Feature: Holiday Wishlist #5

Holiday sales are upon us, ravaging our wallets and stealing our little pennies!  Can a book fit into a stocking?  You may have to experiment and answer that important question.  As you unwrap those presents around the Christmas tree, small and large piles of gifts are forming stacks about you.  One of my favorite things to receive is a book.  I can never get enough of them!  Some will argue that manga aren’t exactly books—not in the formal sense.  I’d have to admit that I agree with them, and that fact doesn’t diminish their entertainment value.  (I swear, I read more than manga.)  Quite a few series can tell compelling stories with rich characters just as much as novels.  While novels rely only on written words, manga are able to convey emotion and meaning through dialogue and visuals.

Are you wondering what a good manga series is to pick up for your friends, hubbies, or siblings?  What’s really good for the person just starting out in the varying world of manga?  I’m here to provide you with a few titles to watch for this season—they’d be great New Year’s treats as well.  They are serious, they are action-packed, and they are filled with mystery.  They’re bound to keep you hooked throughout.  As Christmas passes us by, I hope you all have a wonderful time with your families.  Have those kiddies rip open their presents, and enjoy that massive feast waiting for you in the evening.  Merry Christmas, everybody!

Manga Holiday Wishlist #2

There comes a time in everyone’s life where we depart from college into the real world.  Instead of course work, we find ourselves trying to land a job or make something of the talents we supposedly sharpened through classes.  Some will relish the new pace, while others will step back and see a world that’s complicated and undesirable.  The latter individuals will stand at the border of this new land, wondering what would happen if they didn’t step forward.  Licensed by Viz Media and written by Inio Asano, Solanin is a short, 2-volume series that revolves around a couple young adults coping with their inner struggles and doubts.  Meiko Inoue, a recent college grad, works as an office lady in job she hates.  Shigeo is her boyfriend, who is residing in her apartment on account of his freelance illustrator job can’t sustain his rent.  As the two keep in touch with their old friends, they labor with insecurities and what appears to be a shaky future in front of them.  Their bonds grow stronger each day and eventually are tested when tragedy strikes at the most unexpected time.

I think this title accomplished in capturing lives that we could see all over the globe.  It asks important questions that a person needs to answer, whether over time or in a single, crucial moment.  The characters are relatable in how tangible they feel, and their subdued designs add to the realistic story this manga depicts.  The reader won’t find wide-eyed, cutesy expressions but well-structured and rounder faces.  With the occasional humor and overall seriousness, Solanin’s calm pacing and deep cast will draw the reader into it one page at a time.  It pulled at my heartstrings at a few places, and I’m certain drama lovers would treasure this on their shelves.

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So, where’s that action I promised, huh?  We can’t abandon the people who like chaos and plots that twist so often they could be considered rollercoasters.  I think we all have a part in us that has a weakness for fast-paced conflict; the individuals who deny it are the ones who haven’t discovered it yet.  You have to admit we all like conflict in one form or another—drama fuels a lot in our lives.  With its surprising deaths spiraling across the pages, and with the massive scale of its world, Attack on Titan by Hajime Isayama is the perfect fit for those desiring an action-packed experience.  You can check out my review of volume 1-4 here.  Humanity was nearly driven into extinction when giants called Titans appeared in the world, consuming every human they came across.  In order to survive, humans now live behind enormous walls, and 100 years of peace has passed.  A boy named Eren, his foster sister Mikasa, and his best friend Armin behold a terrible sight one day—a colossal titan taller than the walls.

This series’ intense scenes never seem to cease as the story progresses.  Reprieves are short, and emotions run high in most cases.  Passionate speeches, rampant fear and death, and other war themes are present in almost every volume.  Its handling of such a serious subject is what makes me infatuated with this title.  The mystery surrounding the titans is merely icing on the cake.  Characters come alive through their maturation and coping with the harsh realities of combat.  Although there are a few pacing issues and the occasional hiccups in artwork, Attack on Titan’s various strong points and bold disregard for its characters will win over many, especially the average shounen fan.  It’s a wild read that is bound to keep you at the edge of your seat.

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Some of the best mysteries come in the packaging of science fiction.  And what would science fiction be without androids, conspiracies, and psychological occurrences?  Everything seems to become muddled and complicated once robots are introduced into the mix.  Usually, arguments of what’s life and not quickly escalates among the populace.  The situation definitely flies out of control when people begin turning up dead.  Based on a story arc from Osamu Tezuka’s famous Astro Boy series, Pluto is an 8-volume manga written by Naoki Urasawa, revolving around a detective named Gesicht.  He is tasked with uncovering the answers about a string of robot and human deaths.  As he investigates, his confusion deepens as evidence suggests that the murders were done by a robot—an incident that hasn’t happened for 8 years.  He eventually finds out that he himself is being targeted as well.

I haven’t had the chance to read more than 3-4 volumes of this interesting title.  I remember I had to keep on my toes, watching out for different clues.  It has a lot of layers and the ability to make a lazy reader mystified, but the curiosity of where the investigation will go next makes flipping pages easy.  The author’s art style keeps the environments and characters looking realistic, adding to immersion into the world.  Subtleties of body language and facial expressions enhance the sense of mystery, too.  You have to be observant, and you get drawn into the case just as Gesicht does.  Progression and pacing is a tad slow in some spots, taking too long to introduce a possible lead or a potential villain.  Nonetheless, even with how little I’ve read so far, it remained suspenseful and unpredictable at every major plot point.  It doesn’t require that you be familiar with Astro Boy—I’m not and I still understood things—but the apparent references back to Pluto’s original concept won’t be fully appreciated then.  A master of storytelling and narrative, Naoki Urasawa delivers a deep mystery filled with complexity and intrigue.  It’s undeniably something that readers are able to sink their teeth into.

*all Solanin, Attack on Titan, and Pluto images from ANN