Gen Manga Issue 6 Review

The sixth issue of Gen Manga (pronounced with a hard “G” in reference to the Japanese kanji character for “origin,” although I’m told by editor Robert McGuire that pronouncing the title with a soft “G” is fine too) is available to subscribers and consumers now. The October issue introduces the first chapter of a new, ongoing serial, Ryo Hanada’s Good-bye Geist, and shifts the magazine even further toward being America’s exclusive and foremost introduction to contemporary Japanese alternative and gekiga manga.

In the latest chapter of Nakamura Shige’s boxing manga Wolf, the expressions on characters’ faces have more subtelty and greater expression. The visual sense of momentum at the end of Okami & Morimoto’s second round of boxing is so forceful and evident that it’s nearly physical. However, the absence of background art is still a bit distracting. Although the art judiciously uses speed lines and sound effects, the amount of white space on each page makes a noticable impression on the reader. The rendering of sound effects partially compensates for the lack of background art, as sound effects are appropriately drawn in different sizes and styles. Although the sound effects aren’t translated, they don’t need to be, as they’re just as much a visual component of the panel design as an audio cue, if not more a visual component than an aural one.

Mihara Gunya’s Kamen, as usual, is a frustratingly short chapter, frustrating in this case because issue six’s story is especially exciting, illustrated with a selection of unusually dynamic frames and perspective angles. With this chapter being all action, movement is illustrated with particularly cinematic flair and distinctly Japanese pacing. The chapter also introduces an intriguing new plot twist.

Karino Arisa’s historical drama Souls shows significant improvement in its sixth installment. While impressive from the outset, by this sixth chapter, Karino’s mastery of drawing detail and background has improved even further while characters now, finally, look more natural and less disproportioned. Dialogue flows significantly better now, allowing readers to clearly distinguish who’s speaking and easily follow conversations. However, unlike the issue’s prior stories, translation typos still creep into this chapter of Souls including, “If it were bleeding” instead of “If it was bleeding” or “…had been bleeding,” and “…tell myself everything’s alright…” instead of “…everything’s all right…” The story in this issue is thankfully more subtle and less pretentious than it’s been. The chapter ends with some uncharacteristicly pleasant humor that encourages the reader to wonder what will happen next.

Fujimura Takayuki’s Sorako slice-of-life drama serves as a welcome visual contrast to Wolf & Kamen as its visual design is jam packed, reminiscent of a Japanese interpretation of an American 70’s or 80’s underground comic. Unlike the three prior stories, the art of Sorako is fluid, quick, imprecise. Lines aren’t perfectly straight nor details entirely accurate, but the rough drafting style gives the frames energy and character, enhancing the impression that the artist’s goal is to tell Sorako’s story, blemishes and all. Sorako finds herself once again beset with young adult ennui, or perhaps it’s simple laziness. But this time around, rather than finding enlightenment, Sorako finds something else that provides a nice, amusing conclusion to the chapter.

“The Hole to Brazil” installment of Hajime Taguchi’s dramatic and provocative manga Alive is an incisive and moving story about human nature and cathartic transformation. Deeply revealing characterization exudes from seemingly minor and simple dialogue and interactions. The alternative narrative focus is also mirrored in the visual composition that evokes artistic, alternative seinen manga with full backgrounds and details but occasional frames or illustrations that look sparse or even amateurish. The dialogue translation preserves Japanese honorables, as signifiers like “-chan” and “-san” are vital to express the relationships in the story without seeming stilted. The translation also flows well with the exception of rare lines like, “Does he belong on the side of those who gets things taken from them?” and “I loathed the man who took her from me to death,” that may either reflect the speaker’s natural thoughts or may be poor grammar. This chapter of Alive is certainly not conventional teen-oriented action or comedy. This is psychological drama about guilt and regret being stripped away by honest confession. It’s not the type of story that most manga readers desire, but it’s very affecting and satisfying for readers that want mature, literary manga that challenges as much as it entertains.

The newest addition to Gen Manga, Ryo Hanada’s Good-bye Geist visually resembles a contemporary shoujo drama but suggests that it will revolve around darker, more complex and threatening themes than typical high school crushes or college entrance exams. The relatively short first chapter introduces characters within the context of mysterious threats including serial animal abuse and a potential stalker. The potential for a compelling narrative is obvious, but readers will have to wait for future installments to see how the story develops. Unlike Alive, the translation for Good-bye Geist translates honorables into conventional English titles. But within the context of this story, the use of “Mr.” and “Ms.” seem natural and appropriate.

As of issue six, Gen Manga continues to evolve, and more importantly, mature into an increasingly interesting and revealing primer of cutting-edge Japanese gekiga manga. With Suzuki Yu’s serial VS Aliens now concluded, Gen Manga has graduated from conventional teen-oriented manga stories into a broad spectrum of adult-oriented manga. From sports to fantasy action to historical drama to contemporary slice-of-life, Gen Manga issue six presents independent manga for readers that want something different, mature, and literate. This is a true look at bleeding edge artistic underground manga stories that are far more concerned with the integrity of their storytelling than with creating popular, mainstream appeal.

Gen Manga issue six is available online in either two-page spread PDF format or single page PDF format. Archival collectors and fans of traditional books should also consider investing in the limited edition print copies of Gen Manga. Particularly as of recent issues, Gen Manga has spared no expense on the print edition, using nicely textured cardstock covers and bright white interior pages that highlight fine detail and make the top-notch printing really burst off the page.