T is for Twin Spica and Three other Titles

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The Times of Botchan by Natsuo Sekikawa (script) and Jiro Taniguchi (art)

Only four volumes of this ten-volume series* are out in English, and as the most recent of those came out in 2009, this translation also seems to be on permanent hiatus. Which is a shame, but not perhaps all that surprising - this slow-moving, prose-heavy story depicting Japan towards the end of the Meiji period (1867-1912) was probably never going to become a huge hit. I find it quite fascinating: while Sekikawa's script is a bit stilted at times, telling us some things the artwork already shows, I do love Taniguchi's art and enjoy following the characters around and learning of their lives, which seem mostly to be based on real historical facts, as far as I can tell. The central figure of the manga is the famous novelist Sōseki Natsume, and the title refers to Natsume's book Botchan, which he is working on during the story.

* Based on the book Meiji kenken hikyū roku ("A Chronicle of Altruistic Undertakings in the Meiji Period", according to the title page) by Seigai Ota.



Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms by Fujiko Kouno

This slim volume has two interconnected stories about the nuclear bomb that fell on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. None of them are set when it happened - the first one, "Town of Evening Calm", is set 10 years later and focused on a survivor. It's also much shorter than the second story, "Country of Cherry Blossoms", which is set decades later and has a young protagonist who learns about the history of Hiroshima and the bomb as something that shaped her family history and also herself.

Unlike Barefoot Gen, this is not written by a survivor: Kouno has no personal experience to guide her and so had to do research instead. Compared to the older story, this manga is less intense in tone and impact, but also seems to be purposely going for a softer touch, gentle as the artwork itself (which is simple-ish and cute in a way that differs from more common manga styles). It also addresses an older audience than Barefoot Gen, and doesn't spell everything out as much; it feels fairly life-like in that way. But the flashbacks, insights and painful thoughts are still very effective.




Twin Spica by Koo Yaginuma

A lovely, heart-twinging and frequently tear-jerky coming-of-age story that's now finished in English after 12 volumes. Twin Spica is set in a near future where diminutive but determined teenager Asumi Kamogawa has dreamed all her life of becoming an astronaut, and now she and fellow dreamers apply for the new Tokyo Space School. The manga goes on to show her and her friends' tribulations and fun times, with frequent flashbacks to Asumi's childhood. Since a young child Asumi has had a companion only she can see in "Mr Lion", a ghost who carries a lion's head for a mask and who always encouraged her. Apart from him she had few friends, but now she starts to reach more people who have the same dream as she does. And while they are ostensibly all competing against each other for the rare chance of getting into space, that doesn't stop them from building strong friendships.

Yaginuma's art style took me a bit getting used to, with the rather childishly cute main characters, especially Asumi herself. At the beginning the story seemed a bit too obvious as well with its many expected tropes. But I was soon hooked anyway - the story conveys emotion really well in a wide-eyed, emotional but sweet fashion. (I wrote a bit more about it here after it ended. No spoilers.)




Twinkle Stars by Natsuki Takaya

This is the 11-volume manga that Natsuki Takaya went on to do after Fruits Basket ended. Another title that I've read in French as it's not translated to English, Twinkle Stars suffers when compared too much to its illustrious predecessor: it's not as grand or deep or heartwarming as Fruits Basket, and its dependence on common shōjo tropes seems more obvious. A kind-hearted but self-effacing heroine meets a boy she finds mysterious and appealing, but he rejects her and acts aloof, yet shows unexpected kindness and hints of older scars... well, it may all sound quite familiar. But add to this Takaya's skill at telling depressing stories of bad parenting (the main character lives with a distant relative as a paid guardian, since her divorced parents can't bother); her close attention to supportive friendships but also the pain you can feel knowing your friendship isn't enough to help someone who suffers; the way her insecure protagonist needs to face her inner demons and come out stronger - and you've got a manga that's well worth reading, IMO.


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Creators

Rumiko Takahashi
Natsuki Takaya
Naoko Takeuchi (Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon
Jiro Taniguchi
Yoshihiro Tatsumi
Yumi Tamura (Basara)
Osamu Tezuka



Favourite characters

Dr./Professor Tenma (Astro Boy & Pluto (he can certainly be horrible, but he's still intriguing)
Tohru Honda (Fruits Basket)

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Anime corner

The Twelve Kingdoms

High school girl Yōko Nakajima (and, in the anime, two of her classmates including the guy she has a crush on) is magically transported to another world where she's first persecuted as a dangerous outsider and then eventually hailed as the kingdom's destined savior and new ruler. Which may all sound like so much standard fantasy, but this anime series that's based on a series of light novels (which I have yet to read) stands out for its careful character development and original world-building that goes deep (for instance, people aren't even born normally in this world, they grow on trees if their parents pray enough to the gods to get a child!). Plus, it has Rakushun, an adorable talking giant mouse character. Yōko's development is especially impressive to me, as it starts off with an insecure girl of low self-confidence who initially just refuses to believe she can be anyone special and wants to return home; and then progresses through a number of believable changes until she's finally ready to accept who she is and do right to people around her. Very touching and heartening precisely because the story allows this to take time.

(The anime gets a lot of flack for including the two other characters in her story, but I thought it was actually pretty cool to see how her female classmate not only reacts well to the transition to the Twelve Kingdoms, but persists in thinking she's the Chosen One who will save everything. You don't see that too often, but I kinda suspect that's how I and many other fantasy fans would react...)

Later on [beware of spoilers, if still fairly vague ones] Yōko gets even more development about how her kingdom really works, what it means to rule and come to terms with yourself as an authority. This time we also get to follow two other female characters at the same time, who start off from very different places and have their own painful paths to follow, frequently misstepping until they can grow into true strength and maturity and make real friends. Again, it may take its time, but that makes it all the more satisfying when it happens.[/spoiler]

I've actually been unable to find out if the anime ends after that later arc behind spoiler-text, or if more of it hasn't been released in an English-language DVD; or if it has but I simply haven't found it. It does feel like there should be more of it, not quite like a real ending. On the other hand, as an ending to the arc it's very satisfying, so I didn't feel like I was left hanging to a frustrating degree.

Tekkenkinkreet is a movie based on Taiyō Matsumoto's three volume seinen manga of the same name. The anime does a good job translating Matsumoto's quirky style (which I find both fascinating and hard to get into at the same confusing time) into something faithful but perhaps a bit more accessible. Worked that way for me, at least. The story is set in a fictional metropolis Treasure Town and revolves around two young orphaned brothers. The bigger brother (Kuro or Black) takes care of the younger, more naïve one (Shiro or White) including getting into criminal activities to survive. But now they're both dragged into fights with the yakuza, thugs and evil corporations in order to protect their world. A well-made movie that's rather dark in tone as a whole, but with plenty of genuine heartwarming moments.

Tokyo Godfathers
My favourite movie by the late Satoshi Kon and one of my absolute favourite animated movies (the only non-Ghibli one at the top of the list). Unlike his other movies, Tokyo Godfathers has no elaborate mindscrews where it's hard to say what's truly real, but is quite straightforward throughout. It follows the three homeless people Gin, Hana and Miyuki as they traipse through a wintry Tokyo in the days between Christmas Eve and New York Eve, looking for the mother of a baby they found in the trash. (Gin and Miyuki thought they should just leave the baby to the police, but since they did get a clue about the mother, Hana insisted they should try their best to find her and asks her why she abandoned her baby.)

There are strange coincidences throughout the story, even outright miracles - Gin may complain all he likes that "we're not action heroes", but an action hero is indeed what he becomes, along with his companions - but somehow it still comes across as realistic enough not to feel too unbelievable and saccharine. The down-to-earth, wintry colours with a lot of greys and browns and the detailed and believable Tokyo cityscape help out a lot in making the story feel grounded. And the main characters are very well depicted as their quest forces them to confront parts of their own past they've tried to hide from. A supremely wonderful story that is now my favourite Christmas movie of all. ♥


What begins with a T in your manga alphabet?