My Favorite Manga: Love Roma

God, am I a sucker for stories like this. Slice-of-life romance, particularly of the Seinen and Josei kind (not that I have anything against Shoujo, and if a Shonen slice-of-lifer that isn't by Mitsuru Adachi exists, please tell me now) is possibly the very best kind of manga, and this book was my first brush with these. I also happen to be partial to horror and psycho-thriller. The grouping together of these two genres may seem random at first, but take a look at what was popular in american comics (besides super hero) before the Comics Code stunk up the room: ROMANCE AND HORROR. As most manga fans would like to think of manga as the road not taken in American comics, it makes perfect sense that such once omnipresent genres would find a strong place in our Japan-centric communities. But that is not what I am here to discuss. I am here to tell you about my favorite manga, Love Roma, by Minoru Toyoda.

Hoshino, an overly honest teenage boy, is in love with Negishi, a cute girl in class 2. The manga opens with Hoshino bluntly admiting his feelings to Negishi, in a very funny scene that sets the mood for the rest of the five-volume series. After some time (by some, I mean less than a chapter), Negishi and Hoshino are going out, exploring the ups, downs, and inbetweens of being young and in love. Every chapter shows the two making a new discovery about life and sharing it with another, in witty, charming everyday adventures.

As you can imagine, this book really made me swoon. I was dragged along in the character's romance heart skipping along the way. Accompanied by this blushing and swooning is first-rate humor. The combination of believable characters and unlikely-yet-familiar scenarios creates a light, fun mood certain to give any reader a little chuckle. And speaking of believable characters, Toyoda has a very interesting way of setting up his cast. They each have only one trait, but their personalities are fleshed out in a remarkably human way to reflect said traits. Accenting all this is quirky, indie-style artwork that just keeps getting better with each chapter.

However, the series is not perfect. A common shortcoming of slice-of-life storytelling, the plot can get really repetitive. The stories have a very specific structure, and there's not exactly much room for dramatic tension. But Toyoda knew when to stop, and at only 5 volumes, Love Roma is a perfect length.

Recently Del Rey Manga, the company who published Love Roma in english, have (essentially) folded/rebranded itself Kodansha USA, meaning that this title may soon be out of print. Whoever is reading this, go snatch up a copy of this beautiful title while you still can. Everyone should read this.

Rumiko Takahashi Week (Part Three): Mermaid Saga

Mermaid Saga By Rumiko Takahashi. Originally published as 人魚シリーズ (Ningyo Series). 4 volumes.
"Yuta...live long."
"Dummy, that's the last thing I want to hear."


 Mermaid Saga is the story of two outcasts, Yuta and Mana, with a bizarre secret: they cannot die. They have eaten the flesh of a mermaid, which will either grant immortality (Yuta is actually 500 years old), or turn the eater of the flesh into a wretched, brutal monstrosity known as a "Lost Soul". Our heroes wish to live a mortal life, and search for the flesh that is also the one cure for immortality. On the way, they encounter people whose lives are also affected by mermaids in various ways, and try to help.


 Despite the recurring main characters, Mermaid Saga is less of a "Saga", than a collection of short stories with a recurring theme- the story has no real ending, nor should there be, yet the conclusion still feels quite final. Without the pressure to tell an ongoing story, Takahashi creates some of her most involving stories ever- and this is the author of Maison Ikkoku! The stories are also somewhat different in tone from what we are used to in Takahashi series. There is no tongue-in-cheek feel to the stories, and in fact, the tone is often horrific. When live mermaids actually show up, which is rarely, do not expect any appearances by Ariel & co.; Mermaids are demons and manipulating femme fatales, as in old sailor lore. The few historical flashbacks, notably a story set in the Edo period in the first volume, are relatively accurate, unlike in Takahashi's most recent series InuYasha, where it might as well be a fantasy world. 


Even more impressive than the series itself is the artwork. Mermaid Saga's magazine serialization started smack in the middle of the serialization of Maison Ikkoku, which as I mentioned earlier this week, was the highlight of Takahashi's entire artistic career. The breathtaking visuals look as if they took hours to create, but it cannot be so, for deadlines in the manga profession are famous for really sucking. In another series, the 4-volume length would make this a light, quick read, but every panel made me brood on the story, as well as the skill and craft put into the final product. If ever I meet someone in need of convincing of the power of graphic storytelling, I will point them right over to Mermaid Saga.