Top 5 Shojo Heroines I would Slap in the Face
Normally, I don’t like to bring the hate. Ok, no that’s not true. Anyway, I expressed how much I admire the shojo heroine last week and got lots of great comments. But some shojo heroines are too much for even me.
Here’s my top 5 Shojo Heroines that I would slap in the face!
1. Hatsumi from Hot Gimmick – on the outset this had all the makings of a fantastic series. Hatsumi covers for her maybe-pregnant younger sister. In exchange for the secret, she agrees to become the slave of the boss’s son. Sexy hijinks ensue?!?! Uh no. The younger sister is not pregnant and Hatsumi is a moron. What could have been a tension filled drama quickly becomes a cautionary fable of how to act like a spineless wimp. From what I hear it doesn’t end at all the way fans wanted it to either.
2. Nobara from Crimson Hero – I like spunky but Nobara takes it to annoying. She’s so naive that you begin to wonder if she’s been huffing paint between games.
3. Nana O. from Nana – I guess Nana O. isn’t technically “shojo”. I started out loving her. She was so cool! But somewhere along the line she became a needy, selfish, entitled little girl. Blech. I hope she can come back and I love this series so I’m sticking with her but I’m also putting her on notice.
4. Shakuya from Two Flowers for the Dragon – honestly, I don’t really know why I don’t like this heroine. But..I just…don’t. I will say that the artwork in this series is pretty great.
5. Sakura from B.O.D.Y. – another case of naivete gone overboard. Wake up!
What about you? Did I put your favorite on the list? Want to make a case for why I should hug instead of slap them? Did I miss anyone you would like to slap? Let’s get mean!
Drifting Classroom – Review
Nobody does horror like the Japanese. Nobody. I don’t care how creepy (and incidentally, well written) Stephen King’s Duma Key was, it couldn’t hold a candle to the nightmares that went into Uzumaki. Kazuo Umezu is the best of the best. His Drifting Classroom bothered me on a level I haven’t felt in years.
Basically, an entire grade school is mysteriously teleported to a strange desolate world. If they leave the school grounds they die. The teachers are barely suppressing a riot and the children are worried about their parents. At the center of the story is Sho, a 6th grader who’s at odds with his mother. After a particularly harsh fight, he’s left thinking his last words to her were in anger.
There is plenty of horror in this first volume. One child falls from the roof, a teacher cuts his own son in a desperate attempt to evoke order. But what really chills me is that the mangaka went there. To the forbidden place in horror – he put children (not teens) in danger. Alone. They do their best but spend most of the book crying, heartbreakingly, for their parents. To know that only more horror awaits them actually makes my stomach hurt.
Which isn’t to say that the book is bad. In fact, it’s excellent. I admire the skill with which Umezu handles his characters. Sho is trying his hardest but alternates between disbelief and anger. The children are not stupid and resent being lied to by their teachers, even when they willing participate in the lie to “protect the younger students”.
This is being afraid of the dark, the boogie man and the thing under the bed then calling for your mother and getting no answer.
In Defense of the Shojo Heroine
When I first met T0hru Honda she was standing in a tent and I was curled up on my couch, searching for something to contribute to the library I had just been hired at. She was an orphan. I had just graduated library school. She needed a home and desperately wanted to please the men who allowed her to live with them. I had just moved through four states and desperately wanted to thrive at my job. We had nothing in common.
Ugh, who is this girl?, I thought. With her cloying sweetness and submissive nature I couldn’t understand why any teenager would want to read her story or worse, emulate her behavior. After all, this was America. Where our women kick ass, take names and would stomp all over Kyo the minute he pulled his pay attention to meeeee routine. Yet, for some reason, I couldn’t give up on Tohru anymore than she could give up on Kyo.
After a few volumes, I wasn’t just hooked on Fruits Basket, I was hooked on the shojo heroine. A couple years later when I first served on the Great Graphic Novels for Teens committee I would go to bat for women like Nana’s Hachi. The yasashi girl. I would admire these qualities in the young women that attended my monthly anime club meetings. They were a new generation, defining feminism and rearranging the cultural norms to fit their ideals.
So what makes the yasashi or “don’t rock the boat” girl so unappealing to our American sensibilities? Is it the idea that by bending to those around her she somehow gives up her individuality? But, these days, how overrated is individuality anyhow? What I notice is a woman who takes her strength from herself then offers that to her friends, her lovers, her parents and her community at large. The shojo heroine consciously makes the choice to be better every day.
It doesn’t always have the most obvious benefits to the character. Hachi’s romance with that jerk Takumi is an example of an unhealthy relationship perpetuated by Hachi’s “weak” sense of self. Yet, she stays for her child which is a much better reason than that of “strong” Nana who stays with her trainwreck Ren simply out of fear.
When standing beside a shojo heroine the ultimate goal is happiness for everyone. If they are happy, so will she be happy. And that, is not a bad thing. Yes, there are complications with the formula and I would have a hard time telling anyone to be as submissive as some of these characters are – yet, I can see how the shojo heroine would thrive in America if she were just given a chance. How her spirit can help pull others up and challenge everyone to be their best.
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Shojo Beat brings it – mostly
Yay, the post I requested on Friday is up at Warren Peace Sings the Blues!
I really enjoy hearing what other people think of the monthly installments. Sometimes it makes me go back and reread a series I may have ditched, like Vampire Knight.
For the most part I agree with Matthew Brady. I really really enjoyed the preview of Kimi Ni Todoke. Mainly because the manga-ka didn’t shy away from making heroine actually look creepy! I can see why everyone runs from “Sadako”. To often in manga I find myself with a 90210 complex of everyone pretending so and so is ugly when they are clearly gorgeous. Plus, this series seems to have a sweet heart and it’s summertime so sweetness is in.
I still cannot get behind Crimson Hero. The semi-rape scene was too much. There was nothing to suggest Kaz would take things this far and having Yushin bust in went beyond cliche. Then there’s Nobara who’s naivete is just unbelievable. Maybe a volleyball hit me in the face when I was a baby or something because I can’t seem to get past my hatred for this series. All the terrible haircuts don’t help.
Sand Chronicles – I can’t add anything. This was a really good assessment:
“This series has gone from a wonderful bit of recognition at the complexities of relationships to a painful observation of the things people do that can hurt themselves and others when they aren’t willing to move on from traumatic moments.”
It keeps getting more and more painful and yet doesn’t go overdramatic.
Honey Hunt and Honey and Clover are sort of boring me at the moment….
Reading Over Shoulders
omgomgomgomgomgomg VORTEX 2!!!!!
I seriously need some Stylish surgical masks by Yoriko Yoshida.
Kate Dacey at Manga Critic offers up a quick couple of reviews and notes that things come out too fast to cover it all – preach it.
Chris Mautner decides that League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: 1910 is better than Black Dossier – which isn’t saying much. Based on his review, I’ll probably give it a shot but not have my hopes up.
Here’s what the critics are saying about X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
I normally don’t even bother with a comic until it’s collected but I love the concept of this giant cowl battle so much that I may have to get single issues. Read About Comics reviews Battle of the Cowl: The Underground.
Top 5 Manga Characters I would Hang out with In Real Life
I would really love to know fictional characters in their day to day lives. Mainly cause it would probably mean my day to day life was way more exciting. Here’s my top 5.
1. L – Death Note Sure Light might be charismatic and good looking. But L had a mystique and an intensity that made you wonder just what was really going on his head.
2. Ginji Amano – Getbackers His partner-in-crime Ban has better hair and is smoother, it’s true. Still, Ginji has such a big heart that he’s probably a better friend.
3. Nana O. – Nana Make me cool Nana!!!!
4. Yuko Ichihara – xxxHolic I just want to hang out with her to find out where she gets those amazing clothes.
5. Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin – Ouran High Host Club Getting two gorgeous, scheming men for the price of one – sign me up!
Three Reviews
Reviewing is ultimately subjective. I can try and be objective but that would mean leaving out the emotional reaction I had to a work and well, isn’t that the whole point of reading? On the other hand, my tastes shouldn’t dictate trashing what is probably a quality story or artwork so I try my hardest to see what might be worthwhile there. Usually the two match up pretty nicely. Other times….
Eden: It’s an Endless World vol. 1
Objective review: In a creepy post-apocalyptic world, a dying scientist lives his final days helping two immune children grow up. The first half of the book is flashback, giving the reader a taste of the horror that came before the mysterious virus made everything go quiet. As with most manga, the first volume is mainly exposition and not a lot of action. The plot picks up once the story jumps 20 years into the future, as young Elijah and his robot struggle to survive and discover the secret of the controlling Propapeter.
Subjective review: In a story spanning several generations, a virus has taken out most of the population. Two immune children struggle to survive with their ailing mentor and robot. When a shadow government attempts to take them, the boy must fight and kill his previously-thought-dead-but-no-he’s-alive-and-the-enemy father. No, it’s not Star Wars. So much time is spent on flashbacks but little explanation is offered. The virus has creepy symptoms like the skin hardening and cracking which makes for some great visuals. The story could easily have skipped the backstory and just started with Elijah and his robot. I’ll stick with it to see if it improves but the cliches, predictable plot and silly looking mecha bore me.
Swallow me Whole
Objective review: In a beautifully illustrated, surrealistic style, Ruth struggles with schizophrenia at the height of adolescence. The pressure of her illness, school and family life collide with her joy at a budding romance and a great new job.
Subjective review: Yes, it’s got the prerequisite Alison Bechdel type artwork of slouching characters and smooth, wavy lines. Yes, it’s angsty. Yet, it’s missing a heart. I was excited to read this book because the previews made me think it was about a teen living with a mental illness but instead the focus seems to be on what weird thing can happen next. Which is a pet peeve of mine when it comes to mental illness books. The frog and the raining bugs certainly twist the page up but if they aren’t really giving me anything besides an “episode” then I lose interest. I wish more time had been spent showing Ruth’s interactions with those around her (her relationship with an understanding but frustrated teacher had the potential to be especially heartbreaking), and less time on trying to wow me with weirdness.
I Shall Never Return vol. 1
Objective: I can see why this is considered a modern classic. It has two flawed yet likable characters and leans hard on the drama. Though the artwork is not as polished as I like, it doesn’t stand in the way of the story. Risturo and Ken have always been best friends. Risturo helps Ken through his parents painful divorce and stands by him even after Ken takes up prostitution. There is an undeniable bond between the two and early in the first volume they give in. The drama doesn’t come from the will-they/won’t-they tension but rather can this relationship survive.
Subjective: I did like this yaoi a lot. However, I was somewhat annoyed at the dominating Ken causing heartache for Ritshuro and Ritshuro being even more taken with him each time. I realize this is where conflict comes from and that it gives room for the characters to grow but like Hot Gimmick, I’m not sure if I really want to watch it.
Lazy Monday
I don’t know if it’s the rain or what but I my neurons are not really working at full capacity today. So I post the NYT Graphic Books (haha) bestseller list for April 18.
My reaction – Batman is hot even when he’s not. Watchmen is still being bought. Marvel Zombies meeeeehhhhhh. A Drifting Life – interesting. Saga of Swamp Thing – there’s alway one surprise on the list and this is it. Maybe it’s a generational thing but I really thought Swamp Thing had sunk back into the ooze a long time ago.
Manga – what will happen when Naruto finally ends? Will there be a giant black hole? Will that be the end of the American manga industry? I’m serious.
Reading Over Shoulders – Shojo List Edition
I knew there was a reason I left Colorado.
To ride the ‘let’s list stuff cause it’s really really fun and everyone loves lists’ wave – started by John Jakala, then David Welsh – here’s my top 5 Addictive Shojo Manga:
1. Fruits Basket – this is or should be on everyone’s list, it’s like crack.
2. Absolute Boyfriend – I know a lot of people thought this title wasn’t very good but I couldn’t get enough of Night and Soshi. They adorn my cubicle walls like Zac Efron in a middle school locker.
3. Sand Chronicles – the plot seems so simple but there’s something about this touching manga that makes me flip the pages of Shojo Beat to read it first.
4. Ouran High School Host Club – It’s basically the same thing volume after volume and yet, I still laugh.
5. Chobits – ok, I don’t know if this technically counts as a shojo title but it’s close enough. I secretly reread the volumes then pretend to be shocked at the chauvenism.
Whew! That was fun and made me want to read some shojo. Oh, here’s some honorable mentions that are actually manhwa:
Bride of the Water God – sooo pretty
Two Will Come – I like the jerky/sweet player character
Reading Over Shoulders
Eisner’s huh?
Matthew Brady gives a thorough review of Swallow Me Whole. I’m waiting for it to come in to check it out for myself. I don’t normally go for mental illness books because I usually find them to be, well, almost exploitive. Like using a trick to make a story – see? see? how craaaaaazzzy the character is – that sort of thing but it sounds like Powell treats the subject honestly.
Melinda Beasi reads We Were There and it sounds like a good choice for the Great Graphic Novels for Teens list. (link via MangaBlog)
Ed Sizemore over at Comics Worth Reading had to suffer through two popular TV show adaptations to get these reviews.
Manga Recon offers up Manga Minis! It’s sad when Claymore is gets the best score. And, my god, it’s already up to volume 14? How can there be 14 volumes of stuff to talk about/show in this manga???
