The Night Is Short, Walk on Girl

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By Tomihiko Morimi. Released in Japan as “Yoru wa Mijikashi Arukeyo Otome” by Kadokawa Shoten. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Emily Balistrieri.

I had read this author’s Penguin Highway, though had not seen the adaptation, so it seems appropriate that I read this book by the same author, one where I also have not seen the adaptation. I sometimes feel a bit guilty about reading books like these, where the only reason that Yen On has licensed the book in the first place is because of the popular anime adaptation – usually a movie – of the source. The core market here are those who enjoyed the movie and want to see how it reads in prose. In addition, this is also connected the the author’s Tatami Galaxy – which also got an anime that I also haven’t seen. That said, the book does not lose any of its charm by not having visuals attached to it – indeed, it rewards the imaginative reader by allowing their flights of fancy to picture what’s going on in all its chaos. For this book is, in many ways, three stories of a seemingly peaceful event turned to chaos, and a young woman who walks among it, unaware.

The book has two narrators, neither of who are named. The titular girl is a young woman at college who belongs to a club, the other narrator is the man who is her sempai at the club, and who also has a crush on her. Being a classic socially awkward Japanese man,he deals with this by stalking her and ‘arranging coincidentally’ to run into her, in hopes that they will meet cute and fall happily in love. Fortunately, this is not the main plot of the book. The plot of the book is four separate events where the girl is walking around an event of some sort – a night out on the town drinking, a used book fair, a cultural festival, and the town brought low by a nasty cold – and interacting with various people as she does. The man is interacting with the same people, but mostly seems to just miss her, or if he does see her it’s not in the best way. That said, the plot is mostly irrelevant, as the story runs on mood, and the mood is sensational.

The story seems to be toying with being a sort of fantasy realism, and there are many times when we get so-called gods or fantastical events happening, but they could just as easily be metaphorical imaginings. The girl’s joy of life is infectious, and the guy gradually finding it in himself to analyze his own actions and wonder why he’s been doing what he’s doing is at least acceptable. Honestly, I found the romance the weak part of the book, and felt it might have done better without it. But the book is worth reading for the amusing characters, for the ridiculous small eve4nts that blow up until they’re a huge mess, and the heart that it wears on its sleeve, ending with the girl running all over town trying to care for everyone, the only person not down with a cold.

If you enjoyed the movie, you should definitely read this to see how it compares. As for me, I do want to try the movie out now, and definitely recommend this to anyone who likes great imagery and fantastical weirdness.

Neon Genesis Evangelion: Anima, Vol. 1

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By Ikuto Yamashita. Released in Japan as “Shin Seiki Evangelion Anima” by Kadokawa Shoten, serialized in the magazine Dengeki Hobby. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Nathan Collins. Adapted by Peter Adrian Behravesh.

There have been so many spinoffs of Evangelion that it’s hard to keep track. In addition to the original TV series, the long-running manga, the current series of reboot movies, the video games, the manga based on the video games, the manga based on Episode 26’s “what if Eva were a dull harem anime” gag, the manga as a bizarre murder mystery, the gag anthology, the manga based on the gag anthology… in fact, it’s a bit surprising that one of the few spinoffs we haven’t seen is a continuation of the original. Now, granted, the original did sort of end definitively for most of the cast. But these light novels, which were serialized in the late 00s – early 10s, throw the last two episodes out and ask: what would happen if the Human Instrumentality Project failed, and it’s now three years later? The answer is more attacks, the return of some Angels, some very well-thought out battle sequences, but something missing at its core.

Three years later, Gendo and Ritsuko have disappeared and Fuyutsuki is retired, so Misato is in charge of NERV and the Evas, which are still around. Toji now has artificial limbs, and is working for NERV. Asuka has matured and is at peace with herself. Theoretically Shinji has as well, but as we find out many of the same struggles he had in the anime continue to plague him. Maya has apparently dealt with the loss of Ritsuko by turning herself INTO Ritsuko. And then there’s Rei. Actually, there’s four Reis. The plot kicks off when one of the Reis goes rogue and the others have to figure out why and what’s going on. As they do, we find the return of the mass-production Evas, now with Angels inside them, also seemingly attacking. Shinji dies (he gets better), the Lance of Longinus is once again terrifying, and almost two million people – including Hikari’s older sister – turn to salt, because what’s Evangelion without Biblical allegory?

The main issue I had with this book, I think, is that it doesn’t really settle down and take a breath at any point. The new characterization of the regulars could be interesting, but it never really gets a chance to do much before we’re plunged into the next battle – indeed, one of the Reis has a heartwarming talk with Asuka that would be fantastic if it weren’t the Evangelion equivalent of saying that she’s retiring tomorrow and has bought a boat. Likewise, I’m all for Asuka gaining maturity and peace, but there’s not really a lot explaining how it happened except for one or two token paragraphs, leading to the reader sensing that Asuka is more mature just because the authors didn’t want to write her as constantly angry. On the bright side, the plot is somewhat interesting if you don’t mind apocalypses, and the cliffhanger promises some interesting betrayal going on, though again we’re not actually given any details as to what happened.

Honestly, a lot of this reminds me of the old Evangelion continuation fanfics that were written about 20 years ago, throwing out the ending and doing their own thing. It only lacks the Original Characters the author inevitably threw in. I think Evangelion fans might like it – particularly those who like the mech aspect of the series. I just wanted a few more scenes of the characters hanging around and nothing much happening so that we could appreciate their being older and wiser(?).

Urusei Yatsura, Omnibus 3

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By Rumiko Takahashi. Released in Japan in two separate volumes by Shogakukan, serialized in the magazine Shonen Sunday. Released in North America by Viz Media. Translated by Camellia Nieh.

After the soft reboot of this series with the arrival of Shutaro Mendo, Takahashi is going back and trying to see how she can work the pile of characters she introduced at the start back into the series, while also introducing new and hilarious regulars. Sometimes this works and sometimes it does not. The first half of this volume succeeds in re-integrating Sakura into the cast, now the high school nurse in addition to a shrine priestess, and we also meet Mendo’s rival Tobimaro Mizunokoji, a baseball-obsessed samurai type who is after revenge but is too dim to get it. (He’s also really obsessed with his childhood friend/rival, and has a passel of gorgeous female bodyguards that he barely pays attention to. I don’t think Takahashi intended him to have gay overtones, but…) Sakura will stay a regular, and Tobimaro will pop up now and then throughout the series. But not every new character is destined to become part of our beloved cast.

(The cover art, which has Ryuunosuke and her father; Sugar, Ginger and Pepper; and Kotatsu-neko – none of whom are introduced yet – is a tad spoilery. As are the endnotes, which discuss Ran before Ran is introduced.)

The second part of this volume seems like a series of failed cast introductions. Hanako-sensei is introduced to be a variation on the “well-meaning teacher who wants to inspire youth”, but he’s honestly pretty dang dull, and will quickly be replaced by Onsen Mark (who we’ve seen before) becoming a regular. (I will gloss right over Onsen Mark’s name in this omnibus, thanks much.) Natsuko’s volleyball-obsessed girl filled with rage is a very amusing arc, with great facial expressions, but she’s not someone you can imagine showing up over and over again. The same with Kaede the runaway ninja girl, who honestly seems like she’d be better off far away from Ataru and company. Fortunately, at the very end we meet Lum’s cousin and childhood “friend” Ran, who arrives with a cute act and a thirst for revenge, and is easily the best part of the back half of the book. You can see why she sticks around.

As for our regulars, they do pretty well. Ataru and Lum are fighting less, and frequently team up against common enemies (my favorite part being “Cry, Lum.” “Waaaaaaahh!” “See, you made her cry!”). Now, Lum still gets angry, and can be seen hear biting Ataru on the arm in addition to shocking him, but Ataru doesn’t seem to resent her presence anymore. Which is good, as she transfers into his school in this volume, thus helping to avoid finding reasons for her to show up in the classroom. The addition of the other cast members also helps take the focus of the manga off “will Ataru choose Lum” and focus more on “this obnoxious cast of obnoxious humans and aliens”, which will help it survive for the remaining fourteen omnibuses.

So there are some growing pains in this book, but it’s still highly entertaining, and Takahashi’s art has gotten to the point where you don’t have to apologize for it anymore. Still essential.