#IReadsYou Review: PING PONG: Volume 1

PING PONG, VOL. 1
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

MANGAKA: Taiyo Matsumoto
TRANSLATION/ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Michael Arias
LETTERS: Deron Bennett
EDITOR: Mike Montessa
ISBN: 978-1-9747-1165-9; paperback (May 2020)
530pp, B&W with some color, $29.99 US, $39.99 CAN, £23.99 UK

Ping Pong is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Taiyo Matsumoto, who is also the creator of the Tekkonkinkreet and Cats of the Louvre manga, to name a few.  Ping Pong was serialized in Japanese publisher, Shogakukan's seinen manga magazine, Big Comic Spirits, from 1996 to 1997.

Ping Pong tells the story of two boys, Makoto “Smile” Tsukimoto and Yutaka “Peco” Hoshino, who have been friends since childhood despite having drastically different personalities.  They are now both talented members of the table tennis (ping pong) club of Katase High School.  The series depicts the boys' different approach to table tennis.

Shogakukan originally collected Ping Pong's 55 chapters into six tankōbon volumes (graphic novels), and in 2014, Shogakukan re-released the manga in two book volumes under the new title, Ping Pong: Full Game No.  VIZ Media is publishing an English-language edition of Ping Pong: Full Game No as a two-volume, paperback omnibus set under its “VIZ Signature” imprint.

Ping Pong, Vol. 1 (Chapters 1 to 27) introduces longtime friends, Smile and Peco, who are both on the table tennis team at Katase High School.  Peco is all-in as a player, believing that he can beat just about any other ping pong player anytime.  Smile is eccentric and rarely smiles, nor does he take the game of table tennis/ping pong that seriously.  In fact, it seems that he would rather lose than have his opponent experience the agony of losing.

Well, Katase High's Coach Jo Koizumi won't accept that.  He is determined to make Smile a great ping pong player, even if he has to use every trick in his playbook.  Meanwhile, straight out of China comes Wenge Kong, a Chinese ping pong prodigy recruited by the Japanese high school, Tsujido Polytechnic, as a “ringer.”  However, Kong has his own issues and struggles.

[This volume also includes Ping Pong Episode 0: “Tamura.”]

THE LOWDOWN:  Some may know the Ping Pong manga because of the 2002 Japanese live-action film, which is how I first learned of the manga.  Over the last decade and a half, Ping Pong's creator, Taiyo Matsumoto, has become something of a graphic novel star with the English-language releases of his manga,  especially Tekkonkinkreet, Sunny, and Cats of the Louvre.

Ping Pong Graphic Novel Volume 1 provides a look at one of Matsumoto's early long form series, and it reveals that Matsumoto himself was something of a prodigy.  The first 27 chapters of Ping Pong are an impressive display of different graphical storytelling approaches in presenting the personalities, character, and motivations of the story's main players.

In fact, the characters' personalities drive this story.  For instance, Peco's cocky and carefree nature acts as a counter to Smile's stubborn attitude and taciturn nature.  As I read this story, I could almost feel the characters falling on either side of the Peco/Smile divide, and, for me, this gives a spice to the ping pong matches.  Speaking of those, Matsumoto turns the ping pong matches into duels of furious speed and slashing moves in which the players and rackets move as fast as the ping pong balls.

With his translation, Michael Arias' does what he did for Cats of the Louvre – give the readers an engaging tale full of diverse personalities.  Deron Bennett's lettering changes as Matsumoto's illustrations shift in tone and style, both creatives giving this tale depth and richness.  With a title like Ping Pong, one might not think that this story could be as wonderful as it is, and it is indeed wonderful.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Taiyo Matsumoto will want the VIZ Signature edition of Ping Pong.

9 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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Review: CATS OF THE LOUVRE

CATS OF THE LOUVRE
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

MANGAKA: Taiyo Matsumoto (with Saho Tono)
TRANSLATION/ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Michael Arias
LETTERS: Deron Bennett
EDITOR: Mike Montessa
ISBN: 978-1-9747-0708-9; hardcover (September 2019)
432pp, B&W with some color, $29.99 US, $39.99 CAN, £20.00 UK

Located in Paris, the Louvre is the world's largest art museum (and perhaps it most famous).  Did you know, dear reader, that the Louvre also publishes comics?  Yes, the most famous art museum in the world has been commissioning various legendary comic artists to write their own original stories inspired by the Louvre and its collection for the last decade.  These comics are published via a joint venture between the Louvre and French publisher, Futuropolis.

Most of these artists are French, but increasingly the Louvre has been working with Japanese manga artists (mangaka).  One of those mangaka is Taiyo Matsumoto, who is best known for his manga, Tekkonkinkreet.  Matsumoto won one of American comics' most prestigious honors, an Eisner Award (“Best U.S. Edition of International Material,” 2008), for Tekkonkinkreet: Black and White, VIZ Media's English-language edition of Tekkonkinkreet.

Matsumoto's contribution to Louvre comics is Les Chats du Louvre (Cats of the Louvre), which Futuropolis published in two books, one in February 2017 and the second in August 2018.  VIZ Media recently published an English-language edition of both volumes of Les Chats du Louvre in a single, hardcover, omnibus book under the title, Cats of the Louvre.

Cats of the Louvre, Part One (Chapters 1 to 10) and Part Two (Chapters 11 to 17 to Final Chapter) focuses on a group of human characters that works at the Louvre and a small family of cats that lives in the museum's attic.  Cécile Gagnier, a recent hire, is a tour guide.  Through Marcel, an elderly nightwatchman, Cécile learns that the paintings speak.  Although Cécile and, Marcel's new assistant, Patrick Nasri, initially doubt the old nightwatchman stories, they gradually become believers, especially Cécile.

For the world-renowned Louvre museum contains more than just the most famous works of art in history.  At night, within the Louvre's darkened galleries, an unseen and surreal world comes alive.  It is a world witnessed only by the cats that live in the attic, until now…  The cats, who change appearance at night into anthropomorphic forms, will end up sharing that magic with the humans.  Long ago, Marcel's sister, Arrieta, disappeared in the Louvre when the two were children.  Now, Cécile and a precocious white kitten named “Snowbébé” will solve a mystery that unites the world of the humans that work at the Louvre, the world of the cats, and the magical world a mysterious painting.

It is difficult to describe Cats of the Louvre.  It is surreal and partly exists in the real world and in the world of magical realism; then, some of it is entirely magical and fantastical.

Taiyo Matsumoto fashions an interesting and endearing group of human characters.  Marcel is mysterious, but he is the kind of old man who has a lot to say.  I found that I could not get enough of him.  Patrick Nasri is a nice spin on the skeptical youth type.  Cécile Gagnier is our doorway into the entire world of the museum and its employees and the world of the family of cats in the attic.  Her curiosity and determination and her willingness to listen and to believe make her an excellent focus and doorway into the narrative for readers.

The cats are something else entirely.  Even as cats, they seem slightly supernatural, so when they become human-like at night, everything about them turns magical and exciting.  I could follow their lives and adventures forever.  Most of the cat characters are quite interesting, but the star is, of course, Snowbébé.  This little white cat is the one who crosses the barriers, visiting the galleries during the day when the tourists and museum visitors can plainly see him.  It is his adventure into the mystery painting that creates the most magical and surreal sections of Cats of the Louvre.

Matsumoto's art is as lyrical, as poetic, and as personal as his story.  His odd, eccentric drawing style is perfect for comics; in fact, Cats of the Louvre looks like Eurocomics, American comics, and manga.  The art and story are hypnotic and alluring.  I found myself being pulled into the comic by the irresistible force of Matsumoto's graphical storytelling.

Michael Arias, the noted visual effects artist who directed the anime adaptation of Tekkonkinkreet, provides the translation and English adaptation for VIZ Media's edition of Cats of the Louvre.  Arias captures the magic and brilliance of Matsumoto's tale of the Louvre and its cats, its humans, and its charmed works of art.  Letter Deron Bennett turns in the best work of his career, providing the English lettering and sound effects and also, with his lettering, matching the beautiful spirit of Matsumoto's art.

I highly recommend Cats of the Louvre.  No admirer of the medium of comics can ignore Matsumoto's stunning manga.

10 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2019 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: SUNNY Volume 3

 

SUNNY, VOL. 3
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

CARTOONIST: Taiyo Matsumoto
TRANSLATION: Michael Arias
LETTERS: Deron Bennett
ISBN: 978-1-4215-5969-8; hardcover (April 2014); Rated “T” for “Teen”
215pp, B&W, $22.99 US, $26.99 CAN

Sunny is a Japanese slice of life manga series written and illustrated by Taiyo Matsumoto.  It was serialized in Shogakukan's seinen manga magazine, Monthly Ikki, from December 2010 to September 2014 and in Monthly Big Comic Spirits from January to July 2015.  VIZ Media published an English-language edition of the manga as a full-color, hardcover, graphic novel series under its VIZ Signature imprint from May 2013 to November 2016.  Sunny is set at the orphanage, Star Kids Home, where there is a car called “Sunny,” a place where the children find solace.

Sunny, Vol. 3 (Chapters 13 to 18) opens with a visit from Nishita, a former resident of Star Kids Home.  Now, an adult, he wants to apologize for a terrible incident he started years ago that brought harm to Granpa, who heads the orphanage.

Next, Megumu decides to attend a party with a group of friends from school who live with their parents.  Her Star Kids “siblings” are not crazy about that, and Megumu feels conflicted.  Also, a TV station news crew visits Star Kids Home, and two brothers recall a visit to see their sick mother.

THE LOWDOWN:  The Sunny manga reads like an honest account of children adapting to life away from their parents and in an orphanage.  I often find myself racing through shonen manga in order to keep up with the action.  I also find myself fighting the urge to jump ahead when I read Sunny.  It is a character drama that is vivid and alive, and creator Taiyo Matsumoto makes me chase his narrative, as if it were shonen.

Sunny is heartbreaking and poignant, but it is even more upbeat and positive.  Matsumoto depicts the children of Star Kids as being imaginative and open to new possibilities.  Some may want their lives before Star Kids to come back, but that does not mean they won’t make the best of their new lives.  It’s a lesson we could all learn.

I READS YOU REVIEW:  Fans of the manga of Taiyo Matsumoto will want Sunny.

A-
7.5 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You and Revised:  Thursday, September 17, 2020


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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Review: SUNNY Volume 1

SUNNY, VOL. 1
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

CARTOONIST: Taiyo Matsumoto
TRANSLATION: Michael Arias
LETTERS: Deron Bennett
ISBN: 978-1-4215-3448-0; hardcover (May 2013); Rated “T” for Teen is recommended for ages 13 and up
224pp, B&W, $22.99 US, $26.99 CAN

Taiyo Matsumoto is a manga creator best known for his manga, Tekkonkinkreet, which was made into an animated film in 2006. VIZ Media’s English-language publication of Tekkonkinkreet won Matsumoto an Eisner Award. He also created the series the manga, GoGo Monster.

Matsumoto’s new series, Sunny, began publication in the Japanese manga magazines, IKKI, in February 2011. Sunny is set at Star Kids Home, an orphanage. There, a car called “Sunny” is a place where the children find solace.

Sunny, Vol. 1 (Chapters 1 to 6) introduces readers to Star Kids Home, a home for orphans and foster children. Another resident of this Japanese orphanage is the Sunny 1200, a dilapidated old Nissan car that sits abandoned in the orphanage’s garden. The children call the old car “Sunny,” and it is off-limits to adults. Sunny is something of a clubhouse for the kids, because it is the place where they can escape their everyday lives, daydream, think, hangout, and talk.

I’ll start my review with this recollection. Many years ago, I read a review/essay about the late comic strip, Calvin and Hobbes, in which the review’s author praised cartoonist Bill Watterson for creating a “real kid” in Calvin. The author did his praising of the strip by criticizing “the Cosby kids” of The Cosby Show (1984 to 1992), the long-running NBC situation comedy starring Bill Cosby.

The author of the review/essay said (not exact words) that the Cosby kids weren’t real because of the way they acted. Back then, I figured the author did not know many upper-middle class African-American families – if he knew any at all. Maybe, if Theo Huxtable busted a cap in an ass or impregnated his fine-ass sister, Denise, then, the Cosby kids would have seemed more “real” to the review/essay author.

I don’t how many people will see the fictional children that Taiyo Matsumoto created for Sunny as real. At least at this point in the series, he hasn’t given each character a grocery list of quirks, motivations, and conflicts to prove to people that he can create “well-developed” or real characters.

Matsumoto simply makes the children seem authentic by their actions. The children of Star Kids Home (a great name, by the way) are seekers of knowledge, explorers of the ways of the world, and investigators of what drives people to do what they do. Sunny is poignant, but it is not really about a happy/sad or good/bad dynamic. Instead, Matsumoto has created manga with a sense of wonder and curiosity about the way the world is.

So are the children in Sunny real or real-like? I don’t know, but I do know that Sunny is the real deal in great comics.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux