My Hanagata Man Crush (Kyojin no Hoshi)

This isn't really a review, so I'm doing it in a slightly different style. See, this blog isn't intended to just be a review site... I do need to get some things off my shoulders every once in a while, too... me being human and possessing extremely strong opinions, and all that.

Volume 1 of Kyojin no Hoshi and Volume 10 of Hanagata

A number of years ago, I started reading 'Shinyaku Kyojin no Hoshi: Hanagata' (Retelling of Star of the Giants: Hanagata) and instantly fell in man-love with the main character. I have since purchased untold amounts of Kyojin no Hoshi manga and believe that everyone in the world should familiarize themselves with the story down to the minutest detail. Basically, I feel about this manga the same way my girlfriend feels about Skip Beat. If there were music videos on YouTube, I'd probably watch them. BUT! It doesn't qualify for my reviews under the rules that I have set aside for myself. First of all, it's not untranslated... and second, it's not finished. BUT BUT!! The translated one is a retelling of the classic one! A loophole! But not really. So this isn't a review. Any semblance this may have to a review is purely coincidental.

The Summary!!

The original Kyojin no Hoshi (which is basically nothing short of a huge advertisement for the Tokyo Giants baseball team) followed a young man by the name of Hoshi Hyuuma and was a national phenomenon in Japan in the late 60's. This manga is the reason that sportsmen in manga today wear ridiculous contraptions with springs all over their body, run around in impossible training sessions, and create fireballs when they play tennis. This started all of it. And for those of you who aren't that cool with fire tennis, this also started anime, laying claim to being the first manga ever to be produced into an anime series. Not only that, but it was written by legendary author Ikki Kajiwara, who you most likely haven't heard of, but he penned other legendary works such as Ashita no Joe and Tiger Mask (which I'll review eventually) and was a guiding force in sports manga history.

Anime Vs IRL Comparison? I got that.

So, it's historically significant... but that doesn't make it good. Or relative to the needs of today's audience, for that matter. What makes it good is the progression. The original story follows the genius son of a genius baseball player, who's father was injured in WWII and forced to retire. After his forced retirement, he used every ounce of passion (and anger) in his body to turn his son into the strongest pitcher the world has ever seen. As a child, Hyuuma is forced to wear an apparatus... to explain it, it's basically a vest with a system of springs that forces his arms to straighten out. Over the years, he gains the strength to move naturally with these springs, and practices his pitching while wearing the vest and arm restraints (there's a baseball sized hole in the side of his house... he throws the ball through the hole, it hits something outside, and then comes back in through the hole). His father forces him to practice day in and day out., and Hyuuma does his best to meet his father's high expectations... He remains unstoppable until he meets Hanagata Mitsuru, a genius batter with strength rivaling his own. (Btw, here's a link to the anime opening sequence)

Iconic child abuse? I got that, too.

The rest of the story follows the eternal rivalry between Hanagata and Hoshi as they rise to the professional league, battling it out in front of the nation. Hoshi wins, Hoshi loses, the rivalry becomes bigger than each of them individually... it's become a sports story cliche. But really, the manga is about the relationship between Hoshi and his father, as they grow apart and together again through their love of baseball.

And this brings me to the retelling. Shinyaku Kyojin no Hoshi: Hanagata switches the focus from Hoshi to Hanagata, not even introducing the former main character until like volume 2 or 3 if I recall correctly. And it's this juxtaposition and the fact that you're seeing the story that everyone in Japan knows by heart told from a different perspective that makes this manga so worth reading. It's the dramatic irony of knowing the characters better than they know themselves that brings this story into the forefront of my favorite manga list. When they introduce Hoshi's sister, you know who she is, you know her history and future, and you wait with baited breath to see it unfold. Of course, there are subtle differences, but the macro story plays out the same, allowing for suspense to be played out in the smaller everyday struggles of the teams and players.

That said, the history is also this story's greatest downfall. As a translated work, to an English audience, it's one-sided, almost shallow... Hanagata and friends are fleshed out, leaving the opposition, and Hoshi specifically, as a tragic rival instead of a the heroic figure that Hanagata played in the original series. I fear that people who are unfamiliar with the story are brought too close to Hanagata and fail to understand the intricacies that are woven into the plot.

My Man Crush

"Wha...? Hm, Hey!!"

Oh, Hanagata Mitsuru, the only male character I've ever thought 'damn, nice...' about. He has an unwavering sense of justice only matched by his overconfidence in his own abilities. He's rich. He has a tragic past (at the beginning of the story, he is formerly a famous little league pitcher who hurt his shoulder and has been forced into retirement, taking up the bat only because he can't forget his love of baseball). He's chivalrous to a fault, and he values his friends over himself. He's stereotypical and belongs in a cape fighting crime alongside batman or something, but he's the rare character that stands above the stereotype and achieves true awesomeness. His favorite line? Literally translated, it's 'I don't have a name to give to you', explained, it means something like 'I'm not going to lower myself so far as to tell you my name'... which, even if I were to tell you in English on the street, you'd kind of look at me funny for a while, but you'd know it was an insult. And it's actually about the same reaction a Japanese person would have.

A video of the original Hanagata being awesome with his hair and his batting can be found at the link in the previous words.

The Bottom Line

For months, I debated translating the retelling of Kyojin no Hoshi. I posted it up on my staff forums and opened it to discussion, I poured over the manga trying to see if it would stand on its own or if translating it would be a disservice to the history that it represents. And ultimately I decided that if I was to ever translate Hanagata, it would have to be after I translated the original. Anything less would be blasphemous to the feelings that I hold for this series of manga and the respect that I have for the artists and authors responsible. So I didn't translate it. And I'm sad that it is being translated. Happy that someone other than me appreciates it enough to spend the time to bring it to the public, of course, but sad that the public doesn't have the benefit of getting the full story, and understanding the cultural impact Kyojin no Hoshi has had on their hobby.

Lovely Uchikoshi-Kun!!

Lovely Uchikoshi-kun!! Volume 5 Cover

The Summary:
I was looking around my bookshelf for something to write about (as I'm not quite finished reading the manga that I was going to post about next) and I came across one that's been collecting dust for like 5 years, so I figured I'd wipe it off and expound its many virtues. 'Lovely Uchikoshi-kun!!' (ラブリー打越くん!!), by KUWAHARA Shinya is a classic seinen from the late 1990's (it was also recently republished a few years ago) that follows our hero, Uchikoshi, an errand boy for the Tennis Club as he gets beat up by the upperclassmen and made fun of by his classmates... that is, until Maki Shinobu finds him. Maki has been searching the world for the one who shares the blood of a fallen companion, and she finds that blood flowing through Uchikoshi. After murdering the upperclassmen that bully him, Maki makes it a point to let our young hero know that he belongs to her, and no one else, vowing to kill any woman who attempts to lay claim to him. This starts to get a little messy... and, you know, there are so many gray areas in the whole like/lust spectrum that eventually Maki just decides to kill every woman. You know, just in general. (Did I mention that Maki's a vampire?)

In order to protect the women around him, Uchikoshi finds sudden spurts of strength, speed, and inhuman cruelty... he fears this strength, knowing that he could hurt someone close to him in one of his fits of rage. This fear of himself is what has led him to take a subservient role in his club and school life.

And just in case anyone with a weak stomach or an aversion to boobs was thinking about reading this, it's both bloody and booby. The beginning more so than the rest, what with all of the decapitations and vampire dry humping, but it stays mature throughout the full six volumes.

So, this is worth reading why?

Every woman? At least leave the Swedes.

Lovely Uchikoshi-kun!! is actually quite fun. At the core, it's a comedy about a boy who has a weak personality and a lot of moral fiber that's surrounded by extremely strong female characters who do their best to protect him. Maki protects him by decapitating anyone who gets near him, and the other girls do it in a more subtle way, while avoiding Maki as much as possible. The concession here, and the reason some people may not like this manga, is the excessive tits and ass shots. They are absolutely everywhere... so yeah, keep that in mind.

Anyway, as for the manga, the art work is decent... some angles are a little odd, and you can see some of the inexperience in earlier volumes, but Kuwahara has a good style and gets his point across well. The pacing is fast, the humor is solid, and the characters, while odd as hell, have some good dialogue opportunities that do not go to waste. As far as the story elements go, it's not a secret that Uchikoshi has some sort of hidden potential having to do with his blood, as Maki has been hinting at it from the very beginning of chapter 1, but the reveal is still done well with less unnecessary hoopla than you'd expect in a manga from a young artist. It could be better, but it's good for what it is.

Manga Facts:

• Ran for 2 years starting in 1998 in Comic Uppers from Kodansha, lasting for 6 volumes.
• This is seinen and has lots of almost sex and nudity, as well as blood and gore. Viewer discretion is advised.

Snoopy's Recommendation:

I really enjoyed this... it's not the best manga I've read (by far), but it's fun and has no real flaws to speak of. The audience for this is decidedly male, it has a harem aspect to it, as well as a lot of nudity, but other than that, it's a vampire love story. If you have a thing for vampires, seinen love stories, or unique characters, then this is worth looking at.

Nozomi Witches

Nozomi Witches, Volume 2 Cover

The Summary:

The first manga on my list... for really no good reason... is Nozomi Witches (のぞみ♡ウィッチィズ), by an author I've read extensively, NOBE Toshio. Many fans will only be familiar with his more famous work, Monaco no Sorae, but I assure you that if you enjoy one of his works, you'll enjoy them all (he's currently publishing a sci-fi called 'Time Slipper' about a girl who travels in time (imagine that), and it's really quite sweet, aside from the homicides). Nozomi Witches begins as a love comedy focusing on the heroine, Egawa Nozomi, an actress who has returned to Japan from New Zealand for high school. She moves in next door to the main male lead, Shiba Ryotarou, who, despite his inherent perverted nature, believes that all pretty girls are two-faced witches, not to be trusted. Of course, this is shattered when he meets Nozomi, the perfect, brilliant, and endlessly talented foil to his lack of motivation. Initially the story revolves around the two of them as Ryotarou follows Nozomi into the Theater Club, where he discovers a talent for acting. Their everyday life, hilarious mishaps and mutual attraction is the crux of the story for the first 5 volumes (there isn't any third wheel to muck up the chemistry, which is refreshing). Then one day after finding his acting feet, Ryotarou is given the role of a boxer and is encouraged to join the Boxing Club in order to research the role, where he excels, eventually aiming to join the Seoul Olympics, and later, the world of professional boxing. Every once in a while, the characters return to acting for a side story, but after volume 6, most of that comes to an end. The characters continue on past the end of the series, and return for appearances in Monaco no Sorae, as well as Monaco no Sorae 2.

So, is it worth reading?

A random page from volume 21, translated.

The manga has a really good love comedy feel in the beginning... the author is every bit a match for Adachi's lighthearted storytelling and single panel humor (and you can clearly see that they both stem from the same influences, although they use them in different ways). In fact, Nozomi Witches was one of the top manga in Japan from the beginning through to about volume 8, when it started to veer drastically from love comedy into sports comedy. That said, as a boxing story, it actually holds up surprisingly well, not only does it pre-date the current boxing champion, Hajime no Ippo, but it does a better job of weaving personal plots into the main story without the use of excessive flashbacks or side stories... in that way, it's a superior sports manga. What it lacks is in details and believable advancements in strength and/or technique. All sports stories rely on exaggerated moves and workouts, but Nozomi suffers drastically from the 'I've made my main villain too strong, so my main character must win with nothing but perseverance' cliché that so many fighting manga are faced with, as well as an unrealistic growth rate for the main character (who has no trouble beating anyone he fights after just 2 months of training). In the end, while it lasts for 48 volumes, the author never settles into a good pace, the ending feels rushed (as 99% of endings do), and the final chapters fail to wrap up some of the smaller loose ends. Then again, the fact that Nobe's next manga, Monaco no Sorae, does in fact take place in the same world roughly a decade after the events of Nozomi Witches makes the rushed ending easier to swallow, and gives this series a better feeling of finality.

Manga Facts:

• Shares a world with many of Nobe's other works (not limited to just the sports stories).
• Ran for 10 years starting in 1986 (in Young Jump), for a total of 48 volumes.
• Produced an animated OVA of the same name (3 episodes) in 1992.
• This is a Seinen manga (has boobs, isn't afraid of fan service).

The birth of the Flashing Straight

Snoopy's Recommendation:

Volumes 1 through 5 are a great love comedy... one of the best, in my opinion. Volumes 6 and up are acceptable as a sports story but fall flat when it comes to technical points and the accurate portrayal of boxing. That doesn't in any way mean that it's not worth reading. If you like the beginning, then you should pick it up for no other reason than to see Nozomi and Ryotarou finally get together. For a long time, I had Nozomi Witches on my list of manga that I wanted to translate, and if you're looking for a sports manga that has more heart than grit, then this is a good one to flip through.