Anime Review - "Welcome to the NHK!"

Takahashi Sato is a “hikikomori” – the Japanese word for a recluse or shut-it, usually a young man that isolates himself from society rather than deal with the pressures and stress of school or work. A recent college dropout himself, Sato spends almost all his time alone in his tiny apartment, watching TV and eating noodles. Not surprisingly, he’s become a little nuts and has convinced himself that there is a huge conspiracy determined to him alone and isolated.

However, on a rare trip outside, he finds himself confronted by a mysterious young woman called Misaka. Depite the fact that they've never met, she seems to know a lot about him - particularly the fact he's "hikikomori". She then announces that she wants him to sign a legally-binding contract that would permit her to “un-hikikomori” him! Will she succeed or does she have an ulterior motive? Is she part of the “conspiracy” too? And will all of this convince Sato to follow his dream - designing the greatest dating-simulation video game ever?

Welcome to the NHK is little more emotionally complex than some anime, as it’s able to be both funny and disturbing at the same time - almost like a good “indie movie”. Sato is a pretty pathetic guy, but I found him likeable and couldn’t stop rooting for him; Misaka seemed sweet, yet it became slowly apparent that there was something very weird and unbalanced about her. I won’t deny that there’s a little to no “action” (i.e. no kung-fu fights, mech battles, or magic schoolgirls), so if you need something a little more exciting you might need to look elsewhere. Still, it’s a funny series and I would definitely recommend it to folks looking for something “mature” but also offbeat.

One last thing: Although I wouldn’t call this series explicit, it does get mildly suggestive at time, and the opening animation has plenty of (clothed) female body parts on display…so if you’re under 16 and you get yelled at by your folks for watching this, don’t come crying to me (hahaha).

The first 8 episodes are available from ADV Visions. You can watch a trailer here.

MANGA REVIEW: "Project X: Challengers: Seven Eleven"

Today, we're looking at......Project X : challengers : Seven Eleven : The Miraculous Xuccess of Japan's 7-Eleven Stores, written by Tadashi Ikuta ; illustrated by Naomi Kimura ; translation, Sachiko Sato.

*****
I must admit was somewhat confounded by this book when I first picked it up. I know that the graphic novel format is an increasingly popular format for non-fiction publishing (witness Andrew Helfer’s Ronald Reagan: A Graphic Biography)…but a graphic novel about the founding of the 7-11 franchise in Japan is something I never thought I’d see. It appears that Project X is a “business manga” series, devoted to telling the stories (in “sequential art” form) of various Japanese business ventures, ala Cup Noodle or the Datsun 240z.

As I was reading this, I couldn’t help but remember the 1980s, when America began to really take notice of Japan’s (then) increasingly competitive economy. This book is a quaint throwback to those days, as two Japanese businessmen (Hideo Shimazu and Toshimifu Suzuki), desperate for a new business idea in the conservative Japanese marketplace of the 1970s come across an idea from the West – the convenience store, embodied in the iconic 7-11 chain. Although the odds are against them, with a lot of hard work and a more than a little bit of that never-give-up “Yamato Damashii” (Japanese spirit), they eventually succeed in establishing the 7-11 franchise in Japan, even outpacing and out-earning their American forbearers.

The art is unremarkable and relies on screentoned photos (which is understandable in this reality-based work), but the joy of reading this book goes beyond the novelty of the subject – what’s remarkable is the enthusiasm, sacrifice, and collaborative effort put into establishing the company. Likewise, a lot of basic economic theory is illustrated throughout the book (branding, supply and demand, etc), so this might be a useful resource those seeking a fun and entertaining way to illustrate those principles.

2 REVIEWS: Densha Otoko: The Story of the Train Man Who Fell in Love With A Girl, Vol 1 + TRAIN_MAN:Densha Otaku, Vol 1

Today's victims are:

Densha Otoko: The Story of the Train Man Who Fell in Love With A Girl, Vol 1

-Hitorio Nakano and Wataru Watanabe

and:

Train_Man: Densha Ototko, Vol 1

- Hidenori Hoti

Those “in the know” (or those “without a life”) are probably familiar with the “train man” story that’s been popular in Japan for the last few years. For those of you who are not, the (apparently true) story is thus: while riding a Tokyo train, an introverted comic book fanboy finds the courage to stand up to a rowdy drunk that’s been bothering the female passengers – one very pretty young woman in particular, who sends him a pair of teacups as a token of thanks. Thinking that this is the end of their connection, he mentions this to some dudes on a chatboard for lonely single guys – but when they find out the teacups are actually high-end Hermes china, it’s clear that she’s romantically interested in him! Totally confused and social inept, “Train Man” must turn to his online buddies for advice on how to woo “Hermes-san” without letting his awkwardness scare her away.

This story has apparently struck a chord with the Japanese, who’ve turned it into a movie, TV show, and several different mangas – thus the comparison between the two titles. Nakano and Wantanabe’s version is a little more cartoonish and “slap-sticky” than Hoti, who favored a more mature and laid back approach, which I even found reflected in their art – Nakano and Wantanabe rely on the crisp, youthful modern style, whereas Hoti’s art has a more classic manga feel (think of Love Hina versus Maison Ikkoku) Likewise, Nakano and Wantanabe spend a lot of time focusing on the reactions and thoughts of Train_Man’s online peers/fans; Hori streamlines the narrative somewhat by not emphasizing Train-Man’s online conversations as much.

I could easily say that N + W’s work is meant for teens, and H’s for more casual/adult readers, but I’m just gonna say that the obvious choice is to read them both – not just to see what style works for you, but as an exercise in comparing art and narrative styles in Manga.

For those of you interested in learning more about the "real" story behind these works, I've included the link to a Wikipedia article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Densha_Otoko