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May 29, 2024
Ningen Itjou (More Than Human/Superhuman) is a collection of very early works by Shintarou Kago that somewhat feature his trademark dark humor, gore, and "adult themes", albeit in an unrefined form. This collection falls on the side of his most accessible output in terms of explicit content --very violent and gross, but on the level of an 1970s exploitation film rather than a fake snuff movie-- yet unfortunately does not have much in the way of scary, funny or interesting ideas.
The collection is built around a couple of multi-chapter stories --3 and 4 chapters long respectively-- and rounded up with other shorts that were written
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around the same time. The edition I read also includes the one-shot "Nouka Suitai no Kikairon-teki Sekaikan ni Kansuru Ikkousatsu" (An Inquiry Concerning A Mechanistic Worldview of the Pituitary Gland).
"Japanese Fairy Tales" serves as the introduction: it consists of 6 short stories (i.e. four sentences long) each given a gruesome color illustration in an old Japanese art-style. There is little substance to them, but they would make for an effective tone-setter as part of a similarly themed larger work.
The first "long" story is the titular "More Than Human", whose plot is a blend of "Blade Runner" and "Scanners" if Cronenberg had a much more adolescent sense of humor. The reader is dropped in the middle of a story with no beginning or resolution, as the premise is only a framework for Kago to hang "adult" jokes on. Some of the humor lands --either genuinely or in a so-bad-it's-funny way-- but overall there is very little wit to the writing. The main issue is the lack of commitment to delivering a passably engaging story, which is necessary to make 60 pages of dick and boob jokes bearable. Below mediocre, but somewhat endearing as an early work.
The collection really falls apart with the second feature presentation: "Godzilla" --and its sequels. The basic idea looks to be to parody the early Toho Godzilla films by replacing the humans with cockroaches and the Kaijū monsters with (relatively) giant naked women. Not having seen many of these films, I was still able to parse which story beats and clichés the 4 chapters were attempting to pay homage to, yet there were very few actual jokes or subversions of Kaijū tropes. Replacing the monsters with humans is where the creative process seems to have started and ended. What remains are very crude and leering displays of violence and nudity that you become numb to. Every chapter starts promising but ends in an uncomfortable mess. Kago would go back to the Kaijū well much more effectively in "Dementia 21" and "Anamorphosis". Even the underwhelming "Super-Conductive Brains" dealt with similar themes much more effectively by simply sticking to generic science-fiction premises. Very unpleasant read, and probably not in the intended way.
The final two shorts of the original collection are "Strange land" and "Rebellion". While not narratively connected, they both feature a similar art-style and take place in rural (feudal?) Japan. The first one is about a couple of warriors that end up in a village of monsters, and is unremarkable save for the sometimes illegible action panels. The story does not feature any twist the reader might care about, and even the violence is underwhelming for Kago. The second short features a more interesting premise, that revolves around a famine-stricken village revolting against their god, but turns out to be an exercise in poorly drawn gory violence. Granted, it features the most "satisfying" conclusion to a story in the collection.
Although it can be easy to deride --for non-esthetic reasons-- overly violent, exploitative or subversive works, this is not the main issue here. The issue is that lack of technical drawing ability and inane writing are robbing these "controversial" qualities of the work of all their power over the reader. All that is left is a feeling of unease that you get from meaningless nastiness. Outside of some evidently comedic elements, there is an unnerving aimlessness to much of what is presented in those early works. However, seeing how Kago's wit became sharper in the following decades, it is likely that the issues in Ningen Itjou mostly come from inexperience.
The bonus one-shot at the end is a dull and messy take on a dystopian future centered around nativity control by the state. It is similar to some chapters in "Super-Conductive Brains", but has little to no story or point. In the afterword, Kago himself does not seem too impressed with his stories. He essentially admits that they are all very derivative of other artists' works, and he would rework all the salvageable ideas into other stories.
Do him and yourself a favor by skipping this one.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Jan 9, 2024
"Kuroneko no Me ga Yami ni" is -as far as I am aware- Hideshi Hino's most accessible horror work. Many of Hino's manga from this period have childlike qualities, with their large panels, their being written from the perspective of children or storytellers of sorts, and their straightforward stories. However, this particular outing turns down the graphic violence considerably, without losing what makes this artist's works endearingly unique.
Hino's simple tales generally veer towards the eerie or the bizarre rather than the scary, which fits this collection's premise perfectly. "Kuroneko no Me ga Yami ni" presents 4 short stories through the perspective of a cat
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who is fascinated and puzzled by the humans around him. The stories have no common thread and the cat is never more than an observer -a "horror host"- yet this feels like a cohesive work thanks to the consistent themes of asocial behaviour with a hint of fantasy.
The cat himself is well established in an introductory chapter, which sets the tone for the collection. The human characters are not very deep but work well for the stories being told. Actually, Hino's -sometimes debilitating- lack of character development makes more sense from a cat's perspective. One cannot really explain the plots without spoiling them, but the most unusual premise -for Hino- in this collection is the second one, featuring a quirky horror artist/mangaka. This is one of a few archetypes Hino heavily relies on in his writing but is tweaked just enough to be interesting.
The art is classic Hino throughout, even this early in his career, and is one of the main selling points here. His esthetic and love of outcast characters are reminiscent of Tim Burton's, with less German expressionism influences and a more limited range in the writing. Still, this is a very enjoyable "gateway horror" collection and a short easy read. The only thing missing is the narration of Vincent Price.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jan 5, 2024
"Hannya Haramita" is a collection of short fantasy and science-fiction stories from an unusually well-mannered Shintarou Kago. Among this author's manga I have dared to look into, this is the most accessible besides "Dementia 21". The first story is in the similar avant-garde dark comedy genre as the aforementioned "Dementia 21", the next 4 are (relatively) more down-to-earth and serious, while the final story falls in line with the (usual?) nonsense Kago likes to indulge in.
"Aogeba Sonshi" is a fun and very easy on the eyes take on Kago's habit to turn everyday urban life into an over-the-top farce. The story is set in a
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very unusual school and quickly gets to the point. The actual plot and characters are simple but are engaging enough to explore the main concept behind the short story effectively.
"Demon Seed: Akuma no Shushi", "Hannya Haramita" and "Doubutsu no Oukoku" are essentially set at various points in the future and offer some light social commentary. It is not clear how seriously some of the points made are to be taken: more likely, the "dystopian" settings are an excuse to have some fun at humanity's expense in strange scenarios. These stories are more graphic than the previous and the following ones, although nothing like this mangaka more extreme work. The writing is reminiscent of Kago's own "Super-Conductive Brains", but far less gross and more engaging.
"Ataraxia" is a story about bullying with a fantasy bend rather than an horror one. It is well told and has a satisfying humorous conclusion, something that the characters themselves comment on. Indeed, those first 5 stories have rather strong plotting overall, since they find Kago sticking to the basics and playing around with the premise and setting rather than the presentation.
"Tonde Me ni Hairu Natsu no Mushi" breaks that winning streak by being far more immature and less visually polished than the rest of the collection. If you cannot handle any form of nudity or grotesque imagery you can skip it, though it is not "extreme" in any sense. The premise is amusing but there is no story per se: it feels like a particularly crude segment in Monty Python's "The Meaning of Life". If the other stories were on this level, I would not be recommending the collection.
There is also a similarly frivolous bonus story that is a spoof on the premise of "Demon Seed: Akuma no Shushi", which is what one might have expected the actual story to be like in the hands of Kago. Overall, I recommend this collection to those who enjoy short, lightweight and darkly humorous vignettes. If you want more of "Dementia 21" this is a decent place to start. Nothing mind-blowing but this was an enjoyable read, especially coming from this author.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Jan 3, 2024
For someone who enjoys dark humor and horror, but does not care much for "grotesque nonsense", picking up a Shintarou Kago is like playing Russian roulette. In this analogy, "Super-Conductive Brains" is a blank: you lose but at least you don't suffer any major consequence.
This manga is not an avant-garde comedy -in the vein of "Dementia 21"- a reasonable reader might hope for, nor is it one of this author's more "extreme" works. "Super-Conductive Brains" is a short science-fiction manga for mature audiences, with a loose overarching story connecting various vignettes set in a rather bleak future.
Granted, the manga is not for the faint of
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heart -with plenty of gore and nudity- but it is all presented in an unceremonious and matter-of-fact way, which will not make it very impactful to horror/dark sci-fi readers. The inclusion of those elements might simply be a way to reinforce the theme of dehumanization and the overall dystopian feel of the setting. Since the visual presentation is rather dull in general, lacking the abstractions and creative compositions often seen in Kago's work, the focus is indeed on the story.
This is where "Super-Conductive Brains" comes especially short. None of the vignettes bring any novel science-fiction concept to the table, and the overarching story suffers from Kago's usual issues with providing a satisfying conclusion to a narrative. The stories all revolve around the biomechanoids' ambiguous nature (human or machine) or some generic "dystopian future" plot without subverting those tropes outside of the tacked-on graphic content.
Overall, the manga is simply not very engaging. The characters are fine and sufficiently developed within the story they appear in and -besides some overly busy panels- said stories are competently told. Still, it will not leave any lasting impression, because of the absence of Kago's (in)famous trademark visuals or comedy, and because it ends up being a collection of generic science-fiction stories.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Nov 11, 2023
"Yuugeki Uchuu Senkan Nadesico" is ostensibly an "adaptation" of "Kidou Senkan Nadesico" to manga, which was published concurrently with said anime. However, beyond the facts of its synopsis, it actually offers a significantly different experience, one that rarely makes it stand on its own. Gone is most of the meta commentary, most of the humor, and most of the story one may be familiar with from the show. So what is the hook?
Interestingly enough, the focus of the manga is on the main characters' -Akito and Yurika- relationship and specifically Akito's character growth. In the anime, these parts mostly seemed played for laughs or to
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bring the story back on track when necessary, and always felt underdeveloped for lasting dramatic impact. The manga presents them in a much darker and brooding perspective.
The actual story of the manga is relatively the same as the show in the first volume -as much as one might expect from an adaptation- aside from a few new characters and plot points. These new elements come to gain importance in the following volumes and end up taking the story in a different direction albeit with some similar beats. The "new" story is serviceable, but without the meta commentary or jokes it loses a lot of appeal. At times, it looks like "Yuugeki Uchuu Senkan Nadesico" might do for manga what "Kidou Senkan Nadesico" did for anime, but that path was left unexplored. Akito is just a kid that needs to grow up, and manga and anime happen to represent part of that childhood.
The most glaring failings of the manga actually come from its links to the source material. Most of the characters were brought over but a lot of them have very little to do. Some (like Megumi and Jun) become background characters, which is fine, but others should have been dropped altogether. The way Izumi Maki is shoehorned in is particularly egregious: the character only has two lines yet gets chided by the others for making jokes, a fact that would only make sense to viewers of the show.
The other issue is the shift in tone and plot due to the first volume being so close to the anime. This can give the reader a lot of preconceived ideas about what is going on, which leads to confusion later on. The story does not really come into its own until half-way through and the manga sets an identity for itself. However, an exercise for the reader might be to try to frame this adventure into a follow-up to the anime. Certainly an unconventional way to appreciate the writing, but it underlines that the universe described in the manga is compelling enough to be added to the one from the anime.
An other appealing part is the art. It has roots in the anime, but pretty much forgoes the direction the "Kidou Senkan Nadesico: The Prince of Darkness" motion picture took, which a much less "slick and cool" style. Most of the character designs fit well into this esthetic (see the cover art) but there is sadly an homogeneity in some of the way they look that leads to confusion later on. The battle scenes are similarly hard to decipher at times, but some of the blame can be laid on the invasive onomatopoeia of the English-translated edition.
Overall, there is enjoyment to be found here, but this is nowhere near a must-read, and hard to discuss outside its relationship with the show. Paradoxically the more "mature" tone may make this version of the universe less appealing to older readers, since being hard to take seriously was part of the anime's appeal. The manga may give more appreciation (and clarification) of Akito's part when watching the anime, and more weight to his relationship with Yurika. My favorite part early on was the (now obscure) shout-out to 1980's Japanese pop music, and how it was fitted into the "lore". Something that would not be out of place in the anime.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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