Bolavage_AnimeManga

   Bakuman is a dramatically drawn exaggerated comedy about a serious 9th grader who wants to become a Mangaka. The first chapter is so appealing in how the artist is able to illustrate passion. In the same way that hearing someone gush about a topic they love (even one you may not understand at all)- this art gives way to the same feeling. The energy and excitement is contagious.    By dramatically drawn I mean its average level of detail maintains a high standard. It certainly gets simpler for comedic effect at times- as well as more detailed at important moments- but normally the detail and edge work is very fine and neat. Every panel without a closeup has a background- and the entire manga contains shading and textures.    The piece is exaggerated in both its art style and story. While a student who wants a normal life and has given up on a dream is fairly normal- the length this character goes to with explaining how impossible the dream is- makes it ...

   Mars was a really different piece to look at. While at first it seemed like the classic reversal of the manic pixie dream girl trope, (where a seemingly normal boring girl's life changes when she meets an outrageous and alternative boy who challenges her way of life), this proved to not be the case. I found myself comparing it to the breakfast club, specifically between the princess and the criminal. Both works forge the main relationships between the character's hidden similarities that society forces them to hide away. In short, the pieces show that these two stark role-fitting characters are people just like anyone else- and are more similar than their roles would allow.     I acknowledge that Kira is quiet- however I expected her to be the main character, while the story seems to heavily center around Rei. (*To be fair I'm on volume 5 of 15 currently) I can appreciate that Rei sharing his emotions is harder and more tedious because he was raised as a male- an...

 I've always been amazed by the film Nausicaa's incredible detail in it's inner workings of the plants of the world as well as the socio-economic inner workings of its people and the manga has gone above and beyond all of my expectations with these.       In the manga there are covers, pauses in the chapters, and little side sketches that depict how the insects and fungi of the Forest of Corruption work- from the steps of how they grow to the insects locations in relation to the humans. The Manga is certainly a bit more deep than the movie - not only because of the physical details of the world around the characters, but also in the situations that the characters are put through. Nausicaa committing murder in the very beginning was a quick signifier that this was going to be a different story. This story does not end so completely and so happily as the film. The difference that I found most interesting is this concept of finality/loss and how a ruler has to inte...

   After reading the first volume of Golgo 13, as well as Cigarette Girl, I started noticing a similarity between them. They both encompass an incredible contrast between their stories and art styles. Golgo 13 is drawn in a very dramatic and detailed matter- something that takes longer to digest and go through visually, while the story is that of an assassin for hire. Not exactly complex or new at all. Cigarette girl has the same contrast but in reverse. The style is very cartoon-ish. Very simple and appealing characters and backgrounds- very easy to understand visually from a quick glance, however the stories in Cigarette Girl are much more "real life" and complex. They don't have standard and easy to understand problems and solutions. In fact most of  cigarette girl doesn't have any solutions at all. The stakes are never exaggerated and stay more to real life, while this character's simple  goals remain constantly out of reach. This creates a much more relatable...

       The first volume of 'Phoenix' was extremely endearing. With early history clans, mythology, war, love, brotherhood, friendship, and magic- it made for a very interesting read. One of things I love to see most in comics and graphic novels (which I so rarely find) are small contextual bubbles or historical relevance notes regarding the situation. The Phoenix did such a wonderful job of including historical relevance, while also keeping the world magical and mysterious. I find it added so much to the piece and I hope this influenced manga artists as well as Tezuka's style and format.     I also found it a refreshing change that the character in focus would always change. At first it was a bit jarring as they kept dying and someone else would take the mantle of main character- however as more characters got introduced the story would naturally switch back to a different character for a time- giving the manga a very cinematic and congruent feel. ...