First Read
I really had to process this manga. I initially read half of it, put it down for 2 hours, and then read the last half. And then I slept on it for two days. I really couldn't make up my mind about it. The storylines are open, just like life, and it was kind of hard to accept that at first. I do like media that examines life through its most mundane elements and overlooked aspects. However in Cigarette Girl, I often had to look at the little details within the frame or re-read the panels to complete the joke or story. Then I would find some sort of satisfaction from these character's lives.
But at the end of the day, these characters are in the middle class, lonely, single, and floating through life. So ultimately; pretty relatable. Therefore I question why this was such a hard manga for me to connect to. I guess we all want to find media, even with the slightest bit of an idealized reality. I respect Cigarette Girl and think I'll give it a second read, because Mundanity is valid, dammit!
Matsumoto is definitely telling a story here, through this lonely middle class of children raised after WWII. He raises some questions about expectations of marriage and relationships. Early on, in the story Naruko Tsurumaki's Love (my favorite), there was a hint of commentary on a generational divide.
Second Read
I suppose this was a tough read initially because I actually do relate to these characters so much that it's hard to be confronted with such a "mirror image" of aspects of my life in a manga. I don't mind stories without happy endings, there's no need. But the lack of closure I felt upon my initial reading of Cigarette Girl was a struggle to reconcile with. I wouldn't say it was depressing, more so melancholic or lonely. Cigarette Girl showcased a niche aspect of life that we all experience, but don't talk about. It showed that people, at the core, really don't change. People just adapt. That's life, and it's really about being decent enough to get by.
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Just a note on some points made in class: I was rather frustrated by the discussion that ensued over Cigarette Girl. As I said, I feel the manga had a lot to offer in terms of examining the overlooked aspects of our lives. I think it's important to take in media that is not always idealized and escapist, with an open mind. In the case of Cigarette Girl, I believe it helps ground us and our own mundane lives and managing our day to day expectations. It's important to talk about the niche aspects of life, I believe there's a lot to learn in slice of life pieces such as this (and Abandon the Old Tokyo). We can't continue to (excessively) glorify our media and then claim mental health and interpersonal relationships are overlooked and underrepresented, can we? Maybe I'm biased because I respect media literacy, but it's important to have an open mind about the media you consume so that we can continue to facilitate discussions on these overlooked aspects of life and relationships.
Thursday, January 31, 2019
Tuesday, January 22, 2019
Ayako & Presentation Topic
Junji Ito & his contribution to Gore Manga is my topic. This may fit during the Alternative Manga (too early ahhh!) or Contemporary Manga weeks. This would best fit in a Horror Manga section, however.
To begin I'd like to discuss the circumstances under which I read Ayako. I've liked some of Tezuka's past work (Metropolis, Astro Boy, Kimba) but was wary of reading a post-war manga. I was worried it would be too "masculine" or focused on wartime troubles or not have a good historical backing like that of Mizuki's Showa. Boy was I wrong. I read a scanlation of Ayako but would definitely add this to my personal collection because it affected me deeply. I feel the physical interaction with the manga would enhance the experience.
I ended up really appreciating the balance of Ayako's political and personal stories, as they intertwined and supported each other for the better. Whenever Jiro's side of the story became a little grueling (I only ever slightly felt this in the beginning when he was spying on Naoko and her DPP meetings), the next chapter would switch back to Jiro's home life and relieve me of it's political content. But that's not to say the political content was bad, either. The political motivations behind Jiro's decisions and the people he worked for weaved beautifully with the Tenge clan's life.
Ayako is a fantastic manga, it was hard to put down and I read it quickly while making sure to process the detailed spreads and stories that Tezuka had to offer. Ayako is about a girl raised in a cellar set on the backdrop of post-war Japan. Tezuka's choice to make every character nearly unrelatable could have been a disaster and derail the whole manga; making it unreadable, but it was not. Ayako may have been our protagonist; in a miserable situation, but I would say that even she was somewhat unrelatable because of her circumstances. (But, as an audience, we sympathize with her the most. She is just a hard character to insert ourselves into. If anything, you feel more like a part of this depraved family.)
The Tenge clan is dysfunctional and disgusting, really. They abuse their women, shame their responsible men, and manipulate clan meetings to further their control on families. In fact, every woman has a tragic backstory or reason for their existence. Ayako is produced from Pa Tenge raping Su'e, Ichiro's wife. Ichiro gives Pa his wife in exchange for land! Foul! Naoko is involved with a DPP leader that is killed, Jiro is involved in the cover-up of his death. And poor O-ryo, she is disabled to a degree and from another one of Pa's "affairs."
In the beginning I briefly rooted for Jiro, I believed he too was a product of circumstance. But then he sought to kill O-Ryo and Ayako to cover up his crimes, proving he was almost as bad as the rest of the Tenge family. He clearly feels some guilt and responsibility towards the situation, however, because he later sends Ayako money.
Ayako has no concept of the real world, no concept of love, and even--successfully--approaches her brother for sex. Ayako's warped sense of reality is because of her upbringing, and I find it the most interesting aspect of her imprisonment. She even states something along the lines of: "down here is not the real world, we have different rules" when trying to seduce Shiro. We are then introduced to the complexities of circumstance throughout the manga. A character whom we kind of like, Shiro, is convinced to do something bad: sleep with his sister.
Shiro wasn't immune to the perversion and immorality interweaved within the Tenge family. However, I feel Shiro redeemed himself in the end when he makes the cave collapse because the family won't apologize to Ayako. This essentially creates a cellar for them to die in, a hole just like the one Ayako was forced to live in for 23 years. Again, we return to the concept that normal rules do not apply and Yamazaki's death is justified as well as Shiro sleeping with Ayako was justified in their situation. I like how Tezuka explored these grey complexities through the characters of Shiro and Ayako and their navigation of their life.
Ayako was an exploration of complete depravity, and I believe, how depravity is sanctioned. It's truly a sad series of circumstances that you can only watch unfold, helplessly, a bystander.
To begin I'd like to discuss the circumstances under which I read Ayako. I've liked some of Tezuka's past work (Metropolis, Astro Boy, Kimba) but was wary of reading a post-war manga. I was worried it would be too "masculine" or focused on wartime troubles or not have a good historical backing like that of Mizuki's Showa. Boy was I wrong. I read a scanlation of Ayako but would definitely add this to my personal collection because it affected me deeply. I feel the physical interaction with the manga would enhance the experience.
I ended up really appreciating the balance of Ayako's political and personal stories, as they intertwined and supported each other for the better. Whenever Jiro's side of the story became a little grueling (I only ever slightly felt this in the beginning when he was spying on Naoko and her DPP meetings), the next chapter would switch back to Jiro's home life and relieve me of it's political content. But that's not to say the political content was bad, either. The political motivations behind Jiro's decisions and the people he worked for weaved beautifully with the Tenge clan's life.
Ayako is a fantastic manga, it was hard to put down and I read it quickly while making sure to process the detailed spreads and stories that Tezuka had to offer. Ayako is about a girl raised in a cellar set on the backdrop of post-war Japan. Tezuka's choice to make every character nearly unrelatable could have been a disaster and derail the whole manga; making it unreadable, but it was not. Ayako may have been our protagonist; in a miserable situation, but I would say that even she was somewhat unrelatable because of her circumstances. (But, as an audience, we sympathize with her the most. She is just a hard character to insert ourselves into. If anything, you feel more like a part of this depraved family.)
The Tenge clan is dysfunctional and disgusting, really. They abuse their women, shame their responsible men, and manipulate clan meetings to further their control on families. In fact, every woman has a tragic backstory or reason for their existence. Ayako is produced from Pa Tenge raping Su'e, Ichiro's wife. Ichiro gives Pa his wife in exchange for land! Foul! Naoko is involved with a DPP leader that is killed, Jiro is involved in the cover-up of his death. And poor O-ryo, she is disabled to a degree and from another one of Pa's "affairs."
In the beginning I briefly rooted for Jiro, I believed he too was a product of circumstance. But then he sought to kill O-Ryo and Ayako to cover up his crimes, proving he was almost as bad as the rest of the Tenge family. He clearly feels some guilt and responsibility towards the situation, however, because he later sends Ayako money.
Ayako has no concept of the real world, no concept of love, and even--successfully--approaches her brother for sex. Ayako's warped sense of reality is because of her upbringing, and I find it the most interesting aspect of her imprisonment. She even states something along the lines of: "down here is not the real world, we have different rules" when trying to seduce Shiro. We are then introduced to the complexities of circumstance throughout the manga. A character whom we kind of like, Shiro, is convinced to do something bad: sleep with his sister.
Shiro wasn't immune to the perversion and immorality interweaved within the Tenge family. However, I feel Shiro redeemed himself in the end when he makes the cave collapse because the family won't apologize to Ayako. This essentially creates a cellar for them to die in, a hole just like the one Ayako was forced to live in for 23 years. Again, we return to the concept that normal rules do not apply and Yamazaki's death is justified as well as Shiro sleeping with Ayako was justified in their situation. I like how Tezuka explored these grey complexities through the characters of Shiro and Ayako and their navigation of their life.
Ayako was an exploration of complete depravity, and I believe, how depravity is sanctioned. It's truly a sad series of circumstances that you can only watch unfold, helplessly, a bystander.
Monday, January 21, 2019
Japanese Magical Realism & Shigeru Mizuki
A style of storytelling I have always been interested in is Magical Realism. It was explored in Miss Hokusai (2015); with yōkai being involved--quite casually--into the main plot line; and further expanded upon in Shigeru Mizuki's Showa as yōkai are credited to having influence on real events. It is the Japanese's particular translation of this concept into their media that has always piqued my interest and I believe is at the heart of most of their stories. Japanese folklore is really interweaved into their reality and is on a level of coexistence, something that you may (come close to) see in Frida Kahlo's work or diaries. This is a concept that Mizuki continually conveyed in his work until his death. If we examine the story of Princess Mononoke, the lore of the forest and the health of the people is clearly connected. In Miss Hokusai, the introduction to the yōkai world through the courtesan's Rokurokubi yokai was so sudden and casual, it took me by surprise. However, this shows how related our reality and the afterlife are connected in Japanese media.
In a daze, Mizuki explains during one of his daydreams that yōkai have one soul and humans are two soul beings. This is why it is hard for us to transfer between worlds, and easy for the yōkai. In this daydream, he cuts a deal to become a one-soul being, but he learns that by doing this, he can no longer communicate with his family. The daydream came about because he wanted to flee his modern obligations due to his success in life. He ends this chapter with a lovely lesson, "I thought I could escape my hardships drawing comics. But then became what I wanted to escape from. Still, hard as it is... it's a life I want to go on living." He again reflects on these thoughts when he recalls on Tobetoro and the people of New Guinea. He says of them "They are at peace with being alive."
A struggle of abundance is a problem, that can be argued, to be created by modern society and success. People fight to get to the top, but once they have it, they get crushed under the pressure. To escape from it, requires a convoluted series of actions and a reversal of that success. Why would anyone want that? It's confusing but it is also a very human struggle. Mizuki approached this complex concept by escaping to an alternate plane of existence, a justifiable action when confronted with such a conflicting series of emotions as he was previously a starving artist. I feel like this chapter in particular is one many can relate to.
To connect back to Miss Hokusai, O-Ei reflects on life as she speaks to O-Nao through the clouds. She says something, "This life may be nothing special, but at least we're enjoying it." O-Ei never ends up with Hatsugoro, O-Nao dies, and Tetsuzo never lives to be 100. I interpret these last few lines to mean that life doesn't always work out how it's suppose to.
In a daze, Mizuki explains during one of his daydreams that yōkai have one soul and humans are two soul beings. This is why it is hard for us to transfer between worlds, and easy for the yōkai. In this daydream, he cuts a deal to become a one-soul being, but he learns that by doing this, he can no longer communicate with his family. The daydream came about because he wanted to flee his modern obligations due to his success in life. He ends this chapter with a lovely lesson, "I thought I could escape my hardships drawing comics. But then became what I wanted to escape from. Still, hard as it is... it's a life I want to go on living." He again reflects on these thoughts when he recalls on Tobetoro and the people of New Guinea. He says of them "They are at peace with being alive."
A struggle of abundance is a problem, that can be argued, to be created by modern society and success. People fight to get to the top, but once they have it, they get crushed under the pressure. To escape from it, requires a convoluted series of actions and a reversal of that success. Why would anyone want that? It's confusing but it is also a very human struggle. Mizuki approached this complex concept by escaping to an alternate plane of existence, a justifiable action when confronted with such a conflicting series of emotions as he was previously a starving artist. I feel like this chapter in particular is one many can relate to.
To connect back to Miss Hokusai, O-Ei reflects on life as she speaks to O-Nao through the clouds. She says something, "This life may be nothing special, but at least we're enjoying it." O-Ei never ends up with Hatsugoro, O-Nao dies, and Tetsuzo never lives to be 100. I interpret these last few lines to mean that life doesn't always work out how it's suppose to.
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