■These are educational manga, too!
50 selected works from the "These are educational manga, too!" project.
The selections include Machiko Satonaka, Takafumi Horie, and Yohei Sadoshima.
Hakozume
Keep your hands off Eizouken!
Dance Dance Danseur
Blue Period
I wrote some comments about For Immortal Children in the Galaxy, so I'll share them here.
○Keep your hands off Eizouken!
This is a chronicle of some high school girls’ club activities, an anime creation diary, and a mecha science fiction plot that combines fantasy + delusions. The blend of three characters’ aesthetics is quite attractive.
The first is a girl who excels in creativity and drawing, but has some difficulty communicating. Another is concerned because she has drawing ability, but she is also a celebrity in her own right, being an attractive fashion model. One has a producer's temperament and is only interested in business. In this way, the story boldly weaves the otaku world over the stories of the backgrounds of these three girls.
Though set in 2050, there were 20th century style lines like the "Atto Odoroku Tamegoro" gag (popularized by Hajime Hana of the Crazy Cats) showing up in the barracks or public bath. Appearing in the delusions and animes are steampunk items like propellers, chainsaws, treaded vehicles, and robots. They are ever-present and everywhere.
It's not like there are bad guys or annoying adults. It's not like some shocking events take place. Nevertheless, while fighting with their parents and school, they struggle along to turn their dreams into anime.
The anime version directed by Masaaki Yuasa, which brilliantly visualizes the unique style of a combination of detailed mechanical items and grand delusions into in real life, is also excellent.
○Hakozume
A tale of the brave battle of a young female police officer living in an unruly male society. This is not an action, suspense, or mystery piece that follows major incidents or great evils, such as the potboiler and police plots seen on TV or movies, but rather the daily life of a regular police officer who expends energy in dealing with pickpockets, molesters, and lovers' quarrels, all faithfully depicted.
The protagonists are also good-for-nothing, annoying types: they want to fall in love and have fun, all the while complaining about petty grievances like working overtime and handling dangerous duties. However, the bosses and senior colleagues, who sport fearsome scowls, are actually all kind-hearted, and their attentiveness to others is first-class. There is a certain beauty in putting effort into a job where you risk your life and where your efforts are unseen and unappreciated by the world.
It's also an elegant gag manga depicting subtle facial expressions and dialogue, carefully interwoven together. Each frame is rich in detail, so it takes time to read. It may not have the unbelievable characters of Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Koen-mae, but police are still a treasure trove of stories. The author was a police officer for ten years before becoming a manga artist, so the work is the perfect crystallization of affection for, and awareness of the realities of, the police force.
○Dance Dance Danseur
A junior high school student who was concerned about his masculinity and bottled up his interest in ballet awakens to the world of dance and delves into a primarily female world. He goes wild, has fun, suffers, and bursts with vitality. His dynamic energy is a joy to see.
He just lets himself go with the music, rhythm, physical expression, and emotions. He works hard with his partners and rivals to refine his own expressive ability, body, and skills. Nonetheless, he is in a sacred place of traditional art where history and theory have been built up over time. The highest peak in the world is ridiculously high. He learns with his coaches and teachers, gets in altercations, and moves forward. By the time he realizes, he is at the peak.
However, this work is not just a gutsy coming-of-age story. Its true value lies in the fact that it shows that manga can even depict dance in such detail. When it comes to dance scenes, the movement of the body, rhythm, angles and frames, and all of the expressions shine brightly, and you get a sense of immersion and ecstasy that you've never experienced before.
The protagonist is still growing. I'm interested to see where the plot develops.
○Blue Period
This is a story of a boy on a straight shot to Tokyo University of the Arts who is fascinated with drawing.
He has excellent grades, is flashy, and is a popular, handsome guy who drinks alcohol and cigarettes even though he is a high school student. But the truth is that he is empty inside. One day, he becomes captivated by a picture and drawn into the world of fine art. He embarks on a different career path than the one he had envisioned.
Of course, it's fun. Everything is new to him, and he learns. He gradually becomes able to depict things he couldn't. He suffers. And he struggles. Painting is a solitary affair. Yet you get to look all around you and notice new things. There are also things to be learned from interacting with one's friends, rivals, and teachers.
The duality of the self-portrait shown in the first exam clearly is faithful to the protagonist. Bad students and honors students, strivers and cowards, romantics and realists. But the main character is by no means special. Everyone is multifaceted, and our route is never a single track. Be it art, study, or sports, we think about ourselves, decide our own path, and continue on while carrying our own concerns. It's a path everyone goes through. This is a text that lets you think about your own life and growth.
○For Immortal Children in the Galaxy
Children live through an endless eternity in a future where the rest of humanity has perished. A simple-minded older sister who loves rap and an introverted younger brother who loves reading. And also an immortal mother. The older sister seems to represent nature, the younger brother represents civilization, and the mother represents God.
The story is a depiction of eternal time, and starts with the premise: "10,000 years ago, I saw this future" and "I will surely see the same starry sky 10,000 years from now." Having an infinite amount of time means you can explore anything and everything, and still come back, no matter where you go. You are also free of the ultimate fear of dying.
Precisely for that reason, the only crisis that befalls is when the lives of those around them are lost. From their standpoint, a pet's life is but an instant, with its death representing a loss of love and a wound that remains forever. They raise a human child who comes from the sky, and eventually die. They reject immortality and die. Triggered by that, the elder sister sets off with excitement on a journey to become a human being, that is, in search of death.
What is life, what is death? What is eternity, what is a moment? Because the characters have a gentle touch, they are easy to relate to, making you think deeply.
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