Sakura of DOOM

(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.

The main story arc of the series finished in volume 7; these two volumes are collected short stories. Some feature characters from the main arc, and some are only related in the most tangential of ways. As Mori notes in the omake, she just wanted to draw them! Handwave the connection!

The stories here are about some of the maids Emma worked with, the Meredith family, Eleanor, Kelly Stowner, Hakim and William, and a slice-of-life story following the trail of a newspaper and another bittersweet romance about opera singers.

My favorites are the story about Mr. and Mrs. Meredith, the one about Kelly Stowner and the Crystal Palace, and the one about Eleanor. I am probably biased about the one on Eleanor, since I liked her a lot and was simply glad to see more of her.

I find some of the ones on the maids problematic; Mori does beautiful detail about people's daily lives, but the class issues (complete lack thereof) frustrate me. And oh, Hakim. I love the character, and yet, there is the same complete lack of talk about empire that is also even more wrong because it has Indian royalty befriending British bourgeoisie! Mori does say she wanted to talk more about empire in her notes, but I am kind of doubtful as to how critical she would be about it.

On a non-political note, I was also not initially charmed by the one about Erich Meredith and his pet squirrel—I am biased! Rats, infinitely better!—Mori completely won me over with her careful depictions of squirrel mannerisms. The squirrel scratches himself with his hind leg! He washes his face! It is SO CUTE.

Not that I am at all biased about cute rodents...

In terms of craft, I loved the story about Mr. and Mrs. Meredith the most. I'm impressed that almost all of it takes place between the two of them in bed (with the occasional flashback to other scenes), and yet, it was not boring. I loved the detailed observations about hands and hair, the intimate looks at the tiny gestures within their marriage, and the way Mori so perfectly captures those tiny gestures and small moments. My favorite part is probably the sequence that begins with Mrs. Meredith examining Mr. Meredith's fingers. It continues with hand clasps and both of their memories of hands on the violin, hands brushing back hair, hands offered out for help. And almost all of it is completely wordless and reminds me of what very good sequential art is capable of. It's just... very impressive.

Overall, this is a good display of Mori's strengths—attention to detail and small moments—although I don't know how much it will resonate with those who haven't read the rest of the series. I think some of the stories are good standalones (the one about the Merediths, the Stowners visiting the Crystal Palace), while others need more context (the one about Eleanor).

This is by the mangaka of Chi's Sweet Home, which I have not read. And apparently it's a revival of a series or something, given the "New" in the title and the author's notes.

Fuku is the rather fat and spoiled cat of an old lady who is never named; the entire manga consists of their day-to-day adventures, like Fuku sleeping on the TV, only to discover that it's not on and is cold, or the old lady tempting Fuku with new toys, only to learn that she of course just wants the box or bag the toys came in.

I am not sure there's anything I have to say about this, except that the mangaka has clearly had cats before, and that it made me laugh and laugh at all the silly things cats and their owners do, and that it is cute and happy and round and I am so going to look for the mangaka's other cat manga.

Highly recommended if you like cats.

Still beautifully written and drawn, and they're getting to stories that I don't know from the anime (this is not saying if they're in the anime or not, as I haven't finished it yet). Also, volume 4 contains one of my favorite mushi stories so far (the one with the cocoon).

( Spoilers )

I feel bad about continually having very little to say about this series, but the one-offs don't lend themselves to character or plot analysis. Instead, I just read and enjoy.

( Spoilers! )

All in all, a satisfying thriller with psychic kids. Now on to the next Soryo series on Cesare Borgia!

Del Rey, why so slow?

I was pleasantly surprise to find this didn't overlap much with the anime (I'm up to episode 9 right now); I'd only seen one chapter before.

I like that we're getting more of a look at what being a mushishi means; Ginko finds another one in the first chapter. We later meet a woman who records information on mushi in what is currently my favorite part of this volume.

Ginko visits to tell her stories, and there is a room piled high with scrolls on mushi. Except sometimes, the words come to life..

I particularly love the image of the woman plucking entire sentences off the walls with chopsticks and re-securing them in her scrolls.

I'm still not quite sure how to describe the series. It's very episodic right now, with very little plot, and yet, it's very absorbing once you get into it.

I thought this series was boring up till around vol. 5, and now I cannot stop reading it. I think I've said this several times already, but the more I read, the more impressed I am with how solid Urasawa is, both as an artist and as a writer. I've been trying to sell him to other people (hi vom_marlowe, victim recipient of my latest attempts!) because he does great plots that are insanely addictive, likeable and moral characters, good women, and I really enjoy his side characters.

I keep saying this, but I'm still so impressed by how he can make me care about someone in the space of a volume, usually by a deft combination of time-skipping around in the narrative, tying the character into the plot, and giving them very memorable and believable backstories and motives that dovetail nicely into the themes of the story he tells.

( Spoilers )

Oh, I really love this manga, particularly Mori's attention to the tiniest details, of expressions and movements and still moments.

These two volumes are a little soapier than the previous ones; there's a level of coincidence that I don't quite find believable. But soapy for Mori Kaoru is so many levels below the usual drama of romances (shoujo and the romance genre), and I love the character Emma so much, that I'm willing to overlook that.

Also, Mori Kaoru's author notes are awesome, particularly the one that shows a pie chart of her brain (categories: Victorian-era maids, Edwardian-era maids, corsets, etc.).

( Spoilers )