A true bestselling author, Fujimoto Tatsuki is on the rise among manga readers. A 27-year-old manga artist with both simple and complex stories to tell, the author clearly stands out. In today’s column, we draw the portrait of the mangaka Fujimoto Tatsuki with his last two works published: Fire punch and Chainsaw man.

Fire punch: an ode to the cinema?

A well-informed film buff, the manga artist loves the big screen. This passion for the 7th art blooms in Fire Punch. The author does not hesitate to incorporate cinematographic references in his manga, like Akira, Star Wars, Pulp fiction, Diehard, MAD Max 2 … everything goes.

Both misunderstood and a true genius, the author could be recognized as the Quentin Tarantino of manga.

Fujimoto Tatsuki integrates Togata’s complex character into Fire Punch. Presented as an unfriendly, very energetic character, Togata is, like its author, a fan of cinema. The manga takes place in a post-apocalyptic world, where movies no longer exist. Cinema very quickly leaves an unbridled passion that, over time, will dissipate. Lacking audio-visual stimuli, she hears about a human torch named Agni seeking revenge and devastating everything in its path. Wanting to become the director, not a spectator, of Agni’s life, Togata will do anything to make the best film possible.

Togata’s passion and will are so strong that she manipulates others to make them act as she sees fit. Having one of the main story arches, Togata is probably the most important character in the work. She manipulates his “extras” as she pleases to give a frame and continuity to his film, and this manipulative side will be the common thread of the first part of the series.

Manipulative, unfriendly, and selfish, Togata will have quite an impressive character development! She will come out of her shell, and it is hard when you are more than 300 years old! Her hyperactive side is in fact only a facade to escape from her true self that she finds disgusting and pessimistic. Togata and the reader will come to realize that she is ultimately just one more actor in this cinematic masquerade.

The integration of this character is therefore very quickly transformed into a narrative process: the author brilliantly manages to incorporate pop culture references into his manga. This process allows Fujimoto to incorporate monologues like in a cult film.

The appearance of Togata in the story is a very interesting approach since by using references, the author breaks the 4th wall while giving the impression that Togata is talking to readers. The film Togata wants to make represents the work within the work.

Chainsaw man: a shônen like no other!

Written by the same author, Chainsaw man and Fire punch are opposed. Chainsaw man is a manga that surprises with its atmosphere, concept, theme, character … everything is different between the two works. This counterbalance offers us two very unique works.

Telling the life of young Denji, Chainsaw man plunges us into a chaotic, gory, and psychedelic world at will. The author propels us into the life of Denji who, when he is attacked by a group of yakuza zombies controlled by a demon, will have to become one of the monsters to survive. His nature forever changed, Denji will become a half-man, half-demon creature: he will become Chainsaw man. This mishap will prove to be a salvation. This anti-hero-like hero is different from the usual shônen heroes. Selfish at will, blasé, without great ambitions, disinterested in the opportunities that his new powers could offer him, Denji presents himself as a unilaterally simplistic hero.

In Chainsaw man, there is no quest to become the pirate lord, Hokage, or even Emperor mage. Dazzled by feminine charms, having a roof, and something to eat, our hero takes refuge in the small pleasures of life. These casual aspirations offer a contrast to the world filled with demons and liters of blood that make up the world around it.

This breath of fresh air which gives a lot of humanity to the main character is an innovative approach in itself. The adventures of Denji is a story freed from the frameworks and codes of the shônen. In the end, Chainsaw man represents the story of a guy who, full of flaws and qualities, is simply the witness of the choices that life offers him.

Fujimoto Tatsuki, a young mangaka who is shaking up the codes of the genre, is an author to watch closely. He showed us that he could show boundless narrative creativity and imagination. It’s even truer looking at the last one-shot that he wrote: Look back. The author knows how to balance the unspoken rules of his profession and pop culture. A yet ba acclaimed genius, the author has a promising career in the world of manga in front of him.

Being a mangaka is not an easy profession. Constantly under pressure with deadlines to meet and in constant competition with their peers to keep their place in a pre-publication magazine, it is not easy to live the life of a mangaka. Adored by society today, particularly in the 2020 Olympic Games (21), being a mangaka is a unique profession that makes Japan shine around the world. But would you be surprised if I told you that it hasn’t always been the case?

(Weekly, monthly, two or three times per month)

An unappreciated profession

Not so long ago the profession of mangaka was not an enviable or easily achievable one. It was mostly considered seen as a sub-profession. To understand why we must go back to its origins. Used initially for propaganda purposes by the Japanese government to solicit its population to rebuild a Japan in ruins following World War II, the manga quickly took its place as literary entertainment. Some young mangaka sews liberal ideas in their writings, stoking the contradictions with the mentality of the 50s and questioning the great traditions while criticizing the evolution of modern Japan turned towards frantic production. The manga was inspired by universal facts, social issues, whether emotional, academic, sexual, or work, and addressing themes that everyone refuses to tackle. ((Akira, MW, The Story of the 3 Adolf, Princess Sapphire, Gen of Hiroshima, etc …)

Today, manga is used as a medium to convey the reflection of Japanese society, both the good and the bad. The famous Inio Asano, for example, is perfectly specialized in this field due to this critical and open-ended tradition.

The profession of mangaka has long been shunned. Many mangaka, anxious to remain anonymous, opted in the past for a very particular self-portrait: the jigazo, this drawn self-portrait representing the mangaka for its readers.

Towards the general admiration of the profession

Over the years and with the manga’s gain in popularity, mentalities change slowly. The arrival of the excellent Bakuman in the Shônen Jump, by Takeshi Obata and Tsugumi Oba, will be a huge success in Japan. After the success of Death Note, the two mangaka brought a series with 20 volumes to the table to demystify the profession of mangaka. Telling the beginnings of two talented young boys wishing to write their own manga, the series brilliantly succeeded in popularizing the profession as well as the path to the serialization of a story in a magazine, by taking us behind the scenes of this new profession. . Mangaka is finally becoming a standardized profession: there is no longer any shame in letting oneself dream of becoming a manga artist.

The popularity of the big hits of the 2000s, especially with their Big Three (Naruto, Bleach, One Piece), will reveal the missing piece to this complex puzzle. Even if the profession remains quite hard physically and morally, it becomes a source of perseverance and self-sacrifice. Making a living as a mangaka is long and complicated, but not impractical. It is, above all, very desired by artists. Even despite the immense success of One piece, putting the standards high for any artist, several titles are doing very well. The meteoric rise of Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen, manga made by the young mangaka, is proof that, for a good story, any work can have its hour of glory, even going so far as to overshadow the eternal No 1: One Piece, having achieved so much itself by dethroning at the end of 90 the popularity monster that Dragon ball represented!

Being a mangaka is therefore not what it was before. It has been standardized and is recognized as a real profession. Several official infrastructures have been put in place: the appearance of manga schools and the numerous competitions organized by Japanese publishing houses for young talents are now very good proof of this improvement.

And today?

As we have seen, the place of the mangaka in Japanese society is much better than it used to be. Just look at the staging of the last Olympic Games: Akira Toriyama (Dragon Ball), Takehiko Inoue (Slam Dunk, Vagabond), Naoki Urasawa (20th century boys, Monster), Hirohiko Araki (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure), and many others have been enlisted to promote Japanese culture to the world. We finally have a Japan proud of its pop culture, going so far as to choose manga heroes such as Luffy, Goku, Usagi, Naruto, Shinchan, or Astro as official ambassadors of its J-O.

In recent years, mangakas have emerged from their comfortable area of ​​anonymity and put themselves, their work, and their profession at the mercy of the gaze of others by posting on the internet and social networks. Several mangaka present on Twitter or on YouTube does not hesitate to promote an event, a signing session, or just their everyday life, thus creating a strong and intimate bond with whoever wants to interact with it. The manga Gaikotsu Shotenin Honda-sa tells the life of Honda, a bookseller with a skeleton head, and it illustrates with great humor the relationship between the mangaka and his readers from a new angle: the author’s relationship to its community as well as the abandonment of the traditional anonymity.

The manga has been gaining in popularity for several years, and that’s a fact! The image conveyed by this success has been able to give dignity to the image of the mangaka profession. Today, the profession of mangaka is recognized and valued as it should be: an honorable artistic profession. Mixing passion and total abnegation towards work, the mangaka bring their readers to the depths of their work through a story. Think about it: couldn’t this imaginative journey of unconditional dreamers be considered one of the most beautiful jobs in the world?

Unless you have lived in a cave for the past decade, it’s impossible that you haven’t heard of One Piece! The series, almost being 25 years old, represents more than 1000 chapters, 1000 characters evolving in a rich and diverse universe, 100 fruits of the devil, 900 episodes, and 470 million copies sold in the world! One Piece is above all the story between a mangaka, Eiichiro Oda, and a hero, Monkey D. Luffy, who were able to put together one of the most famous literary odysseys. In addition to its impressive achievements, One Piece stands out mainly for its story with a rich narrative. Together, let’s dive into the One Piece universe.

SPOILER ALERT

Be careful, the following may spoil the story if you are not up to date with the series. So, go catch up, One Piece is not waiting (laughs)!

A Story Full of Lies: The Unbelievable Power of Usopp.

Before we begin, it is important to know what foreshadowing is, since the series offers us a lot of hints throughout the narrative.

As a powerful narrative tool, and probably Eiichiro Oda’s favorite, foreshadowing is used to suggest what comes next in the story through small warning signs, clues in the drawing, or anecdotes.

In One Piece, Usopp’s character allows Oda to skillfully introduce his foreshadowing techniques. Allow me to explain how:

Usopp’s name originates from the word “uso” – lie, has a nose like Pinocchio’s, and was born on April 1. Usopp is therefore a character in connection with lying. Having lost his mother since childhood and left behind by his father, Usopp resorts to lies to attract the attention of the people of his village to overcome his loneliness. This mischief will take on a whole new meaning when he tells his sick friend Kaya fake stories at her window since she is cloistered at her home. Our big-hearted liar brings her a breath of freedom through his stories.

At that time, Usopp tells the story of The Giant Goldfish Adventure, in which the fish is so big that someone could mistake its dropping for islands. This famous fish makes an appearance in later chapters when the crew leaves Little Garden, the Giants’ Island of Dorry and Brogy. In the same story, Usopp mentioned that he donated this fish to the Kingdom of the Elves, referring here to the Kingdom of the Tontattas, which will be discovered 700 chapters later!

During the Alabasta arc, Usopp brags to Vivi that his head is priced at 30 million Berry. Although it sounds a lie, what a surprise to find, several arcs later (Ennies Lobbies), that our liar’s first bounty is indeed 30 million Berry! We can also read on Usopp’s swim shorts on one of the author’s illustrations: Lie turns into reality. Intriguing, right?

The interesting thing about foreshadowing in One Piece is that all of Usopp’s lies are likely to come true. The liar becomes a prophet in favor of the truth to come. There are plenty of lies like these and I leave you the pleasure of going to find them.

The mystery of the man in the top hat.

If you’ve read the manga, you know that Luffy’s brother Ace was introduced in Drum and then in Alabasta. But did you know that his other brother Sabo appeared long before all that? In Loguetown, in chapters 99 and 100, a man in black with a top hat can be seen at the bottom of the scaffold, witnessing Baggy’s future non-execution of Luffy. This man is Sabo.

During this chapter released in 1999, we already had proof, without knowing it, that Sabo had survived his accident. It was about ten years later, during chapter 588 that we officially learned that he had escaped death and had been taken in by the revolutionary army, more particularly by Monkey D. Dragon, Luffy’s father.

Another element confirms the presence of Sabo in Loguetown during the same chapter. Remember, Luffy is finally captured by Smoker and then saved by his father. It is certain that accompanying Dragon, Sabo is indeed present in Loguetown but, suffering from amnesia, does not recognize Luffy. Several more chapters later, during the Dressora arc. Sabo and Luffy will offer a moving reunion.

A last one for the road?

When Luffy learns that there are fish-men on East Blue, he makes a beautiful drawing showing how he thinks they look like. This drawing could have been trivial and forgotten. And yet! Eiichiro Oda does not forget anything! Several chapters (and several years) later, we find the same man-fish imagined by Luffy in a very small box. Coincidence? Absolutely not (laughs)!

The mysteries still to be elucidated:

Despite its almost 25 years of publication, One Piece has succeeded in weaving an incredible web of mystery around the story. Even as the work progresses and heads towards its end, there is still a lot of unanswered questions:

• What is the story behind devil’s fruits?

• What does Doflamingo know about Mary Geoise?

• Who is Vegapunk, this mysterious genius? What are ancient weapons used for?

• Where is all blue?

• What happened in the missing century? And why is the government trying to cover it up so bad, going so far as to kill innocent people?

• What is behind the Voice of Everything?

• Where is the last Polyneglyph Road?

• What does D’s will mean?

• Who are the cool brother yetis who appeared in front of Franky and Usopp? And why do they look like they’re wearing a straw hat?

• Who is joy boy?

And especially question we all ask: what is One Piece?

The list goes on and on and yet, according to its author, the manga would end somewhere in the next 5 years.

All the richness of the work derives from this control of the narration. Eiichiro Oda manages to keep us wanting more. Even after 25 years of telling stories, the author keeps most of the secrets in his pocket. One Piece has an incredible plot masterfully sculpted by Oda’s lynx eye. Nothing is forgotten and nothing is left to chance. The author knows the whole arc of his story by heart and his goal is to offer us an extraordinary journey. Eiichiro Oda spoke on the subject a few years ago during an interview: he would go so far as to modify its ending if a fan were to discover it! One Piece is the tangible proof of devotion, an absolute and unilateral abnegation of an author towards his work. But it is also the burning fervor of a dreamer whose mission is to bring his readers into a world unique in its kind. This is the essence of One Piece.

Read One Piece because it is an incredible work that will make your dream colorful. And don’t forget: One Piece is life!!!

Ghost in the shell, Berserk, Fullmetal Alchemist, Naruto, Nana, Demon slayer … All of them are recognized as must-read classics in manga literature. Timeless, these manga have established themselves with originality and uniqueness. These Mangas with a capital M have marked the history of manga with indelible ink because of their unique way of creating narrative codes, and the many screenwriting revolutions. However, are the manga we consider must-read are the same as in the Land of the Rising Sun? On the way to our weekly meeting!

Kochikame

In 2016, the manga Kochikame entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest manga series in history; from the height of its 200 volumes and its unpronounceable name: Kochira Katsushikaku Kameari Kouenmae Hashutsujo, which literally means: “This is the police station in front of Kameari Park in Katsushika district” is officially the manga with the most volumes for a single series.

The manga tells the daily life and the misadventures of Kankichi Ryotsu nicknamed Ryo-San in small short stories. Akimoto Osamu, the author, after more than 40 years in pre-publication and at the ripe old age of 69, did not hesitate for a moment and jumped straight into the development of four new series. No rest for the brave (laughs). Kochikame had such a strong impact in Japan and more precisely in the mangakas’ community, that when its final volume was released, several dozen mangakas paid tribute to it. In addition, bronze statues were erected in Tokyo in the series’ honor, just like One Piece. Kochikame is and will remain a big name in manga history for sure.

Ashita no Joe

Better known outside Japan, Tetsuya Chiba’s manga is one of the great titles that have shaped today’s manga universe. He also happens to be the creator of a new genre of sports manga. For Tetsuya Chiba, sports manga written only to show sports did not interest him. He decided to use sport as a tool in his stories, a way to get his hero out of his misery.

Street child, brawling orphan and buck wild, Joe Yabuki has not it easy. Under the wing of a former alcoholic boxer, his life might change dramatically. This master can detect the innate talent of our hero but he is not easy on Joe. A real mad dog attached to his freedom and independence; the latter will offer the master a lot of difficulties.

A timeless classic, Ashita no Joe went so far as to establish a narrative code that we still find today in the shônen and the seinen: the famous simultaneous punch during a duel. Riku-do, Mutsubara Toshimitsu’s manga, or Fighting Rooster, will succeed several years later in reviving the same fury present in Ashita no Joe.

Kinnikuman

Written by a mangaka duo who work together under the incredible pseudonym Yudetamago, literally “hard-boiled egg”, Kinnikuman is a very popular manga. Only available in Japan, Kinnikuman tells the story of Suguru, crown prince of the planet Muscla, who was mistakenly propelled when he was still an infant into the junk chute of his parents’ spaceship as it passed off planet Earth. Several years later, having become a Japanese like the others, his two friends will join forces to make Suguru a superhero. Unfortunately, while the vibe promises a very funny and unconventional manga, there is no paper translation other than its Japanese version. Very influential in Japanese culture, Kinnikuman was one of the heroes who play a good part in the childhood of many young Japanese people.

Anpanman

Speaking of heroes, it is impossible not to talk about Anpanman! Written by Takashi Yanase, it’s not really a must-read manga, but it is so important to the Japanese that I couldn’t leave it out. It is probably THE reference for Japanese children.

This one tells the adventures of Anpanman, the superhero filled with anko / azuki paste. The head of our little superhero is a piece of bread called “anpan” and filled with the sweet red bean paste used as the basis for traditional candies. Wanting to give children an example to follow, good always outweighs evil, it is a question of sacrifice to bring about justice. The series is not afraid to allow its main character to sacrifice himself to feed the hungry people, thus making the supreme sacrifice of his person! The series pushes its originality even further since all the characters in the series have an edible head associated with their name: Uncle Jam for ” Uncle Jam ”, Currypanman, Shokupanman has sliced ​​bread for a head, Melonpanna, a bread melon, and so on … Concept that Akira Toriyama will use in Dragon Ball to name his characters. The manga is so disproportionate that it too has entered to be the series with the most characters in its narrative. The manga is made up of over 1,700 different characters.

There are tons and tons of manga that made history. This multitude of books that we have never, or rarely seen, are omnipresent in Japanese culture. I could also have told you about Doraemon, Golgo 13, Lupine the 3rd (which was recently announced in French by Kana and in English by Seven Seas!), Sazae-san, or even Osomatsu-san, which we know little in the West thanks to its anime). Japan is full of manga that we will probably never have the opportunity to read in our language. The international manga museum in Kyoto, entirely dedicated to the ninth Japanese art, will make you spin with its 300,000 different manga! It is always quite dizzying to realize a fortiori that the manga as we know it represents only a tiny part of the existing ones.

More than an established classic, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure is a curiosity – an extravagant, atypical manga with a unique set of pop-cultural references. Hirohiko Araki’s work is considered today to be an imaginative centerpiece, which, while not always successful, has always sparked discussion.  In total contradiction with typical manga at the time in its inception (late 70s-early 80s),  Phantom Blood, the first part of what would become a lifetime series, already stood out. With the eccentric choice of Victorian England as a setting, when most manga were set in Japan, Araki was set to create one of the most referential and referenced stories of all time.

Phantom Blood, Battle Tendency, Stardust Crusader, Diamond is Unbreakable, Golden Wind, Stone Ocean, Steel Ball Run and Jojolion – let’s go for the full 30-year retrospective.

One inspiration = One part of the Jojo’s saga

What gives Jojo a unique dimension is the source of inspiration from which the series draws its theme. Thus, each part of the manga, from Phantom Blood to Jojolion, takes as its source of inspiration a classic from cinema or from literature. To not spoil the upcoming anime release of part 6, Stone Ocean, I will only mention the first 5 parts of the saga.

Phantom Blood

Phantom Blood is very much inspired by Bram Stoker’s Dracula, with both works set in Victorian England and protagonists with the same name (‘Jonathan’) whose lives are irrevocably changed with one faithful encounter. For Jojo, this encounter is Dio, and for Stoker’s Jonathan, with Count Dracula.  In both stories, we follow a Jonathan who discovers a macabre truth about their newfound acquaintance. The protagonist must then make a difficult decision to confront said truth: in Dracula, whether to stay with the Count or return to a more secure lifestyle, while in Phantom Blood, Jonathan must renounce Dio’s humanity in order to save his family.

Maybe Jojo’s Jonathan becomes a representation of Van Helsing, a vampire hunter and sworn enemy of Dracula. Great power always comes with great responsibility, doesn’t it? Jonathan will stay true to this maxim while Dio will forcefully reject it.

Battle Tendency

Battle Tendency is inspired by Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. In this part, focused on Joseph Joestar, we can recognize several concepts adapted from the emblematic film. What’s more, the manga takes place in the same time period as this Indiana Jones flick, in a post-war WW2 context, with our heroes fighting remaining Nazis. Joseph resembles Henry Jones Jr., and shares with him a fearless, daredevil attitude that particularly stands out when faced by difficult situations.  

There is also a Pandora’s Box central to both works: this eponymous lost ark, and in Jojo’s, the discovery of bodies encased in a pillar of ice. Opening these Pandoras Boxes will unleash antagonists that must be stopped at all costs.

Stardust Crusaders

After his first two works, Araki wanted to test a new approach. Indeed, Araki was interested in fighting his true style that would differentiate himself from other mangaka, even confessing that he “did not see [himself] as a true mangaka” and “did not know what kind of mangaka [he] wanted to become”. From this tormented creative mind emerged the defining concept of Jojo’s – the iconic ‘stands’.

Stardust Crusaders is inspired by Jules Vernes’s Around the World in Eighty Days.

While Vernes’s work is a clear inspiration, Araki only loosely adapted the original concept of the novel, the protagonist Phileas Fogg’s obsession with his race against time. keep the basic concept of the film adaptation. So, it is mainly the eagerness felt in the two works that will have the best part. In the Around the World in 80 Days, Phileas Fogg is obsessed with this race against time. In Stardust, pressed by the energy-sapping evolution of Holly Joestar’s stand, Joseph and his grand-son Jotaro must embark on a trip round the world to save her life.

The two works also have a very similar finality. Phileas Fogg finishes his quest mere seconds before his allotted time, it will be the same for the Joestars, with the conclusion of this part of the manga played with moments to spare.

Diamond is Unbreakable

Diamond is Unbreakable has a slightly different approach, in comparison to the three previous parts.  The manga’s setting is the peaceful town of Morioh, based in part on the town of Sendai, Hirohiko Araki’s hometown located in Miyagi Prefecture. In this part, the eccentric but beloved author stand-in character, Rohan Kishibe, appears in the manga.

Part 4 is shrouded in mystery. Inspired by the American film Psycho, we will follow the story of a mysterious serial killer in parallel with the adventures of Josuke, Koichi and Jotaro. Appearing like a perfect man to the unsuspecting eye, the serial killer is actually a psychopath who kills, kidnaps, and dismembers his victims.

Golden Wind

Based on the classic Scarface, Part 5 tells the story of a small-town thug who wants to take the throne of a Mafia godfather. The story begins with the appearance of a new drug on the black market which utterly destroys those who consume it. Our protagonist Giornio must fight not only against this scourge, but also discover the identity of the mafia boss to take him down. This deadly chase will see our heroes switch between the roles of hunter and prey. Golden Wind has a very linear plot but is made up of many twists and turns will keep you going.

Music as Stand-art!

CAUTION: SPOILERS ON PARTS 1 TO 5

One of the author’s pleasures is intrinsically associated with creation and names in his manga. The author started to mix his imagination with music before the stands started appearing in part 3, Stardust Crusaders, thereby inspiring a folklore of character names and stands full of references. As a music lover, the author takes great pleasure in placing musical references in his manga. This was his own habit to create the most unique mangas. It’s simple: the wider your musical culture, the more you will be able to pinpoint a particular reference. To shed some light on this, let’s go back to our previous sections, part by part.

Phantom Blood

Most of the references of the first paragraphs on Phantom Blood and Battle Tendency relate to the names of the characters. Protagonist, antagonist, extra, company name, everything goes. Now, let’s start with the most charismatic villain created to date (yes, that’s totally a subjective opinion – laughs): Dio Brando is inspired by the American heavy metal band Dio. His underlings, Dire and Straizo, are inspired by English rock band Dire Straits, Bruford by musician Bill Buford, drummer for the group Yes.

The side of the “good guys” is not left out, since the nickname Zeppeli is obviously based on the popular group Led Zeppelin; Robert E.O. Speedwagon comes from the rockband REO Speed ​​Wagon and Tonpetty, the monk who teaches the wave to Antonio Zeppeli, is a nod to American musician Tom Petty.

Battle Tendency

For this part, the future Madame Joestar, aka Suzi Q, takes her name from the musician Suzi Quatro and the song Susie Q by Dale Hawkins. Staying in the Joestar family, Lisa Lisa, who will prove to be a great ally by giving our heroes the necessary weapons, takes her name from the band Lisa and Cult Jam. Also, Aja’s famous red stone, central to the plot, takes its name from Steely Dan’s album, Aja. The men of the pillar, Santana, Wamuu, Esidici, and Kars, have names inspired by the music groups Santana, Whami, AC / DC, and The Cars.

Stardust Crusader

With the arrival of the stands, the author has a whole new playing field to work on. But it is on different characters that the author will let off steam the most: Iggy, the famous little pug dog who has conquered many hearts of fans, is inspired by musician Iggy Pop, Jean-Pierre Polnareff is named after French musician Michel Polnareff, Muhammad Abdul was named in reference to the American singer Paula Abdul. While we’re at it, let’s also talk about Abdul’s stand: Magician’s Red has an attack called Crossfire Hurricane, a name that comes from the first line “I was born in a cross-fire hurricane” of the song Jumpin ‘ Jack Flash of the Rolling Stones. Rubber Soul (Rabā Sōru) takes its name from the Beatles album Rubber Soul, Hol Horse is named after the American pop-rock duo Hail and Oates, Vanilla Ice after the rapper of the same name, etc., etc., etc…

Diamond Is Unbreakable

Diamond Is Unbreakable is where the author unleashes his creativity with musical references in the characters’ stands. Indeed, Crazy Diamond, our hero Josuke’s stand, is named after the song Shine On You Crazy Diamond by Pink Floyd. Koichi’s stand, Echoes, is named after the eponymous song by Pink Floyd (again them), Okuyasu’s stand, The Hand, is a reference to Canadian rock band The Band. Rohan’s stand, Heaven’s Door, is linked to Bob Dylan’s song Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door. Yoshikage Kira’s stand called Killer Queen and his power evolutions Scheer Heart Attack and Another bites the dust are references to the group Queen’s songs. A little last for the road? Akira Otoishi’s stand, Red hot chili peppers, is… I’ll let you guess;)

Golden Wind

In Golden Wind, the concept is the same: the stands are almost all references to music or others, and the author is clearly loving it. Giorno, our hero with great ambitions wanting to become godfather instead of the standing godfather, has a stand called Gold Experience, which is a reference to the album “The Gold Experience” by singer Prince. Our hero’s name is a nod to Italian singer Giovanni Giorgio Moroder. A lot of characters have stands with the exact same name of an album or a group’s same: Bucchelatti’s Sticky finger stand is named after a Rolling Stones album, Mista’s stand, Sex pistol, is a direct reference to the English rock band, Prosciutto and his stand Grateful dead, etc., etc … the list is still long, and I could keep talking about it!

Even though I only scratched the tip of the iceberg of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, I have to proclaim two absolute truths! First, the author is a crazy music lover who, in excess, constantly picks the reader’s brain with his gestures, each event, each new encounter. Second, Hirohiko Araki has a lot of culture, and he humbly puts this knowledge at the service of his work, de facto creating a second reading of the same work which is as unusual as it is rich.

It is Hirohiko Araki’s mastery that gives his manga a simplicity and a certain complexity which, together, create an incredibly well written work with its unique signature.

For an author who struggled to make his personal mark and differentiate himself from his peers, you could say that this is a complete success!

Manga is an incredible phenomenon that continues to conquer new audiences. Originally written in Japanese for Japanese audiences, over the years, manga has gained worldwide prominence. But even with this massive wave of cultural exportation, manga is still an important social phenomenon in Japan which, for a fairly conservative country, has wielded tremendous cultural global impact through these comics. In the West, close behind the United States, France stands out as the third largest manga consuming nation in the world. Collector’s item or disposable product, the status conferred to manga by Westerners or the Japanese is quite different. Let’s investigate!

Manga: a social phenomenon

Manga is well anchored in Japanese society. Every Japanese person reads, has read or has seen at least a single manga. Whether through the actual comics, through anime or derivative products, the literary culture of manga permeates Japanese culture as a whole. Between the construction of a giant mobile Gundam in Yokohama and the establishment of a One Piece Tokyo Tower at the literal foot of Tokyo Tower, the manga is even a homogeneous part of the Japanese landscape.

However, the profession of mangaka, or manga artist, has long been poorly regarded by the Japanese, seen as a ‘false’ profession. This state of mind, resulting from collective ignorance, has changed significantly over time and allowed the manga to quickly gain in popularity. It was in particular the importance that the manga was beginning to acquire in the eyes of the entire world that caused this drastic turn, which is manifests today in several ways. For example, the district of Akihabara has evolved, over the years, from specializing in technology to an almost 100% tourist district with specialization in manga and anime.

The various collaborations between national and foreign brands are also a good example: One Piece and Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure have appeared in the brand marketing for both accessible brands like Uniqlo and more upscale brands like Gucci. Japanese and foreign brands quickly understood that manga can represent good marketing support, which is something that has not quite emerged with Western comics.

A topical subject, we must not forget the importance that manga and their authors will represent in the next Olympic Games, which are scheduled for this summer in Tokyo. This bold, inclusion of manga as part of the national visual myth of Japan, presented to the rest of the world through this global event, shows how integral manga is to Japanese culture. The choice of Goku, from Akira Toriyama’s famous Dragon Ball, as ambassador for the Olympic Games as well as the artistic participation of mangakas Hirohiko Araki (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure) and Naoki Urasawa (20th century boys) in development of posters for the Olympic and Paralympic Games are beautiful examples of this as well.

Manga, a disposable consumer product.

As a product, manga is consumed differently in Japan than it is here in North America. Where most manga buyers in the West want to build their collections, in Japan, manga is primarily a disposable consumer product. Obviously, I’m not saying that there are no collectors in Japan, but according to the Japanese norm, manga is a product that we read and that we throw away, resell or exchange most of the time. There are three different factors in Japan related to this phenomenon: pre-publication magazines, the new manga market, and the used manga market.

You should know that before a manga is published as a hardcover book, it is initially pre-published, chapter by chapter, in a pre-publication magazine such as Shonen Jump, Weekly Shonen Magazine, Young Magazine, etc. For the most part, these magazines are very affordable: the weekly issue of Shonen Jump costs 290 yen or about $ 3.20 CAD and contains about fifteen different manga chapters. This accessibility is largely responsible for the rise and popularity of manga in Japan – anyone in Japan can afford this type of content. In the West, mostly printed in large color format, our comic books are really less affordable (generally, a single volume can cost between $15 and $30).
Manga in Japan are printed on low-end paper, recycled and often in different colors. Pre-publication magazines often leave much to be desired in terms of both magazine quality and printing, but this is a voluntary choice on the part of publishers. This unusual choice allows the average Japanese to read their magazine and recycle it without any regrets.

For hardcover manga, their consumption is linked to the cycle of new/used manga markets. Published in higher quality and in a smaller format size than in pre-publication magazines, new, hardcover manga is fairly accessible. Usually, they are bought on the day of release, between 300 yen ($ 3.30 CAD) and 500 yen (5.51 $ CAD).

Once read, the manga bought new will end up, most of the time, either discarded or sold in a used manga bookstore. The most popular chain being the Book Off company which, with more than 300 stores spread through the Japanese archipelago, specializes in the purchase and sale of used manga.

With the second-hand manga market in Japan flourishing, it’s easy enough to imagine the classic pattern of life in a pre-publication manga and magazine.

Buying a prepublication magazine → reading the magazine → discarded / recycled.

Purchasing a related manga → reading the manga → resold in a used manga store → bought by someone else → read again → resold → etc, etc …

Digital manga

In recent years, a new form of manga consumption has appeared. A logical flow of technological advancement, digital pre-publication magazine platforms have begun to emerge. These new media make life difficult for print magazines. Even cheaper than physical magazines, a monthly subscription allows full access for members to all pre-published series. The best example are the Shonen Jump application, developed by the Shueisha. Even if the pre-publication magazine still has a bright future ahead, especially with the craze that manga is currently gaining, paper sales are slowly starting to decline.
In 2019, there was a 4% recorded loss for paper formats versus an increase of 24% for digital versions. However, we must not cry wolf too quickly either, since there are still more than 2 million copies of Shonen Jump printed every week!

As we have seen, the way manga is perceived in Japan is quite different from the perception we have of it here in the West. For most Japanese people, manga is a part of everyday life, an important part of the Japanese economy and culture. As part of the visual representation of Japan, notably in the upcoming Olympics, manga has imposed an indelible mark on Japanese culture.

Here are a few questions, returning to a slightly more Western perspective.
Is the way we consume manga in the West, as collector’s items rather than disposable products, beneficial to the evolution of manga? Does this method of consumption encourage the mangaka more than participating in a second-hand manga market? Will this form of consumptio be an ultimate form of resistance from the growing digitalization of manga?

I’ll let you have the last word. thanks for reading.

Sumo, volleyball, rugby, swimming, soccer, boxing, figure skating … The field of sports manga, or supokon, is a wide one. With shared themes of hard work, perseverance, and team spirit, sports manga are definitely wrapped in typical shonen codes, but they are far from being confined to the genre. Thanks to their relatable themes and interesting approach to the popular subject of sports, supokon generally reach large audiences. If the most popular manga genres are usually adventure or action, sports manga are not far behind on the list. Today, dear reader, we have the pleasure of talking about sports, manga, and so, supokon.

Sport for sport’s sake

Sports manga such as Haikyu, Kuroko’s Basketball or Slam Dunk are often hommages, sublimating a specific sport through a manga format. These stories are often told from the persepctive of a single main character, with a story that reflects shonen values (again, team work, perseverance in the face of adverstity, etc.). These works highlight their chosen sport, and complement the protagonist’s competitiveness and player life with everyday dilemmas about friendship, school life, and romantic situations.

Slam Dunk for example, begins with a tale of romance and heart-fluttering emotions. Hanamichi Sakuragi, red-haired, rebel thug in his spare time, enlists in his school’s basketball club in order to attract the attention of his crush, the beautiful Haruko. This “notice-me senpai” debut leads us into the hero’s difficult first steps into the world of basketball. It is thanks to the power of love, which is stronger than anything else, that our hero will find the strength to persevere in this new athletic path. Despite a catastrophic start, Sakuragi will throw himself headlong into the challenge which will quickly develops personal stakes and eventually becomes a genuine passion. Slam Dunk‘s mangaka, Takehiko Inoue, uses his gifted pen and ingenuity, to break the codes of the genre and brilliantly manage the merge of two shonen sub-genres: supokon (sports manga) and furyo (thug manga). Slam Dunk, through its originality, its clever mix of humor and action, and of course, Inoue-sensei’s technical mastery, has gained the reputation of ultimate sports manga.

A real classic in the making, you can’t miss this other gem: Haikyu!!.

Haikyu!! has nothing to envy its predecessors, and is filled to the brim with uncontrollable energy and innovative ideas. Completed in 2020 at 45 volumes, Haikyu!!’s representation of volleyball has had both literary and societal impact, with the popularity of the manga succeeding in partially restoring the image of the sport in Japan.

Incredible, dynamic visuals, impressive sylistic effects and a unique main character, Haikyu!! has it all. Indeed, Haruichi Furudate’s volleyball manga has firmly settled in the pantheon of supokon must-haves.

Haikyu!! follows young Hinata, who at his small height of 5’4 ’’, is determined to shine in the world of volleyball. Once registered with his school club, he meets Kageyama, another club rookie. This unlikely duo opposites will have to find common ground and cooperate in order to achieve their goals. What makes Haikyu!! so strong is the development of its secondary characters, bringing and importance and depth to the story that makes Haikyu!! so fun and immersive.

Sports: a vector of happiness!

There also exists a particular type of darker, more adult supokon that intersects with the seinen genre, and features a more serious, mature setting. In these manga, sports are no longer a simple leisure activity, but a means for the hero to change their lives, and to lift themselves out of difficult situations. Often dealing with serious themes related to drugs, misery, poverty, abuse, the criminal underworld, sports are a vector for happiness and a means to forge a better life. At least that’s what we can find in Rikuou or Shamo.

In Rikudou: from a young age, little Riku has always been in trouble. Father in debt to a yakuza, junkie prostitute mother, our hero was unfortunately born into the wrong family. Following the suicide of his father, Riku is found by a former boxer turned debt collector, Kyosuke Tokorozawa, as the child rages on the corpse of his father. Tokorozawa then discovers with horror that Riku’s mother is living with a drug dealer as violent as he is sadistic and is quite unable to take care of her son. After the dealer mistreats his mother in front of him, Riku kills him with an ashtray. I warned you: it’s dark!

Riku asks Tokorozawa, ruthless and unscrupulous, to train him in boxing with the goal of reach the national tournament. Rikudou is imbued with a pessimism and general disinterest in everything unrelated to boxing. This excessively bitter story will offer a new path for our traumatized, rage-filled hero. Boxing becomes a way to vent his anger and express what he feels. But it is through the people he meets in the sport that Riku will discover himself and finally give himself the authorization to be happy.

Approaching a substantially similar theme but from a different perspective comes Nakata Haruhisa’s masterful Levius. Levius places us in a techologically advanced post-war context where we follow our eponymous hero wounded both psychologically and physically. The repercussions of the war have been painful for our hero: his mother hospitalized and an amputee himself.

But the end of the war has also brought forward a technological boon that allows humans robotic enchanchements, the ability to transform into a cyborg. This lead to the birth of a new sport, mechanical boxing. Much more violent than its original counterpart, mechanical boxing is also bathed in clandestine betting, in the criminal underworld and corruption. Levius seems born to enter the ring. At the crossroads between cyborgs and boxing fights, Nakata Haruhisa succeeded with Levius in combining two genres: science fiction and sports manga.

Parasports

Less approached in the world of supokon are parasports, which feature characters who have suffered an accident which made them physically disabled. There are still some notable entries in this subgenre.

Best-known is probably Real, by Takehiko Inoue, who as we mentioned, is also the creator of Slam Dunk. Protagonist Nomiya loses function in his legs during a motorcycle accident, and must stop his passion for basketball. But, his interest is rekindled when during a walk, he meets a boy in a wheelchair who is training for basketball and decides to 1 v 1 him.

From his crushing defeat will immerse the beginning of a magnificent friendship and a deep inerest in the world of para-basketball.

We also follow a second character Takahashi, who is paralyzed from the waist down. Eternal rival of our protagonist, Takahashi will also have to find the strength to overcome his trauma. This manga with complex relationships and a harsh themes is a real writing masterpiece.

Let’s leave Real‘s sidelines to look at another manga in the parasports umbrella. Still unreleased in English, Blade Girl offers us a very particular approach to parasports and handicap. This manga with a distinct shojo style appearance follows Rin, following a leg amputation. Rin finds it difficult to come to terms with her new condition, and it is in running that she will find the comfort and help she needs.

Visiting a sports center for the disabled, our young Rin, uneasy, will meet two very inspiring characters for her. The first is an engineer who explains how running blades work, the second a runner who instills in her a passion to run. From these two meetings will be born a new disproportionate dream for our amputee: to participate and win the Paralympic Games. This manga echoing the Olympic and Paralympic Games which were supposed to take place in Tokyo in 2020, brings a delicate touch to the theme.

Blade Girl revolutionizes the perception of parasports through its personal approach to the subject. The story revolves around the reappropriation of one’s body following an important trauma. As Rin gradually trusts her own body of again, she transforms a perceived weakness into her strength.

To conclude, sports manga are only increasing in popularity, thanks to the appearance of manga such as Eyeshield 21, Slam Dunk, Kuroko’s Basketball or Haikyu!!. It seems that supokon has a bright future ahead. So what’s the nextbig hit? Keep an eye out for Blue Lock, for examples, a cool, sleek title that plays with the codes of the sports genre. It is precisely this literary versatility will be the key for supokon to continue to shine.

🏀 David’s Column – 1st of June 2021 🏀

Manga covers many themes. From sports, to action, adventure, or horror, there’s a manga out there for anyone. This thematic diversity has contributed in an important way to the global success of manga. Today, dear reader, we are going to tackle a particular, popular theme in manga. Through chess, Shogi, Go, or even Karuta, let’s discover the greatest manga about games.

A true manga classic, Hikaru no Go was created by scriptwriter Yumi Hotta and artist Takeshi Obata, of Death Note fame. It is thanks to its interesting depiction of Go that the manga has received so much acclaim. But what is Go? How do you play it? Even though it might seem initially simple, high level Go is quite complex. A game of Go is presented on a board (called Goban) made up of black and white stones. Two opponents compete on the intersections of the Goban’s checkered apron in order to control as much of the board as possible. The goal is to encircle the stones of the opposing player in order to constitute a “territory”, and rendering the surrounded pieces into “prisoners”. In a game of Go, the winner is the player having totaled the most territories and prisoners.

Considered a traditional game in a similar league to chess, the publication of Hikaru no Go helped the game reach a newer, wider audience. Through the popularity of the manga, the image of Go was restored, refreshed. Hikaru no Go features young Hikaru, who discovers a game of Go haunted by a ghost named Sai Fujiwara, a talented player from the Heian period (8th to 12th century Japan). With the help of Sai, Hikaru (and the reader) discover the world of Go. Over time, he develops a real passion and an incredible talent for the game.

Hikaru no Go‘s unforgettable journey, aesthetic originality and colorful characters will titillate your curiosity for one of the oldest board games in the world still played today. From an educational point of view, the manga is able to introduce the rules and logic of the game through its protagonist, who learns at the same time as we do. Since the Go games can last several hours, the manga manages to give incredible dynamism and clarity to the various matches and tournaments. The author’s contagious passion for Go is felt throughout the work, and has surely succeeded in convincing more than a single reader to really try their hand at Go! It’s a unique, fun and educational approach, and a great anchor point for anyone who wants to start playing.

Yu-Gi-Oh! It’s time to duel!

Yu-Gi-Oh is a true cross-generational phenomenon. Before talking about the trading card license, let’s chat about the original manga. Written and drawn by Takahashi Kazuki, Yu-Gi-Oh is the intersection point for several generations. Experienced players of DnD (Dungeon and Dragons) or Magic the Gathering might have noticed the resemblance to Yu-Gi-Oh. Indeed, the author admits to having been strongly inspired by his passion for these card games, But did you know that the Yu-Gi-Oh base was not only about card games. As per the name of the series, which translates to “the King of the games”, the goal of the manga was initially to approach a maximum of different types of games. From the first page of the first volume, we are already shown a whole panoply of games, including Pop-up Pirate, dice games and of course, Yugi’s famous millenium puzzle necklace. Yu-Gi-Oh follows Yugi Muto, an ordinary young teenager who leads a simple life, until he gets his hands on a mysterious thousand-year-old puzzle containing a secret that will change his life forever.

By finding the solution to the puzzle, Yugi releases the spirit of an ancient pharaoh who possesses Yugi’s body. The pharaoh poses as a darker Yugi, himself an expert gamemaster who will not tolerate any injustice. A contemporary Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde!

However, the series will takes a steep detour from volume 8, focusing on playing card games. The series explodes, and the dazzling success of Yu-Gi-Oh concretizes the “the monster duels” now at its heart. At the same time, children, including me (haha) had our childhoods totally rocked by the playing cards – which we could play in real life! A stroke of literary and marketing genius that has ensured the posterity of Yu-Gi-Oh until now; the series celebrates its 25th anniversary next year.

Chihayafuru: when manga meets Japanese heritage.

Hikaru no Go isn’t the only manga about a game that goes way back in Japanese history. Suetsugu Yuki’s Chihayafuru is another Japanese game manga that really shines. In this manga, we follow tribulations of Karuta player Chihaya. Our heroine has only one goal in life: to become world Karuta champion.

Karuta was one of the of the first card games imported from the Portuguese in Japan. Based on the Hyakunin Isshu or One Hundred Poems, One Hundred Poets, a famous collection of poems from the Heain period (764-1192), Karuta is another game that is still played today (albeit a simplified, competitive version).

To play, 50 cards are pulled from a 100-card deck and split between two opponents. Each player randomly choses 25 cards, and after 15 minutes devoted to memorization, a third person, called the reader, will read the poems in turn. The object of the game is for each player to grab the card associated with the poem being read before his opponent. The winner is the player who has reduced the number of cards on his side to zero. For this reason, taking a card from the opponent’s field will give the possibility of sending the card of his choice to the opponent: in this way, it is indeed our field whose number of cards decreases.

Chihayafuru is an original, unique manga that borrows from an important part of Japanese history. It is under the aegis of the poet Teika that the initiative to create a collection bringing together the most beautiful poems of the most distinguished poets of the time emerged. These poetic historical collections were written by many important historical figures of Japan such as generals, ministers, princes and even emperors.

Blitz, the passion for chess

Freshly released in North America, Blitz by Mori Tsukasa and Cédric Biscay, is a manga that distinguishes itself through its interest in chess. Indeed, it is under the extraordinary supervision of the world chess champion Garry Kasparov has been created, in an effort to democratize chess. While chess in popular and quite widespread in Europe, it is a completely different situation in Japan. A distant cousin of chess, it is largely due to the popularity of Shogi that chess has had trouble breaking through in Japan. And yet, this is where Blitz is set.

In order to impress Harmony, his heart’s true love, and to teach a lesson to Laurent, president of the school chess club, our young protagonist Tom picks up the sport. He has 2 months to learn how to play chess and beat Laurent, as this is the condition he must fulfill to enter the chess club!

Very quickly, chess becomes a passion for Tom. Helped by its endearing protagonist, Blitz succeeds at presenting a simple, clear approach to chess in its first volume. However, the strategies and mechanics will twist and turn throughout the series, moving towards a slightly more advanced plot as our hero progresses through the chess world.

Love, mourning and Shogi with March Comes In like a Lion

March Comes In like a Lion is also about games, but employs a different scriptwriting approach. The manga’s heroes are not discovering Shogi, nor are they initiating the reader to the game. We begin the story by following our hero Rei, who already a prodigy and professional Shogi player. The heart Umino Chica’s work is our reluctant hero and the many demons who torment him. When we meet him, Shogi is his the only way to avoid sinking into a destructive madness of loneliness, grief and mourning.

Despite a dark, pessimistic approach, the manga is heart-warming and differentiates itself from other manga about games. Shogi is not the main stakes of the manga, but acs more as its roots, or fertilizer for the growth of a touching, personal story as our protagonist regains his taste for life.

March Comes In like a Lion recounts a personal search for reconstruction and happiness, rocked by an incredible delicacy and complex charactrs. Umino Chica uses Shogi and the narrative codes of games to talk about wider themes and feelings.

‘Mangas that talk about games’ is a veritable genre, and I could very well have talked about manga such as Gambling School or Liar Game… the list would be very long. Manga is a unique medium, and its take on games is incredibly nuanced and varied. So dear reader: play, read, stay curious!