Gintama Anime Collection 1

Leave a reply

Original manga by Hideaki Sorachi. Released in Japan by Sunrise, Inc., shown weekly on TV Tokyo. Released in North America by Sentai Filmworks.

Sentai Filmworks has recently been licensing a lot of long-running TV series from Japan, which surprises but pleases me. Rising from the remains of ADV, they seem to be looking for popular shonen that can come out cheaply and efficiently 13 episodes at a time. Eyeshield 21 comes out starting in May, and this month we had the first 13 episodes of Gintama.

Those who read this blog know that I’m a huge lover of Gin Tama the manga (Viz has made the title two words, Sentai Filmworks has it as one), so I was always going to pick this up. I was especially pleased as this was one of the series that’s legally available on Crunchyroll, so I had not expected DVDs. They’re pretty much bare-bones, with subtitles only and the only ‘extras’ being clean opening and closing credits. However, the subtitles are well-done, and the series’ foul language is not toned down. Best of all, although they are sparse, the series in-joke references and obscure Japanese media humor is also subtitled with brief explanations.

The anime itself does not begin with the first chapter of the manga, as one would expect, but instead has a 2-part double length episode opener that was written especially for the anime, introducing all the main characters (well, the early ones) as if we’d already been watching it. It works well. Gintama doesn’t really have a huge backstory you have to know to get into every episode. Gintoki has a tragic, serious past. Kagura’s an alien. Sacchan’s a masochist. (And a ninja, I suppose, but really, masochist is what everyone will remember). The episode piles on the humor, then gets serious as the client’s sad past and the villains’ nasty manipulations are revealed. Our heroes go off to beat them down, and after an equal parts silly and straight, they do.

After this, we go back and tell the story from the start, with Episode 3 introducing us to the bespectacled ‘straight man’ Shinpachi, his pretty yet psychotic sister Otae, and our hero, the lazy and permed Gintoki, who is a badass samurai with a tragic past who now carries only a wooden sword and eats parfaits.

The best part of Gintama, of courser, is that not only can anyone be the comedy character at any time, but anyone can be the straight man. This works well for our comic trio of Gin’s Odd Jobs, as any two can team up to scream at the other one and it seems reasonable. Likewise, Gintama’s status of being a broad, gag comedy – except when it isn’t – makes it pretty easy for the anime to insert filler comedy that fits within the confines of the plot of the day. In a series where anything can happen and the heroine is frequently seen picking her nose, coming up with stuff that doesn’t seem out of place is much easier.

Of course, having the luxury of 25 minutes to tell a story as opposed to 18 pages, we also sometimes get some richer character detail. I noticed this particularly with Episode 12, which introduces Catherine, the homely cat-girl thief who works at Otose’s. In the manga, this was a very early chapter and is clearly meant to focus more on Otose and her tendency to easily forgive and take in lost strays (i.e., Gin). The anime has the luxury of knowing that later on Sorachi decided to bring her back and start to redeem her, so makes Catherine far more reluctant in her actions, even crying by the end.

I can’t really recommend this to those who like serious samurai battles, even though there are many in this series, as I suspect the low humor will turn them off. However, the series is perfect for those who like low humor but don’t mind it turning serious whenever the author feels like it. In fact, many episodes of Gintama can get quite dark. The final episode of this set, 13, is the first example of such an episode, with Shinpachi and Kagura kidnapped by drug-smuggling aliens, and Gin and Zura busting to the rescue.

(It’s not Zura, it’s KATSURA!)

Whatever. A great anime, well-handled for its North American release, in an affordable 13-episode collection. Fans of shonen comedy will love this.

Excel Saga Volume 9

Leave a reply

By Rikdo Koshi. Released in Japan by Shonen Gahosha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Young King OURS. Released in North America by Viz.

After 2 volumes that could cost you a bundle if you never got them when they came out, here’s Vol. 9, a return to sensible prices. This one’s still in print, and thus on Amazon for only $9.95. And it’s just as packed with plot as Volume 8 was. Rikdo has now finished introducing his cast (with 2 big exceptions), and can get on with proving that Excel Saga is more than just a series of part-time jobs and Hail Il Palazzos.

We start off with one of those AU chapters that puts the characters in another venue, this one being a parody of Japanese detective shows. Unfortunately, much of the humor actually relies on knowing those shows, so it’s not quite as funny as it could be for North American audiences. I did recognize Sukeban Deka and the Matrix in the mix there. Best out of context line: “I bet he’ll kill *again*!”

Back in the real plot, Excel and company have now arrived at their new apartment. Since this one was given to them by Kabapu’s organization (you may recall the old one burning down in 8 due to Iwata/Ropponmatsu being an idiot), it’s bigger than the old apartment, and furnished. To Elgala, this is simply normal, and she cheerily goes off to watch TV and take a hot soaking bath. To Excel, used to living in utter penury, this luxury is hideously untrustworthy, and she quickly puts Elgala in her place.

The most interesting part of the chapter comes after Excel, due to penury putting holes in her pockets, accidentally loses the keys to the apartment. Luckily, they were spotted almost immediately… by Ropponmatsu II, who manages to return them while looking utterly creepy doing so. Incidentally, this is one of the few times Carl Horn will need to correct a translation. Volume 9 has Ropponmatsu, on handing the keys back to Excel (whom she clearly recognizes in some way), “Be careful with those.” In Volume 17, though, there’s a flashback to this exact scene, and owing to future plot points (which I shall not reveal here), Ropponmatsu now says “Don’t lose it.” This is why translation can be hard – one cannot read the mangaka’s mind.

Meanwhile, Elgala goes off on another super sekrit mission on her own (we briefly see her skulking around Kabapu’s building), so we’re back to just Excel and Hyatt. And actually, it’s just Excel, as Hyatt collapses in a pool of blood in front of Lord Il Palazzo. She’s done this before, but for once he actually seems to notice (again, we note Il Palazzo does not always seem to have the same set of memories from one day to the next) and takes Hyatt to the medical bay. This leaves Excel on her own, just like the start of the series… except she, like the reader, is now used to actual interaction. But too stubborn to admit she’s lonely.

This leads to the most intriguing part of the manga, as we see Il Palazzo examining Hyatt, who is floating naked in a tank of fluid, in the time-honored sci-fi way. Il Palazzo notes that she had something implanted in her, and it’s clearly failing. This would certainly explain the constant coughing up blood and dying. Yet he notes that not only was the implant from the finest genetic materials, but it’s implied that he implanted the same thing into Excel… who is clearly *not* coughing up blood and dying. In fact, if anything Excel’s strength and endurance verge on superhuman. What made it work with Excel and not with Hyatt? Well, we don’t find that out yet. Il Palazzo ‘fixes’ Hyatt, and we’re back to normal. (Mostly as by the very next page she’s back to coughing up blood and collapsing…)

There then follow two filler-ey chapters, both amusing. One deals with the rest of Kabapu’s team wondering what kind of robot Iwata will be like when he returns. Super-strength? A brain in a jar? A 300-foot Mecha? The other involves Menchi, who got bonked on the head and lost her memory a while back, having it suddenly return and realize oh yeah, she’s trapped in an apartment with people who want to eat her as food. Her escape is actually far more successful than usual (she avoids Misaki, who we know will merely return the dog to Excel), but unfortunately can’t get past a returning Elgala.

Meanwhile, Il Palazzo seems to have decided that ACROSS has done enough research, and they are now ready to reveal themselves to the world. This involves Excel and Hyatt, wearing sunglasses to hide their identities (the joke being that they actually seem to do so… even Misaki doesn’t recognize them) going out into the middle of City Hall Plaza and talking up the glories of Il Palazzo. At first the only effect this seems to have is getting a bunch of cosplay-loving otaku to watch them… but Kabapu, watching from his penthouse office, is blown away. He seems to regain some memories of his own, involving Il Palazzo (it’s now clear the two were colleagues in the past), and heads off to a secret base.

And now the big finale, as who should drop in to stop Excel and Hyatt’s plans but a sentai warrior! This is Iwata, of course, in his new cyborg body (which looks pretty much like him, for those who wondered if he would be a brain in a jar). He’s got laser guns, he’s got super strength, he’s… just as stupid, so things don’t go well. In fact, the audience is starting to see him as a villain. While this goes on, Kabapu explains to the other 3 City Security members… all now magically in sentai outfits… that their job will be to PROTECT THIS CITY!

Those who know Excel Saga’s pedigree have been waiting for this. The original doujinshi he based Excel Saga on was called Shiritsu Sentai Daitenzin, and featured Iwata & company, in somewhat proto form, battling the evil organization, i.e. Il Palazzo and Excel. The doujinshi starred the so-called Municipal Force, and was a parody of Power Rangers-esque shows beloved in Japan. And now we get to finally see them here. But not quite fully in action yet. Iwata starts blowing things up, and Excel and Hyatt run away. They did get the crowd to chant “Hail, Il Palazzo”, though. So 60 points out of 100.

I was pleased at how much I enjoyed this plot-tastic Excel Saga. It’s still amazingly silly, of course. Hopefully 10 will have more Elgala, though… this volume was sorely lacing in Elgala.

Kingyo Used Books Volume 1

Leave a reply

By Seimu Yoshizaki. Released in Japan as “Kingyoya Koshoten” by Shogakukan, serialization ongoing in the magazine Ikki. Released in North America by Viz.

One of the things I’ve always liked about having a site like SigIkki is that it gives us a better sense of reading from a manga magazine. We’ve had this on and off in North America for years, but Ikki is not very much like Shonen Jump, which (at least in its Western incarnation) reads very much like variations on a basic shonen theme. Seinen titles especially have a wider variety, and magazines like Ikki which specialize in ‘alternative’ works even more so.

When things are collected into volumes, you obviously lose this feeling. This is why I suspect that gag strips like Bobobobo-bobobo do so poorly here – removed from the context of blessed relief after a bunch of serious Naruto and Bleach chapters, it just reads like 200 pages of screaming in your face. And I think that Kingyo Used Books may suffer similar issues away from Ikki.

The plot itself is no great shakes, being merely a slice-of-life series of vignettes based around a used manga bookstore that theoretically has anything you want. It’s very much like the fantasy legend of the shop that will sell you whatever you desire, but isn’t there the following day. Unlike that legend, though, Kingyo Used Books sticks around, and its sales aren’t as tinged with horror. Instead, we have a sales pitch, couched in very polite terms.

I’d say that this is an attempt to get more adult Japanese to accept that they can still read manga even when they’ve grown up (indeed, this is the exact plot of the first story), except that it runs in Ikki, a magazine that has a circulation so low that only hardcore adult manga fans would be reading it anyway. In essence, then, this is preaching to the converted, showing the reader that, yes, you can be completely obsessed with manga and still manage to have a normal, fulfilling life – there are few stereotypes here, with most of the cast looking handsome or pretty – indeed, the main otaku character, Shiba, seems to have girls hitting on him. (We still know very little about Natsuki. I hope she doesn’t become a tsundere.)

Incidentally, this is apparently the 2nd series set around this store, with a prequel having appeared in Ikki called Kingyoya Koshoten Suitouchou. I wonder if this sets up Natsuki working at the store, how she and Shiba met, etc. It’s about 3 volumes. This series Viz has licensed, by the way, is 9 and still running.

The premise of each chapter is the same. A person has a crisis of faith, winds up at the bookstore, finds a manga that reminds them of their dreams, and ends up feeling better and more fulfilled. At the end of the volume, we get a great write-up of the ‘featured’ manga for each chapter, most of which are at least a quarter of a century old or more. Don’t expect to find these in English soon, as the list reads like one of David Welsh’s License Request Day lists. Of the 7 titles featured, only Dr. Slump is out in North America, and that didn’t exactly set sales records on fire. It’s great to get the info, including publishers then and now, and I’m pleased that Viz is translating this faithfully.

Also, kudos to the licensors at Shogakukan for allowing the mangaka to mention any series she wants. Seeing Zetsubou-sensei and Hayate the Combat Butler’s constant censoring of their rival’s titles reminds you of the trouble merely mentioning other works, and it’s great seeing little credits showing something is a Shueisha or Akita Shoten title so that this isn’t just talking about Shonen Sunday or Big Comic stuff. Indeed, in Chapter 1 the reunion group mentions four old shonen manga – one each from Jump, Magazine, Sunday, and Champion.

The cover is quite pretty, though I don’t really care for the design of the back. I appreciate that there may not have been interstitial art for a back cover, and it helps to show the somewhat textbook feel that the series can occasionally get into, but that’s no excusing the fact that it’s still dull.

As a 200-page book, this is good but can get a bit similar, like eating donuts for every meal for 4 days. On the other hand, as a monthly chapter in Ikki magazine, coming in between the fantasy dystopia of Dorohedoro, the realistic struggling of I’ll Give It My All… Tomorrow, and the deconstructionist nightmare of Bokurano: Ours, it’s a relaxing breath of fresh air. I think when I get Volume 2 of this, I may read one chapter at a time, with a One Piece or Excel Saga in between. Cleansing the palatte, as it were.