Adult Swim: Another Plunge into the Bizarre

Wow, getting out a review every week may be a bit more than I can manage. I will still post one as often as I can. Sorry, folks.

One of the many reasons I like manga in general is how comfortable they are with fantasy and the like, as if it's perfectly natural. Since I'm also of the fantasy persuasion myself, it's easy for me to feel at home. But, more than that, I love the originality I often see when it comes to taking even an off-the-wall idea and making it front and center in an interesting book. Even better if the book can challenge some of my taboos, some of my views on things, making me both think and feel.

I've got to tell you, as far as I'm concerned, that's about as good as it gets with books. And one series that does just that is Ze by Shimuzu Yuki ("Ze," in this case means something like "Agreed" and has to do with the original bargain with the Puppet Master). I LOVE this series and I've read it probably a dozen times. I have all the books (except one, which is a story of it's own I'll note at the end).

The premise is that there are a group of people who, genetically, have a talent for kotodama, which in this series means "the ability to make things happen by saying it" and, for whatever reason, it seems to be limited to causing harm. The down side of this awesome power is that the backlash is pretty horrible so the more heinous things you do, the more you are injured yourself--and injuring yourself to the point of death is actually pretty easy for most of them. Enter Waki who, in an agreement with the patriarch of this clan, used his black magic to make hardy, damage-taking paper dolls that look and act like human beings, dolls that would become the tools of a single kotodama master and accept the damage for him, repairing themselves over and over until worn out or their core is damaged.

Now all of that may sound ho-hum. But it's not. For one thing, we explore again (and quite effectively, too, I might add) the question of what makes someone an individual, a soul, a human being. Obviously, they're not and yet, with this pretty brutal talent used for obtaining wealth for the humans in here, the "dolls" (kami) end up humanizing and making better humans of the people they interact with. The means for transferring wounds from human to kami involve contact with the mucus membrane (kissing and sex) with more intensive contact required for more extensive wounds. And Waki threw in his own wrinkle in that kotodama masters are only paired with kami of the same gender. It is, after all, yaoi. Though I think we could make an argument that the most sexually perverted, use-her-kami-as-a-sex-toy individual, happens to be a female.

Enter a regular person into this strange world of ownership and partnership, someone who refuses to see the kami as less than humans (and find the kami agreeing with him), watching the relationships with kami save some humans from becoming brutes, others from being brutalized, becoming more than vessels for healing physically but true partners in every sense of the word...totally fascinating.
 

This is made more so by an amazing array of compelling characters:

• the naive cook who falls for the gloomy leftover kami, 
• the original easy-going kotodama so strong he single-handedly destroyed the village that tried to rape his sister and who keep three kami quite busy with his antics, 
• the young kotodama master forced to take over at a young age with a kami who hated him, 
• the even younger kotodama prodigy so powerful at birth he destroyed buildings with his first cries so they spelled him so he'd be strangled if he talked and the kami that worked tireless to protect him from a job where his power was a danger to all, especially himself, 
• the neglected child from outside the family who inherited a kami but didn't understand how to deal with him, 
• another from outside who swore never to use his kotodama because of accidentally killing his mother with it when he was a teenager. 
• And, behind them all, the enigmatic, potentially evil puppet master, completely consumed with a kami long since passed.

Kami can be revived, but their memories are gone. And trying to overcome that becomes a haunting quest. But overall, the story is really about coming to grips with the humanity of the kami and the humanizing influence they have on people in a pretty bizarre and ruthless profession. About what makes us unique and special and worth fighting for.

 

Now, the story hit on a number of my "can't stand" taboos, yet did so in a way where I got how and why it happened, and could even accept it, which is no small feat. I have a number of mangas I still love without accepting those aspects and an even larger number I just can't stand for those aspects. That's how good the characters are, and, if you've been following me for any length of time, you know characters are everything to me.

The entire series is eleven books long and there's something memorable in every one. I find the source story fascinating, even though it's told last, and the future even more interesting. I feel left in a good place, with a number of characters I love all where they belong. That does not always happen. Not so sure if Waki is reformed, per se, but he definitely has his moments. 

Now, for the drag. This was released and then the company that released it stopped or went out of business after six volumes. Later, either they or someone else picked it up and started again with Ze 7 and, as an added bonus, released the first five volumes-- BUT NOT SIX! Oy, how irksome. I have #6 in German (which I don't speak) out of desperation and I have access to it on-line, and I have every other volume through to the end, but still!

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Adult Swim: Picnic At the Beach

Rather than pick out a particular manga, I'm going to talk about the yaoi work of a particular mangaka: Kawai Touko. Why? 'Cause I like 'em. Are they all a lot alike? Yep. Like 'em anyway. Does nearly every pair of characters look almost like the next pair of characters? Yeah.

For the most part, we're not exploring the depths and angst of homosexuality. There are minimal love triangles, or, thank Heaven, stupid plots putting protagonists at risk in stupid ways. No protagonists raping, coercing or torturing each other (unless one wants to count mutual consensual piercing in Bond(z) and the one masochist in Cut).

What they are romances with generally wonderful people, who might have shadows and pain, either in the past or currently, who don't always make the best choices and are therefore both imperfect and charming. In most cases, they were stories about more than sex (which is not always true of yaoi, believe me) even though sex is a common element, about relationships between people, rather than just bodies. But the people interacted and depended on each other, without the powerful male/helpless-uke-in-distress pattern.

They're fun and funny. The art is good (even if everyone has painfully pointy chins) with generally tastefully done sex scenes and expressive faces. The characters are generally loveable, shadows and all, if for no other reason than the earnest way they care about each other. Some are clever, some are talented, some are patient. Some aren't, just like real people, but without the lopsided relationships prevalent in yaoi and romances alike. Because the people and the relationships feel real, complete with misunderstandings, selfishness, self-sacrifice and real affection (not just lust). The books are about making real connections with other people, obstacles notwithstanding, and manage to do so with humor, depth and emotion, but without getting sappy or shallow.

Here's the best news (and I rarely get to say this about yaoi): they are almost all available published in English. (Yes, I own everything on my list - forthcoming - except Overdose and don't regret a sou). The only sad thing is that, sometimes, the translations are not quite as good as what one finds in the scanlations [example: "the end of our road of passion" vs. the infinitely better, "limits of desire"). Also, the stories are all spun out to reasonable lengths (only Bond(z) is strictly one-shots) but not dragged out for dozens of volumes. The longest series is two volumes, an easy evening of reading. So, here's the rundown going alphabetically (using English titles):

Bond(z) - One-shots including (a) two "straight" friends who find themselves experimenting with each other, only to fall unexpectedly into love (b) two friends since childhood who have loved each other, but with one denying his own feelings because of a kindergarten teacher who made him ashamed of his gay affection, (c) a rare Kawai fantasy involving the prince of a rosebush (you had to be there), and (d) a pampered rich boy finding his own freedom with companion from the "regular world."

Cafe Latte Rhapsody - Sweet story about a tiny gay clerk in a bookstore and his romance with his absurdly tall awkward (but so adorable) younger cohort. As close to sappy as Kawai gets, and still so charming I can't hardly stand it. Minimal shadows here.

Cut - I'd say her edgiest work with two high school seniors, each with their own demons, one nearly killed by a psychotic mother, the other convinced he killed his father. Together, they confront their demons, one by abandoning his self-imposed isolation while the other must forgo his self-punishment. This is the only work with overt S and M and incest (step-parent). The latter step-father is not a protagonist.

In The Walnut (2 volumes) - An eccentric scruffy yet unusually photogenic artistic genius and his best friend/lover, a movie cameraman, handle art crises including restorations and forgeries with intelligence and compassion. This is probably the least "romance" set of stories and yet, the genuine warmth between our couple (despite their unique beginning - I actually recommend reading the extras in In the Walnut vol 1 before the rest) make them one of my favorite couples. Charming as Cafe Rhapsody if somewhat less innocent and with the intellectual stimulus of art history tossed in as well.

Just Around the Corner - Two souls collide when their worlds are darkest and find solace in each other: a 26 year old salary man who lost his lover and job at the same time (because he rather foolishly was having an affair with his married boss) stumbles across a "19-year-old" piano prodigy who's piano-playing future was shattered by an accident that cut up his hands. Solace transforms into a "sex friend" relationship that begins to become more and more significant over time until our unemployed salary man takes up his new job as a substitute math teacher and discovers his part time lover is a full-time sixteen year old high school student. I'm not a big fan for the teacher-student pair ups that are very very common in yaoi but, by the time we got there, I was already in love with the characters and Kawai's handling of this tricky scenario was spot on perfect. It's a favorite, I admit.

Loveholic (2 volumes) - a talented but volatile photographer (Nishioka) is only handled effectively by the rich and capable advertising executive, Matsukawa Daisuke, who is, arguably, his biggest fan. Over the first book their growing interdependence, fondness, and interadmiration of one another grows into a romantic relationship (to, perhaps, the photographer's surprise). There's an added extra explaining Daisuke's tattoo and the reason for his patience. In the second volume, the relationship is fleshed out until they reach a point where someone has to give up "everything" for the other - and the other has to accept that. I love this series, really, it's my favorite of the Kawai books and I can't even tell you why, unless it's Nishioka's face after their first kiss:

Our Everlasting (2 volumes) - Another extrovert/shy guy pairing, this one with sexy straight Horyu changing his view of their relationship when his best friend, the timid Shouin, confesses to Horyu when he thinks Horyu is sleeping. Too shy to take the initiative, Horyu must determine he shares the feelings and pursue Shouin, almost to excess, before he can get Shouin to admit his own feelings. Throughout the second volume, other insecurities threaten their relationship, ah, but love wins, as many of us like to think it should. There's an unrelated one-shot in each volume, with the In the Walnut introduction as the extra in volume 2 (with a different translation than that in the In the Walnut book itself).

Overdose - Sweet unassuming guy (Chika) confesses to a womanizing man (Yuuji)who becomes intrigued and sleeps with him out of curiosity, only to find the sex compelling and the companionship of Chika appealling, so much so that he moves in to the home and a relationship with Chika. Chika loves him desperately. Unfortunately, for Chika, relationship notwithstanding, Yuuji sees no reason to forgo his previous profligate ways, throwing them in Chika's face with an insensitivity that drives their mutual friends batty. Finally, Chika has more than he can handle and he leaves the apparently indifferent Yuuji. That leaves Yuuji to reluctantly come to terms with what he really feels and what really wants. Yuuji is arguably the least appealing of Kawai's protagonists.

If you're new to the genre but interested in checking it out , I'd say you couldn't go wrong with Touko Kawai.

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Adult Swim: Horseplay

In contrast to my last post's story, Afuresou na Pool, today's yaoi offering isn't the least bit thoughtful, does not examine any deep sociological depths, is all but devoid of drama (or at least any plausible plot lines) and does not keep a tasteful distance when it comes to sex between men or between men and men who look deceptively like children. If graphic depictions of sex between men send your sphincter twitching and make you want to stab out your eyeballs with a fork, or you're not an adult, DO NOT follow this link to Ai to Yokubou wa Gaduen de (by Umezawa Hana) because sex is everywhere, in your face, and little, if anything, is verboten. Do I like it anyway? You bet. The sex didn't bother me in the slightest (I'm a grown up and have discovered I enjoy reading yaoi smex). And, far more importantly to me, it makes me laugh my ass clean off (though I tend to grow it back overnight).

I rolled. I loled. I howled and pounded my desk. Nothing's sacred in this manga because the whole damn thing is tongue in cheek. And, in the midst of all the craziness and orgy of sexual misconduct, it's romantic with pair after pair of students, teachers, directors, tycoons, doctors, even a chef pairing off against the school's sanction against "falling in love". The premise is a school in the future devoted to training people who intend to go into the sex trade. An all-boy's school ("Full Bloom Academy"). If the premise isn't crazy or ridiculous enough for you, just wait. You might want to sit down for this.

Full Bloom Academy has a host department (host clubs are big in yaoi), pet department (youthful looking boys training to be "kept"), AV department (adult video), and, my favorite, abnormal where the world of kinky awaits. There are students that are "rare" (i.e. virgins) and students that are "absolutes" (i.e. can go 24 hours without faltering), each lovingly trained in the art of sex by a strange cast of teachers. While students, once they've met certain criteria, they can be leased out for presumably on-the-job experience that nets the school and the student money, precluding the need for tuition. Since many students are there to address debts of their families or themselves, this is a big deal and frequently comes up. One can also earn a fee by finding a good prospect and delivering them to the school (as one student was by his own lover).

There are sad stories in there, some with just enough plausibility to be touching, most silly enough to just be funny. And, despite the "absolute" prohibition against falling in love, the whole things starts with the enigmatic all-knowing director falling for a student who drops out to become his secretary. I find it interesting that, though most of the characters are involved in the sex trade, in some fashion or another, the couples are amazingly faithful and run the range from completely understanding sending the host significant other off to work to becoming irate over a kiss mark obtained in class. And, of course, there's the much pierced prince of the abnormal department and his kidnaped "tribute", the would-be host and homophobe

Despite the hilarity, the excessive sex and the ridiculous plot developments, the characters are surprisingly believable and engaging. I found them easy to identify with (mostly) and frequently charming, or I would have set this aside quickly. It's what makes the romantic stories that fall out of this whirlwind satisfying, that the characters, however laughable their setting and predicaments, still seem real enough.

The drawing style is distinctive with pointy haired characters with expressive eyes, beautiful faces and exaggerated sex scenes complete with fluids and toes that curl so much they look like hands. Still, I found it fairly compelling and well suited to the comic style running through this whole thing (still not completed). And the characters can be incredibly hot.

It's not a serious story. I hope you got that. It's blatantly full of smutty sex. I hope you got that, too. If you haven't tried yaoi, be warned, this manga shameless indulges in every extreme of yaoi (except rape by a protagonist, obvious pedophilia, and incest) and isn't afraid to laugh at every aspect. And I love the kind of humor that laughs at itself.

Would I buy this if it were available in English? Oh yea. Because I love it. It doesn't make me think or really add to my understanding of gay relationships (or love in general), but, if I'm in the mood for mindless fun of the distinctly non-clean variety, this fits the bill with panache.

Umezawa Hana has a couple of other manga, too. 24 Jikan Kiss Dekinai is incomplete (but discontinued) and was cute but nowhere near as full of hilarity as this manga. Koi Yori Kiss Yori Daikirai is ongoing and incomplete but also shoujo so not the kind of fun-filled smut I enjoyed so much.

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Adult Swim: Into the Pool

So, if I want to write about adult manga, particularly yaoi, the stuff that got to me, as it were, I can't, off-hand, think of a better place to start than with ISHIHARA Satoru's Afuresou na Pool which is saying something. Like, unfortunately, the bulk of the yaoi I've enjoyed, I can't find it licensed in English, but there are several manga scanlation sites that have the whole six volume series. Well worth the time, in my opinion.

Now, before you leap off to check it out, thinking you'll be inundated with short satisfying stories filled to the brim with graphic sex, let me tell you, that's not what you'll find. Not to say that's not what a significant proportion, if not most, yaoi is, I found this an atypical yaoi. So, if you read this and loved this, that doesn't mean the rest of yaoi will be your cup of tea. Nor does it mean that if you read this and wondered where all the naked sweaty guys were from chapter to chapter, that you won't like yaoi, even if this isn't your cup of tea.

It's a long story, very much a character study involving several young men, two sets of friends, and one set of lovers. I like starting with this for the uninitiated because this story has in spades what I look for (often in much smaller doses) in yaoi - people that care about each other. It also is a masterful example, in my opinion, about what makes a homosexual romantic relationship different from a heterosexual romantic relationship, those things that make it much harder and not just the lack of understanding from the outside world.

I appreciate that there's a great deal of what I think must be authentic male view point because, at first, it tended to leave me confused. But as I delved more into the various minds involved, it started to make it's own twisted (i.e. male) sense. It involved a passionate seme (I hate semes that seem untouched or are cold to their partners). It involved a strong uke, and I appreciate that just like I appreciate a strong female protagonist. (For those unfamiliar with the terms, a seme is the one penetrating. I presume you can deduce what a uke is.) There are no love interests here that look like grade schoolers. No blushing ineffective ukes ready to cry at a moments notice. Everyone has their own personality and their own strengths, without any of them being perfect or making optimum choices. And that fits in pretty well with kids about to graduate high school as well.

And, despite the relative dearth of graphic sexual scenes (I think there might be a couple of shots, but not the unending screw-fest many yaoi are), it is loaded to bear with sensual scenes, sexy scenes, scenes that get the blood flowing nicely, thank you very much. Attraction, friendship, love and lust are all portrayed very effectively, very movingly here and the artwork, particularly with faces and eyes, is quite compelling. It has a modicum of humor without being a comedy. It has a serving of dark without being maudlin or tragic. A dose of drama of becoming unbearably sappy or, if you'll excuse the expression, stupidly dramatic.Note that it does start with some pretty forceful moves by Kizu that would seem to brush against my severe anti-rape bias. When I read further, and noted Iriya's own efforts, pursuits, drives, I realized there was another way to look at it. Particularly given how well Iriya can defend himself. But you can decide for yourself.

I've read it several times now and would buy it if it were licensed and available. It's an investment in time and less pure enjoyment than thought-provoking. Which makes it a pretty remarkable manga whatever the genre.

And favorite character? Yeah, it's Iriya Tetsuo. Not just because he's a hottie, though that doesn't hurt, but because it's easiest for me to identify with his struggles. While everyone's trying to find their place, he does the best, I think, at keeping his feet on the ground despite the fact his role is the hardest.  And he never turns his back on the people he cares about.

There are a couple of side stories and, to warn you, rape is not precluded, sex is more graphic and violence is front and center far more than in the rest of the story. Just a heads up. I still read them and find them good, but they're a darker set so be forewarned. None of the stuff in adult swim is really suitable for children.

Update: I also really liked this mangaka's Shounen wa Asu wo Korosu and Yarouze!, neither of which get really naughty. They were interesting, had their own appeal and some lovely drawing, but neither made quite the impression on me of the first. Kimi Shiruya is also good and clean and has the advantage of being available in book form in English (and, yes, I own it). I really like this mangaka.

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