Afterschool Nightmare 9 review

Afterschool Nightmare 9
Setona Mizushiro
Go!Comi

[Warning: spoilers]


Volume 9 is a standout in the entire series and could perhaps be considered the best so far. As the penultimate volume, Mizushiro finally resolves the mystery behind not one, but two, of the greater characters in the series, Kurosaki and Sou. Kurosaki was clearly always meant to be one of the principle cast as he was one of the few recurring characters introduced in volume 1, but I was still surprised to see that Kurosaki was the knight all along. I find it interesting that the knight was present since volume 1, but the second manifestation of the normal-looking Kurosaki does not appear until volume 7ish. It is a shame that more time was not spent exploring him in lieu of the earlier side stories (ie: the girl with no face, the giraffe boy) that could have been condensed or removed entirely.

"As long as it made my mom happy. As long as it pleased my father. As long as it made Haijima's life easier, I was fine with it!!" -pg. 28, vol 9.

As an aside, I also find it curious that Kurosaki's final outburst is about his father's aid and not about the pressure of his parents. In book 8, where we first get a peek into Kurosaki's psyche, there is also an elongated focus on a conversation between a younger Kurosaki and Haijima and their composed goodbye. Given Mizushiro's history as both a shoujo and BL mangaka, I'd be willing to bet good money that Mizushiro originally meant to expand on a boys love aspect between Kurosaki and Haijima but removed any explicit explanations in the final drafts to prevent compromising the general plot for cheesy romance. Mizushiro's knack for subtlety is one thing I adore about her as a storyteller.

Volume 8, Japanese edition, pg 178.

However, the unmistakable main focus of volume 9 is Sou and his shocking revelations. What I appreciate most about his backstory is that while he is extremely aware of himself and his hallucinations, Sou cannot keep the nightmares at bay. Many times, he accepts his delusions as natural, implying a true physiological disorder such as a chemical imbalance. The most telling scene occurs approximately 106 pages into the book when Mashiro rushes to Sou's side in the infirmary. Quietly jumping from Sou's and Mashiro's perspective, the infimary is clean and bright in one panel and then monstrous and bloody in the next. Apparently, apparitions of his sister are not the only things haunting Sou.

One of the biggest objections I had with the ASN series was the inconsistency of Sou's character (I love you, I don't love you, I'm a sweetheart, I'm an asshole) and the shallow depth of character that the evil lolita Ai showed. I was uncomfortable with the idea that such a sensitive writer could shamelessly write such cliches, but in the end I attributed the minor details to Mizushiro pandering to her editor and the tastes of the general public. However, with the startling clarity of Sou's possible schizophrenia, Sou's inconsistencies become coherent and Ai... well, the Ai shown in the book wasn't even real to begin with. You're a clever one, Ms. Setona Mizushiro.

The book feels slightly rushed trying to pack so much information before the end of the series, but in Mizushiro's masterful hands, one hardly notices. Regretfully, I doubt any more time will be spent on character development, so what I hope for most in book 10 is that Mizushiro explain what exactly the dream world is. Already released a few days ago on Go!Comi's official store, the finale has yet to become available on Amazon and most major retailers. Why do you torture me so, distributors? The last seven pages are such a tease--I need more ASN, stat!

Overall: A-

Totoro Forest Art Project

This summer past, a project to help save Sayama Forest, the woods that inspired Hayao Miyazaki to produce My Neighbor Totoro, finally came into glorious fruition last September. The Totoro Forest Project is a fundraising exhibition/auction featuring more than 200 pieces of original art produced exclusively for the event, including work from James Jean (Prada), Jillian Tamaki (Skim, The New Yorker), Gene Luen Yang (American Born Chinese), and Enrico Casarosa (Pixar).



Marvelous! What's more, in conjunction with the project's environmental message, the paper used in the catalogue consists of recycled materials and the ink itself is soy-based. So awesome, I cannot believe I forgot to order one those sweet babes. It's only been a month, but the magical masterpiece has already sold out at $40 a pop. Those without proper jobs (such as myself, cough) can only look from afar as the few remaining reserves get sold at extortionist prices.

Fortunately for us Bay Areans, part I of the Totoro Forest art exhibition, which includes half of the numerous pieces featured in the catalogue, is currently on display at the San Francisco Cartoon Art museum; a reception for the show will be held sometime this December, when the project in its entirety will be installed through February 8th.

The Totoro Forest Project
Part I: September 20, 2008 - January 18, 2009
Part II: December 6, 2008 - February 8, 2009.

Admission Prices:
$6.00 - Adults
$4.00 - Students & Seniors

Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco
655 Mission Street
san Francisco, CA 94105
(415) 227-8666

Les Gouttes de Dieu

The New York Times on Les Gouttes de Dieu (神の雫, Kami no Shizuku, Drops of God), Yuko & Shin Kibayashi's ongoing manga series about wine. The comics have proved to be a informative, reliable wine resource to populations across East Asia and is read extensively among the nouveau riche frequently found in budding Asian business circles.

The comic — which appears every Thursday in Japan in a magazine called the “Weekly Morning” and has been compiled in 17 books so far — rapidly became a hit in East Asia, where people are still learning to drink wine and may feel insecure about it. Even in Japan, the region’s oldest and biggest wine market, annual per capita consumption is around 2 liters, compared with nearly 9 liters in the United States or 56 liters in France, according to the California-based Wine Institute’s figures for 2005.

In Japan, wine sellers grab copies of the magazine as soon as it comes out on Thursdays, quickly showcasing a featured wine in their stores or on their Web sites. According to Enoteca, a large chain, men in their 30s to 50s tend to ask for wines from the magazine, especially those priced around $30.

The comic’s impact has been perhaps greatest in South Korea, where the Mont Perat and other wines like Emmanuel Rouget sold out after earning praise in its pages. On their first visit to South Korea last year, the Kibayashis were stunned to be greeted like stars. Television crews filmed their arrival at the Seoul airport and they were introduced to candidates during the presidential election.

I love the fact that manga has the strength to move people to the extent where it can visibly change the economic or social atmosphere on such a large scale. Other similar examples include Yumi Hotta/Takeshi Obata's Hikaru no Go and Tomoko Ninomiya's Nodame Cantabile , which respectively had hands in resurrecting an interest in learning the traditional board game Go and classical music, especially among younger generations. On the flip side, I suppose if a manga has the power to positively change a person, would this be solid evidence to also say that exposure to media containing high violence and sexual content has a true correlation to related deviant behavior? I wonder.

Anyways, every manga is going to have its critics, and the first in line to blaspheme Les Gouttes de Dieu would probably be my beer and brewing professor. He would go into conniptions if he ever saw this title. And so, what I'm actually trying to say is that someone should probably make a comic about beer. Soon. Please?

Sketchcrawl plug

Short and sweet:
20th Sketchcrawl
Oct 25th, Saturday
San Francisco and all around!

This is the introduction

I'm a 3rd year undergraduate majoring in {neurobiology, physiology, and behavior}, but nevermind that! I'm writing here in hopes to promote art, especially that of the illustration and graphic novel/comic/manga/what-have-you nature. While I will cover practically anything that interests me, there will be a particular special emphasis on happenings and creators in the Bay Area/Yolo County, as it is where I currently reside. How often this gets updated, I don't know. Hopefully it'll last forever! In the meantime, you can check out all the cool blogs that I like to follow, on the sidebar.