#Jirou Tsunoda

[jariten]

November-December 2024 roundup!!

Happy New Year to everyone reading this! Wow!! What a year. But my personal year end roundup is still WIP so let's catch up on the months I missed instead.

I never shared my thoughts on the Who's Afraid of Kanako Inuki collection Kodansha USA published a few years back. I loved getting introduced to her but the selection itself I found a little bit weak overall but I got some more tastes this year with the Horror Anthology Comic Shikaku collection and found her stories to be among the best so I am totally open to checking out more. But what I liked the most about 'Who's Afraid' was her writings about her favorite manga and the artists who inspired her the most. Which pointed me to Ushiro no Hyakutaro by Jirou Tsunoda. Note that I didn't read the complete series but an anniversary compilation of some of the "best" stories from the series. First thing that struck me was wow, this is like Mob Psycho played completely straight. Some scenes were like the Reigen fraudster scenes but like there is no fraud because our hero's father does not fuck around when it comes to the supernatural, its serious business. And the second is how truly instructional and educational it is. It teaches the reader how they can train their latent supernatural powers, there's even a scene responding to a readers question on how to talk back to your teacher when they claim that the supernatural is not real, and presents genuinely thorough research on the super- and paranormal. In between these things is an exciting manga about ghosts, possessions, humans who use ESP for evil, and even a journey to the realm of the dead. And a sassy (telepathic) talking dog sidekick. I don't know if I will ever go out of my way for the full series but I'm happy I got a taste of what it had to offer.

When 2024 didn't turn out as yuriful as 2023 I made some last ditch efforts to read the yuri and lesbian offerings I have yet to read and Catch These Hands! by murata was an obvious pick. The series follow the instant inductees into my personal failwoman hall of fame. I love adult yuri, I love when both parts of a romance are equally socially incompetent but in different ways, and I found the conclusion to be really wonderful. Merry Yurimas to ME!

Ohayou! Spank by Shizue Takanashi and Shunichi Yukimuro is one of those like obvious Kodansha multimedia efforts that successfully sold Spank toys and related merchandise. But it's always nice though when the manga attached to these projects is pretty good and funny. I liked that Spank is more of a charming sidekick who moves the story along and sometimes gets to be the main character. It's not hugely remarkable beyond Spank's presence (and an abrupt protagonist switch around the halfway point??) but I am a humble enjoyer of tween manga like this that explores familial relations, first loves, and friendships. I just really enjoyed myself.

Price-wise I can't really win with Kazuo Umezz (Rest in peace, another great loss in 2024...) since his works go for premium prices both in the english and japanese market. A lot factors have made My Name Is Shingo one of the most expensive for me to collect in english but my godddd I'm too hooked. This is such a like not quite sci-fi not quite pure fantasy take on the sentient robot story that feels so unpredictable and is deeply suspenseful. Not in small thanks to Umezz's trademark art style. There's something extremely hypnotic about how Umezz constructs the flow of action. Had it been anyone else watching a character spend 1-2 pages just walking from A to B would be so excessive. The only word I can think of is hypnotic and suspenseful. And the spreads that visually represents Monroe's computer mind let's talk about those spreads. I haven't seen anything else like them personally and I can barely wrap my head around how they were drawn analogue and much less with a deadline. I'm very excited for the rest but will be shedding tears whenever I see the price at the register.

[tamuramachi]

Top 10 Manga Picks: the Origins of Manga-Loving Yumi Tamura!

Loosely translated from the Da Vinci Magazine August 2020 issue.

"Tamura has been creating works that span mystery, horror, fictional warfare, action, and fantasy genres. What kind of manga has she been reading up to now? We asked her to introduce the 10 works that inspired her to start drawing manga, as well as what she considers her heart's bible. Includes comments from Tamura herself!"

Yumi Tamura's Comments:

1. Cyborg 009 by Shotaro Ishinomori

"When I was little, I watched the anime first and loved it, and then I read the manga around the time I was entering junior high school. I wanted to be 003 and go into battle with friends in the same way. I feel like it was my emotional support during the period of my 2nd year in junior high when I was having a hard time and ran away from it all."

2. Lolly no Seishun by Kimiko Uehara

"When I was in the 3rd or 4th grade of elementary school, Uehara drew a lot of one-shots in Betsucomi ('Lolly' was a weekly comic), and they were so interesting and moving every time that I was constantly in a state of emotion. I think because of that, I began drawing manga in my notebook, splitting up the pages into panels. Dramatic & rich with emotion, the depicted characters by Uehara, whether men or women, are full of charm & utterly brilliant. The energy and willpower of the female characters is really wonderful."

3. Thomas no Shinzou by Moto Hagio

"Of course I love 'Poe no Ichizoku' & '11-nin Iru!' too. Needless to say, Hagio is the greatest treasure. When I was in the 1st year of junior high, my friend & I were crazy about 'Thomas'. I liked Juri and my friend liked Oskar... we talked about going to Germany someday. It links together my own happy memories. I'm sure I didn't understand everything Hagio was trying to draw, but in the end, even now I cry at the image of Juri smiling faintly in a small panel."

4. Hamidashikko by Jun Mihara

"To me, this work is like the bible. It relentlessly strikes the deepest part of the heart and brings forth a flood of pain and tears. It wraps you up in a warmth that's helplessly miserable, sorrowful. Sincere gazes and intense dialogues. The power of the dialogues is truly unbelievable. The way the dialogues are presented along with the drawings make the best use of that power. Mihara's careful thoughts are at the root of all this. Even though I'm already this grateful, I will never get used to it. It's just amazing."

5. Kyoufu Shinbun by Jirou Tsunoda

"This is the most terrifying manga I've ever read. It's so captivating, & even decades later, it's still ingrained in me. There are various scenes that I'll recall whenever something happens. My younger sister & I would look at each other & go like ‘it's that’ or ‘that one scene, right?!’ & it would send shivers down our spines. We're already at a level of trauma. It's uncommon for a main story line to be most interesting while introducing all sorts of horrors."

6. Hyouryuu Kyoushitsu by Kazuo Umezu

"If I was told to read a manga now that would make me cry right away, then I would choose this one. Particularly the last scene of the mother crying. This work is unbelievably fierce, grand, rich in ideas, & just too fascinating. And the themes are so broad & deep that it makes you think about many things. It's a rare transcendental masterpiece that will, in the end, leave you feeling comforted & positive, thinking ‘it was a good ending,’ even though the journey is extremely scary & painful. Also, my contempt for Sekiya is strong.”

7. Macaroni Hourensou by Tsubame Kamogawa

"This is explosively entertaining. Fun. Cute. Cool. I love it! 25-year old Toshi-chan is the best! He's so cool. I don't know how many times I've read this. I still say the lines out loud even now. This is a very popular work that I can only describe as fun. There are not many other gag manga that make me burst out laughing quite like this one. I love it!”

8. Akaaka Maru by Minako Uchida

"I just can't stop admiring this work in general. The drawings, the rhythm, the stunning midpoint [?], the ability to think in a scientific way. And the proficiency of observing people. I admired it so much that I tried drawing contours of people & handwriting with permanent markers & brushes, but my drawing skills were so different that I ended up with nothing but doodles. ‘BOOMTOWN’ & the short stories are also very interesting & fun!”

9. Genji by Yun Kouga

"Innovative, I thought. I could clearly understand it. Kouga seems to be the kind of person who has a lot of sense. I've always thought it was amazing how her work & she herself had leadership qualities of the time to pull others along. I would very much love to know what kind of ideas Kouga has in mind for the rest of this work, since it hasn't been completed yet.”

10. Nodame Cantabile by Tomoko Ninomiya

"There was a period when I was having a very tough time, & it got to the point where I was having unhealthy thoughts like, ‘Is manga even enjoyable?’ But then this work came along & I was like ‘Aah, manga is fun after all! Thank goodness, I'm okay!’ So, this is a super popular & famous work to which I owe a debt of gratitude for making me realize & genuinely feel this way. I think it would be the greatest if I could portray the world in a similar way with such thoroughness. I envy that power of Ninomiya's! It's magnificent!”

Additional side comment from Tamura (in the speech bubble):

“I wanted to include the Bijohime series (Hana no Bijohime) & PARTNER by Tomoko Naka too! (I think it's obvious that these have an influence on my characters.) Other works that also left a strong impact on me are Ryouko Yamagishi's Arabesque; Yuko Kishi's Tamasaburou series and short stories; Rising! (Saeko Himuro/Author, Kazuko Fujita/Artist); the Palm series (Yasei Kemonogi); Astro Kyuudan (Shirou Toozaki/Author, Norihiro Nakajima/Artist); & Dark Green by Junko Sasaki. Makoto Kobayashi's Judo-bu Monogatari & Nanae Haruno's PaPa told me are also excellent! There’re also many other works that I'll never forget, such as those by Shinji Wada & Udou Shinohara, which have all influenced me in some way. I've always loved TONO's Karubania Monogatari too.”

[fehyesvintagemanga]

tsunoda jirou

[fehyesvintagemanga]

tsunoda jirou