Otaku Champloo

Tag: natsume ono

  • #30: Nigeru Otoko

    I think everyone comes to that point in their life where they just want to run away. It’s tempting, isn’t it? The idea of dropping everything — bills, debts, responsibilities, homework — is such a beautiful thought that it feels like paradise. It must be paradise. It should be paradise, doesn’t it?

    Natsume Ono attempts to capture this idea of fleeing with her comic, Nigeru Otoko (The Man who Ran Away). However, unlike the paradise she imagines, she places her fleeing character in a thick, dark forest. His paradise is seeping with mystery that eventually he owns a myth in the place.

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  • Natsume Ono and Rensuke Oshikiri Drawing Exchange

    Comic Natalie releases another set of videos in their features section, Power Push. This time they tasked Natsume Ono and Rensuke Oshikiri to draw some illustrations of each other’s characters and wow… well… it’s always nice to see you favourite artists at work?

    Well there’s the fact that Ono draws on this large tablet. Not sure if that’s a CINTIQ but wow. That’s just… Imagine if she drew her BL with that! So large and up close.

    Either way, it was such an interesting exchange. Watching the videos also made them think how they thought so much of each other’s characters and how, for Oshikiri particularly, it was hard to capture the handsome and erotic appeal of Ono’s style, while Ono found it difficult to draw a girl. But both tried hard and did well, I think. The two seem to have a large appreciation for each other’s works, with Ono as a fan of Oshikiri’s High Score Girl and Oshikiri challenged by Ono’s style.

    The challenge’s in promotion of Ono’s upcoming release for her Big Gan Gan comic, Acca. A new volume of High School Girl is coming out soon as well. I haven’t read Acca yet, so I’m looking forward to that book coming way.

    You can also download wallpapers of their exchange in the Natalie page!

  • #801MMF: The Fujoshi Bible

    In Eureka’s Fujoshi Manga Compendium, there’s this interesting section where they list down the things a fujoshi must read.　They called it the Fujoshi Manga Bible.  I thought it’d be best to share the list down here for fujoshi to check what these women think are titles that we fujojos must read. I’ll also try to append what’s available in English!

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  • History MMF: Chapter 2

    This chapter’s quite interesting as I’m receiving diverse reviews for the MMF! So here’s a recap on some of the things written this week!

    First! Ash has reviewed Vagabond, by Inoue Takahiko, a retelling of Miyamoto Musashi’s life.  He dwells on the themes found in the 3rd Omnibus of Vagabond. He is also giving away Shigeru Mizuki’s Onwards Towards Our Noble Deaths. You better tell him what’s your favorite historical manga!

    Terry Hong also felt the need to look into Vagabond. And in the spirit of samurais, he also looked into House of Five Leaves by Natsume Ono.

    In The Beautiful World, Neko reviews MW with a historical perspective. He takes into context the tension of post-war Japan and the taboo sexualities that Tezuka explored. It’s interesting because I rarely see Tezuka contextualized so it’s a good read. I wonder why no one is looking at Buddha? Oh wait, Terry did. Anime Diet also has a look into samurais with Path of the Assassins by Kazuo Koike. 

    Jocelyn Allen from Brain vs. Book looks at Naoto Yamakawa’s Chokodoshujin, a manga about the life of Ryunosuke Akutagawa. I too have no knowledge about his life. And for a while I was thinking if he wrote mysteries and then I realize that it was Edogawa Ranpo. lol. But it looks like an interesting book and hopefully I get to read about it.

    Speaking of authors’ lives, Terry Hong himself discovered Jiro Taniguchi’s book Times of Botchan, a look into the life of Natsume Soseki, a famous author who I sadly remember most for “I am a cat.”

     

    Right here in Otaku Champloo, I talk about manga and memories, particularly why historical manga is relevant to us.

  • Spotlight: Natsume Ono/basso

    Spotlight: Natsume Ono/basso

    With the Toronto Comic Arts Festival coming up, I felt it best to tell the world more about Natsume Ono. She’s been getting much acclaim among manga critics however, the truth of the matter is — the English-speaking world has only grazed half of her works. Natsume Ono still has lots to offer.

    There’s more to Natsume Ono than Italian restaurants and kidnappers. In fact, doing this spotlight for Natsume Ono requires a journey for my readers. If you would allow me, I’d like to take you to a journey down to Ono’s lane because knowing her works takes more than just looking at her pictures. You’ve got to immerse yourself and experience her works to understand how Natsume Ono is definitely not simple.

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  • Natsume Ono’s Nigeru Otoko on Sale

    Natsume Ono’s Nigeru Otoko on Sale

    I was reading through my feeds this morning and caught on Manga Erotics F announcement on the sale of Natsume Ono’s Nigeru Otoko. It’s a title that started last year and for the release of its first volume, it seems that they will hold an exhibit for Nigeru Otoko. 18 fabulous illustrations from the comic will be displayed and based on this image, it must be bloody amazing. How I wish I was in Japan right now.

    I haven’t read Nigeru Otoko but the story summary says its premise lies on the bear which children never manages to see but never fails to appear. In this context, a girl heads out to a forest to meet a man and encounters this bear. I’m thinking that the story is a take on those fairy tale tropes and I’m mildly curious to see more about it now that I see this fantastic image for the exhibit.

    Natsume Ono’s getting popular internationally because of the US publication her works Not Simple, the Gente series, and now House of Five leaves which is nominated for an Eisner. I’m thinking, since this is an Ohta Shuppan title, Vertical might catch it (if it’s good enough). If not, you can bank on Viz to grab a hold of their artist’s work. I do wonder if she’ll also feature this work in Toronto as well. Well, we’ll have to see how it goes~