Thoughts On Some Manga Series
Lately I've been thinking. Thinking about manga. Four series in particular actually. None of the series mentioned in this article have received official English translations so if you end up reading any of them please support the official releases when / if such a thing happens.
Kine-san no 1-ri de Cinema
This manga focuses on 30-something year old Kine Machiko whose hobby is watching movies. Kine turned into somewhat of a cinephile as a child the day her brother wanted to watch Terminator on their TV and she joined in. It was love at first sight! Unfortunately, none of the kids at school shared her love of violent action movies.
One day a colleague named Mizuki whom Kine barely knows turns up at her apartment door and says that her husband had cheated on her. Having no where to go Mizuki remembered that a co-worker lived nearby and here we are. Kine takes her into her home and after somehow getting into an argument about what constitutes a good movie, Bad Boys II is watched. Mizuki ends up loving the movie, divorcing her cheating husband, and...
living in Kine's apartment!? Thus begins Kine and Mizuki's excellent movie watching adventure!
Asuperu Kanojo
Yokoi Taku has trouble interacting with people including his parents. He lives on his own ever since he turned 18 so for work he delivers newspapers and draws doujinshi as well as the occasional original manga. After answering the door one day he is greeted by a girl holding a copy of one of his original manga, "Internal and External Development". She had printed and bound her own physical copy of the manga and asks Taku to confirm that he is the author. Upon entering his apartment she takes off her coat and Taku notices the scars on her wrist. Introducing herself as Saitou Megumi, she asks if Taku had ever been bullied before as the character's experience in his manga is depicted extremely realistically. Since she does not want to leave and Taku is concerned for her they end up living together.
This manga is written with compassion and does not look down its characters. Even when they make mistakes. The story does go to some dark places and involves much discussion of suicide and self-harm.
Shiori Experience
Shiori Honda is a mild-mannered 26 year old teacher at a university prep school. Her goal is to become a happy bride and build a happy family. Ten years ago her brother took out a massive loan to start a band and moved to Tokyo. Now she is struggling through life just squeaking by. But on her 27th birthday something magical happens. The ghost of Jimmy Hendrix appears and only she can see him!
The next day during a band performance at her school she is possessed by Hendrix's ghost and spontaneously performs a wicked guitar solo in front of everyone. She is then given an ultimatum by the ghost. Become a legend before turning 28 or Shiori will die! I haven't gotten very far into Shiori Experence, but it is quite fun so far.
Chuugoku Yome Nikki
The title of this 4-koma manga apparently translates to "A Chinese Wife and an Otaku Husband". That about sums up the story here! It is basically a diary written in a gag manga style. The manga is done from the perspective of an anonymous 40-something anime loving otaku who never thought about marriage, but has somehow married a Chinese woman in her 20s. Their cultural and age differences often result in hilarity! It also seems like this would have been tough to translate into English and many cultural notes are necessary throughout. The translation not being stiff at all really helps with the humour.
Anyway this manga is very cute and funny so you should read it! I stumbled upon it years ago and am happy that I can bring its existence to your attention.
Final Thoughts
Yup, these are some mighty fine manga! Luckily, since manga can be done by one person a wide variety exist from many different perspectives. If the manga in this article do not meet your needs, please continue to search for one that does!
This is my day 34 post for #100daystooffload
This work by Thomas Lloyd is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
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