Week 14: The influence of Manga and Anime in the West

1. What is your reaction to the text you just read?
I thought this Webtoon was awesome and presented the troubles of growing up in a unique and interesting way. I liked how the author chose to represent childhood by magic and the structure of adulthood with concrete. The visuals of Ildeung and L being trapped in concrete walls really showed the pressures that parents can put onto children to be the perfect version of themselves that they wish them to be. I've never read anything quite like this story and really enjoyed it, each chapter desperately made me want to keep reading and I'm glad I got to.

2. What connections did you make with the story? Discuss what elements of the story with which you were able to connect?
I was able to connect a lot with the story because I have always wanted to be an artist but had to face the realities of it not being viewed as a "steady" or "adult" job. Much like the main characters, I was a very good student who wanted to be a conventionally successful adult. But, much like them, I didn't view this path as fulfilling so I took the more difficult road. In the eyes of The Magician, I went to the flower field instead of the concrete path. I also related to the theme of not wanting to grow up and the fear of becoming an adult. I think what this story made me realize was that the conventional "adult life" of getting married, having a good job, and starting a family can be scary for people. It's not what everyone wants but its whats presented to us ad the "adult life" as children. But, we see L as an adult living his dream life of a Magician, something he's focused his whole life on to chase his real happiness. I think it's important to teach kids that there can be a balance in life between completely losing yourself to adulthood and following your dreams while still being a functioning adult. I think the characters of Ah-ee and L show the contrast between those two worlds.

3. What changes would you make to adapt this story into another medium? What medium would you choose; what changes would you make?
I think this story would make a good live action movie. I would wanna push the paper-cut elements that the author chose sometimes for her story. I think it was good to represent childhood and add a bit of magic into the story. I really enjoyed Ildeung's character arc and know that his odd looking design was the highlight his growth as a character but I don't think it would be necessary in a live action remake. It might just be affective to have him change his image a bit when he is feeling that he is stuck on the concrete path. I would also probably change the ending a bit and have Ah-ee meet L at the very end once she has become a magician. 

4. In what ways does this story seem more adapted to an online environment?
What stood out to me the most was the use of vertical panels that you had to rotate your phone to view correctly. It allowed for the artist to make more impactful scenes that weren't confined to the usually horizontal view. I think it's great for an online environment because it's so experimental stylistically. It used a lot of photography and photomashing which I believe is best viewed online. Also the story was a pretty short read so the online environment allowed me to consume to the story pretty quickly which helped me grasp the entire concept as a whole. 

Week 13: Manga, Anime and Japanese Cultural Values

This week I read Oishinbo and it honestly was one of my favorite reads this whole semester. I love cooking and I love any kinda media about cooking. Especially those that explore the cultural aspect of cooking. I also love mangas that teach me a lot and this was defintely did. The culture of cooking in Japan makes for a perfect base of a manga. It starts with a good base and finishes with great characters. No character is taken too seriously and there is a lot of stereotypical but it helps to contrast the seriousness of Japanese cooking. In general, I found the characters very charming but also humorous. The rivalry of our protagonist and his father really made for some great comedy moments especially when he helps the kid get back into the restaurant.



The art of this manga was very unique. The males to me looked more like western comics style while the girls were straight up out of a 90's shoujo. It was a bit weird at first but the more I read, the more I loved the character designs. It just felt so unique and fresh while also helping to add to their characterizations.



This manga just wanted me to keep reading it and I couldn't put it down. Not to mention that is made me extremely hungry even though I don't eat or like fish they were able to make the dishes look like the most delicious things on the planet. This was a unique read and I actually recommended some of my friends who also like Japanese cooking to check it out. Now I'm interested in watching the show/films.

Week 12: Contemporary Manga

For this week I read some of Silver Spoon by Hiromu Arakawa which I was pretty excited to read. I never watched/read Full Metal Alchemist but I have a lot of friends who absolutely love it so I had high hopes for this series also by her.



I think it's really awesome how different this work is from her other and how she has a personal connection to agriculture which helped make the manga seemed so based in reality. I was worried this series was going to showcase stereotypical sunshiny farming life but it defintely different. She was able to get across the theme that it can be extremely harsh but beautiful. She also successfully included a lot of stereotypical manga character traits so that the reader could relate to the characters more without it feeling cheesy or out of place. In general, the manga was enjoyable to me but also a bit tough to read because I am a longtime vegetarian so it was a battle with my own morals. But, I like how she showcased the realities of farming and the the ethical questions that come along with such a job.



I thought the artwork was nice. I don't think it added too much to the story nor take anything away. Some of the designs were quite funny, like the riding club teacher but it wasn't that distracting. These little character design changes made it easy to keep track of who was who. Also, I liked her used to a character guide to remind the viewers who we were reading about. It helped me a lot to understand what was going on.

Week 11: Horror

For this week I read quite a bit of Tomie by Junji Ito. I am familiar with Junju Ito just because I am a horror fan and so are my friends so I see posts about his work every now and then but haven't actually read any of it myself. In general, I'm a fan of j-horror and have seen a handful of movies so I was excited to finally experience reading j-horror.



I didn't realize this before I started reading that it kinda switches through timelines and different Tomies which did make it a bit hard to read at first. But, I think this confusion only adds to the creepiness of the story. We see her repeating a gruesome cycle so many different ways. It made me think about the saying "the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." Part of the thrill of this manga is getting to experience the cycle as a viewer and not be able to do anything about it.



I also wanted to talk about one of my favorite J-horror franchises, Battle Royale. It stems from the 1999 novel and has a manga plus a live action movie. The premise is that a bunch of highschoolers are sent to an island and they have to kill each other until there is only one of them left. It's not the most unique premise but the way the characters and handled and how the gruesome deaths are showed really makes it an amazing franchise. I highly recommend watching the movie first and then branching out to the other forms of the story if you enjoyed it. 

Week 10: Isekai

Besides shoujo, I am pretty familiar with Isekai's but never actually knew the name of them. Of course it started with my obsession of Sword Art Online in high school which besides its controversial seasons, I think had a very good first season and solidified Isekai as a popular genre and story telling medium.



I decided to read Konosuba because I had seen a few seasons of the anime and enjoyed it so I wanted to get to know the source. The manga followed pretty closely to the show in terms of humor and style. But, it follows mostly Megumin which makes me understand now her popularity within the fandom. I think modern Isekai's can easily be viewed as problematic because of their fanservice and unnecessary sexual moments/characters but I don't always think its a bad thing. Konosuba doesn't take itself seriously. It's almost self aware in its absurdity of boob shots and perversion which adds a lot of humor to the story that itself isn't taken seriously. I also think the female characters, although sexualized, are very strong and passionate which I enjoy. I think all of this is a unique charm of Konosuba but I can understand why others might not feel the same about it.



I also read a bit of I Got Reincarnated as a Slime which actually reminded me a lot of Konosuba and made me realize the similarities of all the Isekai's I've read/seen. They love to have a large cast of girls surrounded by a not-so-capable man.  I don't think this is necessarily a bad trope, because it can lead to a lot of good female character development but mostly the female characters are a lot more interesting than the main male protagonist. I would love to see an all female or even all male Isekai.

Week 9: Cyberpunk

Cyberpunk is a genre I was a bit unfamiliar with prior to the week. I knew the general style as an aesthetic but had never watched/read any cyberpunk. For this week I read some of Ghost in the Shell and watched Akira which I was unfamiliar with both.

I thought Akira was incredible! The animation wasn't anything like I've seen before. I thought it really pushed the capabilities and limits I thought 2-D Animation had, even all the way back then. I thought in general, the movie was very intense, especially the street riot scenes. The themes of terrorism and anarchy were very thought provoking and nothing like I had seen before. I understand now why this film is so inspirational to anime fans, creators, and even filmmakers. It told an intense story well in a very aesthetically interesting world. Kind of a side note but I really think the poster for this movie is one of the best designed movie posters ever, its so intriguing and well designed making anyone want to watch the movie. 

I also read some of Ghost in the Shell which I again, had no prior knowledge of besides seeing jokes about the remake. I thought this manga was a bit hard to understand because it seemed to jump all over the place. I'm not one for wanting everything explained to the viewer in media but I think this manga didn't do enough explaining and left me just confused instead of curious. Visually though, I thought it was wonderful and i appreciated the badass female protagonist but I'm not sure I'd recommend for anyone else to read this. Maybe I should watch the movies.

Week 8: Diversity of gender and sexuality in Manga and Anime

This was my favorite week to discover because I hadn't ever really read LGBTQ+ manga that I felt realistically represented the community (in a non-festishy way). So I really really enjoyed My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness, so much that I also recommended some friends to read it.

I felt the story represented depression and anxiety really realistically and how easy it is to fall into negative cycles. It also explored the pressure women are faced to fit into boxes by what they do, how they look, and who they're attracted to. I love how the author wrote about their experience with the prostitute, it showed sex workers in a positive light and how it can really effect peoples lives. Sex work isn't always a negative thing and it was awesome to see it in this light.

I also really enjoyed the presentation on Nana. It was something I was familiar with based just on the art style but had never read/watched it. It seemed to really represent female friendships in a positive light which I think is very important. Reminded me a bit of Carole & Tuesday.