with strength and being female with weakness which is a significant part of why he is so determined to live as male, but his ideas are being challenged from all sides which is terrifying for him but quite thrilling for the reader. These issues are not the entire focus of the story, however. For instance, one of the most interesting things about Ichijo, is that he is apparently the only student (in his current class, at least) to have ever tried to save another student during the nightmare--something which most of the other students see as extremely foolish.

The story's supporting characters are at least as fascinating as Ichijo, though still somewhat mysterious at this point. Their personal scars are deep and their positions with each other terrifyingly vulnerable, both inside and outside of the nightmare, now that those scars are being openly displayed to each other day after day. Some of the students appear in such distorted forms during the dreams, it's impossible to tell who they are in real life, but a few of their identities are revealed in this volume and that will probably continue as the series goes on. The emotional intimacy forced upon them during the dreams really is every teen's nightmare and though the full implications of that have yet to be explored, it's something I'm anticipating eagerly as a reader. There is so much rich material here to work with, I can only hope the series follows through.

Mizushiro's art is a true highlight, especially during the nightmare sections which are genuinely creepy. This volume has a somewhat sparse look overall, with a restrained use of tone and a nicely crisp feel which adds to the tension of the story. The volume begins with a short section of genuinely beautiful color pages, the last of which is a poignant illustration of Ichijo standing in the shower, horrified by blood that has trickled to his feet, lending the series strong emotional resonance from the start.

After School Nightmare's tenth and final volume was released by Go!Comi in February of this year, making the full series available to English-speaking readers. Its strong art and compelling characters help to create a genuinely stunning first volume and this is a series I'll definitely be continuing as quickly as I can.

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]]> http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2009/07/25/tokidoki-daylight-after-school-nightmare-volume-1/feed/ 11 Tokidoki Daylight - Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 18 http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2009/05/26/tokidoki-daylight-fullmetal-alchemist-volume-18/ http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2009/05/26/tokidoki-daylight-fullmetal-alchemist-volume-18/#comments Wed, 27 May 2009 02:35:45 +0000 Melinda Beasi http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/?p=23786 Fullmetal Alchemist, Vol. 18
By Hiromu Arakawa
Published by Viz

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At the end of volume seventeen, Winry had been brought to Fort Briggs by the ever-slimy Kimblee as a means of controlling the Elric brothers, both of whom display how much they've grown over the course of the series by handling the situation with surprising restraint. Al, still locked up in the Briggs brig (yes, I just wanted to say that), carefully waits for his chance to escape while Ed, under orders to carry out mass murder (or else), chooses to put aside pride, bravado, and the ever popular lying-to-people-for-their-own-protection in favor of just straightforwardly telling Winry what's going on. Meanwhile, Lt. Hawkeye has discovered a chilling truth about President Bradley's young son--one she can't reveal even to Colonel Mustang. As the volume continues, Ed and Al encounter Scar once again with whom they must form an uncomfortable alliance, and Al experiences an even more disturbing encounter--with his own physical body.

Though it is a matter of characterization more than plot, the most exciting aspect of this volume is actually Ed's willingness to be fully honest with Winry about her role in Kimblee's machinations, something which he surely would have tried to "protect" her from earlier in the series. This actually puts Winry in a position to make her own informed decisions on well-earned equal ground, and though it may not (and does not) keep her safe, it gives her the opportunity to grow up just as her two childhood friends have, something which will inevitably benefit them all. Already her grounded fortitude is an asset, particularly to Ed, and though she's in peril once again by the end of the volume, there is no doubt she will continue to lend her strength to both brothers in the future. A romantic future with Ed also begins to feel inevitable (if undeniably distant), assuming they both survive, and this volume contains a surprisingly touching scene in which Winry gives her earrings (too dangerous to wear in the deadly cold outside Fort Briggs) to him for safekeeping, leaving him stammering after her. Arakawa plays this perfectly simple and matter-of-fact, which is somehow much more romantic than any labored, tearful goodbye could ever be. This is actually Winry's volume all over--another highlight being her confrontation with Scar, the man who killed her parents.

With each new volume, this series gets stronger and stronger. Arakawa's ability to maintain an incredibly complex plot with multiple locations and dozens of supporting characters, thick with moral and philosophical themes, while still turning out kick-ass shonen-style action sequences (of which there are at least two in this volume) is unmatched in my experience, and her story is as satisfying and honestly moving as anything I've encountered in any genre. I tend to consider Fullmetal Alchemist to be the most popular underrated series out there--tragically overlooked despite (or maybe because of) its massive sales numbers.

This volume ends with a sense of strong foreboding, as Al is trapped in a snowstorm, battling the effects of coming in contact with his real body, Winry is headed into a deadly trap, and Ed is stuck playing "human weapon" under Kimblee's watch. For fans of the series, this volume provides new revelations, strong character development, and some anxious anticipation of what's to come. For those who have avoided picking up this long-running shonen series, it's never too late to catch up. Head to your local library before volume nineteen arrives on July 21st!

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]]> http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2009/05/26/tokidoki-daylight-fullmetal-alchemist-volume-18/feed/ 9 Tokidoki Daylight - Solanin http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2009/04/16/tokidoki-daylight-solanin/ http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2009/04/16/tokidoki-daylight-solanin/#comments Fri, 17 Apr 2009 02:56:19 +0000 Melinda Beasi http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/?p=22985 solanin
By Inio Asano
Published by Viz Media

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Twenty-something Meiko Inoue hates her office job, loves her underemployed boyfriend, and gets frustrated with the endless supply of vegetables her parents send her from home which just end up rotting in her fridge. After her boyfriend, Naruo, casually suggests she quit her job, she actually does (much to his surprise), though this brings her much less satisfaction than she'd hoped. Quitting provides relief but not direction, so amidst hours of mindless vegging and video games (while attempting to ignore impending financial doom), Meiko turns her focus on Naruo's life by encouraging him to revive the rock band he left behind after college. Naruo's child-like excitement as he finally lets himself indulge in an old dream is enough to invigorate both of them for a while, but eventually the reality of the adult world forces them to face their limitations head-on and evaluate what makes their lives worthwhile.

Solanin captures perfectly that particular time of life when each of us is first faced with the question of whether to pursue our heart's wildest dreams or to instead seek happiness in less obvious places--that time when we determine whether we can (or must) succumb to a mediocre existence and what that even means in the first place. Is getting by day-to-day in the company of a familiar loved one enough, or must we strive for something grander--something that will outlast our meager human lifespan? These are issues that can (and do) persist throughout life, but there is something unique about those early years when it first becomes clear that it is even a question and the frequently paralyzing fear and uncertainty that goes with that.

While this could easily manifest itself in a self-indulgent angst-fest, fortunately mangaka Inio Asano addresses the subject with wry humor, simple honesty, and a real affection for his characters in their best and worst moments. He also avoids passing obvious judgement on their choices, letting their conflicted thoughts and frustrated lives stand on their own without (for the most part) inserting unnecessary drama into the mix. The downside of this is that the pacing occasionally suffers, particularly when the story shifts to focus on supporting characters, though this is a minor quibble at most. Meiko and Naruo are more than compelling enough on their own to sustain the story's momentum, even through its slower patches. Asano's understated sense of drama, bare-bones honesty, and thoughtful characterization take us back to a time when we all sought that intangible something--that soft, distant beacon in the murky haze of adulthood that, if only we could reach it, might somehow allow us to taste the exhilaration of freedom without leaving behind the comforts of home. He also reminds us of what most of us already know: the beacon is a mirage.

What this manga does not provide is escapism. There is no great purpose realized, no higher calling discovered, no deep secret revealed to carry the characters off into the sunset. Life's perfect moments must inevitably pass into the mundane, and though this might suggest pessimism, that is not the tone of this comic at all, which is perhaps its greatest strength. If there is something profound to take away from solanin, it is that there is no universal measure for happiness or success, and that a life spent searching for something greater may ultimately have less meaning than one that is simply unexceptional.

One of the most striking things about this manga is the art, which is expressive, clean, and above all, distinctive. The character designs in particular display the same course honesty as the characters themselves, with realistic body-types and average looks. There is not a single overly-pretty character in solanin, which is surprisingly refreshing.

Originally published in two volumes in Japan, Viz's release combines both into one double-length volume in the larger trim size characteristic of their Signature series, which includes two small sections of color pages, with a thick cover and high-quality paper, giving the book a nicely satisfying weight. Recently nominated for a 2009 Eisner award, this slice-of-life manga offers unique art, thoughtful characterization, and a refreshingly unromantic perspective on the transition to true adulthood.

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]]> http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2009/04/16/tokidoki-daylight-solanin/feed/ 10 Tokidoki Daylight - xxxHolic, Volume 13 http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2009/03/26/tokidoki-daylight-xxxholic-volume-13/ http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2009/03/26/tokidoki-daylight-xxxholic-volume-13/#comments Thu, 26 Mar 2009 22:58:20 +0000 Melinda Beasi http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/?p=22663 xxxHolic, Volume 13
by CLAMP
Published by Del Rey Manga

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In volume twelve, Watanuki's world began to crumble, as he was pulled from dream to reality and back to dream, without ever being entirely sure which was which. This continues in volume thirteen, but having been reassured that he is at least still human, Watanuki is coming to terms with his new fractured reality, determined to do his best by those who inhabit it whether any of it is real or not. "This may all be just a dream," he says to himself in the first chapter. "But to me this is my everyday life! It's important!" His new outlook gives him a fresh appreciation for the time he is able to spend with those he cares about, and he even seems prepared to place Doumeki in that category.

Presented with the news that young Kohane is being harassed for supposedly giving false spiritual readings on television, Watanuki is determined to find her and show his support. Along with Doumeki, he sneaks into the television studio where she is taping just in time to save her from being struck by her mother, whose determination to maintain Kohane's success as a medium has finally pushed her off the deep end. After a painful confrontation, they bring Kohane back to Yuuko's shop, where Kohane will finally make a wish.

One of the most poignant things in this series so far has been the nurturing relationship that has developed between Watanuki and Kohane, and in this volume it becomes clear just how much this has affected both of them as people. Having someone to care for and protect has brought out the very best in Watanuki, and being cared for and protected has finally brought happiness within Kohane's reach. There is a moment at the television studio where Watanuki allows himself to be struck by Kohane's mother (much to Doumeki's dismay), and though it has been typical of Watanuki to sacrifice himself for the sake of others, even when doing so actually hurts them more, in this case his choice to do so demonstrates a newfound maturity and thoughtfulness. Learning to care for someone and be cared for, of course, can bring as much pain as it does joy, and Watanuki is finally prepared to open himself up to both.

Though Kohane's arc dominates the volume, the most compelling story here is Watanuki's own personal growth. This has been building gradually throughout the series (especially since volume eight), but in this volume it is made very clear just how far he has come. What's most interesting about this, is that it has come hand in hand with the loss of so much of his past. With Watanuki's memories eroding rapidly, he seems to have become more conscious than ever of the present, as well as the value of the few people whose names and faces have not yet faded from his mind. At the beginning of the volume, he and Doumeki encounter Himawari on the way to school, and it occurs to Watanuki that being able to meet her is precious, which he takes care to tell her. It is Himawari, however, who notices the biggest difference--that for the first time ever he does not protest her usual observation that he and Doumeki are friends.

There are so many ways to look at Watanuki's transformation and everything that is happening around him. How much of his identity is inextricably tied to his memories? Can he create the best version of himself and his world simply by wishing for it? Is it shedding his past that allows Watanuki to fully become the man these people have helped him to discover? This volume offers more questions than answers, but it hardly matters when the whole thing is filled with scenes like this:

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Even in a manga as complex and layered as xxxHolic, it is nearly impossible not to be just simply charmed by Watanuki and Doumeki's reluctant friendship, especially now as it becomes more lighthearted and obviously genuine. Though the true extent of their purpose in each other's lives has not been fully revealed at this point in the story, it is clear that for better or worse they are stuck with each other, and it is delightful to see Watanuki finally relaxing with that truth.

As in volume twelve, Watanuki's dream sequences provide CLAMP with the opportunity to play with fanciful imagery, particularly with Yuuko's butterfly theme, and some of the images are strikingly beautiful. Near the end of the book, too, as the volume's most dramatic plot points are revealed, the art is both ornate and simply lovely, with charming details (like Kohane's dropped sandal in the panel below) that make this supernatural setting feel so real. As always, the life and range of expression of these characters is part of what makes the storytelling so powerful, while the curling smoke in Yuuko's shop keeps the atmosphere thick with suspense.

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Del Rey does its usual fine job with this volume. The color pages at the beginning of the book are particularly nice in that they serve as a reminder of Watanuki's physical bond with Doumeki, which comes in handy part way through after Watanuki loses his glasses to a dream. William Flanagan's English adaptation provides a wonderful read, and since this volume contains relatively few Japanese cultural references that require explanation, he is able to use some of his endnote section to instead clarify action in the television studio that might otherwise lose meaning.

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Like the previous few volumes, more and more the story is made richer by concurrent reading of xxxHolic's crossover series, Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, and not just because it provides additional insight into the plot. Even characterization is enriched by reading both series, particularly as concerns Watanuki, Yuuko, and, interestingly, Mokona, whose personality is more fully (and delightfully) understood alongside his Tsubasa counterpart's. Less openly affectionate and demonstrative than Tsubasa's Mokona (Soel), xxxHolic's Mokona (Larg) keeps his depths hidden under a blanket of teasing and dry wit, showing his true affection and concern only when it really counts. Soel and Larg are the inverse of each other in many ways, and watching their individual roles play out is a real treat.

On the surface, Kohane's story seems like a digression from the series' main plot line (though there is no way to know for sure), and since it makes up most of this volume, there is a sense that much of what happens here is tangential to the real drama that lies ahead. The real value of this volume, however, is in the character development, which is substantial. Though the volume will leave readers impatient for the next, what happens here is well worth savoring.

For an introduction to the world of xxxHolic, check out my post, Why You Should Read xxxHolic at There it is, Plain as Daylight.

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]]> http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2009/03/26/tokidoki-daylight-xxxholic-volume-13/feed/ 12 Tokidoki Daylight - They Were Eleven http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2009/03/20/tokidoki-daylight-they-were-eleven/ http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2009/03/20/tokidoki-daylight-they-were-eleven/#comments Fri, 20 Mar 2009 17:00:01 +0000 Melinda Beasi http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/?p=22562 They Were Eleven
by Moto Hagio
Published by Viz Media

Sometime in the distant future, hopeful students from all over the galaxy gather for the difficult entrance exams at the elite Galactic University. For the final test, they are divided into computer-generated groups of ten students each and sent off to various locations where they must survive as a group for fifty-three days without pushing the provided emergency button, which immediately summons a rescue team, resulting in automatic failure of the entire group. One group is deposited on a derelict ship, devoid of engine power and filled with dangerous explosives, which they must safely maintain in orbit for the length of the test. As the group arrives on the ship, however, it becomes apparent that there are eleven students rather than the assigned ten, indicating that one of them must be an impostor. Potential disasters pile up quickly, including an unstable orbit and the presence of a deadly disease, and in the midst of it all the group begins to suspect Tada, a young Terran (Earth descendent) with intuitive powers and uncanny knowledge of the ship's layout, of being the eleventh member.

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With the ship's mechanical problems and deadly health threat driving things forward, it is young Tada's story that takes focus, as he struggles to understand his relationship with the decrepit ship while also attempting to clear himself of the other students' rapidly-mounting suspicion. Despite the fact that his intuition saves the group early on, it also becomes the greatest point of contention amongst the group, and as more about Tada's own history comes to light, each revelation seems to point more clearly to his potential guilt.

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They Were Eleven ran over three issues in the Japanese magazine Shojo Comic in 1975. It was written and drawn by pioneering mangaka Moto Hagio, one of the famous "Year 24 Group" of female manga artists who revolutionized shojo manga, which up to that point had been mainly written by men. In the U.S. it was released in four "flipped" pamphlet-style issues from Viz Media in 1995, as well as in the compilation, Four Shojo Stories, both of which are now out of print (though the pamphlets are easily found on ebay). Lovingly adapted by Matt Thorn, They Were Eleven is an intriguing science fiction comic, featuring several of Hagio's most prevalent themes, including childhood trauma and gender identification.

Two of the characters in the story are species whose gender is not determined until adulthood. One of these, Frol, who is decidedly feminine in appearance (referred to hereafter as "her" and "she"), is taking the test because she will be allowed to become male if she passes, a privilege otherwise only granted to a family's oldest child. On Frol's planet, "men govern and women work," and becoming a woman would mean relinquishing all autonomy and joining the harem of the neighboring lord (eighteen years her senior), so it is understandable why she would want to instead take advantage of her society's male privilege and collect a harem of her own. Still, it's a little bit jarring that when the story finally reaches a point where it becomes clear that they may very well not pass the test, the only other alternative presented to Frol is for her to leave her own people, become a woman, and marry someone else. The fact that in every scenario her future as a woman leads directly to marriage is not a fantastic message for today's young girls (nor is the fact that Frol, the story's only obviously "feminine" character, is depicted as capricious and "simple") and it is this that dates the series more than anything else.

That said, in the midst of today's shojo offerings, it is refreshing to read a comic for girls in which a science fiction/mystery plot so markedly overshadows the story's minimal romance. The atmosphere of the story is extremely tense throughout, and the level of complexity packed into four short issues is seriously impressive.

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One of the most interesting aspects of the story is the various backgrounds of the students on the voyage, and what brings each of them to Galactic University. One student is the newly-crowned king of his planet-nation, who is taking the exam only to test his own abilities with no intention whatsoever of entering the university. Another is a half-cyborg, whose body was created to test out a potential cure for his planet's deadly disease--one which kills every person on the planet by the age of thirty. Tada, whose parents both died when he was very young, seeks to make a way for himself out of the care of the Elder who adopted him. Each of the students has a rich backstory, some of which are only hinted at in this very short series, and each has his own personal determination to pass the final test. As the ship's trajectory pulls them further towards certain death, it is the prospect of failure that terrifies and energizes most of these students rather than the growing risk to their lives, pushing the stakes to a place much higher than mere survival.

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What is difficult to appreciate now is just how revolutionary Hagio's art (and that of the others in the Year 24 Group) was at the time, as she eschewed the standard rectangle panel layouts of the day for innovative designs that were as vital to the tone and emotion of the story as the characters' dialogue and facial expressions. This kind of drawing is common today, not just in shojo manga, and it's difficult to imagine otherwise. Perhaps what is easier to note is that the art itself does not seem at all dated, and that alone is quite telling.

Something this manga brings to mind is the question of how much significance there is today in Japanese demographic categories, at least when importing manga to the west. In the case of We Were Eleven, for instance, it is difficult to determine just who wouldn't be interested in the story in terms of gender demographics. Its science fiction setting, mystery plot, and even the very small glimmer of romance seem very much in line with works enjoyed by girls, boys, women, and men alike, and even for western comics fans only the characters' oversized eyes are evidence of anything stereotypically Japanese. Reminiscent of the short stories of Ray Bradbury or Zenna Henderson, this comic uses the thrilling mysteries of space fantasy to provide food for thought about humanity and how we relate to and survive with each other.

For a glimpse into classic manga that is fast-paced, wrought with tension, emotionally compelling, and a pleasure to look at, Moto Hagio's They Were Eleven offers the perfect, bite-sized package.

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]]> http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2009/03/20/tokidoki-daylight-they-were-eleven/feed/ 13 Tokidoki Daylight - Tokyo Babylon (Complete Series) http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2009/03/05/tokidoki-daylight-tokyo-babylon-complete-series/ http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2009/03/05/tokidoki-daylight-tokyo-babylon-complete-series/#comments Thu, 05 Mar 2009 21:26:06 +0000 Melinda Beasi http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/?p=22403 Tokyo Babylon (Complete Series)
by CLAMP
Published by TOKYOPOP

Originally created in 1991 by all-female mangaka group CLAMP, Tokyo Babylon tells the story of Subaru, the thirteenth head of the Sumeragi clan, a family of onmyoji (spiritual mediums and sorcerers) who have protected Japan for hundreds of years. Just sixteen years old as the series begins, quiet and unassuming, he is already an experienced and powerful onmyoji. He shares an apartment in Tokyo with his worldly, outgoing twin sister, Hokuto, who dresses him up like a doll in her hand-picked fashions. The two have become friendly with a local veterinarian, Seishiro Sakurazuka, whose surname suggests he is related to an infamous clan of magical assassins. Despite this sinister connection, Seishiro is mild-mannered, kind, cheerfully protective of the twins and repeatedly claims to be in love with Subaru, which draws enthusiastic support from Hokuto but embarrasses Subaru terribly.

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Despite a cynical opening chapter and the series' occult premise, the story gets off to a fairly light start and it would be easy to dismiss it as stylish fluff. By the end of the first volume, however, darkness begins to push toward the surface in the form of an old memory that causes Subaru to suspect there may be more to Seishiro than what he claims. This uneasiness hovers in the background for much of the series (only manifesting fully in the final volume), but as it slowly seeps into the fabric of the story it highlights the peculiar depth and Shinto-influenced ideology that has long characterized CLAMP's work.

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As Subaru performs his missions as an onmyoji, he encounters many sad or lonely people, some of them alive, some not. One early story, for instance, involves a childhood friend of Subaru's who has fallen into a perpetual dream state in an effort to escape her traumatic waking life. Another features the ghost of a failed actress whose love-hate relationship with the city has kept her bound to the main observation deck of Tokyo Tower. In another, Subaru befriends an old man who has spent years of his life fulfilling a promise to his late wife, desperate to complete it so that he may finally join her.

In one particularly poignant story, Subaru encounters a woman who is determined to place a curse on the man who murdered her young daughter, Mai. Subaru urges the woman to abandon revenge both for her own sake and her daughter's, and even calls upon Mai's spirit so that she can tell her mother what she truly wishes her to do. However, instead of angelically entreating her mother to stop, Mai arrives crying in pain, begging her mother to avenge her, something which Subaru finds himself wholly unable to convey.

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The primary message CLAMP drives home in Tokyo Babylon is that no person can ever truly understand another person's pain, and that the kindest thing people can do for themselves and each other is to recognize and embrace that fact. Interestingly, the character who seems to understand this best is Subaru, though he is also the person who most often tries, as he strives desperately to ease others' pain while generally ignoring his own. Despite his formidable spiritual powers, Subaru leads an oddly passive existence, dutifully fulfilling his calling as directed, though his personality is obviously ill-suited for the job. He works tirelessly and without complaint, his naturally compassionate nature allowing humanity's darkest corners to erode his seemingly incorruptible heart.

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Seishiro's steady pursuit of teenaged Subaru alternates between being sweetly good-humored and intensely creepy, and for those who find the concept disturbing, be assured that the dramatic payoff is well worth it. As hinted early on, Seishiro is indeed more than he seems, though the full truth about him is not revealed until very late in the series. None of the primary characters in Tokyo Babylon is especially transparent or easily placed into manga stereotypes. Each is multi-layered and idiosyncratic, and each lends something unique to this quirky, shadowy tale.

Though Subaru and Seishiro tend to dominate the pages of most volumes, it is Hokuto who is the story's unexpected gem. Fun and breezy, she initially seems interested in little besides in keeping Subaru dressed up in elaborately assembled outfits and nudging him toward Seishiro. As the story progresses, however, her real depth begins to show, and she eventually proves herself to be strong, compassionate, and kind of a bad-ass. It also becomes clear that her world is dominated by her devotion to her brother. "I wanted you to have something you would love so much, that you wouldn't care what others thought," she says to Subaru late in the series, as his world is unraveling around him. "Something you wouldn't change your mind about. It didn't matter what it was. I just wanted you to have something like that."

Despite the series' many strengths, Tokyo Babylon is far from perfect. Its episodic setup leaves too much room for unevenness and blunder, and it takes several volumes for CLAMP to successfully establish the story's real tone, which means the series does not really come into its own until volume four. Still, getting there is well worth the effort, and not just because Tokyo Babylon is a great read (though it is). This series also provides an opportunity to delve into early incarnations of the themes and ideas that have come to define CLAMP's diverse body of work. The selfishness of self-sacrifice, the murky quality of "good" and "evil," the pain of loneliness, the necessity of wanting to exist--CLAMP uses Tokyo Babylon to explore these ideas to the full extent of their skills at the time, and everything that begins here is carried through their later work, one way or another. This is not to suggest that they are stealing from themselves or just repeating ideas (though they do like to reuse their characters). This is simply the natural evolution of ideas as they progress from one series to the next, finally reaching maturity in xxxHolic, a series which remains ongoing both here and in Japan.

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With its beautiful, clean imagery and striking use of black, Tokyo Babylon is unmistakably CLAMP's work, though again, it doesn't show the maturity of their later work, or even X/1999 which began its run before Tokyo Babylon was completed. As early as this work is, however, the visual storytelling is extremely effective, with the same intuitive panel layouts and creative use of space that makes all of CLAMP's work both a pleasure to look at and easy to read. The artwork shines in black and white, capturing perfectly the stark drama and lurking melancholy of the series, and the story's seven volumes feel truly epic, largely on the strength of its visuals.

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TOKYOPOP's English language editions, released between 2004 and 2005, are very nicely done, with crisply reproduced artwork and fold-out color pages at the beginning of most volumes. This series, like much of CLAMP's work, is unmistakably Japanese, deeply tied to its Tokyo setting and to Japanese culture in general. TOKYOPOP preserves this by retaining honorifics and sound-effects (with translations in the back), using Japanese name order (surname first), and keeping as many Japanese terms and cultural references as possible within the translation. The detailed glossaries at the back of each volume provide context and explanation for western readers.

For fans of CLAMP's newer work, Tokyo Babylon provides a glimpse into the group's past which will be both compelling and familiar. For new readers, it is a great introduction to the CLAMP universe, in all its complex beauty.

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]]> http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2009/03/05/tokidoki-daylight-tokyo-babylon-complete-series/feed/ 17 Tokidoki Daylight - Mushishi Vol. 6 http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2009/02/23/tokidoki-daylight-mushishi-vol-6/ http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2009/02/23/tokidoki-daylight-mushishi-vol-6/#comments Mon, 23 Feb 2009 17:00:11 +0000 Brian Cronin http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/?p=22295 Today we debut a new recurring feature from another great manga critic, to join Danielle Leigh’s Manga Before Flowers and Michelle Smith's Blue Moon Reviews. To crib from her Manga Recon bio, Melinda Beasi makes her home at There It Is, Plain As Daylight, where she blogs about anime, manga, books, pets, and whatever else suits her mood. Melinda is a self-professed “stumbling writer, dog-lover, fiction addict, and mac geek” with a strong background in theater and music and a passion for Banana Fish.

Here is her review of Yuki Urushibara's Mushishi, Vol. 6!

Mushishi, Vol. 6
By Yuki Urushibara

Published by Del Rey Manga

Called "verdancy" or "the green things" by some, mushi are primordial beings close to the original forms of life. They live in every corner of the world, in many different forms, though few humans are ever able to perceive them. Some who can see mushi learn to make a living by it. These people are called "mushishi."

Mushishi chronicles the experiences of a traveling mushishi named Ginko, who has wandered alone for most of his life, studying and working with different kinds of mushi. Because mushi are so far removed from human life, both mushi and humans frequently affect each other in unintended (often devastating) ways. Mushishi seek out places in which coexistence has turned to conflict, and use their study of mushi to restore balance to the human world. What is unique about Ginko is that unlike most mushishi, he attempts to do so without killing mushi.

Volume six begins with one of the most poignant stories of the series so far. "Heaven's Thread" tells the tale of a young woman named Fuki, who disappears after grabbing onto a string she finds hanging from the sky. Ginko discovers her lost in the mountains and returns Fuki to her village, where she is greeted with hostility by everyone except Seijiro, who wishes to make Fuki his wife. Because of Fuki's experience, she has taken on mushi attributes herself, which could cause her to float away again at any time. Ginko is able to treat her with medicine, but most importantly, she must want to be human again, a task entrusted to Seijiro.

What's extraordinary about Mushishi is the way in which mangaka Yuki Urushibara uses stories of non-human entities to more deeply explore the complexity and inconsistency of humanity. Though Fuki's condition is caused by interaction with mushi, she is dependent on Seijiro's human feelings and actions for her existence. This juxtaposition of simple, survival-driven mushi alongside complicated, egotistical humanity makes it clear just how unreliable humans can be.

Other stories in this volume include those of a mushi whose faint cry foretells natural disaster, a man whose infection by mushi gives him the ability to control other animals, a boy who lives in an eternal snow shower, and a man whose family's famous sake is astonishingly similar to Kôki, the essence of life. Yet, despite the stories' supernatural premise, with Ginko at the center, humanity is always at the fore.

As a person who naturally attracts mushi, Ginko's can't live with other humans without eventually causing them harm, so he must remain on the move, never allowing himself to get attached to other people or to truly become one of them. This is Ginko's great tragedy, for despite the fact that he shares at least as much in common with mushi as he does with other humans, he is deeply bound to his own humanity. It is his humanity, with all its inherent chaos and contradiction, that guides him on his journey and makes his story interesting. Perpetually faced with the question of whether/how to sacrifice mushi for the sake of humans, Ginko struggles constantly with his choices, never knowing for sure if he is doing the right thing.

In volume six, Ginko's frustration with the choices made by people who are able to have what he can't is palpable. Seijiro's inability to accept Fuki in her half-mushi state, a man's reluctance to give up a destructive power, another man's inability to forgive even for the sake of his own daughter--all these people alienating themselves and others by choice is understandably maddening to someone who must remain alone against his will. It is in these moments, however, when Ginko's own feelings emerge unbidden, that he is most effective in his calling.

Mushishi's setting in rural Japan, somewhere between the Edo and Meiji eras, gives the series a simple, naturalistic feel, with the otherworldly quality of the mushi laid over it like a sheer film. Urushibara's artwork reflects this sensibility perfectly, with its sketchy landscapes and simply dressed characters. Ginko, like the mushi, exists as a specter in the human landscape, in his modern, western clothing that somehow attracts no notice from anyone around him.

Though Del Rey's production of Mushishi is top-notch overall, the greatest service they have done to this series is their choice of William Flanagan as translator. This means that not only is the story's English dialogue exceptionally coherent, expressive and rife with subtlety, but that each volume contains Flanagan's extensive notes in the back, giving the reader further insight into both the intricacies of the Japanese language and the author's choices.

With its episodic nature, it is possible to pick up any volume of Mushishi as an introduction to the series, and volume six offers several very strong stories that could be easily enjoyed even without a deeper understanding of the universe as a whole. For those seeking a richer experience, each of the first six volumes is highly recommendable. In either case, Urushibara's world is a unique and fascinating place which provides an immensely satisfying read.

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