No spice

Red Hot Chili Samurai Volume 2 (Kokaku Detective Story)

There are plenty of manga series that start off slow and pick up with the second volume. The first volume may be little more for a pilot, introducing the characters and laying out the tone and pacing without diving too much into the ongoing story. “Red Hot Chili Samurai” is not one of those manga.

The first volume was well-drawn but plagued with issues of convoluted story-telling, lack of clear plot, and lame gimmicks taken from other series. Author Katagiri didn’t seem to have much more than the idea of mixing the basic plot of the popular TV samurai drama “Mito Komen” with the cast of Samurai Champloo, and throwing in a chili-eating gag because as he says “there were so many characters eating sweets I figured a chili-eating character might be a good change of pace.”

All of these same problems are still here in volume two. The story barely continues over from the first volume other than having the same characters. The chili-eating Kokaku Sento is having ethical issues with his teammate Ento over whether or not they should be killing. Ento thinks that carrying a sword means having to kill, whereas Kokaku relies on his crane-tattoo to put the fear of the lord into his assailants without having to kill them. From there the itinerant hatamoto Shikki-sama comes back into Kokaku’s life, tracking down the son of a lord who has fled to live the simple life of a fisherman. At some point in time, Kokaku rides around on a motorcycle, created by the boy genius Tsumugi, everyone goes hunting for a cat and a potential assassin whose face looks like an ukiyo-e print, and Kokaku and Shikki get into a dance competition.

I have gotten more used to Katagiri’s angular faces and spiky hair, and the art on “Red Hot Chili Samurai” is improved. Katagiri draws a mean fight scene, with his characters exploding at each other rather than just facing off. He also has a way with kimonos and period ware which add to the over all style.

The problem is that although he is a good artist, Katagiri lacks storytelling skills. His panels are a convoluted maze, and there are floating dialog balloons attached to no one in particular so it is hard to keep track of who is talking to whom. Some attempt at character development is made, but it quickly fades to business as ususal. Kokaku goes through a minor crisis of confidence swiftly to be replaced by a full-page spread of him slipping his kimono off his shoulder to expose his tattoo and dropping his tagline “because I am the hero.”

It is series like this that make me wish there were more writer/author combinations in Japanese comics. Katagiri has all the drawing skills necessary to pull of a fun action-orientated adventure, but he can’t seem to be able to plot out a story or to write more than “cool scenes” that get everyone into combat as soon as possible.

Maybe things will pick up with the third volume, but so far the odds don’t look good.

Maid vs. Butler

Maid Sama! Volume 5

After being disappointed by the latest release in another series I have been following and enjoying (Happy Cafe Volume 3), I was glad to crack open “Maid Sama Volume 5″ and find that Hiro Fujiwara was still on stride.

“Maid Sama” is a comic I always feel a little bit embarrassed carrying around because of its super-shojo covers, but the inside comedy knows no gender barriers. There are two strong lead characters, Misa and Usui, who both have their sugar and spice sides which I enjoy, and a big helping of off-beat humor. The series has taken some hits from reviewers for being too text heavy, but to me that is where the gold lies. All of those cumbersome words are saying some pretty funny things if you take the time to read them.

Volume 5 has two stories, one short and one long. The first shorter story has student Sakura dragging along Misa and Shizuko for a group date with a boy band that she is a fan of. Once they are there, it soon becomes apparent that the boys in the band are not nice guys at all and they treat their fan Sakura with distain all while trying to make the moves on Misa. The next, longer story features the return of Tora Igarashi (Maid Sama! Volume 2) who is in cahoots with the heir to the Maki Dinning Group. They come to deliver an offer that Café Latte owner Satsuki can’t refuse. Either sell the maid café to the Maki Dinning Group, or be run out of business. The Dinning Group has plans to tear down the entire building and build a high-class Butler Café in its place focusing on expensive fine dinning. Of course, the girls won’t stand for that, and they decide to infiltrate the interviews for Footmen for the proposed Butler Café (Dressed in drag of course. No women needed for the Butler Café), and see if they can prove that the maids have what it takes to beat the deep pockets of the Maki Dinning Group. Needless to say, hijinks ensue.

The shorter story was a bit of a throw-away, and didn’t add much to the ongoing story or the comic itself. On a personal level it was kind of sweet, however, due to the discussion of the Japanese custom of patting your girlfriend on the head. When I was living in Japan that took me awhile to get used of, the head-pat as a sign of affection. It was funny to see it show up in a comic. The longer “Butler Café” story-arc takes up most of Volume 5 and there Fujiwara busts out her trademark style. Unlike most comedy manga, she doesn’t rely on sight gags or cheap laughs, but instead uses dialog and relationships to make her points. The interplay between Misaki and Usui, with their open war hiding a deep affection, reminds me of famous love-battles like Beatrice and Benedict (Much Ado About Nothing) and Spike and Buffy (Buffy The Vampire Slayer).

I love how Fujiwara is able to play with her characters as well. The Stupid Trio are getting less and less human with every issue, and Fujiwara clearly has a sadistic streak in her somewhere in the way that she abuses them. My favorite feature is “Q&A Time” when her characters answer reader questions. This time up is the sissy boy Yukimura taking questions if he is “that way,” and featuring a brilliant scene when Yukimura is asked “What is a seductive uke?” and Usui steps in to help show him. Funny stuff!

Tastes great, less filling

Happy Cafe Volume 3

You know how you can love one cupcake, and maybe another, but by the third one the sweetness starts to get to you? It still tastes good, but that initial delight of the first bite is fading, and you find yourself wanting something with a little more substance.

Unfortunately, that seems to be what is going on with “Happy Café.” Although I loved the first two volumes, which were little more than light and frothy fun featuring the kind of wacky cast that couldn’t exist outside of a manga, with this third issue the taste is starting to turn. I can’t really put my finger on what it is; Things are pretty the same as the last two volumes. But volume three is somehow less satisfying.

It might be that volume three has no real story, just a sequence of unconnected vignettes. The volume starts out with Uru taking Shindo and Ichiro home for dinner to meet her parents, and the usual misunderstandings occur. Uru’s mom is egging her own to hook up with one of the guys, while her step-father is over-protective. Next up some of the girls at school see Uru walking with Shindo and Ichiro, and after seeing how hot they are the Café Bonheur becomes a hot hang-out which doesn’t please Uru at all. Then it is time for more misunderstandings as Uru goes to visit the Abekawa brothers at their home, and after that Uru’s sixth grade cousin comes to town to confess his love for her. The last two stories are the origin of Ichiro’s strange sleeping habit, and Uru helping a lost young boy find his way home.

Volume three is definitely not bad. There are some great gags here, and Matsuzuki’s expressive artwork is still is good as ever. She has a way of drawing Uru’s smile that gives me an equally big grin every time I see it. The “Lil’ Ichiro” scenes are fantastic, showing Ichiro as a young boy. Fortunately, the Abekawa brothers don’t appear as much so their ridiculously translated accents aren’t there to bother me.

Matsuzuki has created some great characters, and I really enjoy jumping into her world of happiness where there are few problems that can’t be solved by a really tasty treat, but she can’t expect to keep interest up by serving up the same dish every time. Even though the previous two volumes were filled with equally fluffy filler I am ready for a more filling story to begin. I am hopeful that the story starts to pick up with volume four, but Matsuzuki is going to have to go deeper story-wise to keep me coming back.

Fast cars and slow people (the animation that is)

Initial D: Fourth Stage, Part 2

This is the follow up to Initial D: Fourth Stage, Part 1, and continues Funimation’s re-dub of the popular series. Like with One Piece, “Initial D” was dealt with poorly by editors hoping to “Americanize” the series and re-package it to catch the wave of films like Tokyo Drift that brought Street Racing to the popular consciousness. Funimation’s “Initial D: Fourth Stage, Part 2″ restores the original soundtrack and has created a more authentic dub and subtitle track. This box set contains episodes 13-24, and is the last of the “Initial D” television series released so far.

In these episodes, Takumi and Project D have established their reputations as serious competitors, bringing new rivals to the scene. Takumi continues to struggle with his Eight-Six, the rain giving him trouble against a rival Impreza’s 4WD capability. The Lan Evo team is pulling out dirty tricks to win in the Hillclimb Challenge as well, but Project D is pulling through. Into the picture comes two mystery cars, known as the Purple Shadows driven by the legendary Godhand and Godfoot who aim to show that they are still the kings of the road. Takumi still has a lot to learn if he is going to win against these two, and so the serious training begins.

“Initial D” is a totally fetishist anime. You are either a car fiend or you are not. If you are, then this is your heaven, but if you are not then there isn’t too much story here to keep you interested. Even the animation is focused solely on the cars. The cars themselves are rendered lovingly in 3D computer animation, while the human characters are poorly drawn.

Personally, I am not enough of a car freak to dig this series. I love the racing scenes, but the human animation is so badly done I can’t get past it. The frame rates are slower than anything I have seen in a modern animation, leaving jerky characters and stagnant images that only have the mouths awkwardly moving up and down while the rest might as well be statues. This is Clutch Cargo-era animation, not something I would expect to see on my DVD player nowadays. I am really shocked to see animation this bad.

But if you are enough of a car freak, and already love the “Initial D” series, then here is another box of goodness for you.

Introducing Shizuro Oguro, Manga Artist

I’ll Give It My All…Tomorrow, Vol. 1

I am not quite sure how to classify “I’ll Give It My All…Tomorrow.” Is it a comedy? A slacker-drama? Auto-biographical? All I really know is that it is completely brilliant.

The story begins with our hero, Shizuro Oguro. Overweight, forty years old and a fifteen-year employee of a job he hates, Shizuro is in a classic mid-life crisis. Unsure of what he wants to do, but completely sure he doesn’t want to keep living like he is now, Shizuro quits his job and does…nothing. Sits around in his underwear and plays video games. A month into his new jobless status, and with his father and daughter giving him a hard time, Shizuro has an epiphany about his future. He will become a manga artist.

The fact that Shizuro has never drawn before, got only Ds in art in school, and generally knows nothing about being a manga artist isn’t going to get in his way. With his new life decided, Shizuro sets to it with all the lack-of-dedication that a forty-year old slacker can bring to the table. To keep money in his pockets, Shizuro gets a job at a local fast-food burger joint, and has a variety of misadventures in his quest for publication.

When I flipped the first pages of “I’ll Give It My All…Tomorrow,” (Japanese title: “Orewamada Honkidashiitenaidake” of “I Just haven’t Done My Best Yet.”) I didn’t think I was going to like it as much as I did. The artwork is somewhat primitive and lacking in detail, and the whole thing is unpolished. The comic looks like something that would appear in an underground `zine rather than as a published book. As I got into the story however, and saw how artist Shunju Aono played with surface colors, with perspective and characterization, I saw that this unpolished nature was a conscious choice that added to the story rather than just a lack of skill. The series has a definite and unique look to it.

The real treasure here is the characters. Shizuro is a total slacker, without too many redeeming qualities other than his greatest talent, which is accepting the flaws in others without judging. Because he is such a loser himself, he doesn’t put anyone down for their choices. In one scene, when he is feeling a bit frisky and so heads to a local brothel for recreation, then runs into his high school aged daughter working there, he doesn’t freak out, but just checks in with her to make sure she is OK. When one of his co-workers turns out to have a shady past involving prison, he just blows it off and invites the guy out for drinks. All of this made me love Shizuro myself, and want to cheer him on. He is a supportive guy with a kind heart, and he deserves some success of his own.

“I’ll Give It My All…Tomorrow” is all about personal relationships. Shizuro and his father. Shizuro and his daughter. Shiziro and his agent. Shiziro and his co-workers. Shiziro and himself. There is no action to speak of, unless it is in brief panels where, Walter Mitty-like, Shiziro dreams of himself as an athlete or successful manga artist. Oh, and he gets into a fistfight with God. Can’t forget about that. But that one isn’t a daydream.

Just like life, there are some funny bits here, some sad stuff, some triumphs and some defeats. It is hard to put my finger on what I loved about this comics so much, but there is a lot here to love. Props to translator Akemi Wegmuller who did a great job and delivered some great lines. (“Well you fathered the Stupid Fool, so you are a Stupid Fool too Dad!” “Look, you’ve been stuck in a rut your whole life. It’s been one long slump Sonny”)

Along with the main story, there is a bonus story “To Live” that has Shizuro coming across a young woman attempting suicide due to her past as an adult video actress. In typical Shizuro fashion, he befriends her and watches out for her, completely unconcerned with her past or suicidal tendencies. I hope that this character will reappear, and it actually seems like she could be a good romantic interest for Shizuro (again with great dialog “You want to make out?” “No I don’t” “Mm..of course not.”)

Quirky. Realistic. Funny., Sad. “I’ll Give It My All…Tomorrow” is many things, and all of them good.

The Mirror-Universe Zatoichi

Blind Menace (Sub)

The blind masseur Sugino-ichi is just like the blind masseur Zato-ichi, with a subtle difference. While both roles are played by legendary actor Katsu Shintaro, when Zatoichi comes upon a woman in need, he immediately sets forth on a crusade to lift her from her plight with no thought of reward for himself. When Suginoichi comes upon a woman in need, however, he rapes her and the discards her into the street, maybe have a chuckle later when he hears how the woman killed herself, saying that it wasn’t such a big deal she needed to die over it.

“Blind Menace” (Japanese title: “Shiranui kengyo”) is the evil twin of the long-running “Zatoichi” series. The film could almost be seen as some sort of twisted parody of Zatoichi were it not for the fact that “Blind Menace” pre-dates the first “Zatoichi” film by two years. It makes you wonder what director or producer saw Katsu in this film and thought “he does that blind bit really good but maybe if the character was a kind vagrant wanderer rather than a rapist and a murderer we might have something here…”

From the opening scenes of “Blind Menace,” we see that Suginoichi was just born bad. He spends his childhood using his blindness to scam people out of money, and he doesn’t grow up any better. As a student of the Shiranui Kengyo (Kengyo being the highest official rank of blind masseur, able to work on the shogun and royal family, the descending ranks being betto”, “koto”, and “zato.”), Suginoichi would still rather get ahead by graft than by craft. He has set his sights on assuming the Kengyo’s rank and position, but would rather have it now rather than suffer through the years required to earn the position. When one of Suginoichi’s casual murders is overseen by career criminal who goes by the name “Severed Head,” an uneasy partnership is forged between the two as Suginoichi uses his massage clients to glean private secrets that Severed Head and his gang can take advantage of. Suginoichi’s greed is not contained by petty evils, however, and he plots to murder the current Kengyo, his master, something which even Severed Head balks at.

Although “Blind Menace” is going to constantly be compared to Zatoichi (and justifiably so, as Katsu clearly used the same mannerisms, facial expressions and style of movement to portray both blind characters) it does stand on its own as a dark and interesting film with a villain as its protagonist. Suginoichi is truly a despicable character, who performs some vile scams that managed to shock me more than fifty years after its release. There is one scene in particular that I don’t want to spoil, but it is a rare gem of villainy that Suginoichi concocts.

Director Mori Kazuo would go on to direct a few entries in the Zatoichi series, including the The Tale of Zatoichi Continues and Zatoichi at Large, one of the most acclaimed Zatoichi films. He does good work here in “Blind Menace,” managing to keep the tone light when Suginoichi is doing his charming best and then suddenly shift to a darker tone as Suginoichi’s true face is revealed.

“Zatoichi” fans might be a little shocked with “Blind Menace” do to the sexual violence and despicable nature of the usually loveable Katsu Shintaro. However, anyone who has seen Katsu’s other films, like the Hanzo the Razor series that Katsu produced himself, will be less shocked at seeing Katsu in this kind of role.

Animeigo has put together a solid release of “Blind Menace,” along with their usual fantastic job with the subtitles (really, the do the best Japanese subtitling in the business) along with program notes, a trailer and cast and crew biographies.

The Slave beats the Emperor, because he has nothing to lose

Japan has a lot of words for their layabout population of 20-30 year olds who aren’t up to anything useful. “Freeter” is an old term left over from the Bubble Era that was basically a shortened form of “Freeloader” meaning those who chose not to work even though there were plenty of jobs available. “NEET” is a more modern term, meaning “Not in Employment, Education or Training” meaning those who have no job or goals, and just kind of drift though life aimlessly. “Parasite Single” is the latest term, talking about those who are old enough to know better (30+) but are still unmarried, jobless and ambitionless.

In “Kaiji: The Ultimate Gambler,” (Japanese title “Kaiji: Jinsei gyakuten gemu” or “Kaiji: The Turn-your-Life-Around Game”) all of these people get tagged with a single word: Loser.

The story begins with Kaiji (Fujiwara Tatsuya, Light Yagami from Death Note) being confronted by an attractive older woman named Endo (Amami Yuki, Inugami) who has come to collect a debt. Because Kaiji co-signed a loan years ago for a friend, he is now responsible for paying back the loan. Far beyond Kaiji’s means, Endo gives him two options. Work of the debt for the next ten years, or join some other losers on the gambling boat Espoir for a chance to win enough money to clear the debt entirely and become rich in the process.

The Espoir boat turns out to be a scam led by Okata Kazutaka (Veteran actor Sato Kei, Kwaidan) to create a debt-slave labor force to build an underground city and new society for which he will be king. Those who lose on the Espoir find their debts increased by the millions, and are soon chain-ganged underground digging in tunnels. Even down below, Okata attempts to increase their debts by offering them beer and tasty snacks to comfort them in their labor, but the purchase of which only lengthens their stay.

The only way out of the slave camps is to gamble your life in a further series of games, which lead to even deadlier consequences for those who take the challenge. But a man with nothing to lose and everything to win might just be willing to take that chance, and such a man is Kaiji.

Based on the long-running manga series “Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji” (Japanese title “Tobaku Mokushiroku Kaiji”) by Nobuyuki Fukumoto, “Kaiji: The Ultimate Gamble” tackles Japan’s pressing social issue of these parasite singles in a unique and interesting way, by pitting them against each other in various contests for the entertainment of the wealthy classes. Dangling the promise of easy wealth before them, these perpetual losers are manipulated and toyed with, and only one of them is able to see how they are being used like slaves and has the audacity to attempt to break free.

To be honest, “Kaiji: The Ultimate Gambler” is not a very good movie. I wouldn’t call it a bad flick, but neither is it good. It falls pretty firmly into the realm of “so-so.”

The mix of social issues with action sequences, while interesting, comes off as clumsy and forced. While Director Sato Toya goes for the same allegorical feel that was so successful in Battle Royale, it just doesn’t work here. Sato is mainly a television director and probably used to having more time to build out his story. Unfortunately, attempting to squish the multi-volume story of “Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji” into a two-hour timeframe means that too much is lost or rendered into short sound bites. There is no real distillation of the core story.

There is almost no background or setting for “Kaiji: The Ultimate Gambler.” Is this modern Japan or some alternate reality? We don’t know. Who is the ultra-rich Okata Kazutaka, and why does he want to build an underground kingdom? Never explained. Why does Kaiji choose the exact moment of standing on a thin, electrified iron beam suspended twenty-two stories above the ground, in the rain, to deliver a monologue on changing your life? I don’t know, but I certainly wouldn’t have stood up there. And speaking of which, don’t any police forces notice an enormous amount of missing men between the ages of 20-30, not to mention an occasional rain of bodies from two of the tallest buildings in town?

Plot holes you could drive a fleet of buses through.

The manga has a lot more back story for these characters, and too much has been changed in the film. Okata Kazutaka in the manga is a man who has become so rich that he is endlessly bored and gets thrills from pitting the refuse of society against each other in gambling matches. Kaiji is much more cunning in the manga, being a savvy gambler who takes risks and wins, but always finds himself in the position where he needs to throw the metaphorical dice again. Endo is male in the manga, but changed to female in the movie to create some sexual tension, which is one of the few changes that I thought worked well.

Other things that worked well were the gambling matches themselves. Sato took three of the gambling matches from the first series of the comic, the “Restricted Rock, Paper, Scissors,” “The Human Derby” (here called “The Brave Man Road”) and “The E-Card,” The games are clever, and get the viewer thinking about strategies to win. Even thought the “underground kingdom” made no sense, I think it was interesting how Okata tricked the workers into believing they were responsible for their own slavery, thus ensuring no revolt. There were clever bits here and there that keeps the film from being a total loss.

A big part of the advertising is that it “Reunites the cast from “Death Note”,” and it does for a little bit. Matsuyama Kennichi (L from “Death Note”) pops in and out fairly quickly as one of Kaiji’s work-mates underground and a co-contestant on the Brave Man Road. That was one of the highlights of the film, but it isn’t like Matsuyama and Fujiwara have that much screen time together. And even then, both actors’ performances are well below par. Fujiwara in particular seems to have trouble controlling his volume, and simply over-reacts to everything or simply screams at it.

“Death Note” and later productions like “20th Century Boy” really raised the bar for manga-to-film adaptations, and “Kaiji: The Ultimate Gambler” just did not clear that bar.