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oyceter(original title: 海獣の子供/Kaijuu no kodomo)
I read volume 1 of this last April, so my recollection is extremely fuzzy and bolstered by Wiki.
Ruka, who has never quite fit in at school, chances upon an odd, dark-skinned boy named Umi ("ocean" in Japanese) one day. Later on, she meets him at the aquarium her father works at, where she also meets Umi's protector Jim Cusack. Meanwhile, odd things are happening around the world, such as ocean species being discovered far from their natural habitats, or reports of animals like whales dissolving into light. Umi's brother Sora ("sky" in Japanese) eventually shows up. We get a little backstory of how Jim came across the two boys, as well as what he thinks might be happening and why he thinks Umi and Sora are different from other people—they can stay underwater for longer and seem to be able to communicate with sea creatures.
Overall, this feels like a Honored Piece of Work that I don't quite get. Don't get me wrong; it's lovely. I particularly like the sketchy quality of the drawings, as well as how broad the world in the series feels. Umi and Sora are connected to events around the world, and I like that we get practical looks at Tokyo trains and mom-and-pop convenience stores along with more evanescent imagery of manta rays and undersea happenings. I also like that Ruka's parents are divorced (I think), that her mother is not the standard stay-at-home mom, and that there are many alternative family structures in the series.
I wish Igarashi's larger view of the world extended to race and racism. Unfortunately, Umi is so far the main non-Japanese POC character, and I have issues with how Igarashi portrays the more "primitive" island villages where Jim Cusack connects with the sea. Although Jim believes more in what the "natives" believe, there's still the divide between the white and Japanese world (the Japanese world, unsurprisingly, allies itself with the white world), which is science-y and has aquariums and is about Saving the Whales, and the superstitious brown people on their islands, who have mystical rituals and old folktales that might be Wiser Than Our Science.
I'm not sure how much Igarashi is going to deconstruct this in later volumes, but so far, it doesn't seem like there's much deconstruction. It more feels like the scaffolding he's building his tale on, which is rather unfortunate.
Overall, interesting, outside the usual shoujo and shounen areas, but I'm not sure if it's outside enough in some ways.
I read volume 1 of this last April, so my recollection is extremely fuzzy and bolstered by Wiki.
Ruka, who has never quite fit in at school, chances upon an odd, dark-skinned boy named Umi ("ocean" in Japanese) one day. Later on, she meets him at the aquarium her father works at, where she also meets Umi's protector Jim Cusack. Meanwhile, odd things are happening around the world, such as ocean species being discovered far from their natural habitats, or reports of animals like whales dissolving into light. Umi's brother Sora ("sky" in Japanese) eventually shows up. We get a little backstory of how Jim came across the two boys, as well as what he thinks might be happening and why he thinks Umi and Sora are different from other people—they can stay underwater for longer and seem to be able to communicate with sea creatures.
Overall, this feels like a Honored Piece of Work that I don't quite get. Don't get me wrong; it's lovely. I particularly like the sketchy quality of the drawings, as well as how broad the world in the series feels. Umi and Sora are connected to events around the world, and I like that we get practical looks at Tokyo trains and mom-and-pop convenience stores along with more evanescent imagery of manta rays and undersea happenings. I also like that Ruka's parents are divorced (I think), that her mother is not the standard stay-at-home mom, and that there are many alternative family structures in the series.
I wish Igarashi's larger view of the world extended to race and racism. Unfortunately, Umi is so far the main non-Japanese POC character, and I have issues with how Igarashi portrays the more "primitive" island villages where Jim Cusack connects with the sea. Although Jim believes more in what the "natives" believe, there's still the divide between the white and Japanese world (the Japanese world, unsurprisingly, allies itself with the white world), which is science-y and has aquariums and is about Saving the Whales, and the superstitious brown people on their islands, who have mystical rituals and old folktales that might be Wiser Than Our Science.
I'm not sure how much Igarashi is going to deconstruct this in later volumes, but so far, it doesn't seem like there's much deconstruction. It more feels like the scaffolding he's building his tale on, which is rather unfortunate.
Overall, interesting, outside the usual shoujo and shounen areas, but I'm not sure if it's outside enough in some ways.
(no subject)
Mon, Apr. 25th, 2011 08:52 am (UTC)This was exactly my reaction to it. I remember reading a few chapters last year when everyone was raving about it and... wondering why everyone was raving about it. ^^;
(no subject)
Mon, Apr. 25th, 2011 08:37 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Wed, Apr. 27th, 2011 08:10 pm (UTC)It's neat, but... it feels like there's something missing.
(no subject)
Tue, Apr. 26th, 2011 05:24 am (UTC)(no subject)
Tue, Apr. 26th, 2011 06:05 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Tue, Apr. 26th, 2011 03:03 pm (UTC)---L.
(no subject)
Tue, Apr. 26th, 2011 06:06 pm (UTC)