I think we like Mario Kart Wii a little too much.

The deal: Ohikkoshi is a black and white manga from Dark Horse. The comics are preserved in their original right-to-left printing. Hiroaki Samura is also the author of Blade of the Immortal. The book is comprised of three short stories.

The summary: In this stand-alone volume of collected work, Hiroaki Samura turns his attention away from the violence and drama of Blade of the Immortal and towards romance and slice-of-life. The offbeat humor that occasionally peppers Blade of the Immortal appears in Ohikkoshi in full force. There are three stories in this collection: Ohikkoshi, Luncheon of Tears Diary, and Kyoto Super Barhopping Journal (Bloodbath at Midorogaike).

Ohikkoshi is the story of a group of University students who are plagued with the problems of youth coming on adulthood: love, lust, and making big post-graduation decisions - Life with a capital L. Love triangles, bad drunken decisions, awful bands, and all kinds of pheromone-induced tomfoolery abounds in this decidedly comedic story.

Luncheon of Tears Diary (Vagabond Shoujo Manga-ka) is the story of a young woman who wishes with all her heart to have a successful career as a manga author. The story follows her along the path from youth to adulthood, where she encounters a bizarre editor, bad relationships, the yakuza, mahjong, and love.

Kyoto Super Barhopping Journal (Bloodbath at Midorogaike) is an autobiographical, humorous short comic about Hiroaki Samura’s trip around Kyoto with his supervisor and two women. It is the shortest story out of the three.

The review: I’ll be straightforward - the best story out of the three is Luncheon of Tears Diary. I LOVED it. Let me talk about the other two stories first, though.

Ohikkoshi, the title story, is also the longest. The format is essentially a group of friends in University getting ready for the real world - or readily ignoring it. The main character is Tono, who loves(lusts) after Akagi, a mature(sexy) graduate with birthmarks in all the right places. His childhood friend has the hots for him, but she is dating his best friend, who also happens to be a terrible musician. The story can be described largely as a situational comedy. Samura does a good job of not taking anything seriously, balancing humor against very occasional bouts of drama nicely. My problem with this story was the humor itself. I’m not sure if it’s something cultural or lost in translation, but it often came off as somewhat awkward and stilted. Don’t get me wrong - it’s funny for sure - but the delivery was never quite smooth. The drama is handled flawlessly, of course - the author is very good at that.

Kyoto Super Barhopping Journal is funny, quirky, and a neat look at the author and his life. The story was told in a way where you felt as though you were hearing a friend’s story over lunch. It’s a nice addition to the book and a nice way to end it.

Luncheon of Tears Diary (Vagabond Shoujo Manga-ka) is my favorite story in the book, and my favorite story by Hiroaki Samura. Samura’s mastery as a storyteller really shows through here. Luncheon is about a young girl who wants with all her heart to become a manga-ka. As a virgin, she has all kinds suppositions about love, and this is what makes her such a valuable asset as a shoujo artist to her editor. Her editor is also a pervert, and ultimately leads her in a creative direction that is badly met by her readers, causing her manga to get dropped from the magazine it is published in. This begins the downtrodden, would-be manga-ka on an incredible path. She takes on odd jobs and encounters people who change her life as she ekes out a living, for better or for worse, but each moment brings us closer to the sense that we are seeing something amazing take place. The story twists and winds and surprises at every turn. The pacing is handled masterfully - things move quickly, slow down, and then speed up again so that we get to see each pivotal moment of the girl’s life as she becomes a woman. Humor is handled here very well - everything is taken seriously, and yet, nothing is taken seriously. The story comes full circle at the close, but I’ll leave that for you to read and see yourself …

The recommendation: I’d buy this book just for Luncheon of Tears Diary.

from Dark Horse, 248 pages, $12.95

BLIND WILLOW, SLEEPING WOMAN
by Haruki Murakami

The deal: A collection of 24 short stories from Haruki Murakami.

The summary: I’m going to forego a summary here because there’s so many stories.

The review: It’s Murakami again! I know, I know, I never stop talking about this guy. He’s not even my favorite author - his stories are just so unpredictable, I can’t help but read ‘em.

Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman is what made me realize that I prefer Murakami as a short story writer. I discovered him through a short story in a huge anthology of various authors that I have (that story is also included in the book). His stories are always interesting and have a certain impetus that I can’t pull away from, but after having read several of his books, his non-formula begins to appear a formula to me. Just as, with many books, you can predict what happens, what I’ve become accustomed to in Murakami’s books is that the one thing you can always predict is that you won’t be able to predict anything. In the short story format, he touches on an idea, addresses it in an unexpected way, and then it’s on to the next story. I liked not having to linger as unpredictables built on unpredictables, because with Murakami there is often not an obvious payoff. The other thing I liked was some of the stories were a lot more down to earth than Murakami’s usual fare - sometimes it was reminscent of Norwegian Wood, which is one of my favorites but at total odds with the rest of his work. Then there are stories like “The Rise and Fall of Sharpie Cakes”, which induce that trademarked Murakami WTFness that I enjoy (although it certainly makes me feel conflicted).

I obtained a UK copy of After Dark while I was in India earlier this year, and I’ll probably review that as soon as I dig it up. I think it just came out stateside. I liked it, but it was a departure from his usual novels.

I’d like to mention that I hate the cover of Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman. The hardcover cover design is better - the colors on the paperback cover fight.

The recommendation: Novel-length Murakami can be too much for some folks, especially if you are just trying to pick him up for the first time. Blind Woman, Sleeping Willow is a great place to start. The genres run the gamut, and Murakami really flexes his writer’s skills in this collection.

from Vintage, 384 pages, $14.95

As I was drawing, I really wanted to erase but the pen forced me to keep on going.

Can we get back to real news?