Posts Tagged ‘Kodansha’
When I think of April, I think of spring.
When I imagine spring1, I think of sakura trees.
And when I think of sakura trees, I dream of walking under rows of sakura trees, while a blossom gently falls on my forehead.
And then I die in Rainbow Bridge. Or fall off Tokyo Tower.
And that’s when I think of nothing but CLAMP.
I think it’s proper to assume that we’ve all had our sakura dreams thanks to CLAMP.
- we only have summer, rains, and cold drafts in Manila [↩]
I have all of these awesome feelings when this week started and the most awesome of announcements was Historie winning the Osamu Tezuka Cultural Prize for 2012!
Historie’s the story of Eumenes and his adventures with Alexander the Great’s Macedonian army. If you love your Greek history, this is a title that you shouldn’t miss! According to the screening committee, the title has brought excitement as it drew closer to historical events. At the same time, some members were also impressed with the strength that came out of young men at that time! While I find their comments to be a natural impression on a great historical story, I believe that Eumenes’ strength lies in its ability to capture the energy and the landscape of that time.
That said, I really haven’t caught up with this title since I last reviewed it (it was running slow in Afternoon for a while) but I’m assuming that based on the cover of the 7th volume, Alexander’s a lot older and has probably chased Darius away!1
I’m still quite surprised that this title has not been picked up. I’m actually just as surprised that the manly history boom hasn’t exactly started yet in English translated manga. Thermae Romae’s licensing was quite a bold move, but we have yet to see sweeping epic manly tales of vikings and Macedonians in our bookstores. Hopefully, we’ll see them soon but for now we can at least enjoy some bit of history through titles like Vagabond and Emma. And maybe Afterschool Charisma.
Other winners were Itoh Yu’s Shut Hell for the New Artist Prize and Roswell Hosoki’s Sake no Hoso Michi for the Short Work Prize. At the same, in recognition of their efforts in giving children free copies of Shounen Jump during the time of the earthquake, Shiokawa Bookstore from Sendai was also given a Special award with the grand prize of 1,00,000 yen.
Source: Comic Natalie
- And quite an awkward cover too considering that it paid homage to this Alexander mosaic in Pompeii [↩]
Just where did January and February go?!
I promised myself in my last spotlight that I will make a point in writing 12 spotlights for this year, but here I am in March writing my first spotlight! Que horror!
That said, starting the spotlight again is a lot better than not ever continuing it at all! I’ve really loved writing and sharing why I love a particular author (or series) and hear why people love them as well. More than that, March is a special month for me. It’s only in March where I get to be a little more selfish about my tastes.
I’ve decided that March is the month where I get to write authors that have driven me crazy or have puzzled me entirely. Last year, it was Nakamura Asumiko’s mesmerizing eyes. This year, it is the mystery of Yamashita Tomoko — a rising star in manga who is both amazing and cruel.
It feels like 2012 took me in like a tornado. I spent the first week thrown into the fray of work and my lungs were hacking a lot more than what I inhale. That said, the year has started to calm down and I am more than pleased to see the nominees for Manga Taishou this year.
Last year, it felt like there were clear winners among the nominees. While I felt that the horse-riding bride of Otoyomegatari (A Bride’s Story) will be shooting straight for the coveted prize, Sangatsu no Lion seemed to have played the right pieces last year and took the prize home.
This year’s nominees is quite an interesting set. For one, I can’t seem to distinguish who will take the Manga Taishou home. More so, it seems that there are brave soldiers who are still fighting for this prestigious prize.
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I have been more excited about this than the Kingdom of Characters display (I had tons of things to complain about that one!) and more so, when I saw this in the Japan Foundation Magazine, back then, they only hide five series on display.
And now they have more!
The Japan Foundation will be holding an exhibit on the art of Japanese comics called “Manga Realities: The Art of Japanese Comics Today.” I am particularly excited about this exhibit as it contains some of my favorite mangaka and more. In Japan Foundation’s July Newsletter, the curator of this exhibit, Takahashi Mizuki of the
Contemporary Art Center, Art Tower Mito, noted that the exhibit intends to “recreate, in installation, sound and video, the same feeling of entering a “manga world” that you get when you read in manga…. Manga is experienced in private but this style of exhibition makes it possible to share the experience of manga with family and friends.”
I’m quite excited to see this exhibit and I hope manga fans will enjoy this as well!
Manga Realities: The Art of Japanese Comics Today
Ayala Museum, August 16-October 2
The Japan Foundation and the Ayala Museum in cooperation with the Contemporary Art Center, Art Tower Mito in Japan, will bring to Manila the traveling exhibition, “Manga Realities: Exploring the Art of Japanese Comics Today”.
It is widely known that Japanese manga and anime are attracting global attention today as the leading media of Japanese visual culture. Starting from manga comics by Osamu Tezuka, the master cartoonist of postwar Japan, this country’s manga has established a distinctive style that is different from American comics or French bande dessinée. Once depreciated as children’s amusement or a subculture, the public perception of these media has been changed considerably in recent years. Japanese manga and anime are now regarded as the main culture as the soft power that represents Japan today.
The exhibition which will be on view from August 16 (Tuesday) to October 2 (Sunday) at the Ground Floor Gallery and at the Glass Lane and Luna and Amorsolo Rooms at the Third Floor of the Ayala Museum will showcase nine manga artists and their works including Ninomiya Tomoko (Nodame Cantabile); Harold Sakuishi (BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad); Asano Inio (Solanin); Anno Moyoco (Sugar Sugar Rune ); Igarashi Daisuke (Children of the Sea); Kuramochi Fusako (Five Minutes from the Station); Kyo Machiko (Sennen-Gaho); Matsumoto Taiyo (No. 5); and Wakaki Tamiki (The World God Only Knows). During the exhibition run, other activities including lectures and workshops will be conducted.
From its first exhibit in Art Tower Mito, Japan, the exhibition has traveled to Artsonje Center in Seoul, South Korea and to the Vietnam Fine Art Museum in Hanoi, Vietnam where it has received considerable acclaim.
Manga Realities: Exploring the Art of Japanese Manga Today is presented by Ayala Foundation and the Japan Foundation; additional support is provided by Lyric Piano and Organ, Acer and Via Mare.
For inquiries, please contact the Japan Foundation, Manila at telephone numbers 811.6155 to 58 or visit www.jfmo.org.ph.
Ayala Museum is located at Makati Avenue corner de la Rosa St. Greenbelt Park, Makati City. The museum is open from Tuesday to Friday (9:00 am to 6:00 pm) and Saturday to Sunday (10:00 am to 7:00 pm). For more information, please call Ayala Museum at telephone numbers 757.7117 to 21 or visit www.ayalamuseum.org.
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