MANGA REVIEW - How Not to Draw Manga, by Christ Reid and John Katz

As much as we love the big-eyed, small-mouthed citizens of anime/manga-land, it needs to be said that most, if not all, of what otaku like us read and watch is…well, mildly ridiculous. Deny it if you want, but you have to admit that your love for bishonen, mechs, and unlikely harem comedy (guilty as charged!) probably isn’t something you mention freely in mixed company, much less to members of the opposite sex.

This is why I’m delighted to have come across How Not to Draw Manga, an lovingly tongue-in-cheek OEL guide to the myriad cliché’s, stereotypes, and hackneyed plots that we’ve come to know and love. Chris Reid and John Katz come in with guns a’blazin’, taking on nearly every aspect of manga – the fact that there’s basically only 6 characters in manga (try matching your favorite characters to the formula – it’s truer than you know!); the inevitable fanservice, whether it be the moe characters (glasses, cat ears, etc) or just the dozens of ways to include a panty-shot into even the slowest story; and the obligatory “chibi”/adorable mutant animal sidekick. They walk you through all the clichés of character, setting, and genre, picking and choosing among them to create a frighteningly decent samurai/sorcery mini-manga at the end.

If I had a complaint about this work, it’s that it needs to be longer and in more detail – Reid and Katz do a fine job skewering manga, but they barely skim the surface of manga ridiculousness; I’d have loved to see them take on school comedy, gal games, hentai, and the otaku lifestyle itself.

Although the satire is pretty sharp, it’s clear that they absolutely love manga – “panties, robots, and brooding villains” alike - and just want to poke some much-needed fun at the art-form’s tired cliché’s. Highly recommended for aspiring mangaka, newbie otaku, and grizzled old dorks (like yours truly) too.

King City, Vol. 1 - Brandon Graham

The OEL trend continues with this work by American mangaka/cartoonist Brandon Graham.

Recently returned to sprawling and surrealistic King City from secret spy training in the mountains, sullen loner and “angry young man” Joe is taking on any spy or theft-related job he can find. Armed with a mutant cat that can transform into a living weapon or tool with a simple injection, Joe bumbles onto a conspiracy when he finds the mysterious buyer of a key that he’s stolen dead on the street. When the dead man’s femme fatal of a girlfriend hires him to spy on a weird cannibal cult, Joe realizes that the stolen key leads to something weirder and more horrific than he can imagine….

Although King City shows a definite manga influence, it’s clear that the druggy and dreamlike work of American and European cartoonists (Moebius in particular) pervades King City. Likewise, the plot has little in common with traditional manga-style storytelling, instead drawing heavily on the uniquely American hard-boiled style of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett (both of whom happen to be favorites of mine) along with a healthy dose of science fiction. Although a few of the jokes fall flat and the dialog is a little gimmicky at times, Graham brings a uniquely hip-hop and pop-culture influenced worldview to his work that is quite unlike any American or Japanese work currently out there – I look forward to seeing Volume 2.

OEL Review: Megatokyo by Fred Gallagher

Today I’d like to step away from strictly Japanese material and take at look at Megatokyo, an OEL (Original English Language, i.e. written by a westerner in English) Manga and webcomic by Fred Gallagher.

Nebbishy Piro (an anime and manga fanatic) and wisecracking Largo (an obsessive video gamer) are two Americans stranded in Tokyo without resources to get home. Being fluent in Japanese, Piro is able to convince his Japanese friend Tsubasa into letting the two of them stay at his place; unfortunately, Tsubasa’s patience soon wears thin, and he abandons the two Americans in order to find his long-lost first love. Piro is able to use his language skills and knowledge to find employment at an anime and manga store, and Largo is somehow able to bluster his way into a job as an English teacher at a local high school. An interaction at a train station puts Piro into contact with Kimiko, an aspiring voice actress - and roommate of Erika, Piro’s cynical coworker. Piro struggles to establish a romantic relationship with Kimiko, while Largo’s decidedly non-English language instruction at the high school (he spends most of his time giving video game tips and teaching his students to construct computers) puts him in the path of ninjas, zombies, the Tokyo Police Department, and a teenage girl who just might be the Queen of the Undead.

Gallagher has been able to take what was originally a one-joke strip and parlay it into a rich and complex - both emotionally and plot-wise – story, with a richly constructed world involving dozens of characters and a highly elaborate plot; in particular, he succeeds in making Kimiko and Erika into very real and complex characters that act as foils for Piro and Largo, rather than simple “girl next door” and tsundere (respectively) stereotypes one finds too often in anime and manga.

Likewise, this strip is a goldmine of anime, manga, and video game references for a western otaku – witness Largo’s self-applied title of “Great Teacher Largo” (a reference to the 90’s anime/manga Great Teacher Onizuka), the numerous instances of Mechs, several giant-lizard attacks, elements of harem comedy, and the inclusion of a loligoth (the enigmatic Miyo), robot girl (Ping, a human-like PS2 accessory) and magical girl (the awkward Yuki, one of Largo’s students). Gallagher is able to take these Japanese-specific references and mix them with American elements (ala zombies, video game slang, gunplay, and self-deprecation) to create a unique East-West blend of culture and humor; his depiction of Tokyo is a clever combination of real Tokyo and Tokyo as imagined by an American fanboy, a dense and sprawling Blade Runner-like metropolis full of huge billboard advertisements, robots, schoolgirls, otaku, and Power-Ranger-like superheroes keeping the peace.

Although I was originally exposed to Megatokyo through one of its print compilations, this webcomic can actually be viewed for free at megatokyo.com. Because it’s high quality and amazing ease of access (do be aware that the print version has a number of extra strips and sketches that the web version does not), I definitely recommend clicking on the link above to start reading. As I mentioned, the plot is pretty complex – so newbies probably want to start at the first strip; the FAQ and Story links are presently down.