HellKorn's Manga

After delivering what will probably be his magnum opus (Nijigahara Holograph), Asano reverts to a retread of his favorites themes with an absurd amount of wordy navel-gazing. After the first two volumes, the angst and darkness is forced into meandering storyline; if you think that Nijigahara Holograph is too morbid, run like hell. The rating is slightly higher due to some genuine moments of beauty -- sadly, too frequently undermined by repetitious introspection -- and the fact that this brand of pessimism can be bearable, unlike the nasty, "whoa-is-the-hipster" cynicism that can be found in Daniel Clowes' work.

*Warning: review is half-serious, half-factitious. Take it as you will.*

Some presumptuous and self-important fans of the series probably think I am giving this a low rating because of some "moral outrage" or some other nonsense on my part. Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the ironic holier-than-thou position does not apply here. Kodomo no Jikan warrants this rating because it is pure tripe in storytelling. Everything is deliberating pandering and market calculation, whether its the sexual fan service or the emotional fan service -- the tragedy porn aspect, if you will. Because we all know that when you have young, cute girls with unrealistic, mawkish dialogue (with the token scenes of sexual content, of course! Gratuitious? Hardly! We need those ogling angles and soaked prepubescents for DEPTH), otaku will bow to their televisions, computers, what have you. Oh, but the formula is not complete; no, for there must also be manipulation for the audience must weep tears for these angelic abstractions of female purity! The more contrived the situation is, the more successful because nothing is more meaningful than emotional prodding that would make a soap opera writer blush! Let's also slather it with some of the most generic art and designs possible because OH MY GOD THEY'RE SO MOE WITH THOSE BIG EYES AND HAIR STYLES. Clichéd panel composition, body language and pacing? Sure, why not!

I mean, come the fuck on. If you want an actual mature, researched and realistic examination of a young girl dealing with harsh family circumstances and sexual issues, and also aren't obnoxiously adversed to comics that aren't Japanese, read Bryan Talbot's The Tale of One Bad Rat.

[Would like to finish this if this were ever fully available in English, legally or not.]

Shit is fucking crazy.

Also: manly men doing manly things with manly, homoerotic posturing and posing even when they aren't attacking each other.

Even though I'll never finish it, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is one of the most fun, honest manga I've ever read.

[Would like to finish this if this were ever fully available in English, legally or not.]

The editors decided that cool episodic adventures with characters we give a shit about had to be replaced with Dragon Ball Z fighting.