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The
Pull-Box:
ShotgunReviews.com's Ongoing Comics Column
03.26.03
by Matt MConnel
A
Fistful of Manga
Slayers
Special
More info: Central
Park Media
Rating: 
Ah yes.
Food, sexual tension, and wanton property destruction. Slayers
is one of those anime/manga mainstays that has for the better
part of the current import invasion remained popular, but
never one of the so-called classics. It is not a Loddoss,
it is not an Akira, and it is not by Shiro. It is just fun.
It is not designed to be thought provoking, in fact sometimes
it quite vehemently tries to provoke instinct, and it does
so with such delightful abandon that it continues to please
even after three broadcast series, an OVA series, and the
manga that both are based on.
There
two sort of halves that make up the Slayers universe, one
is the main series embodied in the original manga and broadcast
series. The second is a sort of precursor that takes place
before the originals in the form of the OVAs and the Slayers
Special manga. These follow Lina Inverse's adventures with
her alleged rival the buxom and black leather bustier clad
Naga. The two doyens of destruction are often employed to
rid the locals of some sort of evil curse, monster, or some
such that is terrorizing. They do not always do this out of
the goodness of their hearts, although both are really good
people deep down, but rather in an attempt to gain fame, food,
and scads of cash. Not necessarily in that order. The two
bicker and fight along the way over who should use what spell
where, and how big. Apparently size matters a great deal in
this universe and it is not more shown than with Lina's own
obsession with her bust size. And who can blame her, she really
does seem to be the least endowed person around, especially
since she is hanging out (no pun intended) with Naga.
For my
own tastes, I prefer these over the originals. Not because
I do not appreciate the originals, but rather because I much
more enjoy the main character of Lina reacting off of the
female Naga than her male companion in Slayers proper. Slayers
Special also demonstrates a nice disregard for continuity
as since we already know where Lina is going, there is no
reason to take her there directly, or even at all. The episodes
are focused on the action there and then, individually wrapped
as it were, and leave no more need to go on to the next than
the joy of more food, cleavage, and gratuitous property damage.
The art
is improved over the original manga, but since there is a
difference of five years, that is not surprising. What is
important, and helps the book immensely is that there is a
greater attention to detail. Slayers Special is more visually
appealing than its predecessor mostly because it has a much
cleaner and better defined artistic style. Again, five years
is a long time especially to the artist and writer. The creative
team of Hajime Kanzaka, Tommy Ohtsuka, and Rui Araizumi are
to be commended for not only their continued improvement in
their own work.
The entire
Slayers universe is a wonderful one to play in, and the creative
team loves to. Their obvious desire to please, even with some
pretty base jokes goes a long way towards proving their ardor.
While the focus is not on the plots per say, there is an actual
ongoing storyline, and part of the fun is picking out the
tidbits that directly pertain to the continuity. Slayers Special
is a great read for anyone just looking for some humor and
escapism. It does not need to be the greatest manga of all
time, it just needs to be good for what it is, and it is fun.
Banana
Fish
More info: Viz
Rating:
even though I didn't like it
An older
manga that has been translated under Viz's adult license,
Banana Fish feels like a combination of KIDS, Akira (without
nuclear war), and the writing of J.D. Salinger from which
the title derives. Quite eclectic.
The story
opens in the dark, as if there were bright, days of the Vietnam
War. A man opens up with an automatic on his entire platoon
for no apparent reason and proceeds to fall catatonic uttering
the words: "Banana fish." Jump forward to the modern day,
or at least the early nineties. A youth gang leader named
Ash comes across two members of his gang who have just killed
a man. Before he dies hands Ash a vile, and gives him an address
in LA. The man was killed on the say so of the local crime
lord, Papa Dino. Ash has been trying to separate himself from
Dino and his organization, but when he has a doctor friend
of his examine the vile, they find out they are in something
far bigger than just local crime politics. That is the short
of it, but the story gets vastly more complex as the series
progresses. Dino is interested in not only taking over Ash's
gang for his own, but also in becoming the sole conduit for
a new drug out of Southeast Asia. He is up against the Chinese
for control, and a good third of the books are the interplay
between the rival syndicates rather than the street level
battles that Ash and his friends are embroiled in. To add
to the mayhem, there is a visiting Japanese photo journalist
and his assistant wanting to do a piece on American street
crime. Though they initially are with the police, they quickly
end up on the run with Ash. Ash and company, now including
the escaped con friend of his brother (who by the by was the
guy who went bonkers with the M-16), start a cross country
run to LA to find out what exactly Banana Fish is and why
Dino is obsessed with controlling it, and killing them. Oh,
and one of Dino's goons gets killed and Ash is charged with
it because the guy was a child pornographer and used Ash when
he was younger.
There
is danger intrigue, drama, and all sorts of good stuff to
keep the pages turning, but in order to get a real sense of
why this book has been so popular, one has to think of it
as an original serial. Like American comic books, a good portion
of the popularity is the what-is-going-to-happen-next game
among fans. Banana Fish always closes its episodes with either
a good cliffhanger, or a significant plot thread hanging tantalizing
off to one side.
The art
is 'girl's style' or shojo, and is by a woman. Hard to believe
sometimes with blood spurting up from a knife wound, but it
is true. It is stark, minimalist at times, and compliments
the mood very well. The drawback is that it is often too soft
and not as clearly defined as some other crime drama mangas
tend to be. It is possible this is intentional, but it just
doesn't feel like it.
One thing
that the creator, Akimi Yoshida is to be commended for is
her use of culture. There are distinct differences in the
ways that the characters thing based on the culture they come
from: The Japanese journalist's assistant is fascinated when
he sees a real gun, the workings of the Chinese syndicate
are governed by laws and codes that make no sense out of context,
and other little things leave a very interesting culture clash
on top of an already complex story.
And yet
I didn't like it that much. Everything was there to make something
that I could really get into; the loaded sexuality, the intrigue,
and especially the sweeping story, but there was just no impetus
for me to pick up the next book, save for the fact that I
had to know what happened next. I didn't sympathize for the
well rounded and complex characters, nor their problems. Part
of it I think is that for as interesting as he is, Ash is
a jerk, and really garnishes no sympathy. It makes little
sense to me how people like this gain the respect of their
peers for simply being bad asses, and I suppose that translates
onto the page. I like these sorts of series, Sanctuary was
one of the first ones I ever bought, but Banana Fish just
doesn't grab me. It is nevertheless a stunning example of
fine work, and is worth a look. You probably will actually
like it.
Troy Brownfield still writes most of the comics stuff, but
Matt is the anime & manga guru. Email Troy here
and Matt here.
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