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The Layer Method
Our top Secret time-saving technique for creating and merging balloons and tails in Illustrator.
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Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Odd Couples
Madcap Lucy Ricardo and caustic Ethel Mertz… Spunky Mary Richards and funky Rhoda Morgenstern… Moody Elphaba and glittery Glinda… Ditzy Nana Komatsu and cool Nana Osaki… Lolita Momoko and biker Ichiko…
The recipe is simple. Take two temperamentally opposite characters, put them in close proximity, and let the sparks fly.
The recipe is used a lot because it works. It’s basic, but it’s sturdy, and it invites a lot of variety in interpretation and tone.
And when it’s rendered by the gifted Ai Yazawa, it’s so absorbingly gorgeous that it’s hard to care that the premise has a lot of miles on it. Yazawa’s Nana (Viz – Shojo Beat) is engrossing eye candy and promises to develop into something lovely and moving.
It follows two twenty-year-old Nanas as they launch themselves into the buzz and possibilities of Tokyo. Nana K. is the shôjo princess who never quite got her happy ending. Sweet and scattered, she has an abysmal romantic track record. She sees the move to Tokyo as a chance to reinvent herself and cement her first decent relationship (with nice-guy art student Shoji).
Nana O. isn’t weighed down with Nana K.’s romantic notions. A singer-songwriter, she’s got musical ambitions and an independent bent. Instead of moving to Tokyo with her band-mate and lover, Ren, she lived on her own for a while. Now, she’s ready to pursue her own goals in the big city.
The Nanas meet on the train to Tokyo. Circumstances keep throwing them together, and they end up sharing an apartment.
Yazawa’s Paradise Kiss (Tokyopop) was a whirlwind of emotion and drama, so her measured approach in Nana is a bit surprising. The first two volumes are devoted to introducing the protagonists and establishing their circumstances. It doesn’t feel slow at all, though, because the dynamics are so promising.
Nana K. is understandably fascinated with Nana O., who seems like the embodiment of cool. While Nana K. never seems to have an unexpressed thought, Nana O. is much more guarded. Yazawa reveals Nana O.’s inner life more carefully, almost always in the context of Nana K.’s reaction to those revelations. Neither is anything like anyone the other has ever known, but they’re starting to connect in funny, touching ways.
The supporting cast is filled with fun characters who add color. Shoji shows a sweetly believable tolerance for his high-maintenance girlfriend. Pragmatist Junko feels a funny mix of protectiveness and exasperation towards old friend Nana K., and I like her a very great deal. (I’m thrilled that Yazawa put Junko at the center of the extras.) Sexy lawyer Yasu and nerdy guitarist Nobu, Nana O.’s old band-mates, weave in and out.
And, just because it can’t be stated often enough, Yazawa’s illustrations are absolutely glorious. She veers effortlessly from sexy and powerful to cute and hilarious, but everything seems to be of a piece. There’s a marvelous sense of place, too.
Nana isn’t exactly speeding along, but it is laying a tremendous base. Yazawa’s careful introduction of characters holds the promise of a long and rewarding relationship.
Kamikaze Girls (Viz – Shojo Beat) has considerably less time to make its case for the quirky charms of its odd-couple stars. It’s an adaptation of a novel by Novala Takemoto, drawn by Yukio Kanesada, and the lead story takes up just under half of the digest.
Takemoto throws together ultra-feminine Lolita Momoko and butch biker Ichiko. Momoko is trapped in the boondocks, dreaming of a more elegant time and dressing the part. Ichiko desperately needs the services of an embroiderer to stitch up an homage to Ichiko’s retiring gang leader. She turns to mail-order princess Momoko to serve as a shopping guide.
Butch and femme go on a road trip, grow on each other, and everyone learns valuable lessons about identity and respect. It’s a better premise than it is a story, and its length makes it all seem rather slight and rushed. There are nice notes to it, all about understanding and acceptance, but it could have benefited from a lot more nuance.
It could also have used some translation notes. Ichiko’s real name is Ichigo, which apparently is a source of some embarrassment for her. I have no idea why Ichiko sounds more “biker-ish” than Ichigo, and a hint from the translator or editor might have made the joke work.
The manga does make me want to read the novel, though, because the manga seems like a Cliffs Notes version.
Rounding out the volume is a follow-up story by Takemoto and Kanesada, which puts Ichigo through some entirely standard shôjo romantic complications. She goes from being motivated by friendship and loyalty to being driven by her feelings for a variety of boys, which is a lot less interesting.
There are also two works written and drawn by Kanesada, and they’re a bit bizarre. A high-school girl, desperate to be “mature,” bullies a married man into dating her and tries to convince him to deflower her as well. She’s based her concept of maturity entirely on sexual experience, mostly to prove to herself that the boy who dumped her was wrong to do so. Again, it doesn’t sit very well next to the lead story.
Ultimately, Kamikaze Girls is an odd package. Taken on its own, the lead story isn’t bad. It might have made an enjoyable plug-in for Shojo Beat. But with the bulk of the digest taken up by weaker, tonally discordant material, I don’t think I can recommend the investment.
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Friday, February 8, 2008
• The End.
So long. Farewell. Auf Wiedersehen. Good night.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
• Closing time
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Wednesday, January 16, 2008
• Oni resurrects letters columns
Resurrection series features letter-writing contest
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
• And... we're back
With Red 5 info
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
• Happy Thanksgiving!
From aka Comics and Comic World News
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Lettering powerhouse and CWN sponsor turns 15
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