{"id":1700,"date":"2014-03-31T11:42:16","date_gmt":"2014-03-31T03:42:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/?p=1700"},"modified":"2014-03-24T18:29:19","modified_gmt":"2014-03-24T10:29:19","slug":"31-canis-dear-mr-rain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/2014\/03\/31\/31-canis-dear-mr-rain\/","title":{"rendered":"#31: Canis – Dear Mr. Rain"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Canis<\/a><\/p>\n

Satoru Kutsuna\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a young hatter who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s got nothing but love and passion for his craft. Unfortunately, he puts too much of it into his hats that he hardly has the patience to keep some members of his staff. Burdened by his business woes, Satoru walks out on a rainy evening and stumbles over a lifeless body.<\/p>\n

Like a lost dog, Satoru picks up Ryou, a young man from New York with a mission. Ryou takes advantage of Satoru\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s kindness before parting ways to face his death.<\/p>\n

I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t exactly place the story of Canis – Dear Mr. Rain to a convenient trope or category and to a degree that excites me\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 just a bit.
\n<\/p>\n

It has… complicated stuff<\/h3>\n

For one, because of Ryou\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s complicated history in New York, a part of me expects this story to get some action \u00e2\u20ac\u201d similar to Banana Fish where you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got a good overarching plot, manhandling, and kickass times. So when things finally kick up after Ryou leaves Satoru, I find myself flipping pages like a mad woman, wondering what the crap happened before I find myself back where this story started — Ryou in the streets and Satoru picking him up.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Canis<\/a> \"Canis<\/a><\/p>\n

To a degree, the story of Canis – Dear Mr. Rain<\/em>, still has its botchy moments. If there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one thing I find consistent with this story, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the fact that Satoru picks Ryou up. The very act also reinforces the \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcdog\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 theme as though Satoru\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s picking up a lost puppy. Ryou too acts in obeisance around Satoru and for a good while, the story begins to feel like the usual BL plot of obedient puppies. Zakk has also laid hints of attraction in various places and yet it feels like things around the characters are moving yet neither one of the protagonists are moving at all. I am still left hanging in the air and I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t exactly say where this story will take me.<\/p>\n

Perhaps I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m being too harsh because this is just the first volume. But maybe this is just me, riding on some expectation because as much as the story is still in its early brewing stage, Zakk\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s art is quite polished. If she can draw something as good as then, then maybe she can tell me a cohesive story.<\/p>\n

Honestly, where did this artist come from? Did she do dojinshi? Is she even Japanese? Is she a he? There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something strange about Zakk but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a beautiful strangeness. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been nothing but ironic and confused in this review, aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t I? But stay with me for just a sec. and look at her work.<\/p>\n

\"Canis<\/a><\/p>\n

It doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t look like manga at all, does it?<\/p>\n

Well, I know for a fact that it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s manga but at the same time, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m troubled by this nudging feeling that it isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s black and white, it has the screen tones and the lanky bodies, but her characters are drawn with almost Disney-like eyes that it feels unlike a manga. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s quite an interesting style. It doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help that she does this with such finesse that it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hard to truly pay attention to the story for the first time because you can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help but admire the art.<\/p>\n

Zakk has one of the clearest lines I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen in manga lately. For this comic, I love how her thick lines jut out of the panels, making it appear as though her characters are three dimensional. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s reminiscent of pop art which I find quite amusing.<\/p>\n

For Zakk’s first volume, Canis – Dear Mr. Rain<\/em> is a strong start. It has the artistic power to leave an impression and maybe, given time, her story will follow suit. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m honestly quite impressed and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll definitely keep my eye on this mad hatter and his loyal dog.<\/p>\n

Series Information<\/h3>\n

Canis – Dear Mr. Rain by ZAKK<\/b>
\nSerialized in Opera
\nPublished by Akane Shinsha
\nPurchase in: Amazon<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0(It looks out of print but you can buy second hand copies!)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Satoru Kutsuna\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a young hatter who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s got nothing but love and passion for his craft. Unfortunately, he puts too much 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