So venturing off the beaten path, I wanted to review a romance/shoujo manga I've recently started reading, Pochamani
Pochamani stars Mugi, a chubby high school girl who's smile and kindness never falters despite being bullied for her weight. Mugi lives out her highschool life surrounded by sweet friends and goes through life believing no one will ever love her. This all changes when she runs into Tagami, a boy with a "chubby fetish" or overall love for soft squishy things. Though overbearing and pushy at first Tagami expresses his love for Mugi by more than just his fetish but rather her attitude in life.
The reason why I wanted to talk about this manga was because its more than just some quirky manga with a token protagonist. Pochamani explains Mugi's hardships with her weight and never shames her for it rather she explains, "I hated hating myself much more than others hating me. So instead I decided to try loving myself." Despite Tagami's clear obsession with Mugi's chubbiness it's never expressed as dirty rather its shown as an exaggerated label of "pervertedness" his schoolmates gave him because they can't understand his attraction to someone different. Overall I think this manga is a sweet school life story and would be an enjoyable read for fans of shojou or romance.
Tuesday, April 30, 2019
Thursday, April 18, 2019
Silver Spoon reading
1. What is your reaction to the text you just read?
As a hardcore fan of Fullmetal Alchemist an Hiromu Arakawa's work Silver Spoon is a manga and anime I've delved into before. My initial reaction to Silver Spoon is that it's a very Slice of Life genre manga that takes its time to explain itself through a clueless protagonist. The manga itself takes its time to introduce us to Hachiken's passive nature and struggles attending this school in a completely new field of study. When I first read this manga I wasn't entirely attached to the story itself to be honest, however the comedy and Hachiken's exaggerated emotions are what kept me hooked long enough to want to get to know the characters. Silver Spoon does a good job of educating Hachiken and the reader without overwhelming them with information that may be too difficult to understand. I find that the way the introduction and following 10 chapters really make to large scale effort to keep the reader engaged without getting bored.
2. What connections did you make with the story? Discuss the elements of the work with which you were able to connect
In terms of connecting with the story my personal childhood was something I think shared some common ground with Hachiken. My father grew up poor in Guatemala where he worked his way to a renowned university to study general agriculture. Though I never studied it myself I felt as though I did since my father taught me several basic and random agricultural knowledge growing up. A lot of it stuck with me but it was something that took time to comprehend, just as Hachiken is learning currently from those around him. Hachiken also faces the struggle of wanting to leave home and due to him feeling lost in his studies he defaults to going somewhere that offers a home away from home. I can relate since when choosing a college I impulsively made the choice to be an artist somewhere as far from home I could get. It's not always the right choice in the moment but its one you grow from and make an effort to move forward from just as Hachiken does throughout the series.
3. What changes would you make to adapt this story into another medium? What medium would you use? What changes would you make?
If I had to adapt this manga into another medium (besides its anime as well) I think I would choose to make it a video game. I think Silver Spoon could have the potential to make a good visual novel or open world game where depending on what agricultural subject you choose to pursue you would level up and advance in that skill tree through mini-games. With the way the manga and anime are introduced I think that in itself makes a good opening tutorial to allow the player to gain interest in subjects and characters. If I had to change anything I would choose to introduce all the character arcs together in one chapter unlike that manga that spreads them out, a good choice for it's medium. Aki's side story of going to the races wouldn't take precedence to spending some time with Tamako or Tokiwa. With a visual novel approach each pursued character would give you their complete backstory and how Hachiken plays a part in their life.
As a hardcore fan of Fullmetal Alchemist an Hiromu Arakawa's work Silver Spoon is a manga and anime I've delved into before. My initial reaction to Silver Spoon is that it's a very Slice of Life genre manga that takes its time to explain itself through a clueless protagonist. The manga itself takes its time to introduce us to Hachiken's passive nature and struggles attending this school in a completely new field of study. When I first read this manga I wasn't entirely attached to the story itself to be honest, however the comedy and Hachiken's exaggerated emotions are what kept me hooked long enough to want to get to know the characters. Silver Spoon does a good job of educating Hachiken and the reader without overwhelming them with information that may be too difficult to understand. I find that the way the introduction and following 10 chapters really make to large scale effort to keep the reader engaged without getting bored.
2. What connections did you make with the story? Discuss the elements of the work with which you were able to connect
In terms of connecting with the story my personal childhood was something I think shared some common ground with Hachiken. My father grew up poor in Guatemala where he worked his way to a renowned university to study general agriculture. Though I never studied it myself I felt as though I did since my father taught me several basic and random agricultural knowledge growing up. A lot of it stuck with me but it was something that took time to comprehend, just as Hachiken is learning currently from those around him. Hachiken also faces the struggle of wanting to leave home and due to him feeling lost in his studies he defaults to going somewhere that offers a home away from home. I can relate since when choosing a college I impulsively made the choice to be an artist somewhere as far from home I could get. It's not always the right choice in the moment but its one you grow from and make an effort to move forward from just as Hachiken does throughout the series.
3. What changes would you make to adapt this story into another medium? What medium would you use? What changes would you make?
If I had to adapt this manga into another medium (besides its anime as well) I think I would choose to make it a video game. I think Silver Spoon could have the potential to make a good visual novel or open world game where depending on what agricultural subject you choose to pursue you would level up and advance in that skill tree through mini-games. With the way the manga and anime are introduced I think that in itself makes a good opening tutorial to allow the player to gain interest in subjects and characters. If I had to change anything I would choose to introduce all the character arcs together in one chapter unlike that manga that spreads them out, a good choice for it's medium. Aki's side story of going to the races wouldn't take precedence to spending some time with Tamako or Tokiwa. With a visual novel approach each pursued character would give you their complete backstory and how Hachiken plays a part in their life.
Thursday, April 11, 2019
Week 12: Junji Ito
For this weeks presentation I took the time to read 2 stories by Junji Ito.
Travelogue of a Succubus:
In chapter 1, Angel Hair, we follow a young woman's journey passing through the mountains. Kyouko's path is stopped when a man who knows her name stops her and leads her to his village to which he tells her about the God that they worship. During the entire trek through Kyouko notices several strands of golden hair flowing through the wind and later finds the village is enveloped in it. The story continues to show the villages cult attitude in worshipping this "Hair God" who in reality is a demon in disguise..?
Now trying to describe this chapter is a point I'd like to make towards Ito's work. As creative and gruesome as his work is I find that the stories he writes are too short in their individual chapters to actually develop lore to the story. This genre of manga is one I find difficult to follow and generally speaking isn't my cup of tea although I can appreciate its artistic merit. So it isn't to say that I disliked the manga but rather that I don't feel attached or immersed into it enough to properly convey a review or analysis on the topic. Junji Ito's work has the talent to produce amazing work but I find that most of his stories lack the patience in development.
Ito Junji's Cat Diary:
On the opposite side of the psychological horror spectrum we have this work, Ito's love letter to his cats. Now here's a masterpiece I can get behind, and any at owner can relate to Ito's reluctant fondness of his cats. Portrayed as absolute gremlins Yon and Muu exist to spite Ito in his chase for loving them. I think what makes this manga so enjoyable to read is the artist's style throughout the manga. The cats are elongated, intensified, creepy, and overall exaggerated to show their true nature and it serves to entice the reader to continue.
Travelogue of a Succubus:
In chapter 1, Angel Hair, we follow a young woman's journey passing through the mountains. Kyouko's path is stopped when a man who knows her name stops her and leads her to his village to which he tells her about the God that they worship. During the entire trek through Kyouko notices several strands of golden hair flowing through the wind and later finds the village is enveloped in it. The story continues to show the villages cult attitude in worshipping this "Hair God" who in reality is a demon in disguise..?
Now trying to describe this chapter is a point I'd like to make towards Ito's work. As creative and gruesome as his work is I find that the stories he writes are too short in their individual chapters to actually develop lore to the story. This genre of manga is one I find difficult to follow and generally speaking isn't my cup of tea although I can appreciate its artistic merit. So it isn't to say that I disliked the manga but rather that I don't feel attached or immersed into it enough to properly convey a review or analysis on the topic. Junji Ito's work has the talent to produce amazing work but I find that most of his stories lack the patience in development.
Ito Junji's Cat Diary:
On the opposite side of the psychological horror spectrum we have this work, Ito's love letter to his cats. Now here's a masterpiece I can get behind, and any at owner can relate to Ito's reluctant fondness of his cats. Portrayed as absolute gremlins Yon and Muu exist to spite Ito in his chase for loving them. I think what makes this manga so enjoyable to read is the artist's style throughout the manga. The cats are elongated, intensified, creepy, and overall exaggerated to show their true nature and it serves to entice the reader to continue.
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