Manga Review: Saturn Aparments (volumes 1-3)

Another series I came across the local library recently and it's another series from Viz's Sig Ikki line which I've enjoyed in the past. The review only covers the first three volumes but when I was done I found the fourth volume was up on the Sig Ikki site which didn't change my opinion of the series actually. By that point I had gotten into the groove of the series and was enjoying it's strong points and just dealing with it's weaker points.

Saturn Apartments (volumes 1-3) by Hisae Iwaoka

Summary: In the future all of humanity has moved off Earth to giant apartment buildings that orbit the Earth while it recuperates and life goes on as normal. There are rich people and poor people, those with happy lives and those with regrets, but the real difference between life on Earth and on the space station is that only those on the upper levels can afford to have their gigantic windows cleaned so they can see real sunlight again. Mitsu, like his father before him, is one of those window cleaners who does this dangerous job everyday and hopes to bring a bit of joy to people’s lives. 

The Good: Once the story got into the swing of things I liked the slice of life aspect of the story, especially since many of the minor characters became reoccurring characters (I think that reoccurring characters strengthen a story, or perhaps it’s the setting that encourages reoccurring characters, one that while it’s slice of life has progression of time and character development). I do like a subplot that was also introduced in the second volume, where the characters start wondering what is going on on Earth all this time and how some of the characters are slowly starting to make plans to sneak down to Earth and find out, and that’s the real reason I want to continue to series, to see what they find out.

The Bad: This is a bit of a slow series, it took a volume and a half before I got into it and, if I was buying this instead of having the luxury to get it out of the library, I wouldn’t have picked up the second volume. It’s a very niche title, almost more so than some of the other Sig Ikki titles, and even though I ended up enjoying the story in the end I can’t see myself wanting to buy it, re-read it, and can’t think of any friends of mine who I would even recommend it to. Normally I want to do at least one of those things so I think that there is something just off with the overall tone/feel of the story that makes it a bit hard to like. I’m not saying people can’t like it, I’m just saying that even people who would ordinarily like a slice of life, sci-fi story might not like this as much. 

The Art: The artwork reminds me a little of Natsume Ono's style in the way the characters are drawn. The designs seem a bit simplistic and rely more on basic looking shapes than intricate details to differentiate. The backgrounds however have more detail to them and for a story where the setting is so important, in a way it’s the titular character, it wouldn’t have worked quite as well if the backgrounds were as simple as the characters. There are very few if any screentones used and the pen and ink shading gives the station a worn and outdated feeling and, considering all the comparisons that are made between the luxurious upper levels and the poorer lower levels I’m sure that was a deliberate choice.

It's not a series I can see myself purchasing in the future, it just doesn't have that much re-readability or loanability for me, but if the library got more volumes or if more chapters were uploaded online on the Sig Ikki site I think I'd continue following along.

Manga Review: Not Simple

I was browsing the manga section at my local library and noticed this one when I saw the Sig Ikki logo on it and was even more interested when I saw that the manga-ka was Natsume Ono. I haven't actually read any of her works but I did really enjoy the anime version of House of Five Leaves (a noitaminA show from Spring 2010) so I decided this was as good a place as any to start.

Not Simple by Natsume Ono

Summary: Ian has had complicated and not quite happy life but this is the story of his journey across continents to reunite with his sister.

The Good: Despite the odd order of events the story was not that hard to follow and didn't even require a second glance through to piece together the parts of Ian's life. The whole story is wrapped up nicely at the end of the volume (a bigger book at 320 pages) and manages to feel rather complete, even if the beginning is the end and the reader doesn't find out the resolution until the last few pages.

The Bad: While reality (and fiction) can be very strange at times yet completely true, there is a point when a story becomes too strange, too coincidental, and too fantastical and Not Simple crossed that line. Too many strange things happen to Ian to really be believable and that made it harder to sympathize with him as well. The novelist, Jim, also feels a bit out of place in the story, almost as if Ono wanted even more tragedy and decided late in the planning stage that Jim's actions would work nicely.

The Art: Ono's style looks strange in all of her works but here it looks extra odd and unrefined. Every character is drawn in blocky shapes, the eyes are huge and flat, and the art feels more experimental, unlike her later works where the art is still different but feels like it tries to be different on purpose.  


So, not my cup of tea after all, oh well, although this does make me want to go and rewatch/find the manga for House of Five Leaves now. And apologies that this entry is going up later, I'm starting to do more cooking and I normally write these entries in the hour before dinner so they might go up a bit later all summer, hope that won't inconvenience people too much!

Manga Review: Afterschool Charisma (volume 1)

When I pulled this off the shelf at my home library I initially thought it the title said Afterschool Nightmare (which, ironically enough, I just tracked down at the other public library) but since this is another Sig Ikki title I checked it out anyway and was quite pleased with it. I seem to like a lot of the Sig Ikki titles actually, thankfully the libraries seem to have a number of them and I've been keeping an eye out for the other titles.

Afterschool Charisma by Kumino Suekane


Summary: Shiro Kamiya is the only non-clone at St. Kleio Academy and, while he obviously can't sympathize with some of the issues the other clones have, he doesn't seem to mind being there. But the administration has some dark plans for these clones and they're not the only enemies they have

The Good: Something about the characters just clicked with me, maybe it's because I get a kick out of Freud telling Shiro he has daddy issues but many of the characters have amusing quirks. There's also plenty of set up for an interesting plot later and, having read the next two volumes on the Sig Ikki site, stuff does get moving in the next volume. There are plenty of different ways the plot could go and should provide a couple of good twists either way so I'm excited for the rest of the series. 


The Bad: The whole volume is build up and introducing character which isn't horrible, considering that the series is only four volumes long now and is paced rather slowly, but is a bit frustrating that the central plot hasn't made a real appearance yet. Sure there are hints and plenty of mysterious, shadowy people making cryptic comments about using or killing of the clones, but nothing solid yet. As a side note, most of the characters are either well known figures from history but I had to look up a couple of them online, a little character guide at the back of the book would've been nice.

The Art: I am mildly puzzled why the clones don't look anything at all like their originals, even taking in a more modern diet to account for height change, since the whole series is about how clones are doomed to repeat their original's history. I'll admit that all the characters look very pretty, and that probably gives the manga a wider female audience, but considering the main theme of the manga (so far anyway) is that the clones are doomed to be exactly the same as their originals it doesn't make a lot of sense.

This volume was mostly introduction and build up for the later volumes but I still really enjoyed it and went to read the rest online afterwards on the Sig Ikki site (what they do is they have the first chapter of each volume that is currently released up and then the chapters from the unreleased chapters up and add one or two new chapters each month). It's the best commercial site I've seen so far for reading manga online (although I still prefer the set up of scanlation sites) and they have quite a bit of stuff up there as well. Wonder how well their iPad app works then, hmmmm....