Recently I read two series of books that changed my life. If you’ve talked to me even once, you’ll know I’m a massive Japan obsessive! Having spent multiple stages of my life in Japan I’ve been indoctrinated into a lot of modern Japanese cultures – one of the key ones being reading Manga.
Image description: Me in Roppongi, Japan
To explain, ‘Manga’ are Japanese comics, but unlike the ones found in the West that mostly dominated by the superhero genre, Japanese manga can be about anything! Series about wine tasting, to volleyball, to culinary school – these series have immense scope to explore pretty much any topic for any age group. But for the sake of this blog I wanted to talk about a couple of series in particular that tugged at my heart strings. In recent years they have started to become more popular in the West with the British Museum opening a display on the topic over the summer.
Image description: Golden Kamui a fictional story about the Japanese gold rush set amongst the Japanese Ainu population from the British Museum Manga exhibition (source: Shueisha – Jump comics)
Firstly, Wandering Son (Hourou Musuko) is a story unlike any other I had ever read before. Rather than punchy energetic fight scenes or fierce emotional battles, this story is a slow burning, coming of age story. The plot focuses around two characters. A boy who wants to be a girl. And a girl who wants to be a boy.
Image Description: Wandering Son Volume 1 Cover by Takako Shimura (source: Enterbrain – Comic Beam)
It’s very hard to imagine that a slow, character driven story about the everyday lives of developing children could be a good read. However, I’d very much disagree with that view. The story deals with very complex ideas surrounding sexuality and sense of identity and although the Japanese setting is very different from my own – I felt a sense of connection to these two main characters. Whether it was a sense of sympathy from struggling with these kinds of topics myself or simply because they have so much to connect to, I was engaged in the story right from the start.
It took only 2 days for me to read the 15 volumes in the series and left me – a 23 year old – in tears and with a sense of emotional frailty. I’d never read a series quite like this before, since it left me with so many more questions about my own sexuality than I had ever thought to question…
So, in order to escape the existential dread that came with the end of that series I decided I needed a break. So, what did I do…I dived right back into another manga series…typical.
This time, I decided to read a story I had seen advertised multiple times in Japan whilst I was living there but had no idea what it was even about. Blue Giant. A title that gives absolutely no hint to its content… The thing that gave it away was the cover art of the first issue. No, this was not a manga about stars and science…this was a series about Jazz.
Image Description: Blue Giant Volume 1 cover by Shinishi Ishizuka (source: Shougakukan – BIG comics)
I’ve been a huge fan of jazz music for a number of years now. From the more contemporary tunes that mix modern beats with the 2-5-1 to the now infamous Coltrane changes found in ‘Giant Steps’ – I appreciate them all. Whilst in Japan, I wrote a simple travel piece about the best jazz cafes in Shinjuku, and whilst going to each of these places I came to understand that Japanese jazz fans (although few in number) are massively passionate!
Blue Giant is only in it’s second year of publication and is currently split into 10 volumes. The story revolves around a young man aiming to be Japan’s best saxophonist, and his journey to greatness. But what really sells this story for me is the fact that the entire story is a paradox…
Think about it…a comic about music… how is that even possible? Music by its definition involves actively listening to sound…so how does this come across in the story you might ask? Mostly through the art but there are a few ways.
Firstly, the musicians are almost always framed in ways that emphasise their passion for jazz. Secondly, reactions! Faces of the audience members make the music feel alive almost as if you can feel the vibrations of the music surging through you. But lastly, I think it’s the readers imagination that lends itself the most to experiencing the music through the art. Whether you know a lot or a little about jazz music is the same for everyone! It’s probably for this reason that the series was recognised for multiple awards in Japan.
Through both visual and written storytelling manga have the ability to make the reader experience so many emotions. So, if you ever have an urge to read something outside your normal sphere of influence, then I would definitely nudge you to read one of these amazing stories.
