Posted by Khursten in Features, Reviews on 09. Mar, 2010 | 1 Comment
Years ago, a friend asked me of my opinion of Emma. I had to correct her and asked if she was referring to Jane Austen’s Emma or the Kaoru Mori’s manga. Of course, she was referring to the latter (although she had to think twice since in a way, both are similar) and she felt that as a history major and a manga enthusiast, I had a lot of things to say about the manga and she thought I could give a word on its historical accuracy. It honestly surprised me because as much as the entire manga is lined with images of Victorian England, at that time, I was really more caught by the story of Emma and William. Of course, back then, I was fresh from following the monthlies and like a sparkly-eyed teenager, I was rooting for the romance to work. My mind was full of William and Emma’s love affair that I answered, “There’s really more to Emma than its history.”
But as time passed and after having read it again in full, this time for this Manga Moveable Feast, I realized that while Emma’s romance was beyond history, it was because the story was steeped in its history that made the romance beautiful. Emma was not just a manga about romance but a true Victorian story of love and more. Read more…
I have something to confess. I rarely buy English mangas. Don’t be hatin’. I have my reasons.
I rarely buy English mangas because they’re expensive in the Philippines. What would cost $8 in the U.S. might cost $15 in our bookstores. If I order Japanese mangas, it would cost me around $5 for shounen titles or $8 if they’re seinen, bl, or josei. Cost wise, I would sooner run to a Japanese online bookstore to get my stuff than go to Amazon where our customs will sniff the damn book and tax me heavily. The cost for getting my manga in English is a hassle. But there are exceptions. Vertical’s Tezuka line is always worth the hassle. Read more
Historie by Iwaaki Hitoshi
Serialized in Afternoon
Published by Kodansha
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I got another chance to write again for the national broadsheet, The Manila Bulletin. This time though, I took a chance to sit through my thoughts about one of my favorite web comics to date, Hidekaz’ Himaruya’s Axis Powers Hetalia.
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Comics [...]
