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Jul 23, 2022
Reading through the first few chapters of Billy Bat is a very confusing experience. The initial premise is fairly simple but intriguing: Japanese-American comic artist Kevin Yamagata travels to Japan in order to find out whether he has unwittingly plagiarized his most popular character, which starts him off on a long journey. However, expectations of the plot's direction are quickly subverted and it does not take long for the story to explode into a dazzlingly complex mosaic of interrelated narratives. Topically, this includes discussions of anything and everything, such as meditations on the aesthetics of visual media, conspiracy theories, American racism and even a rare
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exploration of the persecution of communist organizers in post-war Japan. The themes I have listed here are really just the tip of the iceberg and if this seems like a lot to get through, that's because it is. However, If I had to narrow down what Billy Bat is really about, I would argue that, at its core, this Manga is a meta-narrative about the power of storytelling that comes by way of a preposterously ambitious piece of speculative historical fiction.
Although the story is sometimes clunky and convoluted, given how enormous its scope is, Billy Bat manages to never become a slog. As we follow a diverse cast of characters who live through a seemingly never-ending series of both mundane as well as earth-shattering events, we become privy to the shadowy machinations of this alternate universe's numerous factions and actors that stand in our protagonists' way. With intrigue and mystery abound, Billy Bat is a truly captivating read that kept me on the edge of my seat for long periods of time. In no small part, this is due to Urasawa's unique ability to write characters that are immediately convincing and relatable. The story is routinely interrupted by seemingly unrelated, short vignettes that serve to introduce new characters. After an initial groan at the preceding cliffhanger, it rarely took more than one or two chapters for me to become fully invested in any of the numerous characters that appear over the course of Billy Bat's story. Moreover, when their relevance to the overall story is revealed, the payoff is huge, making this Manga a very gratifying read.
While the author's strong suits lie in writing relatable characters and spellbinding storylines, the art of Billy Bat deserves special mention. For a lot of people, Urasawa's at times utilitarian art style is an acquired taste, as he favors realism over the more flashy and experimental registers of some of his colleagues. For Monster, arguably his magnum opus, this is perfectly appropriate, as its story is very much grounded in the real world. With the bizarre twists and turns of Billy Bat, however, it's a completely different story. Whereas a similarly surreal narrative like Paprika is visually just as bonkers as its plot, the contrast between Billy Bat's narrative and its realist art style is frequently jarring, giving this Manga a fever dream-quality that sometimes had me questioning whether I was hallucinating what I was seeing on the page. Furthermore, Urasasawa uses his penchant for realism to great effect by occasionally incorporating elements into his panels that are stylistically completely incongruous, contributing greatly to Billy Bat's overall surreal vibe.
As is typical for Urasawa, Billy Bat seems to present its audience with more loose ends than the story itself can handle and leaves many questions unanswered. I cannot say whether this is due to a genuine commitment to crafting ambiguous stories or the author's inability to keep up with his own narrative's numerous mysteries. Whatever the case may be, if you are the kind of reader that gets discouraged by stories that do not neatly resolve every plot point, Billy Bat is probably not for you (and that's fine!). If that is not an issue and you are into (mystery) Seinen, I would highly recommend you give this Manga a shot. For me personally, this is definitely on the Mt. Rushmore of the genre.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jul 13, 2022
Like many others I was intrigued by the hype around Jujutsu Kaisen and surprised by its many obvious flaws when compared to similarly popular titles. Regardless, as a straightforward Shounen Manga I found it thoroughly enjoyable.
This is by no means a perfect Manga and most of the criticism leveled at JJK is perfectly reasonable. Parts of the narrative feel so derivative that it is almost laughable. Anyone with even a passing interest in Manga will immediately notice how the first few chapters read like Naruto fanfiction with the serial numbers filed off. It's all there—the idiot protagonist with the mysterious, dark haired sidekick, the easygoing
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but seemingly omnipotent teacher, as well as the academy setting.
However, while the first chapters of Naruto succeed in making the protagonist into a character that is at least emotionally compelling, JJK has very little to offer in this regard. Hilariously, a number of other characters are given far more interesting, relatable backstories than the Manga's actual main character Yuuji, who is as bland as can be, and one of the least interesting parts of the series. The rather aimless main story also leaves a lot to be desired as it mostly serves to lead up to a barrage of fight sequences, before receding into the background.
So why bother? Because, with all the above being said, JJK fortunately laser-focuses on what it is truly good at. Namely, its action sequences, which, more often than not, are genuinely riveting. As many others have pointed out, Akutami has a talent for choreographies and the Manga's messy art style really shines here, giving most of its fights a beautifully dynamic and spontaneous quality that is often hard to come across in this genre.
Similarly, JJK's power system is far from perfect but I find myself consistently surprised by the creative and sometimes wacky powers that JJK's protagonists wield. While a comparable title like Hunter x Hunter does a far better job at explaining the minutiae of its power system's mechanics, JJK mostly succeeds in conveying enough information to make the fights interesting and allow for surprising ability match-ups.
As a sidenote, I was also pleasantly surprised by JJK's female characters. Although, as mentioned above, character depth is not exactly JJK's unique selling point, there is little to no fanservice and the author makes their female characters just as diverse in temperament and personality as their male counterparts (although, admittedly, the bar is pretty low).
In conclusion, if a solid, no-nonsense, action oriented Shounen is what you're after, JJK is sure to scratch that itch. So far, there hasn't been any major story or character development that has truly surprised me and I'm not sure if I can expect anything like that down the line, but as long as the action stays as outrageously fun as it is, I will keep reading.
EDIT: I downgraded my rating from a 7 to a 6. Since the Shibuya Incident Arc, there has been a severe and noticeable drop in quality. The story feels meandering, hordes of new characters are introduced and never explored sufficiently, while the author has seemingly forgotten about much of the original cast and introduces one inconsequential plot point after another. Most of the series' female characters have become completely irrelevant and we've arrived at a truly bizarre meathead shonen trainwreck. I was really hoping for this series to live up to its potential but it's not looking like that is going to be the case.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Jul 13, 2022
I have a thing for mystery narratives and the first few chapters of Summertime Render hooked me immediately. Unfortunately, the suspense built over the first third of the Manga quickly deflates as the author reveals way too much way too quickly in an effort to show the reader what the stakes of his story are. After that, Summertime Render's narrative quickly devolves into a needlessly drawn out and convoluted plot that barely leaves any real mystery to be explored, relying on the same tired Shounen tropes we have seen hundreds of times.
To me, the worst offender in this regard is the way this Manga handles
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its female characters. The amount of crotch shots, uncalled-for nudity and harem-esque character relations was just too much for me, making this one of the most fan-servicy Manga I've ever read (I typically avoid this stuff at all cost). The trope of a hapless male protagonist being surrounded by desirable women is eye roll-inducing to me. My distaste for these tropes may be a personal pet peeve, but, more egregiously, it is extremely creepy how often the reader is shown the semi-nude bodies of young girls and children. This seriously cheapens the story and feels beyond tasteless to me.
Many people have praised the art style, but it felt just OK to me. The author is a competent Mangaka but large parts of the art of Summertime Render lack distinctiveness and have an extremely generic look and feel to them. What stands out most in this regard are the rather static character designs—while Tanaka has a knack for grotesque facial expressions, he seems completely clueless when trying to have his characters express anything other than detached stares or absolute horror (this is particularly obvious in the few scenes meant for comic relief).
In addition to the protagonists being visually generic, they are severely lacking in personality, as there is hardly any meaningful character development to be found besides a very superficial romance subplot. As a result, Summer Time Render has a very hollow feel to it, since the blandness of most of its characters makes it very hard to care for them.
Overall, this Manga is just slightly above average, which is disappointing as it could have been great. The action that dominates the second half is often times ungratifying and hard to follow, which stands in stark contrast to the intriguing, if not entirely original premise. It was an enjoyable read but a far cry from the real heavyweights of the mystery genre (Stein's Gate and Billy Bat come to mind).
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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