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Friday, September 3, 2010
Bozu Battle
There’s an honorific that I really love, even though I don’t think I’ve ever seen it used in the text of a manga. It shows up in every one of Del Rey’s “Honorifics Explained” columns, though:
“Bozu: This is an informal way to refer to a boy, similar to the English terms ‘kid’ and ‘squirt.’”
Manga, as you undoubtedly know, is littered with bozu. Two more just joined the throng – Issa Kazuma in Kairi Fujiyama’s Dragon Eye (Del Rey) and Taikobo of Ryu Fujisaki’s Hoshin Engi (Viz – Shonen Jump). Both are older than they look, though they’ve retained that youthful glow and bozu joie de vivre, even when battling the seemingly limitless forces of evil. Given their similarities, I couldn’t resist the urge to conduct a side-by-side comparison.
Skills: Issa fights vampire-like creatures called “dracules,” victims of a virus that decimated the world’s population. He uses a combination of fairly standard combat skills and a powerful and mysterious third eye that… does stuff. Taikobo is a disciple of a pantheon of gods who has been asked to rid the Yin Kingdom of an evil demon, Dakki, who’s seduced the emperor and leads a horde of lesser demons to hold onto power. Taikobo tends to rely on guile and reverse psychology, though he sometimes relies on his paope, a mystical weapon that looks kind of like a retractable pointer that… does stuff.
Advantage: Taikobo. It’s close, because a mysterious third eye has an undeniable cachet, but it’s more fun to watch Taikobo manipulate circumstances rather than use force.
Motivating trauma: Issa’s sister was kidnapped by dracules to force him into aiding their cause. She’s still missing, and he’s switched sides to join VIUS, the official, anti-dracule force. There are strong suggestions that he’s taken some unsavory shortcuts, even though he’s on the side of the angels. Taikobo’s whole family was murdered for opposing Dakki.
Advantage: Draw. Bad things happening to characters you never really meet is only affecting in the abstract.
Nemeses: The dracules come in a variety of flavors, from low-level, unintelligent beasts to manipulative, sadistic humanoids to giant monsters. None of them really emerge as a memorable antagonist, but they give off an appropriately menacing vibe. Dakki and her horde, while more specifically rendered, don’t manage to make much of an impression. Dakki’s defining qualities are hotness and sadism, which aren’t exactly novel. She’s also given to wearing boob socks.
Advantage: Issa. Dakki’s airhead brutality gets old kind of quickly, though it’s kind of fun to watch her build her own devices of torture.
Sidekicks: Issa is the leader of Squad Zero of VIUS, though he’s starting from scratch. His first recruit is plucky, short-skirted Leila. His second recruit, Yukimura, wants to kill him, and not in that “You stupid bozu, why was I yoked with such a moron?” kind of way. Taikobo’s only full-time helper is Supushan, a flying hippo-like creature who provides transportation, occasional mystical support, and moral guidance, which Taikobo resolutely ignores. While Taikobo talks about gathering forces against Dakki, his initial candidates opt for additional training before joining the crusade.
Advantage: Taikobo. Issa’s squad is kind of bland, and I’m a sucker for anything that reminds me of Moomin. It’s a flying hippo with a shag haircut. I’m not made of stone.
Narrative landscape: On the scenic front, Taikobo takes the lead, with his pastoral setting proving easier on the eye than Issa’s post-apocalyptic wasteland. On the clarity front, it’s no comparison. Hoshin Engi is littered with different ranks of spiritual creatures, good and evil, and a baffling array of weapons that may or may not have their own level of sentience. They all do… things. Viz thoughtfully provided a chart that explains who everyone is and what everything does,and there are lots of little translation notes, but I still ended up feeling like I was translating as I went along. Dragon Eye is blissful simplicity by comparison. A virus turns people into monsters, and our heroes kill them. Fujisaki spends so much time explaining what’s going on that it all loses impact.
Advantage: Issa. His setting may be grim, but he travels a lot lighter, leaving room for more nuanced characterization and engaging, easy-to-follow action.
Ruling: The categories break down to a draw, but I’m going to have to give the final bozu battle victory to Dragon Eye’s Issa. His series isn’t burdened with Hoshin Engi’s mythological muddle, and things move at a nice clip. While I like Taikobo’s amusingly indirect approach to his quest, there’s just too much clutter tripping up his story along the way. While illustrations are solid in both, I’d give the slight advantage to Fujiyama. His pages are crisp and vibrant in a way that I find appealing. Fujisaki’s are broken down into a dozen tiny panels to fit everything in, which adds to the somewhat jittery effect.
(This battle has been sponsored by complimentary copies provided by the publishers.)
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Bozu Spotlight: It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Yumi Hotta and Takeshi Obata’s Hikaru no Go (Viz – Shonen Jump). Of all of the manga featuring young men who want to be the best at whatever, this one has a purity and urgency that really make it stand out. The relatively recent addition of bad-to-the-bone bozu Kosuke Ochi gives things an added kick.
Ochi is competing with our hero Hikaru in the Go Association’s pro test, and he’s a horrible little gnome. Using a combination of premeditated manipulation and serendipitous rudeness, he throws his competitors into a tailspin, and he doesn’t look like he’s even twelve yet. When not terrorizing his peers, he’s taking private lessons with young pro Toya, Hikaru’s chief rival. Beyond his amusingly awful antics, it’s nice that Ochi is able to serve as a go-between for the book’s main characters.
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April 22, 2008:
February 4, 2008:
November 20, 2006:
A Comic-Con without the Captain
