22-26: Fujimoto Tatsuki Tanpenshuu
Tatsuki Fujimoto Before Chainsaw Man: 22-26

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The following review is in Spanish and English (translated with the support of DeepL)

The version read is the one licensed in Spanish by “Norma Editorial”.

The context and my approach on how to approach the review I have explained at the beginning of the review of the first part, you are invited to read it. I just want to mention the particularity that the last story of this anthology was published while Fujimoto was in the final stretch of his first serialized work, Fire Punch.

Ningyo Rhapsody

Published at the end of 2014, it shares the same year as the last work of the previous anthology, Shikaku. And ... it also has similar narrative characteristics, a romance with fantastic elements typical of its context with an extra layer of interest consisting of innocence due to the young age of its protagonist, what we would call a teenage first love, and a “forbidden” one, due to the difference in species between the two.

His subject matter consists of beauty guided by universal appreciation, in this case musical, and being a bridge to make a connection between those who seem unrelated. Tatsuki uses the fantastic context for a well-known universal message, without pretensions of being innovative, it is in the way he achieved it that highlights his creativity to establish a credible world even in its strangeness, and gave him the ground to realize detailed panels; not only those double page, also in several of the “common ones” he conveys beauty, memory and even terror corresponding to the action.

Me wo Sametara Onnanoko ni Natteita Yamai

Another story with a romantic factor, however this is not the core but the unexpected change of the protagonist and how it affects his personal relationships. At the level of presentation and drawing is more austere compared to previous works, and it is understandable, reading it you can notice its approach grounded in simplicity, where the interest lies in the message that Fujimoto wants to convey “no matter what you become, the important thing is who you want to be”. From a perspective position, it is also the first work with the presence of some “trans” theme, which we will see again in some of his future works.

Yogen no Nayuta

My favorite work before his first serialization. His artistic style is consolidated by the consistent presence of the elements that characterize him as a an artist: the eyes, the marked expressions in the foreground, especially if they are in sequence, tracing all the moments the character is going through, the shading, a “dynamic” grid layout and the placement of his panels that occupy half and full page.

At the same time it is a narrative completely “his own”. The fantastic and bloody elements are just as present as the moments of recollection and connection, it is a story of brotherhood (another of his recurring themes) intermingled with the difficulty of the circumstances that were imposed on him, which in themselves are also of interest because of that “normality in the face of the extraordinary”. Of course, I also owe part of my appreciation, inevitably, to the fact that the character design of “Nayuta” will surely be familiar to you if you have been reading his work.

Imouto no Ane

This one is about sisterhood, and has another pair of interesting themes that would characterize his other two One Shot of great fame years later, artistic inspiration and talent. Neither is a novel reflection, and the means to achieve it is ultimately simple, the factor to highlight is the characterization of both protagonists in brevity, highlighting the simplicity of relatives interspersed with disappointment, pride and a humorous touch.

His approach is very varied, he uses the whole page in different ways, it is not only the punctual actions that stand out, but also the feelings of the protagonist such as discomfort and remoteness, including the use of perspective in some panels, and they are also reinforced by the vividness of the expressions of his characters. His best drawn work up to that moment (only referred to the One Shots).

The panels dedicated to this representation that talent is nurtured by effort, I feel that they are a reflection of Fujimoto regarding his trajectory, it is enough to observe his early works to know that he was no genius of illustration, his arrival at this point is due to the same path that has had its protagonist.

The continuous practice.

Español

El contexto y mi aproximación acerca de cómo abordar la reseña los he explicado al comienzo de la reseña de la primera parte, estás invitado a leerla. Únicamente quiero mencionar la particularidad de que la última historia de esta antología fue publicada mientras Fujimoto estaba en el tramo final de su primera obra serializada, Fire Punch.

Ningyo Rhapsody

Publicada a finales de 2014, comparte el mismo año que la última obra de la anterior antología, Shikaku. Y también cuenta con similares características narrativas, un romance con elementos fantásticos propios de su contexto con una capa extra de interés que consiste en la inocencia debido a la corta edad de su protagonista, lo que llamaríamos un primer amor adolescente, y uno “prohibido”, por la diferencia de especie entre ambos.

Su temática consiste en la belleza guiada hacia la apreciación universal, en este caso musical, y siendo un puente para entablar una conexión entre quienes parecen no tener relación. Tatsuki utiliza el contexto fantástico para un conocido mensaje universal, sin pretensiones de ser innovador, es en el cómo lo consiguió que destaca su creatividad para establecer un mundo creíble aún en su extrañeza, y le dió terreno para realizar detallados paneles; no únicamente aquellos doble página, también en varios de “los comunes” transmite belleza, recuerdo y hasta terror correspondiente a la acción.

Me wo Sametara Onnanoko ni Natteita Yamai

Otra historia con un factor romántico, sin embargo este no es el núcleo sino que es el inesperado cambio del protagonista y cómo afecta a sus relaciones personales. A nivel de presentación y dibujo es más austero a comparación de los trabajos previos, y es entendible, leyéndolo se nota su enfoque aterrizado a la simpleza, en donde el interés radica en el mensaje que quiere transmitir Fujimoto “sin importar en que llegas a ser lo importante es aquel en quién quieres ser”. Desde una posición de perspectiva también es el primer trabajo con presencia de alguna temática “trans”, la cuál volveremos a ver en algunas de sus futuras obras.

Yogen no Nayuta

Mi trabajo favorito antes de su primera serialización. Se consolida su estilo artístico entendiéndolo de presencia consistente de los elementos que le caracterizan como dibujante: Los ojos, las marcadas expresiones en primer plano, especialmente si están en secuencia, trazando todos los momentos por los que está pasando el personaje, el sombreado, un esquema cuadriculado “dinámico” y la ubicación de sus paneles que ocupan media y página completa.

A su vez es una narrativa completamente “suya”. Los elementos fantásticos y sangrientos están igual de presentes que los instantes de recogimiento y conexión, es una historia de hermandad (otra de sus temáticas recurrentes) entremezclada con la dificultad de las circunstancia que le fueron impuestas, las cuáles en sí mismas también resultan de interés por esa “normalidad ante lo extraordinario”. Por supuesto, también debo parte de mi apreciación, de forma inevitable, a que el diseño de personaje de “Nayuta” seguramente te será conocido si seguiste leyendo su obra.

Imouto no Ane

Otra historia de hermandad, está vez femenina, y tiene otra par de interesantes temáticas porque caracterizarían sus otros dos One Shot de sobrada fama años después, la inspiración artística y el talento. Tampoco es una reflexión novedosa, y el medio para conseguirlo en últimas es sencillo, el factor a destacar es la caracterización de ambas protagonistas en la brevedad, se resalta la simplicidad de parientes entremezclados con la decepción, orgullo y un toque humorístico.

Su planteamiento es muy variado, utiliza la página completa de diferentes maneras, ya no es únicamente las acciones puntuales a destacar también son los sentimientos de la protagonista como incomodidad y lejanía, incluyendo utilizar la perspectiva en según qué paneles, y además son reforzados por la viveza de las expresiones de sus personajes. Su trabajo mejor dibujado hasta ese momento (únicamente referido a los One Shots).

Los paneles dedicados a esa representación de que el talento se nutre es del esfuerzo, siento que son una reflexión de Fujimoto respecto a su trayectoria, basta con observar sus primeros trabajos para saber que no era ningún genio de la ilustración, su llegada a este punto es debido al mismo camino que ha tenido su protagonista.

La práctica continua.

the second volume of the stories i didn't like as much forsure, "mermaid rhapsody" was not that great for me & was kinda goofy lol, "woke up as a girl syndrome" was weak with kinda awkward, shitty messaging, & "sisters" i can appreciate a little more after going back & rereading it again after loving "look back", but anything that’s good in it is done insanely better in look back & any nice moment in it is ruined by it just being unnecessarily weird af with the forced sister nudity angle the whole time lmao. natuya though was prob the best crafted story out of ... all of the stories in both anthology volumes though. i feel it just has the most defined, distinguishable character & the most solid situations & developments. there were def sick ass panels in there that were the most big feeling moments out of everything i read in the 2 volumes. even if natuya's dialogue could get a bit cringe & edgy lol, i still def liked the cool presentation of the story & i think its a solid story all around. & that last page was beautiful forsure! def showed some artistic glimmers of what i could imagine future bigger fujimoto works could have at it’s advantage & coming back & rereading with modern foresight i guess i kinda been hearing natuya might've actually be used at this point in chainsaw man? guess we'll have to see one day when i get around to seeing that

anyways the second volume wasn’t as overall hitting as the first besides the natuya story for me, & this is now coming from the future rereading this after reading a lot of fujimoto stuff including fire punch. i say that bc fire punch obviously has a lot of darkness & edginess & i love it still. idk it just comes off actually crazy or even rediculous & funny in something like fire punch but i guess the edginess in this volume of stories to me just feels cringe or forced most of the time. i fault it way less these days bc i know fujimoto can do the edgy shit better in other stories for me. but as a background to fujimoto it def gave me a bit of a look into understanding him before moving onto his bigger & better works. when i first read this mini series back when i was first getting into manga, it def made me understand more in general the concept of a one shot or an anthology, & that was cool!

Mod Edit: This review was originally posted for Me wo Sametara Onnanoko ni Natteita Yamai (109436) and has subsequently been merged into 22-26: Fujimoto Tatsuki Tanpenshuu (141294).


When it comes to the gender bender genre it's quite refreshing to see this one-shot tackle the dire fear one would experience when their social status does a 180 flip. There is a section of this one-shot where the guys in his class want to use the main character (Toshihide) for their sexual desires, thinking that they can do whatever they want to Toshihide now that he's a girl. Many GB stories usually go for the acceptance or prejudice ... route, but it's really interesting to see a story where the character has fear of how their new gender will affect their everyday life, in this case, school.

It's also really interesting that the gender-bent character already had a girlfriend before their transition and there's a scene where they sort of actually talk about their situation. It felt fairly mature.

What made me rate this so low was actually the constant reference and ideology of straight relationships. Toshihide laments the loss of his manhood and says to his girlfriend that now that they're both girls they can't have sex or a relationship anymore. And while I appreciate other characters telling him how stupid he is for thinking like that they lose me again when those same characters tell Toshihide that he should act like a man and that he is a man. It's really frustrating how this story sets up an interesting talk about non-hetero relationships but then goes right back to the binary standard.