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Apr 7, 2017
This is not an "every-man's" manga. Even if you're a fan of alternative seinen manga, or manga by Jiro Taniguchi specifically, you still may not enjoy this one. If you are a fan of the Louvre Museum, art history, or peeking into the thought processes of famous artists, then this is a title that you will thoroughly enjoy--if not, this isn't the manga for you, as it has relatively little to do with plot or character development. Keep in mind that Jiro Taniguchi was commissioned by the Louvre to create this manga, so his writing and artistry will be reflective of that.
Lengthy disclaimer aside, if
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you have been to the Louvre, this manga will fascinate you, as Taniguchi managed to capture everything that makes the museum so special. At times I felt as if I were walking through the Louvre myself, and I remembered thinking, "That's exactly what it looked like!" many times throughout my reading. I wouldn't call myself an expert on art history or a tremendous fan of art outside of the world of comics, but I was still intrigued by the bits of history sprinkled in, especially during the bits about World War II and the lengths the workers had to go to to preserve and hide the Louvre's artwork from the Nazis.
The art is fantastic, and in full-color, and while the characters and story themselves were nothing particularly special, this is still a truly unique manga. It's bizarre for a manga artist to settle on a setting like Paris, France, and even more bizarre to zone in on the Louvre specifically, so I was very excited to read about something like that in something as Japanese as a manga. While I was enthralled by the artwork and pain-staking thought and detail that went into Guardians of the Louvre, I was not blown away, nor was I personally affected by its story. I'll have to settle on a 7/10. Not Taniguchi's best, but certainly not a bad title at all. It can be truly beautiful if you have a connection to it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Mar 6, 2017
I wouldn't call this work "pretentious" because I don't think Hideo Yamamoto is a good enough writer to be called pretentious. I would, however, call it a rambling, messy attempt at philosophising.
The art in Homunculus is fantastic, and the story is intriguing, but the manga loses itself when Yamamoto slows everything to a grinding halt to have two characters repeat lines of nonsensical dialogue to each other in an attempt at driving home some "deep" message. "We get it. We got the message 10 chapters ago. There's no need to repeat yourself." I found myself saying that (in my head) nearly every chapter.
When the manga
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doesn't creep to a slow crawl to bang philosophical meanderings into our skulls, it really shines. The entire first arc where we see Nakoshi first drawn into the world of trepanation is fascinating, as is his initial relationship to Itoh. Nakoshi's gradual descent into insanity is where I found myself wholly invested in Homunculus, and the ending was satisfying, albeit a bit rushed (because the author spent so damn long repeating the same bits of dialogue and philosophical nothings to us over and over again!)
Honestly, I can't say that I recommend this manga. Is it beautifully drawn? Absolutely. Is it a page-turner? For me it was, but only because I was hoping for something that was never really there. You'll like it if you're okay with being spoon-fed nonsense about "seeing the truth," but if you've read your share of literature, you'll see right through Yamamoto's preachy attempts at being deep. Homunculus has an intriguing premise, and it does a lot of things well, but it's a try-hard mess and not much else.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Mar 4, 2017
This will be my first review on MAL, so I figured what better way to start reviewing than with my favorite manga series of all time?
I will first stress that Oyasumi Punpun (Goodnight Punpun westernized) is not a manga for everyone, and I don't expect it to speak to all audiences; however, if you've struggled with dark human emotion, immature love and a loss of that love, romantic obsession, abuse, childhood trauma, or if you've ever been intrigued by these themes, this manga will deeply affect you.
Inio Asano often grapples with themes not often explored in manga format, and the mangaka does so
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in a unique manner. Punpun, the pivotal character in this work, is drawn as a simple cartoon bird and alters his shape (eventually developing a human body and horns to represent his corruption) as the story progresses. This is not a lazy move by Asano, and that is made obvious by the copious amount of detail he puts into drawing the other characters and backgrounds. This artists' art is phenomenal. The depiction of Punpun is meant to illustrate the simplicity of childhood innocence and how that innocence is gradually corrupted by the nature of Punpun's actions and the realization that he eventually comes to--that life is by no means a walk in the park.
This coming-of-age story is different from anything that I've ever read. No novel, graphic novel, manga, or film has ever come close to accurately depicting youth, love, and growing up the way that Goodnight Punpun does. When we first meet Punpun, we see that his family structure is crumbling. His father is abusive, and neither of his parents seem to care much for him. He is later taken in by his uncle, who becomes an important character to the story. While his uncle does genuinely care for Punpun, he is not the best role model, and we observe unhealthy patterns in his own relationships that are later inadvertently picked up by Punpun.
Immediately we are introduced to our other main character--a foil character, if you will--in the form of a young girl named Aiko with whom Punpun quickly falls in love. Throughout the course of the story, we see Punpun's innocent youthful love turn dangerous. He develops an obsession with Aiko that, while being told from Punpun's perspective, does not really feel dangerous on the surface. As the story progresses, we begin to learn that Punpun's love is misplaced. Aiko, to him, is a symbol of perfection. She is everything that he wishes to be and obtain in his own life. In actuality, Punpun knows nothing about Aiko or her own struggles, and we see their relationship develop and unfold to reach a boiling conclusion at the manga's end.
Punpun and Aiko are the main drive of this manga, but every other character and storyline is just as interesting. Asano has a knack for making his characters believable human beings. No one in this manga is perfect, and everyone has a corrupt nature.
I can't suggest this manga enough. It is beautiful, insightful, wildly intelligent and witty--a complete emotional roller-coaster. If you can stomach the harsh truths of abuse, trauma, sex, rape, and murder and still somehow find the beauty in the world, this is the manga for you.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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