#27: Takemitsu Zamurai
Sometimes, it takes a well-paced story and some mad swishes of a brush to make me feel excited over an age old feudal tale. Eifuku Issei and Taiyou Matsumoto’s has a masterpiece with Takemitsu Zamurai.
Peeking into 2013 Manga Taishou Nominees
I think I’m going to make a habit of this feature given this award has actually given me fruitful readings […]
Spotlight: Naoki Urasawa
Having consumed manga for years, I’ve grown to like some authors a little more than the others. When this happens […]
#01 – Happy by Naoki Urasawa
Happy by Naoki Urasawa
Published by: Shougakukan
Serialized in: Big Comic Spirits
If there’s something happy about Happy, it’s the fact that it’s not quite the happy tale that you expected. Miyuki Umino may look happy in this cover, however, the unfortunate turn of events in her life isn’t really something to rejoice about. You’ve got an idiot brother who owes 250 million yen to some yakuza loan sharks. You’ve got 2 brothers and a younger sister to feed. You barely have enough cash for a lavish meal hence you’ve got curry for three days again. Might I add that the loan sharks want to pimp you in some bath parlor? Swamped with bad luck, Miyuki tries to make ends meet by trying her chance with her dream, becoming a professional tennis player.
Still fresh from his Yawara escapade, Naoki Urasawa gives us a refreshing, slightly tragic, nonethless perservering heroine under Miyuki. He may have given up Judo, but on this end, it’s all about who becomes the princess of tennis! That may sound cheesy, but it really is the tale of two women who have different paths to victory. As Urasawa exposes these two women, he asks us, which one of them will be truly happy?